LAKELAND, Fla. — It was a complete reinvention, one that few undertake.

A basketball player transformed into a cross country runner.

It's a plot in a script that few would believe. But it happened to Slippery Rock High graduate and Florida Southern senior Morgan Siebka.

“A lot of people think this is my first season in college,” Siebka said, laughing. “No, I'm a senior and I've actually never run cross country before.”

Circumstances conspired to turn the former Butler Eagle Girls Basketball Player of the Year away from hoops.

It wasn't by choice.

After sharing that player-of-the-year award with Union's Tina Lipps after her sophomore season, Siebka suffered a serious knee injury before her junior season.

She came back after her torn ACL for her senior campaign and earned a scholarship to play basketball for the Mocs.

Siebka started 12 games in two years for Division I Florida Southern, averaging 3.4 points per game before a concussion and then another torn ACL in the same knee ended her basketball career.

It was a tough period of time for Siebka.

“My relationship with basketball was like a bad breakup,” she said. “It was messy at first, emotional, a lot of crying. There was the period of denial, of, 'I can still do it. I can make it work.' Then the acceptance. I had to be honest with myself. I woke up one day and said, 'No, I can't do it anymore.'”

Siebka, her basketball career over, decided to not have surgery at first and, as she said, tried to “tough it out.”

That didn't work, either.

Finally in July of last year, she opted for surgery. A year later, she finally felt free of the pain and limitations of the knee.

She also had to think about her future. As a marine biology and environmental studies major, Siebka is often in the field, hiking to locations and snorkling. Her injured knee limited her.

“It's what the doctor expected,” Siebka said. “The second one on the same knee — it takes a full year. It was definitely a hard, long recovery. This time, it was a lot more mental than physcial.”

Siebka, though, still had a competitive itch that needed scratched.

Cross country turned out to be the finger nails.

Siebka paced the Mocs at a meet last weekend at the University of Florida Mountain Dew Invitational, finishing the 5K race in 21 minutes, 2.39 seconds to place 56th out of 144 runners.

“I'm really excited,” Siebka said. “I'm loving it. I've been able to put my heart and my soul into it. I missed being able to really commit myself to something and I'm enjoying it.”

Siebka didn't join the team without reservations.

She wondered if she could even keep up with the more experienced runners on the roster. She wondered how they would treat a senior newcomer. She even wondered about the basics of the sport.

“I thought they'd be like, 'A retired basketball player? Really?'” Siebka said. “But the coach and the team are awesome. I'm thankful to have the teammates I do.”

Her teammates gave her a crash course on cross country 101 before her first meet.

“I didn't know what to expect or where to start,” Siebka said, laughing. “That first meet it was like just a mash of people at the starting line and it's a bottleneck. I had to learn to pace myself.”

Siebka also had to learn how to let go of the basketball Morgan and accept her knew lot on athletic life.

“I'm thankful. I had two years of college basketball,” Siebka said. “It's harder with (sister Marissa Siebka) going to Gannon and playing. I want to play pick-up with her.

“Everything happens for a reason.”