A Four-tunate Outcome From a Misstep
Kis closes senior year in rare company
Mike Brohard
A tune-up meet almost had the opposite effect.
Tuned out. Not just for the upcoming Mountain West Indoor Championships, but the season as a whole. Not just any season, but the final one for Mariano Kis.
An initial nightmare scenario would eventually end with a dream sequence for the senior from Buenos Aires, Argentina, as he became just the third person in Mountain West history to win an event four consecutive years at the outdoor conference championships.
Taking in the journey in its entirety, for Kis, his final season has good reason to stand as his most memorable as a Ram.
“Definitely as a year just because, during indoor, at Don Kirby where I slipped and hurt my knee, I thought it was over,” he said. “To be able to turn it around in two weeks and throw a personal record, then at outdoor, where an elbow thing came up and I could only throw two times before conference and be able to pull it out was amazing.”
What created the immediate mental turmoil was a misstep at the Don Kirby Invitational, two weeks out from the indoor conference meet. He slipped during a throw, partially tearing the patella tendon in his right knee.
It was on the following Tuesday he had an appointment with doctors, who were encouraged the swelling in the knee had gone down considerably. Surgery was definitely going to be necessary, but the when was still in question.
The diagnosis they gave Kis and CSU track coach Brian Bedard – also the throws coach – was he could continue with minimal chance of doing any further damage.
“It was really scary. I already have a job lined up,” Kis said. “I’m glad I didn’t have to make the decision between going to work or finishing off at CSU. It was not a fun experience to go through.”
At that point, both figured the Mountain West Indoor Championships were out of the equation, a meet where Kis had two years prior won the shot put title.
“It was slowly trying to get him to a point where he felt confident enough he could go full go in competition. Two weeks out from the indoor championships, we didn’t think he was going to go,” Bedard said. “He slowly got better and better as we got closer to conference, and it was still a concern going in how he would hold up. We were working on his confidence and told him, if you’re going to do this, let’s do it. His commitment to compete well and not be super conservative when he goes in.”
At the meet in Albuquerque, N.M., Kis’ second throw of 17.93 meters earned him a place in the finals. His first two throws didn’t improve his placing, but his final attempt of 19.12 (62-8.75 feet) was the only one to surpass 19 meters in the competition, earning him his second title in the event with a personal-best mark which ranks third in Colorado State history. His title contributed to Colorado State’s sweep of the team championships.
I tried to find a way to take off as much pressure from me, but going for my sixth conference title, there was a built-in pressure I couldn’t get rid of.Mariano Kis
With the injury still fresh, Kis would find particular movements in his house problematic, meaning a jolt of pain. As time progressed with his rehabilitation, those disappeared. Watching him move on the street, no one would think he was dealing with a major injury.
“He had to manage training load and volumes. (Strength coach Adam) Parsons did a good job of changing workouts or changing lifts to accommodate him,” Bedard said. “He was living in the training room; our medical staff did a great job managing that. He had to make small or large changes in a lot of areas to be successful.
“He’s gotten tougher. He’s become more mature. There were times in the past when he had aches and stuff and I thought he could have gone harder. He’s always been a servant leader to the team and supportive of teammates, but I thought this was a testament to that mentality. I think he was at his best this year.”
The main adjustment he had to make was mental. Whether he was throwing the shot put or the discus, there comes a point where he has to plant on the leg to create the power necessary, a point he knew would be met with a jolt of instant agony, a reminder he wasn’t altogether healthy.
Knowing it was going to come was the first step. Accepting it as part of the process required time.
“It’s hard to explain, but when you take the first big swing with your right leg and step down and start pushing, that’s when it starts hurting. That’s where you generate all the power, so I had to block it out of my head and pretend it wasn’t there,” he said. “I knew the pain was going to be there. I focused on feeling the pain and pressing through it. I knew if I was feeling the pain and pressing through it, I knew the throw was going to work out.”
In the history of the Mountain West, only two other men had won four consecutive titles in an outdoor event. The first was Niklas Arrhenius of BYU, who won the discus from 2004-07. A year later, Jordan Pitts of TCU began his streak in the 110-meter hurdles, a run which ended in 2011.
In 2020, Kis arrived and surprised the field in the shot put. He wasn’t the highest seed, definitely not a favorite. But there he was, on the top of the podium, and the chatter started.
“I didn’t think about it at all. The field opened up this year as a freshman, so I said it’s not going to be easy,” he said. “I said that year after year, and things ended up as they did.”
Being able to throw took one concern off his plate. No matter how the season turned out, he knew which direction his life was going in and he wasn’t forced to make a hard decision to return or move forward.
In July, Kis, who double majored in accounting and finance, will begin a job with J.P. Morgan in Chicago. Two prior internships with the company led to his position in wealth management, the first step of many he plans to pursue.
He knows the first year will be training and earning certifications, keeping an eye on earning one as a Chartered Financial Analyst, the end goal being to work with large-end Latin American clients.
Life after college is set, so finishing out his throwing career could claim center stage. Not that he was exempt from any more drama, because his first throw at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships provided one more hurdle to clear.
On his first attempt, he scratched, but it was more why he did. He landed on the toe board, and Bedard thought – hoped – he twisted an ankle. Nope, it was the knee.
“It kind of hit me, it hurts,” Kis said. “I kinda know what happened, but it’s not going to change my game plan moving forward.”
His next throw earned him a finals spot, and it was there where his first toss landed him the rare fourth consecutive championship in the event. He did it with a personal-best of 18.55 meters, also good for third in program history.
He didn’t expect the first title. He wasn’t counting on the fourth either, but he had prepared himself for any outcome.
“It was really awesome, because I went into conference saying … it sounds bad, but I said I don’t really care how this ends up,” he said. “I did what I did and gave all I could to my team, and this is how it’s going to end. I knew I had to do what I had to do, but I wasn’t going to negatively impact my mental health if it didn’t go that way. I tried to find a way to take off as much pressure from me, but going for my sixth conference title, there was a built-in pressure I couldn’t get rid of.”
The next day, he couldn’t shake the knee soreness, so Bedard pulled him from the discus competition, knowing the men were out of the running for the conference title and Kis would qualify for the NCAA West Qualifier in both the shot and discus. He is one of 24 Rams who will compete in Fayetteville, Ark., May 22-24, with the top 12 in each event moving on to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 5-8.
One of those meets will be his last. Either destination is a far cry better than the Don Kirby alternative he feared back in February. There is a career to look forward to, even a trip back home, where he hasn’t visited for seven years.
The exit point doesn’t so much matter as the fact the big picture feels accomplished. Four consecutive titles and just one of three to do so. The final two conference crowns the result of personal bests and coming up clutch while injured.
None of it seemed destined in that one instant. Kis is certainly glad it was.