After being thrown for a loss, Evan Niedrowski has come all the way back — and then some

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

There was a moment when Evan Niedrowski worried it was about to happen again. A jolt of pain followed by a feeling of dread.

The Wyomissing grad couldn’t help but think about the dangers. Another injury? Another lost season? It was too much to bear.

The timing made matters even worse. It was winter and Niedrowski was nearly back after a year of rehab. He was preparing for his freshman season at Monmouth University and his first real meets since 2019.

Then that jolt of pain.

“It came out of nowhere and it just stuck there,” Niedrowski said. “It didn’t go away. So I decided to get it looked at.”

Niedrowski, one of the best javelin throwers in Berks County history, lost his final two high school seasons. COVID hit when he was a junior. A torn labrum in his right shoulder took him off the runway as a senior.

This felt like a second shoulder injury and an MRI confirmed a small tear. It was separate from his previous surgery. There were two options. Niedrowski could keep throwing and fight through the pain. Or he could go back under the knife and wait another year.

Niedrowski took a cortisone shot and kept throwing.

“It was horrifying,” he said. “I thought I was going back to stage one. I kept doing my rehab. Consistency is key with this right now. I’ve been doing rehab since May of 2021. I haven’t stopped. I don’t plan on stopping.”

Niedrowski worked on strengthening the shoulder with Monmouth athletic trainer Aaron Bottinick and Body Zone’s Randy Yocum and Chris Maryniak. They helped the kid known as ‘Nitro’ when he played football at Wyo continue his progress.

The pain, to Niedrowski’s amazement, has never returned. His freshman season breezed past without another problem. The accolades followed. 

Niedrowski won gold in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and placed 11th at the NCAA championships to earn second-team All-America recognition. The freshman placed first at the U20 national championships last month and will compete in the world championships in Colombia in August.

The turning point came at the Lehigh Invitational in April. It was Niedrowski’s first sanctioned meet in nearly three years and his first chance to test his shoulder. Niedrowski reached 224-7, about 13 feet beyond his previous best, and easily took first place. Not only was he back, he was better than ever.

“I started warming up,” Niedrowski said. “I felt nothing. I was like, ‘Holy crap, is this really happening right now?’ My teammates were with me. They were super hyped. It was a great energy. I just went out there and started throwing. No pain. Got a PR out of it.”

Niedrowski’s PR has risen to 234-4. The freshman reached 230-4 at the NCAA meet and 231-7 on his way to U.S. gold.

When Niedrowski stood atop the podium at the PIAA championships at Shippensburg at the end of his sophomore season, he never could have imagined how the next few years were going to unfold. There are achievements he can never recoup. Two more state golds. The Berks record he was almost certain to break.

Niedrowski tries not to think about that now. There are new dreams in front of him. A new set of potential achievements.

“I wish I would’ve had my junior and senior year,” he said. “I feel like missing those two years sets me behind so many other throwers. Given the circumstances, this has been exciting, but I definitely feel like I’ve got a lot more.”

Niedrowski bumped into two-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Crouser at the national championships. Olympian Sydney McLaughlin was two spots ahead of Niedrowski in the drug testing line.

The two lost years, the torn labrum, the preseason injury, Niedrowski overcame all of it. Once he was finally able to compete, he stood alongside the best.

It was a long, often frustrating road.

“There were times when I couldn’t even throw a football right,” Niedrowski said. “I’d have to throw it sidearm to have no pain. How was I going to throw a javelin with how violent it is? I never thought I was going to come back. Yet here we are.”

Here Niedrowski is.

First in the nation in his age group. Ready to take on the world.