Orange Belt Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year
Strathmore junior first to compete at state meet
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If you line up next to Strathmore High School’s Madison Bower, there’s a good chance that soon after the starter gun pops, you’ll be watching her pass you by.
The junior, and 2016-17 Orange Belt Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year, had a record season on the track. She went undefeated in two events and became the first Spartans to ever take first at Valley and compete in the state championship.
Before placing 12th at the CIF State Track and Field Championship in the 300-meter hurdles, Bower was unbeatable in the hurdles. At 14 different meets, including four invitationals and three championships, Bower always came first.
“She has something inside of herself that she refuses to lose,” said Strathmore head coach Jeromy Blackwell. “She is the ultimate competitor.”
Her final first-place finish came in the CIF Central Section Masters Championship where she ran a personal record of 44.27 seconds.
Fresh off her Masters’ win, Bower took on her toughest competition at the state championship.
“She definitely was not intimidated,” said Blackwell. “She was very nervous, you could see her fidgeting a little bit but that’s her. If she’s not nervous then that means she’s probably not taking it as seriously as she should.”
Bower said that the only pressure she was feeling at state was self-pressure. She had friends and family, as well as strangers that believed in her, but she just wanted to do well for her coach.
Although she clipped a few hurdles in the race, it was still her second-fastest finish of the year with a time of 44.72. “I was disappointed that I didn’t PR or get faster, because if I would have PR’D I would’ve been top nine and then I could’ve ran in day two,” said Bower. She came up 12th overall in the state of California. “This is a highly competitive state in all athletics,” said Blackwell. “I don’t think that’s anything to snivel about.” What makes Bower’s feat even more remarkable is that unlike her competitors, she did not have the use of an all-weather track to practice on. She practiced on the decomposed granite track at Strathmore where any misstep could result in some nasty, bloody gashes. “You slip really easily; the gravel is mean,” Bower said. “Especially if you fall. If you fall, you just tear yourself up and then you’re bleeding. It’s not pretty, my knees have been scarred many times.”
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