Madera jump champ gets last-minute collegiate offer

Jorge Orozco/The Madera Tribune

Madera’s triple jump champion, Aaliyah String, gets air time during a meet this year. She recently signed to jump for CSU Bakersfield next year. 

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With her mind set over the summer on attending Fresno City College, Madera’s Alliyah String didn’t know what to make of a college coach wanting to talk to her over Zoom. 

However, that conversation shifted gears in the String household. Instead of preparing to commute to Fresno from Madera, String had to start getting gear for her dorm room at CSU Bakersfield as a member of their track team. 

“It came out of the blue,” she said. “I was about to go to Fresno City. I already have my classes scheduled. Out of nowhere, my mom said the Bakersfield coach wanted to have a Zoom call with me. We talked and they wanted to offer me a scholarship. It was last minute and came out of nowhere. I thought it was going to be a talk to get to know them.”