Edison's Madi Corapi switches from cheerleading at Minnesota to track & field at Cleveland State

The start of Madi Corapi's track and field career at Edison High School did not foreshadow great things. A junior going out for the team for the first time in 2021, Corapi skipped the first two weeks of practice. She hid in her car. "I thought they were gonna force me to run," Corapi said, "and I do not like running whatsoever." A little more than a year later, Corapi committed earlier this week to walk-on at Cleveland State University to throw at the NCAA Division I level. In between, she found a love for throwing, changed her mind from a college cheerleading commitment, and landed on her destination for the next four years. "It hasn't really set in yet, and the moment it does I know I'm gonna start crying," Corapi said. "I just think I was blessed with such good coaches through this process. It is so hard to skip an opportunity like this." Corapi, since beginning cheerleading at age 5, always dreamed of cheering on a college gameday at a sold-out stadium. "Cheerleading was always my first love," Corapi said. In November, Corapi signed to become a cheerleader at the University of Minnesota. She'd be a Golden Gopher. She'd fulfill that dream. But throwing had captured Corapi's attention, too. By the end of her junior season, third- and fourth-place finishes at invitationals against athletes who had been throwing since middle school showed her she could be good at the sport. It helped that Corapi had already built up many of the traits she needed throughout her cheer career doing tumbling. "She's quick and she's explosive," Edison throws coach Kyle Cory said. "Those are the two things that you need in the ring. She's got that strength to be able to tumble and do things like that... Those three things really speak to what Madi has and why I think she could be successful." There was also the matter of a serious right knee injury Corapi suffered in early June 2021. Doing a toe touch at cheer practice, she tore her ACL, MCL, PCL and two menisci upon landing. "I didn't practice any over the winter, I spent all winter going through physical therapy," Corapi said. "... Up till the end of February, I hadn't touched a shot or a disc since last May." Schools began reaching out to Corapi in February 2022 about the potential of her throwing in college, based upon her junior statistics. But she was still committed to Minnesota. By March, though, she had rescinded that commitment in the hopes of pursuing collegiate track and field while potentially staying closer to home. She visited Cleveland State in early March. "That was the longest time I was at a college campus with a coach," Corapi said of her meeting with CSU head coach Jason Hudson. "I actually cried on his couch. When we were in his coach's office, I actually sat down and cried... If I feel like I can do that here, this is definitely gonna be a home for me." Corapi also had strong interest from Memphis and Valparaiso. "I think the route that she's chosen is good for her," Cory said. "She wants to go pre-law. Cleveland State has a good pre-law program." While the rapid recruiting process was ongoing, Corapi was also rehabbing her knee. She wasn't sure how well she'd recover in time for her senior track season. "It just really made me sit there and think you have to make the most of everything this season," Corapi said. "... I would look at pictures and just remembered, hey, you loved this last year, you can get back to that." Corapi has picked up a number of individual wins in the shot put and discus at dual meets, and she's the defending SBC Bay Division champion in both events. At the Huron Invitational, Corapi was second in the discus and fourth in the shot put. Her chance to defend that conference championship, and potentially equal her advancement to last season's regionals or beyond, comes later this month. Regardless of how far throwing takes Corapi this season, it has already ensured her a spot on the Cleveland State team in the fall. Competing for the Vikings is a long way from those days not too long ago when Corapi didn't even want to leave her car. "I finally showed up, and I fell in love with track," Corapi said. "... It really made me have a change of heart."