McKay Madsen: State Athlete of Year

Clovis North of Fresno’s McKay Madsen completed one of the most rare double-doubles in CIF state track history after enjoying an all-state first team season at running back/linebacker. This year’s State Athlete of the Year for the boys also is a very cool one since he was named for a previous winner.

For a look at all of the other boys from the 2024-25 school year to be selected as a winner from each category plus lists of other top overall athletes, CLICK HERE.

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“Which Way McKay” was a magazine headline that was penned in an article written about Clovis West of Fresno high school superstar McKay Christiansen during the 1993-94 school year for Student Sports Magazine. He led the Golden Eagles mainly in football and baseball (he was the sixth pick overall in the first round of the MLB draft) and later was named as the Cal-Hi Sports State Boys Athlete of the Year. The headline referred to which sport his athletic career would follow.

Some of McKay’s best friends at the time were from the Madsen family, including Josh Madsen, who a few years later along with his wife, Tiffany, decided they really liked that name and chose it as the first name for a son born 18 years ago. Has there ever been a State Athlete of the Year in California named for a previous winner? It doesn’t seem likely, but just like it was “Which Way McKay” from 1994 it is now “All the Way with McKay” for 2025 as McKay Madsen from Clovis North of Fresno has been named Cal-Hi Sports State Boys Athlete of the Year.

Madsen is the first from the CIF Central Section to earn the State Athlete of the Year honor since 2017-18 when track sprinter-football running back Kazmeir Allen of Tulare received it. He is the first-ever winner from Clovis North. Christiansen is only one to ever be selected from Clovis West while Clovis High had the 2013-14 honoree with football-wrestling standout Nick Nevells. Madsen also gained the top honor this year after being chosen last year as the State Junior Athlete of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports among the boys.

There are two reasons why Madsen, who was one of the state’s top multi-purpose football players last fall, did not immediately head off to college in January to start the clock on his football career like a great majority of players like him do. One is that he is extremely committed to his Mormon faith and was planning to go on an 18-month mission shortly after high school graduation. Number two is that he had won the CIF state track championships as a junior in both the shot put and discus and really, really wanted to double up again as a senior.

McKay got that double and then some. He had both the shot put and discus state titles pretty much wrapped up in the early going of both competitions, but in true superstar fashion he uncorked his best marks of the competition on his final throws. Madsen reached 69 feet, 11 inches on his last shot put and 210 feet, 8 inches on his last discus throw.

In winning both events for the second straight year, Madsen became just the second in CIF state track history to do such a thing. The only other person to do that was Clarence “Bud” Houser of Oxnard way back in 1922. By the way, he is considered the 1921-22 State Boys Athlete of the Year as well. The CIF state meet may be really old, but it wasn’t around in the early 1900s when Ralph Rose was at Healdsburg High. Rose later became an Olympic legend in the discus and was the flag bearer who famously said that the US flag would dip before no king.

“Since I woke up last year after winning state, there hasn’t been a single day where I haven’t thought about it again. It’s like literally an obsession,” Madsen told Action News TV 30 in Fresno after winning the big double. “On bad days I’m thinking, ‘How am I going to pull this off?’ On good days I’m like, ‘OK, I just have to keep steady.'”

Rich Gonzalez, editor of PrepTrackCal.com and a former colleague at ESPN, had this to say about Madsen’s track accomplishments when Gatorade named him as its California Track & Field Player of the Year: “McKay Madsen finishes his prep career as the most consistent discus thrower and best combination shot-discus talent in Golden State history. He’s also one of only five preps in national history to have amassed personal bests of 69-11 and 211 or better in those respective events. He’s truly a king of the ring.”

All of those accomplishments in track and field for Madsen came after he had a football season at Clovis North that had him get Player of the Year consideration in the CIF Central Section. The 6-foot-1, 240-pounder was coming off of a junior season in which he helped the Broncos win the CIF Central Section D1 championship and were unbeaten before a loss to De La Salle of Concord in the NorCal D1 regional final. As a senior, Madsen became more of a focal point on offense and rushed for 1,238 yards and 19 touchdowns. He came up with 49 tackles and four interceptions playing on defense.

