For West Union senior Madigan Marshall, being fleet of foot in two sports has paid off as she will now take her talents as a cross-country and track star to the next level. On March 2, in a ceremony with family, friends and school officials, held at West Union High School, Marshall inked her letter of intent to become a part of the cross-country and track programs at Ohio Christian University.
A trip to the regional tournament last fall for the Lady Dragons proved to be a profitable one for Marshall as that is where she made her first contact with the Trailblazers.
“It was the day of our regional cross-country meet and Coach Hamner came up and talked to me and asked me if I was interested in running for them,” said Marshall. “I told them yes that I was interested so then I went on a campus visit and we talked about the scholarship opportunities and I was blessed enough to receive a very large scholarship so I decided that Ohio Christian was where I was going.”
In her career at West Union, she was coached in track by the combo of Jason Little and Buddy Niece and Little talked to The Defender about how the school is proud of Marshall and her accomplishments.
“We are extremely proud of Madigan and all she has been able to accomplish here at West Union,” said Little. “We are proud to be sending her on to Ohio Christian to continue her career. They are getting one of the hardest-working kids we have had in our program for awhile and I really think she will have a good career there. A lot of the credit for her success has to go to Coach Niece, who really has worked with her and helped make her what she is today on the track.”
Ohio Christian’s head coach in cross-county and track is Eric Hamner and he is happy to have Marshall as part of his program for next fall and beyond.
“We were at the regional cross-country meet in Pickerington and we talked to her and I was already interested in her cross-country time,” said Coach Hamner. “I went home and looked her up on milesplit and realized how fast her sprint times were and that changed the game quite a bit from a prospect that we were interested in to a prospect that we had to have. I told her that we would do whatever it took to get her to Ohio Christian and I hope her scholarship shows her that we are doing everything we can.”
“She will make an immediate impact on our varsity cross-country team and as soon as winter hits, she will be training with the sprinters. We can’t wait to see what she is capable of.”
Ohio Christian, located in Circleville, Ohio, is an NAIA school and will be a member of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as well as the National Christian College Athletic Association.
Marshall, who is the current WUHS record holder in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and 4 x 400 relay, plans to study Education with a focus on History while at OCU.
