Rainier High School senior Ella Marvin had three items on her checklist as she considered colleges: culture, weather and an environment to improve.
The two-time reigning 2B state pole vault champion checked off all of those boxes when she committed to Concordia University Irvine (CUI) to continue her athletic and academic career. Marvin will compete in both pole vault and javelin at CUI while studying biology.
“It’s so exciting. I’ve wanted this since my freshman year. It means a lot to prove that I’m good enough,” she said of finding her future home. “It was definitely the culture of the team, and the coach was really nice, which was something that was very important to me.”
Marvin has had as decorated a career as any RHS track athlete has had, including state titles the last two years in pole vault, breaking the school pole vault record at 10 feet, 10 inches and winning league and district titles last year.
But in her final track season, Marvin has much bigger goals.
“I’m hoping to get the state meet record, which is 12-4. I’m hoping to break it to 12-6 and obviously win again,” Marvin said.
While on a visit to the campus in January, she met with professors and attended a track practice. She also attended chapel, as CUI is a private Lutheran university formerly known as Christ College Irvine.
Marvin also got to check out her home track at Golden Eagles Field, which came with quite the view.
“Their track is up on this hill, which is cool because you get to overlook all of campus and you can see the city off in the distance,” she said. “Their pole vault pit was really nice, and then it’s a turf field, which will be interesting for javelin.”
The Concordia Golden Eagles compete at the Division II level in the Pacific West Conference. Marvin was impressed with the coaching staff, led by head coach Keegan Bloomfield. During the 2023-24 school year, the women’s team placed second in the PacWest conference championships for its highest finish in the tournament.
“They’re so supportive. Every single one of them is so nice. I got to meet all of them on my visit, which I thought was really unique and special,” Marvin said. “Their program is top tier. Everything they do is together. It’s a great culture. Everybody loves one another.”
While at CUI, Marvin said she hopes to grow as an athlete and as a person and represent her small town.
“I’ve gotta carry the Rainier name on. I just hope to make my coaches proud. I hope to become the best pole vaulter I can while I’m there and grow as a person,” she said.
