Mustangs gain a Spartan
Strathmore’s Madison Bower signs NLI for Cal Poly
Strathmore High School’s Madison Bower cleared one last hurdle Thursday afternoon when she signed her National Letter of Intent and accepted a full-ride scholarship to compete on the track and field team at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Strathmore High School’s Madison Bower cleared one last hurdle Thursday afternoon when she signed her National Letter of Intent and accepted a full-ride scholarship to compete on the track and field team at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
As a Mustang, Bower will continue to compete in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles where she has found success over the years. Last season in the 300, Bower placed 12th at the CIF State Championships after going undefeated all season and winning the CIF Central Section Masters Championship with a personal record of 44.27. She was also named The Recorder’s 2016-17 Orange Belt Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
“It feels gratifying, right, that all your work paid off,” Bower said about having her next step secured. “I think that’s probably the best part — knowing that I’m going somewhere. I have a purpose, I’m going to be running track. I’m going to be in the gym, I’m going, to be eating right, I’m going to have a routine. I guess I don’t want to say lost in the shuffle, but I’ll have a purpose when I get there besides school.”
Cal Poly is a NCAA Division I university that competes in the Big West Conference. It was an easy pick for Bower after she was treated kindly by the Mustangs’ associate head coach Chris Baptista and others.
Strathmore’s head track and field coach Jeromy Blackwell said that it was Bower’s charisma in an interview after winning Valley in the 300 that sold Baptista on Bower, along with also being from a small school. Blackwell said Baptista is from Caruthers.
“They were one of the first schools to actually talk to me,” Bower said. “I love the coach, that’s probably one of the first things. He called my coach, he was so kind, and he was really, really nice. He was very open. He was like, ‘If you don’t want to do this, that’s OK, but I think you would be a really good fit.’ He was very persistent with me. He was always checking up on me, making sure I was doing OK. He was checking about my times, like how my times were.”
As a three-sport athlete playing water polo and swimming for the Spartans as well, Bower’s competitiveness has continued to be one of her most distinguishable attributes.
“She brings a whole nother level of competitiveness,” Blackwell said. “She’s firing on all cylinders all of the time and she brings a smile, she’s got a swagger about herself. She carries the confidence, she walks into the track meet and you know she’s going to compete. And she’s going to compete at a high level all the time.”
Strathmore’s hurdles coach, Scott Bowser, said that Bower has been a pleasure to work with this season and believes that once she settles into Cal Poly she’ll do well for the Mustangs.
“Obviously, it makes you feel good that someone gets a reward for their accomplishments and I just feel good for her,” Bowser said. “I don’t take much credit for it, she just happens to be a really good athlete and she’s performed well, and she’s worked hard. So, it’s kind of nice to see her get rewarded for that.”
A student at Harmony Magnet Academy, Bower has a 3.9 GPA and plans to go into the medical field like her father. She’ll major in kinesiology and possibly become either a physical therapist or pediatrician.
“I love the human body, I think that’s amazing,” Bower said. “And I think the best way to serve someone is to help them get better.”