Tyler Nevious’ recovery from fall ACL surgery progressed well enough for him to fill one of the two shot put spots in Wednesday’s DAC track and field championship at Valparaiso

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

A dreaded ACL injury ended Tyler Nevious’ third season as a starter on Chesterton’s offensive line prematurely and wiped out the heavyweight spot he secured the previous year in the wrestling lineup, but he at least had a motivational carrot dangling as he worked his way through a grueling rehabilitation procedure. If all went well, he was told, he could return to competition in six months, which timed up with the start of track and field season.
Nevious made it happen and needed only to pass one final strength test on his knee to resume competing in the shot put.
“They told me in March that I was pretty much ready for it,” Nevious said. “They just wanted to make sure the ligament had enough time to heal.”
He passed the strength test and he’s been throwing with a brace on his left knee, which isn’t the only reminder of the injury.
“It’s weird,” he said. “I can feel it sometimes. Some movements are a little funky, but aside from that, it’s not really that bad. It’s feeling pretty good.”
In past years of throwing, Nevious peaked in the postseason.
“Hopefully I can follow up with that again and get to throw it a little farther,” he said. “I don’t know, we’ll see how that all plays out.”
Either way, he already completed one of his goals by doing well enough in the rehabilitation process that he saved his final season of track.
“I’ve been having fun this season,” he said. “I’m just excited to be able to do it.”
Nevious committed to play football at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.
During his campus visit to North Central, talked with Jorge Ortiz, a former Chesterton O-lineman.
“It was a nice place,” Nevious said. “I liked their coaches. They were good and they win a lot, so that’s a nice bonus. They also told me I could be on the track team there if I wanted to, so I’m thinking about that as well.”
Nevious said Ortiz told him, “he really likes it. I guess it’s been fun for him.”
Carlos Leon, Chesterton’s other shot putter in the DAC championship meet at Valparaiso on Wednesday, also was a three-year starter on the Trojans’ O-line, twice earning all-state honors.
“He’ll be playing football at Benedictine College, which is like 15 minutes from where I’ll be, so that’s nice,” Nevious said.