Hobart and William Smith Colleges Athletics

Courtney Wagner is from Farmington, N.Y., and she is the Herons’ Team IMPACT teammate.

Team IMPACT is a non-profit that works to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening illnesses. Core to their model is harnessing the power of teamwork by matching these courageous kids with college athletic teams.

Wagner became an integral part of the Heron soccer team during William Smith’s alumnae weekend last spring. Since then, she and her Heron teammates attended a Women’s Professional Soccer League WNY Flash game together in August and her William Smith teammates surprised Wagner by cheering her on at her varsity soccer match at Canandaigua High School. Wagner has been a driving force on the sidelines of Heron soccer contests on Cozzens Field.

In September 2011, on the second day of her first year of high school, Wagner was diagnosed with a stage 4 glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive malignant brain tumors. A night after playing through a varsity soccer game, a terrible headache sent her to the hospital where doctors found two tumors in her brain. The larger tumor was the stage 4 cancer and could not be operated on due to its location. The smaller tumor, which was found to be slow-growing stage 1 cancer called astrocytoma, could be surgically removed.

She went through 14 grueling months of chemotherapy, seven weeks of radiation and two brain surgeries. The treatments were tough on her, but her competitive spirit pushed her through. She kept up with her classes with help from teachers and a tutor and also eventually returned to playing basketball and soccer.  Wagner has beaten the odds. MRIs during the treatments found the tumor to be shrinking and recent MRIs have shown it to be stable. Although she still battles fatigue and knows the danger of the tumor reoccurring, she is determined to make the best of each day.

Team IMPACT has not only allowed Wagner to realize a dream of being on a college soccer team, but it has also deeply impacted her new Heron soccer teammates. While she will not be on the field scoring goals for William Smith, her contributions account for so much more.

"Meeting Courtney and her family has been one of the most moving experiences I have had here at William Smith,” said senior defender Olivia Zitoli. “Courtney has shown our team true inner strength and the importance of keeping a positive attitude.”

“It’s an honor to have Courtney as a part of our team. It means so much to us that we are able to support Courtney and her family as she battles cancer,” said senior goalie Chelsea Dunay. “By creating a supportive and caring environment for Courtney, we are able to see and feel the positive impact we can have on her. In return, we learn from Courtney that there’s much more to life than we sometimes realize. From personal experiences of having a loved one battle cancer, I know that endless amounts of support, love, care, and kindness are necessary in order to fight and eventually win against cancer. We’ll always be here supporting and cheering Courtney on as she continues to win her battle against cancer.”

“To put it simply, she inspires us,” said junior forward Madeline Buckley. “Cancer does not define Courtney. She told her mom in regards to her tumor, ‘Mom I got this.’ She reminds us that there is no limit to what we can achieve. Courtney has beat cancer - what a role model for all of us to look up to.”