Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League

A standout at Hempfield Area High School, Maddie Holmberg Nickal established herself as one of the most accomplished track and field athletes in WPIAL history. She won four PIAA state championships and captured nine WPIAL titles, while also setting all-time WPIAL records in the long jump and 4×100-meter relay. A four-year letterwinner, Holmberg Nickal claimed 12 Westmoreland County championships, earned Westmoreland County MVP honors three times, and achieved New Balance Nationals All-America status. Her high school career was capped by being named the 2014 PIAA Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, Tribune-Review Athlete of the Year, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Athlete of the Year. She continued her career at Penn State University, where she became a three-time First Team All-American and one of the most decorated multi-event athletes in program history. Holmberg Nickal captured Big Ten championships in both the heptathlon and pentathlon, winning the pentathlon title in 2020 and the heptathlon title in 2021, and set the Penn State heptathlon school record with 5,976 points. She also earned NCAA Outdoor Championships All-America honors with a sixth-place finish in the heptathlon and ranks among Penn State’s all-time leaders in multiple events, including the long jump and pentathlon.