Harrisburg senior Bender Wardrip signed a national letter of intent to continue his track & field career at Columbia College next year during a ceremony on Thursday afternoon among family, friends, and teammates.

A three-sport athlete while at Harrisburg, Wardrip decided to compete at the college level in the throwing events. His personal best scores include 16.41 meters with the shot put and 45.74 meters with the discus. He is currently ranked third in school history with the discus and fourth with the shot put. He was named All-State with the shot put as a junior last spring.

“Most importantly, Bender is a kind-hearted young man who will represent Columbia College well. Not only did they get a very solid thrower, but they also got a great kid,” said Harrisburg track & field coach Blake Logan.

Wardip began his track & field career in junior high. As a seventh-grader, he was not only a solid thrower but also ran as the anchor on the team’s 4x100-meter relay.

“When he was a freshman, we had just graduated two all-state throwers. Therefore, we had no varsity throwers ahead of him, so he has been in our varsity spot for four seasons,” Logan explained. “That experience has helped him gain confidence and really go from a younger boy who only liked shot put to a well-rounded thrower.”

Wardrip’s strong scores this season provide an excellent chance for him to return to the Class 2 state track & field championships later this month. At the Class 2 District 4 meet in New Bloomfield on Saturday, Wardip qualified for the state sectionals with the shot and the discus. He won the shot put event with a distance of 15.75 meters and finished third overall with the discus at 38.60 meters. Top-four finishes at this Saturday’s Class 2 sectional meet at South Callaway will advance him to the state meet in Jefferson City on May 22 and 23.