Track Championship Legacy Runs Deep at Madill, School Set to Host Regional Saturday

Posted Date: 04/28/2021

Madill High School has a strong legacy of running through its’ championship history. Madill has 16 total team state titles, 13 of those championships have involved the sport of running. Four state trophies have been captured by track. The most recent of those was acquired in 1988 by the girls track team. The girls track squad also won a championship in 1983 and 1986. The boys took home the championship crown in 1964.

Madill is again hosting the Class 4A regional meet on Saturday with an opportunity to advance several Wildcats to the OSSAA state meet in Catoosa May 8.

In 1967, the quarterback club spent $4000 to renovate the track to make it one of the best in the state. Madill Schools just re-surfaced the track and expanded it to eight lanes as part of the turf installation on Alumni Field at Blake Smiley Stadium. It continues to be a gem shining throughout the state.

Madill’s track team is preparing to compete for a chance to make state this week.

“We are gearing up to give ourselves the best chance to run our best times or have our best throws/jumps. We look to qualify for state and compete at our highest level,” Madill track head coach Cale Eidson said Wednesday.

Eidson also serves as head coach of the cross country teams and was named Oklahoma Track Coaches Association girls coach of the year in January of 2020. He helped guide the girls team to a runners-up finish in Class 4A at state in the fall of 2019. The boys team was also third in state that season. Eidson was chosen for the Great American Conference All-Decade team for cross country. He was an athlete at East Central University in Ada.

In all that history, people continue to remain the reason for all the championship success. Names like Cline Johnson. Johnson was part of that 1964 team. He later became an All-American at OU in track. People like Belinda Davis, Kristi Walkup, Rhonda Sanders, Beth Jacks and Jodie Holdeman were on that 1988 team. Walkup won the state 800-meter run in ‘88 and set the state record in the event at the time. She went on to Baylor on a track scholarship.The late Charlotte Colby was a part of the 1983 state title team. She was studying to be a teacher and coach. The Madill Alumni Association has established  a scholarship in her name. 

This year’s meet is expected to be streaming on Madill Livestream click here to watch on Saturday (May 1).