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PREP TRACK AND FIELD McKelvey finds right fit at Cal State Fullerton Ashland High javelin thrower commits right before personal-best third-place finish at state Comment By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted May. 25, 2015 at 7:34 PM By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted May. 25, 2015 at 7:34 PM » Social News Kelsey McKelvey’s goal was to find a college with a great javelin coach and the classes she’ll need to become a physician’s assistant. Ideally, her dream school also would be willing to help pay for her education. She found all three at Cal State Fullerton and signed a letter of intent on Wednesday to make it official. McKelvey, who placed third in the OSAA Class 5A state track and field meet on Friday at Hayward Field in Eugene, said her athletic scholarship will cover about 80 percent of her schooling at the Fullerton, Calif., school and possibly more if she can hit a 130-foot benchmark during the Junior Olympics circuit this summer. “Besides the money — they offered me the biggest scholarship — I think what really made me want to go there was that their (javelin) coach [Chris Witscher] wants his athletes to have the full college experience,” said McKelvey, whose personal record of 129 feet, 5 inches would have been good enough for fourth place in this year’s Big West Sky Championship. “He’s strict, but not overly strict on things. So he’ll be friends with you and you can hang out and talk, but also when it comes down to it he’s a really good coach. Practices are run the way he wants and you have to do what he wants you to. So he’s easy going but a great coach, and I kind of like that balance.” McKelvey, who verbally committed to the Titans in April, took two official visits and four unofficial before narrowing her search to two schools — Cal State Fullerton and the University of North Texas, another Division I which competes in Conference USA. She loved a lot of things about North Texas, but the Mean Green’s scholarship offer amounted to about 10 percent tuition, well short of the Titans’ offer. Making the decision easier was the fact that Cal State Fullerton has an excellent program for budding physician assistants, McKelvey’s ultimate goal. Also, she has family in southern California. She’ll major in biology and is eyeing the Navy after college. “It’s pretty darn cool, that’s for sure,” McKelvey said of locking up a close-to-full-ride scholarship at a Division I school. “My uncle, who’s a javelin coach in Washington, he’s always said, ‘You’re going to get a scholarship,’ because scholarships to go throwers who hit 120 and I hit that my sophomore year. So I was fully aware that I would probably go to school on a track scholarship, but it’s still kind of crazy that it’s actually happening.” McKelvey tossed the javelin a then-personal best 117-7 as a freshman during the 2012 District 1 meet to earn her first of four state championship berths. The following year McKelvey hit 124-5 at the Crater Classic and 122-2 at districts to qualify for state again. As a junior she again increased her PR to 125-4 but placed 10th at state, giving her one last chance at a top-three finish. McKelvey’s senior season proved to be her best across the board. She hit a new PR April 8 during a dual meet against Crater, captured her first-ever district title with a 122-11 toss in the Midwestern League championships, then placed third at state the following week with a throw of 125-11. She hoped for a better result at state, but says her weight-training regimen may have been misguided. “Halfway through the season I kind of lost my fitness a little,” she said. “I was doing a lot of cleans and squats but realized that I wasn’t doing anything for my shoulders, so I felt like I could have done better with I was paying more attention in the weight room. But besides that, I’m content with my senior season. I PRd, and I did very well in most meets. I’m just ready to move on.” Now, McKelvey will turn her attention to the Junior Olympics and its state meet on June 27. After that, she hopes to qualify for regionals in July and nationals in August. To help prepare, she’ll train with one of the best college javelin throwers on the west coast, Kelsey Shaw of College of the Siskiyous. If McKelvey can hit 130 feet, she said, her scholarship will be increased to near full-ride level. Even if that doesn’t happen, McKelvey, who’s carrying a 3.3 grade-point-average at AHS (graduation is Friday), is looking forward to making an immediate splash at CSF as a freshman. “They haven’t really said anything about that, but they need a javelin thrower and they know I can break the school record and that I could do pretty well, especially in our conference,” she said. “I think that’s why they’re giving such a good scholarship, but I don’t want to get too ahead of myself.” Joe Zavala can be reached at 541-821-0829 or [email protected]. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted May. 25, 2015 at 7:34 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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