Tolton Catholic’s Sophie Angel: From blindness to a state championship

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As soon as the ball hit the bat, Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School junior shortstop Sophie Angel breathed a quick prayer of thanks and raced toward her second-base teammate.

The moment Madison Uptegrove caught the popfly, Sophie, followed by the rest of her teammates, enveloped her in a team hug.

The Tolton Catholic Lady Trailblazers had just won the 2020 State softball championship.

For Sophie, this was about much more than the highest honor a high school athlete can achieve. It was also a culmination of what she believes was a miracle from God.

Now a 2022 graduate of Tolton Catholic, Sophie can’t think of her many athletic achievements without reflecting on how grateful she is to God.

The summer before her eighth-grade year at Our Lady of Lourdes Interparish School in Columbia, Sophie was a passenger in a car with a relative that was involved in a wreck. The implosion of the airbag left Sophie blind in one eye.

“I was absolutely terrified,” Sophie recalled. “I knew that if I didn’t get my sight back I would never be able to play sports.”

As soon as her mother arrived at the site of the accident, they both began to pray.

“I promised Jesus that if I could get my sight back I would dedicate all my sports achievements to Him,” Sophie recalled.

When she got to the hospital the doctors pried her swollen eye open and she could not see with it.

“The doctors said they could make no promises about regaining my sight,” Sophie recalled. “They told me to prepare for the worst.”

Sophie was put on bed rest for two weeks in order to keep the pressure on her eye steady.

“I had a lot of time to pray and to think,” she recalled.

Gradually, over the course of several days her sight began to return.

“I thought of the Gospel passage where Jesus healed the blind man and it took a while for him to get his sight back,” she said, referring to Mark 8:22-25. “I felt like that guy.”

Just before basketball season started for her eighth grade year, Sophie still couldn’t risk any contact. Her coach at Our Lady of Lourdes, John Elfrink, came over to her house and worked with her to get her in shape for basketball so she would have the necessary 14 practices.

Just before the season started, Sophie was cleared to play but had to wear safety goggles.

Before her eighth-grade year ended, Sophie had undergone traumatic eye surgery and since then has had five laser procedures.

Her doctors told her she was lucky to be able to see again.

“I don’t feel lucky,” Sophie said. “I feel blessed.”

She said her faith has continued to sustain her throughout her high school years.

“I feel so blessed to be able to have 12 years of Catholic education,” she stated. “I love being able to express my faith openly and to be able to ask my theology teacher questions about God. I have also learned to never take anything in my life for granted. I have really learned the value of enjoying each moment because it can all be gone in a flash.”

She said she brings her faith with her to all her games. Besides being a star on Tolton Catholic’s softball team for four years, she was also a four-year starter as point guard on Lady Blazer basketball teams.

“We always prayed before our games,” Sophie recalled. “Whenever I am on deck during a softball game I always have a little chat with Jesus. It calms my nerves and gives me lots of confidence.”

After Sophie’s junior and senior seasons, she was voted to both the All Conference and All District softball teams. This season, she also made All Region.

During Sophie’s junior season, the Lady Blazers had the top grade-point average of any softball team in the state of Missouri.

Shortly after this season ended, the Blazer student body gathered in the Commons area of the school, where Sophie signed her letter of intent to play softball for Columbia College on a scholarship.

Sophie’s Tolton softball coach for the past four years, Taylor Bartlett, feels Sophie’s value to a team goes beyond her ability as a middle infielder and hitter (Sophie batted a robust .350 her senior year and rarely committed an error).

“We all love Sophie,” Coach Bartlett said. “She’s a great team leader, especially for the underclassmen. She may be short of stature but she has an amazing heart. Nothing fazes her. I really admire her faith. That eye injury could have been life changing but she seemed certain that God was going to take care of her. She also brings an amazing amount of energy to the field for every game.”

Sophie is now helping Coach Bartlett coach 10-year-olds.

“She’s a natural,” Coach Bartlett said.” She has a bright future.”

Fr. Coleman is pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Centralia and a chaplain at Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School in Columbia.

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