Vista del Lago High School senior Madeline Hess has spent more than five years developing into one of the nation’s top young throwers, and this summer that dedication paid off with another podium finish on the national stage.
Hess earned All-American honors for the fourth time in her career after placing second in the women’s 17-18 hammer throw at the 2026 USA Track & Field Junior Olympics held last week at Cerritos College in Norwalk. Earlier this summer, she also competed against many of the nation’s top high school athletes at Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, finishing 10th in the Championship division of the hammer throw.
While the national runner-up finish marked one of the biggest accomplishments of her career, Hess said it also represented a goal she had set before the competition began.
“I mean, I came in, and that was, like, one of my goals was to try and get second place. So it was like, yes. I completed my goal,” Hess said. “But I kinda felt just a tiny bit bad because I did, like, beat one of my teammates for it.”
Despite competing in an individual event, Hess said the athletes continue to support one another throughout the competition.
“We are still, like, cheering for each other and hoping everyone does their best. And if someone needs help, then we will help them, like, and encourage them,” she said.
Hess said she was especially proud of her performance because she had to rally after her opening attempt.
“Overall, I was pretty happy. I was pretty proud of myself because I had to, like, come back a lot from my first throw,” she said.
The Junior Olympics annually brings together the nation’s top youth athletes ages 7 through 18 to compete for national championships. Each competitor must first qualify by finishing among the top five in their regional qualifying meet. Hess secured her spot by winning the Region 14 Qualifier in Rancho Cordova in June before advancing to the national championships in Southern California.
Just weeks earlier, Hess competed at Nike Outdoor Nationals, one of the country’s premier high school track and field championship meets held annually at the iconic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Competing in the Championship division against elite athletes from across the United States, she finished 10th in the nation.
Today, Hess competes in shot put and discus for Vista del Lago High School while also competing in shot put, discus, hammer throw and weight throw with Golden State Throwers, a Herald-based club program. Her journey into throwing, however, began almost by accident.
“So, basically, back in sixth grade, track and field was the only sport that, like, the school offered that year. So I did that. I tried a couple different events. I tried hurdles, high jump, the 100. None of those really stuck with me, but I tried shot put, and I really like that,” Hess said.
The following year, she joined Golden State Throwers, where she was introduced to additional throwing events.
“So the next year, I joined my club team, and that’s where I learned about hammer and the weight throw and where I also started learning discus before high school. And so it’s just kinda stuck,” she said before adding with a smile, “Oh, I I love hammer throw.”
Working alongside her coaches and teammates, Hess has steadily developed into one of California’s top hammer throwers, recording a personal-best throw of 165 feet, 3 inches. She credits those around her for helping shape her into the athlete she has become.
“Honestly, all of my coaches I’ve ever had, they have definitely helped me in many different ways,” Hess said. “Coach Curry, he’s my club coach. He’s been with me for basically this entire process, and he’s just been, like, really helpful. He helps a lot with, like, technique, but he’s also, like, someone you can rely on as a coach.”
She also credits the teammates who have trained alongside her through the years.
“Honestly, all of my teammates have definitely been helping factors, and some of my older teammates that have now since graduated have definitely been big role models and still continue to be role models for me,” she said.
Hess has also made her mark in the Vista del Lago record books. During the 2026 high school season, she broke the school’s girls discus record with a throw of 123 feet, 5 inches, surpassing a mark that had stood since 2011.
Last season, she also established a new Vista del Lago junior girls shot put record with a throw of 34 feet, 7½ inches, leaving her just 11 inches shy of the overall school record of 35 feet, 6 inches.
As she prepares for her senior season, Hess has no plans of slowing down.
“My goal would definitely be to extend my lead on the discus record, and I hope to improve my shot put record,” she said. “It hasn’t exactly been going that well for me recently with shot put. But once I get back to practicing it, like, constantly, I hope to at least break the record, if not break it by, like, a couple feet.”
In addition to her competitive success, Hess will serve for a second consecutive year as captain of Golden State Throwers, a role she values as much as her own accomplishments.
“Yeah. It’s always fun to see any teammates, even if they’re my same age, just watching them improve and helping any way I can,” she said. “It really does bring some happiness because it’s just like, yes. You’re doing amazing. I believe in you.”
She said the close-knit atmosphere within the club has made it feel more like an extended family.
“It just really helps that we have a really close team as a club. It just really feels like a family. They feel like my younger siblings. I’m just so happy when they start improving,” she said.
Preparing for national-level competition requires year-round dedication. Hess said her training includes strength work, throwing sessions and technique drills.
“Oh, yeah. We do a lot of weightlifting,” she said. “We do sometimes have sprint routines, but because we’re all pretty far out, we do it on our own. We, like, weightlift and train on our own, but we do come to our throwing facility and, like, practice together. So that’s where we typically do, like, actual throws for hammer at least. But, like, if you wanna work on technique at home, you can do drills.”
Looking ahead, Hess hopes to continue competing at the collegiate level while pursuing a degree in forensic chemistry or environmental science.
“I’ve been talking to a lot of colleges recently, you know, just trying to get, like, a gauge of what I really want out of a college program,” she said. “I obviously have my top schools currently, but I’m still looking and weighing my options. They’re not set in stone.”
She said her academic interests combine her passion for science with a desire to help others.
“I wanna help people, and mysteries and crime solving have always been interesting to me. But I’ve also, like, have loved science a lot,” Hess said. “When I learned about, like, being a forensic scientist, I was like, I wanna do that. I like that. But I also like being outside, which is why I’m also open to environmental science as a major.”
Representing Vista del Lago and the Folsom community on the national stage is something Hess said she takes seriously.
“It is pretty cool. Yeah. There’s a little bit pressure just because, like, I’m, like, the only one in our area that really does hammer throw,” she said. “There’s always some sort of pressure when it comes to representing.”
As she enters her senior year, Hess hopes younger athletes remember that success comes from enjoying the journey as much as chasing the results.
“I would say you need to love the sport, but you don’t need to have it control your entire life,” Hess said. “Because, obviously, you have to work at it. You have to try. You have to love it to want to do better. But if you love it too much and, like, let it control you, then it can have some really bad effects on your mental health, especially when you start comparing yourselves to other people in your sport.”
Her advice is simple as she reminds all to focus on the experience more than the prize on their journey.
“Really, I would just tell them to have fun and just love it for the fun of the game. Don’t try to go just for the medal. Go for the experience. Go for your teammates and to have fun.”
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