It’s on the defensive side of the ball at linebacker in which McKay was looked at the most for his college future. If anyone has ever seen him block as a fullback on offense or catch passes, comparisons to those types of fullbacks even in the NFL are not crazy. He did take an official trip last summer to Oregon and was offered by the Ducks, but sticking to his Mormon roots it’s hard to see that anywhere but BYU was too seriously considered. Madsen’s older sister, Loie, already goes there and is on the track team where she naturally does the discus as well as the hammer throw.

McKay Christiansen, by the way, also is a member of the same church. He went on his mission right after high school even though the California Angels offered him more than $1 million to sign after the draft. Madsen doing the same was well-known in football recruiting circles but he still got numerous non-BYU offers. Tanner McKee, currently the back-up QB for the Super Bowl champ Philadelphia Eagles, went on his Mormon mission after graduating from Centennial (Corona) and then played at Stanford. It didn’t negatively impact his football career at all.

Madsen, who also was an honor roll student (4.3 GPA), in fact, just left for his missionary work on July 21 and will be going to the Mendoza Mission in Argentina where he will speak spanish to local folks in that community.

“It’s time,” he wrote in a post on X. “I’ve been called to serve. Love you all, back in 2.”

And what a time it’s been for McKay in the Fresno-Clovis region. There’s no “Which Way” for him just like his namesake. He knows exactly what he wants out of his adult life. And it will be all the way from Fresno to the rest of the world.

ALL-TIME CAL-HI SPORTS
STATE BOYS ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
(Selected by Cal-Hi Sports)

