MHS high jumper breaks own record at Div. 3 State Finals
By JENNIFER GENTILE
BOSTON—Melrose High School high jumper Sam Madden is proving to be one of the best ever at Melrose High and success has been bountiful for the senior indoor track star. On Saturday, Madden earned his second straight state championship title in the high jump at the Div. 3 State Finals at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.
On Saturday, Madden broke his own record and added an astounding three inches to his high jump reach that beat out closest opponents from Minnechaug and Milton. His 6’7 state championship jump earned him his second gold medal in two seasons and advances him to All States (“Meet of Champions”) this weekend at Reggie Lewis Center. Madden will most certainly be considered one of the favorites going in. He now ties MHS’s Dwayne Texteira (2005) best ever jump height of 6’7 at MHS.
After the meet, Madden soaked it all in. “Its really a feeling you can’t beat,” he says. “Given that I won it last year, that was the only thing on my mind going into this meet. It was such a great accomplishment to do it one more time as I wrap up my senior indoor season.”
Madden will continue his talented track and field career in college as he recently committed to compete in track and field for Div. 1 Sacred Heart in Connecticut.
Entering last weekend’s state finals there was a nagging feeling for Madden. “All season long I have been capped out at 6’4 and I was getting frustrated because I knew I had more in me and still do,” he says. “I took that as a sign to just go that extra step, so two weeks prior to this meet I began upping the intensity of my workouts and practices. I went up in 1inch increments. Clearing 6’5 all the way to 6’7 was not something I was not expecting. But mentally seeing yourself clear the next height prior to the jump can do a long way.”
His proud Melrose High coach Tim Morris saluted him.
“After playing the football in the fall and healing up from injuries, Sam put in a winter season to remember. He did the work, day in and day out. He kept his eyes on the prize, stayed focused on his goal of being the best, all while helping the younger High Jumpers on the team. Sam had a sub-par performance at the Middlesex League Meet, but came back to become a State Champion.”
When asked how he will prepare for the “Meet of Champions,” he spoke of strategy. “This week will be mostly rest. By mid week I will jump and the rest of the prep is mental. Given that I jumped 6’7 late in the meet with minimal energy left in my legs, I think 6’8 will be in the near future.”