Union’s Bliss headed to Bucknell
RIMERSBURG — From not being very interested to not being very beatable.
That describes Union senior Evie Bliss and her journey with the javelin over the past couple of seasons.
“I competed in the event, but I was only so-so,” Bliss said of her sophomore year. “I wasn’t all that into it. Last year, I had a javelin coach working with me directly and it’s made a big difference.”
And how.
Bliss topped the Butler Eagle Girls Track and Field Honor Roll in the javelin last year with a throw of 140 feet, 11 inches. She placed second in the District 9 meet and in the PIAA Championships.
She recently signed a letter of intent with Bucknell University to continue her academic and javelin career. Bliss plans to major in biology and eventually get into the chiropractic industry. She also considered Duke, North Carolina and St. Francis before deciding on Bucknell.
“Their throwing coach (Moniteau graduate Ryan Protzman) is from District 9,” Bliss said. “That makes me feel comfortable in that he he knows the area I’m coming from and what it’s like here.
“I made a visit to Bucknell in October and got to watch him run a practice. I was impressed. Coach Protzman is very thorough and he’s big on mechanics. I know I can improve in that area.”
Protzman is a former throwing coach at Moniteau and produced 25 state qualifiers there. He was an assistant coach at Westminster College and guided a few conference champions there. He also coached fellow Moniteau graduate Dalton Anderson, who attained All-American honors at Westminster.
“I know there’s some talented throwers in the District 9 area, they’re just raw,” Protzman said. “Most don’t get a chance to be on a runway. They practice on grass. That can make a difference.
“Evelyn is a competitive kid with a world of potential. Good throwers like her can help put a program like ours on the map. I lover her desire. I know she’ll never stop working at it.”
Protzman joined the Bucknell staff in August of 2021.
“Coach Protzman will be good for her,” Union/A-C Valley throwing coach Lexis Twentier said. “Evie is all about getting better and better now and he will bring her along.
“Once I started coaching her, we brought her into the five-step throw, showed her different release points, and she saw immediate improvement. That’s when she began getting into the technical aspect of throwing the javelin.
“When you’re competing in a sport, you have to have fun. If you’re miserable doing it, you’re not going to last. Evie loves this event and she’s got lofty goals now,” Twentier added.
One such goal is the Union javelin record, which stands at 142 feet, 7 inches, and was set by Tiffany Corle in 2007.
“She should snap that early next season,” Twentier said. “Evie should also be one of the top javelin throwers at Bucknell as a freshman.”
The women’s javelin record at Bucknell had been 158-7, set in 2011, before Mara Fiomoncini came along in 2021 and shattered that mark with a throw of 185-4.
“I still want to break the record there and with Coach Protzman’s help, I think I can do it,” Bliss said. “I want to make the NCAA meets, too, see what I can do there.”
“Doing all the sports she’s done, her athleticism is legit,” Protzman said. “She went through ups and downs last year, yet still punched her ticket to the state meet. She doesn’t quit.”
Bliss is also on the golf team at Union and competed in swimming for the YMCA team in Kittanning.
At one point, her goal was to pursue a swimming career in college.
“In the course of a year or so, that all changed,” Bliss said. “Now I want to see how far the javelin can take me.”
Not to mention how far she can throw the javelin.
