It’s been quite the past 10 months for former Lisbon standout and Miss Maine Field Hockey finalist Haley-Jane Tuplin.

In September, playing for the University of Southern Maine, she ruptured her ACL in her right knee in a game against the University of Maine at Farmington — an injury that ended her freshman season.

She had a quad graft to reconstruct her ACL.

Following a six-month rehabilitation where Tuplin had to relearn how to walk, she has won two powerlifting competitions and took part in a USA Bobsled/Skeleton training camp in Vermont on July 13 as the program is currently looking for athletes for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.

“It was kind of surreal to even be doing something at this high of a level, you know, eight months after I completely just ruptured my knee,” Tuplin said. “But it was definitely — it was a really … a tough offseason, but I learned a lot as an athlete being injured like that. I had to step away from field hockey. I had to step away from competitive powerlifting. It definitely gave me some — gave me more of a little bit of, like, a tough mentality as an athlete. It kind of taught me how much I love to be an athlete. So, I guess, coming back from that injury, I started working harder.”

Tuplin credits her physical therapists, her powerlifting coach Erik Hogan, and the USM trainers who helped in her recovery, and she is excited to return to the field hockey field in the fall with her USM teammates.

Coming back from an injury isn’t new for Tuplin, who was diagnosed with a type III Salter-Harris fracture in her left hip during her high school career. She helped Lisbon to a Class C South regional final appearance in her junior season in 2021 with an overtime winner over St. Dom’s in the regional semifinal.

She also led the Greyhounds to another regional final appearance in 2022, losing to Winthrop for the second straight season.

While rehabilitating her hip, she got interested in powerlifting and started entering competitions.

“The basic squat deadlift movements and a lot of just lifting and strengthening to kind of get that hip back to health. Then I fell in love with the gym scene, and then that kind of led to powerlifting,” Tuplin said. “I was encouraged by some friends of mine to compete, and I’ve won my division three times since. So I’ve been doing pretty well at that as well.”

After winning a local powerlifting competition this spring, Tuplin won the T3 (18-19-year-old) division at the USA Powerlifting Northeast regionals on June 8 by lifting 688.9 pounds between the squat, bench press and deadlift. Her personal record is 689 pounds.

She’s the state record holder in the 18-19 year-old division for bench press at 67.5 kg (148 pounds).

POWERLIFTING SPRINGS BOBSLEDDING OPPORTUNITY

USM field hockey coach Bonny Brown-Denico received an email from USA Bobsled/Skeleton looking for athletes for the upcoming Winter Olympics in 2026. Brown-Denico told Tuplin about the opportunity in Essex Junction, Vermont, on July 13.

Tuplin didn’t know much about bobsledding or skeleton before the training camp, where she was put through 10- and 40-yard sprints, vertical and broad jumps, and weighted sled pushes. During her ACL rehabilitation, she began training for the training camp without knowing it.

“I’ve always trained myself to be relatively athletic,” Tuplin said. “So I would say I had those skills. Or even so, when I went through physical therapy for my ACL, we worked a lot on, you know, getting that vertical back, getting the jump back. But without even realizing it, I have been training these things in physical therapy. I’m probably better at those skills now than I was before I tore my ACL.”

Tuplin, the only woman at the camp in Vermont, said competing with the men at the camp gave her motivation.

“But, like, I don’t think I was intimidated at all,” Tuplin said. “It was almost, like, you see these crazy grown men athletes. They perform, you know, phenomenally, mind you. It kind of forced me to push myself a little more. So I think being in the presence of, like, all these athletes who were performing so well kind of forced me to push myself a little more. So, I think that kind of helped me perform a little better at the combine.”

The coaches from USA Bobsled/Skeleton had positive feedback for Tuplin.

Tuplin said she’s not sure what’s next in the process, but because of her age — she doesn’t turn 19 for a few more weeks — she could be a candidate for the team in 2030.

“I just needed to tweak some form, work a little bit on my explosiveness,” Tuplin said. “I definitely got some killer feedback, you know, towards bobsledding itself, but, like, even just as an athlete myself, just things to work on to be more athletic. But it was definitely unreal, you know, to hear that this is something that’s attainable because I never really thought it would be. This was kind of just an opportunity that just popped up and appeared, you know? Here we are.”

Tuplin said she has gone down a rabbit hole learning more about skeleton and bobsledding.

“Me and my mom both have, actually, and we follow them on Instagram, and it’s kind of, my phone’s kind of adjusted to my recent searches,” Tuplin said. “So, that’s all my social media now is bobsledding videos and training and, you know, explosive videos and how to train for the bobsled. Yeah, for sure, I have gone down that rabbit hole.”

All of Tuplin’s USM field hockey teammates and others have been supportive of her since she returned from the camp.

“I ended up on my university’s Instagram page, getting support from them,” Tuplin said. “So, that was pretty cool to see. Same with the USM Field Hockey’s Instagram. I ended up on there and I ended up on the USA Bobsled Instagram as well. So, it was like I’d been getting a lot of support from everybody. It was kind of really cool.”