Madelyn Bishop '23 Recruiting Profile

I grew up playing many sports: basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball. While I always enjoyed competing, I wasn’t truly intrigued until I saw my sisters start throwing shot and disc. I had never seen a sport where women could show off their strength and technique in such a precise way. From this point on, I began to try and get my sisters to bring me to their practices, help the coach during the track meets, and even ask if I could try to throw the implements when everyone had finished. I am the youngest in a family of six. My sisters both participated in throws in high school and continued their careers in college at division 3 and division 1 levels. I have seen the dedication and hard work they have put into their throwing careers and I am ready for that commitment. With four children, my mother is always running around and staying busy. She has taught me that no matter what chaos is happening in your life, make time for the important things. My faith and family are the most important things in my life. No matter where we are or who we are with, my parents always find a church to attend on Sundays. My faith has taught me the importance of dedication, time management, and staying true to myself.

Unfortunately, my freshman year was cut short after the second week of the season due to COVID-19. I competed in one indoor meet. While COVID-19 shortened my first year, I was lucky to have my sister home to train with during quarantine and do her D1 lifts and workouts, which we continued this past summer. I had the privilege of returning for a complete season of outdoor track during my sophomore year. Throwing has taught me the importance of individualism within one team. My teammates were a built-in competition for each other. We pushed each other to do better and were extremely happy with each other's successes. Every time I step into the ring, nothing else matters. My success is determined by how much fight I give. Being a student-athlete can make prioritizing academics challenging, but academics are highly important to me. I want to go to a school that challenges me both academically and athletically. Having only one full season has limited my time to perfect my technique, but I feel my work ethic, character, and leadership give me the tools I need to increase my shot pr of 36 ft 5.74in and disc pr of 98ft 11in and succeed in the following years to come.