2024-25 – McKay Madsen, Fresno Clovis North (football, track)
2023-24 – Ryder Dodd,
SJ Capistrano JSerra (water polo)
2022-23 – Rodrick Pleasant,
Gardena Serra (football, track)
2021-22 – Colin Sahlman,
Newbury Park (cross country, track)
2020-21 – Domani Jackson,
Santa Ana Mater Dei (football, track)
2019-20 – Nico Young,
Newbury Park (cross country, track)
2018-19 – Kenan Christon,
San Diego Madison (football, track)
2017-18 – Kazmeir Allen, Tulare (football, track)
2016-17 – Javelin Guidry,
Murrieta Vista Murrieta (football, track)
2015-16 – Michael Norman,
Murrieta Vista Murrieta (track)
2014-15 – T.J. DeFalco, Huntington Beach (volleyball)
2013-14 – Nick Nevills, Clovis (football, wrestling)
2012-13 – Khalfani Muhammad, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (football, track)
2011-12 – Khalfani Muhammad, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (football, track)
2010-11 – Marqise Lee, Gardena Serra (football, basketball, track)
2009-10 – Robert Woods, Gardena Serra (football, track)
2008-09 – Tyler Gaffney, San Diego Cathedral Catholic (football, baseball)
2007-08 – German Fernandez, Riverbank (cross country, track)
2006-07 – Mike (Giancarlo) Stanton, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (footb, bb, baseball)
2005-06 – Chase Budinger, Carlsbad La Costa Canyon (basketball, volleyball)
2004-05 – Drew Shiller, Burlingame (football, basketball, baseball)
2003-04 – Kenny O’Neal, Oakland Skyline (football, track)
2002-03 – Steve Smith, Woodland Hills Taft (football, basketball, track)
2001-02 – Aaron Piersol, Newport Beach Newport Harbor (swimming)
2000-01 – Antwon Guidry, San Jose Leigh (football, basketball, track)
1999-00 – D.J. Williams, Concord De La Salle (football, track)
1998-99 – Chris Lewis, Long Beach Poly (football, volleyball)
1997-98 – C.C. Sabathia, Vallejo (football, basketball, baseball)
1996-97 – Ken-Yon Rambo, Long Beach Poly (football, track)
1995-96 – Chris Claiborne, Riverside J.W. North (football, basketball)
1994-95 – Eric Guerrero, San Jose Independence (wrestling)
1993-94 – McKay Christensen, Fresno Clovis West (football, baseball)
1992-93 – Calvin Harrison, Salinas North Salinas (track, basketball)
1991-92 – Jason Kidd, Alameda St. Joseph (basketball, baseball)
1990-91 – Rob Johnson, El Toro (football, basketball, baseball)
1989-90 – Ryan Hancock, Cupertino Monta Vista (football, baseball)
1988-89 – Lorenzo Neal, Lemoore (football, wrestling)
1987-88 – Adam Keefe, Irvine Woodbridge (basketball, volleyball)
1986-87 – LeRon Ellis, Santa Ana Mater Dei (water polo, basketball, track)
1985-86 – Brian Johnson, Oakland Skyline (football, baseball)
1984-85 – George Porter, Lompoc Cabrillo (basketball, track)
1983-84 – John Williams, L.A. Crenshaw (basketball)
1982-83 – Mike Smith, Hacienda Heights Los Altos (football, basketball, volleyball)
1981-82 – Jim McCullough, Hemet (football, wrestling)
1980-81 – Kevin Willhite, Rancho Cordova (football, track)
1979-80 – Darryl Strawberry, L.A. Crenshaw (basketball, baseball)
1978-79 – John Elway, Granada Hills (football, baseball)
1977-78 – Jesse Vasallo, Mission Viejo (swimming)
1976-77 – Brian Goodell, Mission Viejo (swimming)
1975-76 – Greg Louganis, El Cajon Valhalla & Santa Ana (diving)
1974-75 – Bill Cartwright, Elk Grove (basketball)
1973-74 – Tim Shaw, Long Beach Wilson (water polo, swimming)
1972-73 – Lonnie Shelton, Bakersfield Foothill (football, track)
1971-72 – Scott McGregor, El Segundo (baseball)
1970-71 – Anthony Davis, San Fernando (football, baseball)
1969-70 – James McAlister, Pasadena Blair (football, track)
1968-69 – Jeff Burroughs, Long Beach Wilson (football, baseball)
1967-68 – Mark Spitz, Santa Clara (water polo, swimming)
1966-67 – Mickey Cureton, Compton Centennial (football)
1965-66 – Tim Danielson, Chula Vista (track)
1964-65 – Paul Wilson, Downey Warren (track)
1963-64 – Don Schollander, Santa Clara (water polo, swimming)
1962-63 – Tommie Smith, Lemoore (football, basketball, track)
1961-62 – Forrest Beaty, Glendale Hoover (track)
1960-61 – Ulis Williams, Compton (track)
1959-60 – Dennis Ralston, Bakersfield (tennis)
1958-59 – Dale Story, Orange (track)
1957-58 – Willie Davis, L. A. Roosevelt (basketball, baseball, track)
1956-57 – Bill Kilmer, Azusa Citrus (football, basketball, baseball)
1955-56 – Fred Lacour, S.F. St. Ignatius (basketball)
1954-55 – Dick Bass, Vallejo (football)
1953-54 – Don Bowden, San Jose Lincoln (track)
1952-53 – Ronnie Knox, Santa Monica (football)
1951-52 – Marty Keough, Pomona (football, basketball, baseball)
1950-51 – Charlie Powell, San Diego (football, baseball)
1949-50 – Lang Stanley, L.A. Jefferson (track)
1948-49 – John Henry Johnson, Pittsburg (football, basketball, track)
1947-48 – Bob Mathias, Tulare (football, track)
1946-47 – Bill McColl, San Diego Hoover (football, basketball, baseball)
1945-46 – George Stanich, Sacramento (basketball, baseball, track)
1944-45 – Jackie Jensen, Oakland (football, baseball)
1943-44 – Bill Sharman, Porterville (football, basketball, baseball)
1942-43 – Glenn Davis, La Verne Bonita (football, baseball)
1941-42 – Irv Noren, Pasadena (basketball, baseball)
1940-41 – Tommie Fears, Los Angeles Manual Arts (football)
1939-40 – Howie Dallmar, San Francisco Lowell (basketball, baseball)
1938-39 – Jim Jurkovich, Fresno (football, track)
1937-38 – Frankie Albert, Glendale (football, baseball, tennis)
1936-37 – Jackie Robinson, Pasadena Muir (football, basketball, baseball)
1935-36 – Bobby Doerr, Los Angeles Fremont (pro baseball)
1934-35 – Ted Williams, San Diego Hoover (baseball)
1933-34 – Hank Luisetti, San Francisco Galileo (basketball)
1932-33 – Don Budge, Oakland University (tennis)
1931-32 – Corney Johnson, Los Angeles (track)
1930-31 – Frank Sobrero, Oakland (football, basketball, baseball)

Note: List continues back to 1890-91 in the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book & Almanac. All selections prior to 1978-79 done retroactively through research by our founder, the late Nelson Tennis.
Note: All selections prior to 1978-79 done retroactively through research by our founder, the late Nelson Tennis.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports