We are so excited to be starting a series where we highlight some of our athletes who are coming up through the ranks and may not yet have garnered some of the attention of our highest performing athletes. We hope you enjoy getting to “meet” these amazing young people!
The first in this series is Maddy Childs. Maddy is a junior middle distance runner for Grandview Christian. Even though she is a junior, this is her first year getting to have a track and field season. She lost her freshman season due to Covid and then lost last season due to a surgery that took her out all spring. We met Maddy this past January and it was obvious from her testing that she had the ability to become an elite runner here in Iowa. She had a VO2Max (aerobic power) of 57 and a VLaMax (anaerobic power) of .44. After four months of dedicated off-season training and then a great training program at her school (seriously, their coach is a boss from what I see in her workouts) she has improved her VO2Max to 65 and her VLaMax has gone up to .5! Her growth and development has not just been contained to the lab. So far this season she has hit the following marks and accomplishments (remember, she is in year one):
800 – 2:15 – #1 in Class 1A, 1500 – 4:52 – #3 in Class 1A, 3000 – 10:19 – #2 in Class 1A ——- She also competed at the prestigious Drake Relays in both the 800 and 3000 meter runs!
If you have ever met Maddy you would hardly guess the ferocious competitor that is inside of her. She is so joyful and unassuming. She is the first to honor the accomplishments of others and is always looking for ways to continue to improve and be her very best. Being in a small, private, christian school, Maddy often does not get the same press as some other more recognized athletes from larger schools. But as she continues to develop it is obvious that her talent and hard work will be bringing her some big time wins in the very near future.
Keep it up Maddy, and we cannot wait to see all that you continue to accomplish!
Comparison of data in January vs February