The story I linked to doesn't mention this fact, but Madison was the New Jersey state champion in the 800m in 2:08. She was also a member of the 4x8 team that won the HS Girls Championship of American at Penn Relays last spring.
The story I linked to doesn't mention this fact, but Madison was the New Jersey state champion in the 800m in 2:08. She was also a member of the 4x8 team that won the HS Girls Championship of American at Penn Relays last spring.
very sad. who knows what was going on, but I think its safe she was undoubtedly under a lot of pressure to excel academically/athletically and theres obviously quite a bit of stress that goes along with that
I'm from her high school conference and can't begin to tell you how idolized she was among runners here. Literally the last person you would expect to do this. I didn't ever have a conversation with her, but watched her lead many a race. I'm usually pretty cynical with the outpour of sympathy after a young death, but so many people who knew her in this area are genuinely heartbroken.
this upsets me greatly. my prayers are with her and her family.
This is truly tragic. Madison's friends and family will be in my thoughts.
May god bless her and accept her and give strength to her family.
This is a tragedy and we will allow discussion of it but this thread will be heavily moderated.
Here is an article from a local new jersey paper:
She was a two-time all-state soccer player who originally was going to play soccer at Lehigh.
Here is a Penn student newspaper article:
http://www.thedp.com/article/2014/01/events-postponed-after-college-freshmans-death
Philly.com:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140119_Penn_student_jumps_to_death.html#Q13gpT08h0YhWQv8.99
This story really hits home for me. Not only was she a runner from my home state, but she had known my sister at Penn. She committed suicide by jumping off a parking garage just a couple blocks from where I work in Philadelphia. She was beautiful, smart, and an amazing athlete. It's amazing that someone with so much going for them would take their own life, but such is the insidious nature of depression.
Tragic.
No doubt she will be fondly remembered for as an ivy league-caliber student, exceptional two-sport athlete, great friend, and stunningly beautiful young woman.
Rest in peace.
So sad. She really was looked up to in the running community especially here in nj. She ran one of the gutsiest races when she ran 2:08. But that is besides the point. Such a sad sad time for anyone who knew. May she rest in peace.
I thought this was another Ivy League freshman when I saw the headline on another site.
Absolutely Heartbreaking. Rest In Peace Madison.
Another former NJ hs star sent us a link to a very good article on Holleran:http://blog.northjersey.com/varsityaces/29963/madison-holleran-the-girl-in-the-picture/#sthash.m9o9NjXr.dpuf
Darren Cooper wrote:
You know what, it’s Ok to break journalistic code right now when you aren’t supposed to comment on someone’s features, particularly a girl, because everyone says the same thing: Madison Holleran was beautiful.
Darren Cooper wrote:
You know what, it’s Ok to break journalistic code right now when you aren’t supposed to comment on someone’s features, particularly a girl, because everyone says the same thing: Madison Holleran was beautiful.
That guy is right. She certainly was beautiful.
The story has now gone international and the Daily Mail has lots of photos including the instagram one she took an hour before her death:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2542641/UPenn-shocked-freshman-track-star-Madison-Holleran-19-jumps-death.htmlHoly crap she was beautiful. Its a shame that she couldn't seek the help she needed. May she rip.
The dad says it was academic and athletic stress:
http://nypost.com/2014/01/20/dad-track-star-killed-self-over-stress-from-upenn-workload/
This is such a sad and tragic event. My heart and thoughts are with her family, friends, and teammates.
To those who ask is the Ivy League education worth it....times like these make you really wonder if it is in the end. This story has spread and I hope others who have the thoughts Maddy had seek help.
reader of things wrote:
The dad says it was academic and athletic stress:
http://nypost.com/2014/01/20/dad-track-star-killed-self-over-stress-from-upenn-workload/
So so so sad. The more we read about it the sadder we get. The NY post article includes quotes from the dad. He's speaking out to try to help prevent other families from going through the same thing. We really commend him for that.
He says that the family and Madison were aware of her struggles and she'd been seeing a therapist.
NY post wrote:
“I was worried about her so I texted her that she needed to see the therapist. She said she would,” said James, who works for Dow Chemical.
Madison also left her parents a note as well as gifts for the family on top of the parking garage, James said – but declined to describe the gifts or the contents of the note.
This story has struck a nervew with a lot of people as the Post called today to purchase a picture we took of Madison running at Heps xc.
A very sad, but good thread. Depression is especially dangerous among young people because most haven't dealt with it before and don't know what to do or how to react. They don't realize that with time and care it usually passes and the person typically recovers. Young people see no way out and feel as though they're failing at life. If you know someone that is suffering, especially young people, it's particularly important to try to get them assistance.
As soon as i read the news about Madison, i thought of two runners from the 80's who jumped but survived: Mary Wazeter who ran at Georgetown and Kathy Ormsby who ran at NC State.