After breaking Portland State records and going where only one other PSU track and field athlete has gone before, Sean MacKelvie’s season ended short. Right before the senior thrower was about to compete at the 2012 NCAA Division I Track & Field Championship, he injured his elbow while taking a practice throw.
After breaking Portland State records and going where only one other PSU track and field athlete has gone before, Sean MacKelvie’s season ended short. Right before the senior thrower was about to compete at the 2012 NCAA Division I Track & Field Championship, he injured his elbow while taking a practice throw.
“As soon as he took that first throw, I could see the grimace in his face,” assistant coach Seth Henson said. “He grabbed his elbow and kind of keeled over. That’s when we decided that was it. It was the right decision to make. I just felt for Sean. He worked so hard to get there, and a healthy Sean could have been an All-American.”
MacKelvie had surgery last week, and the next step in his recovery is rehab. The track and field staff will work intensively on his arm to prepare him for the start of next season. Even with a bad elbow, the Big Sky champion has shown success in the triple jump, and he will continue to compete in that event next season.
The injury started at regionals, when MacKelvie felt some discomfort in his elbow after breaking the PSU record. With two weeks between the regional and national meets, Henson and head coach Ronnye Harrison took MacKelvie to see a doctor, who diagnosed him with a torn ligament. Thinking the injury couldn’t get any worse, they decided it would be worth attempting a throw at the national meet. But as soon as MacKelvie let go of the javelin in his first throw, his elbow gave out and that was the season.
“He went through every emotion,” Henson said. “He was confident his elbow was going to be there. He was scared. He was upset. I was sick to my stomach for the kid. You feel for the kids who work hard. You want the best for them.”
The outdoor season for MacKelvie was one of the most successful in Viking history. In the senior’s last competition in Des Moines, Iowa, Mackelvie broke the Portland State record in the men’s javelin. His record-breaking performance sent him to compete in nationals. Before that, he was the Big Sky champion in the javelin, taking home the gold medal and becoming one of five Vikings to advance to regionals.
“I didn’t let him throw a lot in the beginning of the year,” Henson said. “I made him work on things, and that’s why you saw him start off slowly. When I pulled the reigns off, he won the Big Sky Championship on three different throws. And then he had a little more left in the tank for regionals.”
Next year is MacKelvie’s fifth and final year as a Viking. The coaching staff did not want to affect next season by forcing another throw at nationals. They hope MacKelvie will be right back here next season. “Because Sean is a true athlete, and he really cares about what he is doing, I would anticipate that he is going to take the necessary time to rehab the elbow,” Henson said. “If it’s in the cards, we’re going to see Sean back at 100 percent.”
