Bloomfield’s Jo’elle Urdanivia had one of the greatest individual outdoor track & field seasons this area has ever seen. But beyond all of the records and championships there’s something else that made this spring for Urdanivia even more incredible than it appears at first glance.
He did it all with a torn UCL in his right elbow.
The injury, most commonly associated in baseball and its surgery, better known as Tommy John Surgery, would have ended the season for most. But Urdanivia was able to compete through the injury and in the end, placed second in the Discus at the NJSIAA Outdoor Track Meet of Champions on Wednesday in Pennsauken.
Urdanivia’s best throw of 183-8 was a new personal best by 20 inches for the 6-foot-2, 230-pound junior and the second best recorded throw of any N.J. high schooler this season. With it Urdanivia became the first Bloomfield athlete to place top two in a MOC event since Stefanie Petine took second in the Javelin in 2003.
It was a performance that not only was historic, but one Urdanivia vows to use as motivation as seeks to heal up before the start of the indoor season in the winter.
“It definitely is going to motivate me for when I start up again during the fall,” said Urdanivia. “I’ve been dealing with a UCL tear all season and I’m not healthy right now. So just imagine when I actually become healthy and all my injuries are gone. Imagine how far I could really take it.”
While Urdanivia said the injury, which was initially a Grade 2 sprain in his elbow, occurred in the Bengals’ Sept. 5 loss at Nutley this past football season. While he was able to compete in the Shot Put during the Indoor season, the pain started to get worse in the spring prompting the revised diagnosis, one Urdanivia said was shocking to him.
“Honestly, it kept me motivated because I knew I had to keep going,” Urdanivia said about the injury. “I couldn’t give up now.”
Urdanivia continued with both the Discus and Shot Put, winning the Essex County Championships in both events. But after the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 Championships, the decision was made for him to focus solely on Discus.
“I just kept pushing myself even with all the injuries, especially with the shot put,” Urdanivia said. “I really wanted to throw shot put at groups, but knowing how much it could affect my elbow, I just gave it up and I really just wanted to focus on discus.
“I never felt pain when I was throwing the discus, only with the shot put.”
Urdanivia started his day on Wednesday with a bang, throwing a personal best of 182-6 on his first throw. The lead, proved short-lived when Montville’s Anthony Agnoli stunned everyone with a throw of 186-6 on his second throw, shattering his previous personal best by more than five feet.
Urdanivia would throw for another PR, a 183-8 on his third throw, but was unable to get closer to Agnoli’s mark.
“At first, it surprised me, but then I was like I need to beat him and it brought a little bit of pressure to me,” Urdanivia said. “But I still continued to try my best, but I didn’t get the result I wanted.
“Anthony was a great competitor to go against and I congratulate him on his win.”
Urdanivia is set to compete at Nationals before focusing on rehabbing his elbow. As impressive as this season has been, it comes with the knowledge that next spring should see him at 100-percent and the realization that a healthy Urdanivia could truly dominate.
“There’s much more that he has in the tank,” Bloomfield coach Terry Iavarone said. “I would not be surprised if he comes back next year and his throws are 10, 15, 20 feet better right out of the gate.
“He’s definitely looking forward to next year and his plan is to win it all.”
Urdanivia has even higher goals in mind.
Said Urdanivia, “Once everything’s fixed up and once I get stronger, I will break the national discus record.”
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Also at the Meet of Champions, Bloomfield’s quartet of Carlos Vega, Marcel Rosario, Jeremy Tejada and Johnny Cobb once again broke its own school record with a time of 42.28, which was good for 11th in the 4×100 Meter Relay.
Nutley junior Marcus Durham took 18th place in the Triple Jump with a leap of 43-6.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)