Time at Penn State helps track and field standout Holmberg prepare for future

Maddie Holmberg was staring at a premature end to her decorated track and field career at Penn State.

The Hempfield grad was in her final semester of athletic eligibility when the spread of covid-19 wiped out spring sports season. She was coming off an indoor season in which she won the Big Ten title in the pentathlon — her score of 4,274 ranked third in the nation — and earned her second Mid-Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year award.

That wouldn’t have been the worst way to end her days as a Nittany Lion, but Holmberg might have one more shot.

On Monday, the NCAA voted to grant 2020 spring sports athletes another year of eligibility to compensate for the one they are losing now. That was good news for Holmberg, but she still would have to petition the NCAA as she, because of previous redshirts, essentially would be looking for a sixth year of eligibility.

For now, she is left with the one thing she shares with so many athletes: uncertainty.

“I think we’re allowed to be mad and frustrated about it,” Holmberg said. “But at the end of the day, it’s something that’s out of our control.

“You come to college expecting everything to go smoothly. … There were a lot of curveballs in my career: injuries and this situation.”

Holmberg was able to navigate the down times to compile an impressive resume. In addition to her 2020 indoor accomplishments, she was a first-team indoor All-American in 2018 and second-team indoor All-American in ‘19. She holds the program record in the outdoor heptathlon, scoring 5,976 points to finish third in the 2018 NCAA championships and earn first-team All-American.

While she waits to see what the future holds, Holmberg will draw encouragement from two important men in her life.

On New Year’s Day, she became engaged to former Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal. He can empathize with her situation as an elite athlete — he was a three-time national champion — and as one who had his plans derailed by covid-19. Nickal was looking ahead to the Olympic Trials.

“It’s been awesome to have someone who knows how to relate to my journey,” she said. “He’s been amazing in so many ways. … He is really good at keeping me in perspective and reminding me there are bigger things.”

She also looks to her event coach, Fritz Spence. Spence, she said, recently underwent a second bone marrow transplant as he battles leukemia. Holmberg keeps in frequent contact with Spence and said he remains in good spirits.

“He is just incredible,” she said. “He’s so inspiring. It’s unreal.”

If she doesn’t get a final year of eligibility, she will use the motivation from her coach and fiance to push toward bigger goals, such as qualifying for a future Olympic Trials. She also intends to pursue her master’s degree.

Training, a degree, a relationship, the health of a beloved coach. It’s a lot for Holmberg to think about over the next couple of years. But beyond anything she accomplished on a track, beyond lines in a record book, the most important thing she will take away from her time at Penn State is learning to overcome fear.

With that mindset, she is prepared to face whatever the future holds.

“You cannot accomplish your goals in fear,” she said. “At the end of the day, if you go out and give your best, that’s all we’re called to do.

“I had a few meets that didn’t go my way, but I woke up the next morning and was loved and cherished and valued by everyone who mattered. And when I won a meet, I woke up the next day and was still loved and cherished and valued by everyone who mattered.

“I don’t want to say I was held back because I was fearful of failure.”