Pope John runner Madison Tierney making an impact and gaining recognition
SPARTA, N.J. — Rising sophomore Madison Tierney hasn鈥檛 been at Pope John XXIII Regional High School very long, but she has already made her mark as one of the top young athletes for the Lions. Playing soccer and running track for the school, Tierney is building her stamina and making new friends as well as continuing a tradition of success in the athletics of Pope John.
Tierney began running this year for the Pope John winter track girls team and quickly excelled while truly enjoying the experience. At the January 21 Bill Reid Memorial event, she won the junior varsity 55 meter dash with a time of 7.96 seconds and placed second in the junior varsity 100 meters. She also ran varsity during the winter season in the 200 meters, 300 meters, 400 meters, pole vault and long jump.
鈥淢y initial reason for starting track was to become faster and stronger to prepare for soccer,鈥� said Tierney. 鈥淲ith the help of the environment of the team, I really enjoyed running and want to continue it in the future.鈥�
Tierney continued to run varsity on the Pope John spring track girls team in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, Swedish 100-200-300-400 meters, sprint medley relay 200-200-400-800 meters, 4X400 relay, 4X200 relay, 4X100 relay, javelin and pole vault. In June, 2022, she was honored with being named to the 2022 All-NJAC Track and Field American Girls Second Team鈥攓uite a feat for a freshman.
Tierney appreciated the fact that the older members of the team took the time to help her improve and cheer her up anytime she felt discouraged. Then-junior Krista Dengler was Tierney鈥檚 soccer teammate in the fall and witnessed how hard Tierney works at something she puts her mind to.
鈥淪he has so much potential to be a great leader in the future,鈥� said Dengler.
Tierney recognized that Pope John then-seniors Gabriella Pagano and Anna Domasky cared for and worked with everyone on the team to help them improve.
鈥淓llie (Pagano) and Anna (Domasky) are awesome,鈥� said Tierney. 鈥淭hey were very welcoming and they motivated the team a lot.鈥�
Pagano was pleased to see Tierney enjoy the experience and have success in a sport that she herself loves.
鈥淪he has great drive and really wants to run,鈥� said Pagano. 鈥淪he鈥檚 already really fast, and I feel like she can progress to be as fast as Krista (Dengler). I think that it鈥檚 great that the younger runners can look up to me and Anna (Domasky) because you try to set an example, you try to do the right things, and when they recognize it, it means a lot.鈥�
Tierney plans to continue running in her future years at Pope John, and running track in college is also now a possibility as she wants to be open to everything and explore new opportunities as they arise.
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