Connellsville High School Sophomore Chasing Olympic Dreams

CONNELLSVILLE (93-7 The Fan) -- Javelin isn't typically considered one of the marquee events at a track meet.

In fact, it's commonly off to the side in a field that's not even visible from the track. As a result, it doesn't often draw a huge crowd. But when 15-year-old Madison Wiltrout is around, it becomes the main event at local high school track meets.

The sophomore from Connellsville never even picked up a javelin until her freshman year of high school but according to her coach, Michael Coleman, it didn't take her long to figure it out and become a record-breaking track star.

"Right off the bat she picked up on what I said right away," Coleman said. "It's phenomenal how fast she learns."

In her first season she earned WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA titles in the girls javelin and she hasn't slowed down a bit during her sophomore season. She earned another WPIAL title on Thursday at Baldwin with a throw of 181 feet, beating the second place finisher by more than 40 feet. Her throw also crushed the previous meet record by nearly 20 feet. But that's not all, Wiltrout made history at the WPIAL Qualifier earlier this month when she tossed a javelin 185 feet, 8 inches which broke the previous national high school girls javelin record by more than four feet.

"It was something I didn't really expect but it's something I'm going to keep moving on from and going to keep getting better," Wiltrout said. "I was definitely really excited that day and couldn't sleep at night, it was so crazy."

Her record-breaking toss also surpassed the 2012 Olympic Trials Qualifying A-Standard.

"I'm definitely next year going to the Olympic Trials and I'm going to try to do good there," Wiltrout said. "But I'm young so I got a while, but 2020 maybe, I'm coming."

Wiltrout grew up playing baseball with boys in the Bull Skin Little League and she credits her pitching experience for building her exceptional arm strength.

"It made my arm definitely stronger and I can last longer with throws and it keeps me staying consistent so it helped a lot," Wiltrout said.

She also says that her Little League days contributed to building mental toughness, which helps her stay focused in front of the big crowds.

"She makes it seem like this crowd isn't for me, it's for someone else," Coleman said. "She doesn't think about stuff like that."

Her 2015 WPIAL title earned her another trip to the PIAA Championship at Shippingsburg University and a chance to defend her title.

"I definitely want to try to win States again and set the record there and then go to Nationals," Wiltrout said.

Wiltrout has been consistent this season throwing more than 160 feet on a regular basis so she shouldn't have too much trouble breaking the PIAA record of 158 feet, set in 2004 by Ruby Radocaj of Williamsport.

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