Hempfield grads have a unique bond
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
They became next-door neighbors as toddlers and Maddie Holmberg and Bridget Guy turned into best of friends. Holmberg will never forget those summer days when she and Guy would jump on the trampoline in the Holmbergs’ backyard until they couldn’t feel their legs. Guy still cherishes that old picture of the two tots, with finger paint all over their bellies.
“We were in diapers together,” said Holmberg with a laugh.
Two decades later, they shed a few joyful tears together.
The bridge from toddler to adult stretched to the other side of the country for Holmberg and Guy last Saturday, when they embraced outside Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., the site of the NCAA Division I track and field championships. Call it a reunion of neighbors, but it really was an All-American moment — and also a historical one for Western Pennsylvania.
Holmberg and Guy came to the NCAA championships from different colleges — Guy from the University of Virginia and Holmberg from Penn State. Their paths intersected 2,600 miles from Hempfield High School in Greensburg, where they were Spartan teammates and ran on the same relay team that won a statechampionship.
At the NCAA meet, Holmberg finished third in the heptathlon, a seven-event test for the most marvelous athletes. Guy, meanwhile, finished fourth in the pole vault. Both gained All-American status, a tag given only to the top eightfinishers in each event.
The rarity of Holmberg and Guy’s achievements can’t be overstated in terms of Western Pa. lore. There is no Elias Sports Bureau to check on such matters. But you’ll have a hard time coming up with many WPIAL high schools that have had two athletes finish in the top four at the NCAA Division I championships in the same year. Hail, Hempfield!
And what would be the chances that two athletes finishing in the top four would be former neighbors? Stonehaven Drive in Greensburg was a haven for two athletes, andGuy and Holmberg met up shortly after Holmberg’s final
event (800 meters) at the NCAAmeet.
“It was so awesome. We both started getting emotional,” said Guy. “We both started running track so young and we have kind of been there for every milestone for each other. It hit me pretty hard in that moment when I saw her after the competition.”
Guy and Holmberg seem to have an everlasting bond. They went to dinner together in Oregon June 6, one day before Guy competed in the pole vault. Holmberg competed in the heptathlon June 8-9. The heptathlon consists of the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 and 800 meters, long jump and javelin. “It was really nice to just take our minds off track a little,” Holmberg said of the dinner. “It kind of felt like we werehome again.”
Guy and Holmberg were young when they moved into their houses next to each other in Greensburg. They were neighbors for about 10 yearsuntil Holmberg and her family moved to another part of Greensburg when Holmberg finished elementary school. Guy also moved after high school.
“We’ve said that we think what helped make us who we are as athletes is we never were inside as kids,” said Holmberg. “We were always outsidedoing something. “
Holmberg, whose father, Rob, played in the NFL, was into competitive cheerleading in her pre-high school days. Guy was into gymnastics and said she used to have a dream of being an Olympic gymnast. But by high school, they had found their niche in track and field.
Guy is a 2014 Hempfield graduate and Holmberg 2015. In 2014, Guy and Holmberg ran on the 1,600-meter relay team that won a PIAA title and Hempfield also won the PIAA 3A team championship for the second consecutive year. The relay team also had Holmberg’s younger sister, Gabby, and Jasmine Jones, who went on to a fine track careerat Eastern Michigan.
The 2014 season was memorable because Guy won a PIAA title in the pole vault. She also was a long jumper. Holmberg won PIAA titles in the long jump and 300 hurdles and was named the Post-Gazette co-Female Athlete of the Year with Shaler distance runner Brianna Schwartz. Holmberg is still the only female in WPIAL history to long jump 20 feet.
Guy and Holmberg hugged on the winner’s stand when they received their relay gold medals at ShippensburgUniversity in 2014. Little did they think they would be hugging at the NCAA championshipsfour years later.
“I wasn’t super concerned about college when I was in highschool,” said Holmberg.
Guy said, “My childhood me would’ve never thought about this.”
Both Guy and Holmberg were excited about their finishes at the NCAA championships, but not totally pleased because they had done better earlier this spring. Guy cleared 14 feet, 1 inch at NCAAs, but she made it over 14-7 this season (her best high school mark was 12-6). Holmberg did not reach any personal bests in any NCAA event.
But what made this season sweet for both Guy and Holmberg was what happened in 2017. Injuries ruined their seasons. Guy missed the entire 2017 outdoor season and received a medical redshirt because of a back injury. Holmberg qualified for the NCAA championships last year, but pulled a hamstring in the first event and couldn’tcompete.
“This year, I went in with the huge goal of trying to win thething,” said Guy. “I’m still super, super grateful of what Iwas able to do.”
Holmberg said, “I realized with seven events it’s hard to ask for a prefect day in all seven events. I was really proud of how I handled the meet mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I think I’ve matureda lot in those aspects.
“I think there is a stigma with high-profile athletes that they can never be satisfied and want more. I think it’s important to look back and realize we have come so far. Life is too short to be upset about a bronze medal. I was happy to be healthy and havemy family there.”
But there is one more college season left for Guy and Holmberg. Maybe the old neighbors can share a golden momentnext year.
“I know I can jump higher inthe future,” said Guy.
Holmberg said, “I think I havewhat it takes to win it.”