The boys 4x200 relay of Eddie Henry II, Jackson McCarter, Malik Dark and Shadrack Nvodjo ran the fastest 4x200 in school history - 1:31.52 at the Liberty Premiere meet. The first time ever for Patriot to break 1:32.0. They broke the old record set by the 2019 4x200 team that ran 1:32.28 at the state meet for fourth place (Dorryen Henley, Jack Daly, Marcus Wilson, Noah Hackerson). To give them credit, those four ran their times on a flat track which would convert to 1:30.98 if on a bank track.

Patrick Lowry ran the fastest 3200 meters indoors, which was after racing the 1600 earlier in the day in 9:27.87. He is the first Patriot athlete to break 9:30 indoors. Patrick broke Colin Doran’s 3200 record set last year.

We now also have eight athletes achieving the state standard. Our boys 4x200 relay, Patrick in the 1000, 1600, and 3200-meter runs. Kendall Robin in the high jump, Rena Johnson in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs, and Sidney Nolan in the 500-meter run have all punched their ticket to the state championship meet in Virginia Beach.

Highlights from Prince George Montgomery Meet: Olemide had a personal best throw to earn third in the shot put with the second-best indoor throw in Patriot history (33-01.25). Chim placed 8^th in shot with a 30-00 heave.  Sidney Nolan placed 3^rd in the 500 meters which was also number two time in school history. She had a nice double placing 2^nd in the 800 meters. Maddy Hodges placed 5^th in the pole vault. Nich Daly qualified for the 55-meter Hurdle finals with a 7.99. He placed 6^th in the finals and placed 7^th in the 500, the boys 4x200 relay placed 8th, Lyndon Amoateng placed 9^th in the long jump and had a huge jump in the triple of 42-4 to place 5^th and earn a regional standard. Malik Dark also had a terrific jump to place seventh, just missing a regional mark with his 41-02 jump. In the pole vault Patriot had three place in the top ten, with Carter Warren leading the way in fifth (11-0), Kevin Miner 9^th (10-0) and Trevor Sterling 10^th (10-0). 

Highlights from Walter Bass Liberty Meet: Rena Johnson won a very close 3200-meter race, earning a state auto qualifier and the third-best time in school history. Rena also placed 5^th in the 1600 in 5:10. Daniela Ansah placed 10^th in the 500, Carlos placed 10^th in the 1000 with a regional mark and came back later to grab 9^th in the 3200-meter run, breaking ten for the first time (plus a regional mark). Patrick placed third in the 1600 and better his state auto mark and placed 2^nd in the 3200-meter run. 

Props to the team! Our athletes have set personal best marks in over 98 percent of events they have competed in. 

We finished a busy week with two meets and had excellent results. We had well over 100 kids compete on Wednesday and then at the Battlefield Invite our boys’ team WON the meet. 19 teams scored points and Patriot had 96. Battlefield was second with 60 points and Tuscarora in third with 58.5 points. The girls finished 6^th out of eighteen scoring teams. Washington-Liberty won with 78 points, Tuscarora (55) was second and Independence (53) was third. Patriot had 40.5 points.

The last two meets we had many personal records (PR’s). At Battlefield, Patriot got wins in the 1600 (Patrick Lowry, 4:24 and state qualifier), High Jump (Kendall Robin, 5-08), Long Jump (Malik Dark 20-0) and our 4x200 relay (Malik Dark, Jackson McCarter, Eddie Henry II, Shadrack Nvodjo, 1:32.55) won big and state auto.

We also had several runner-ups and third-place finishes. Carlos Garcia in the 3200 (2^nd), Nick Daly (2^nd) and Shadrack Nvodjo (3^rd) in the 55 Hurdles, Jackson McCarter in the 55 dash (3^rd), Eddie Henry II in the triple jump (3^rd), Jameson Grant in the pole vault (3^rd), Sidney Nolan in the 300 (2^nd), and Rena Johnson in the 1600 (2^nd).

Results from the meet are here:

https://va.milesplit.com/meets/449309-bobcat-blizzard-invitational-2023/results#.Y5dnAb3MK70

Wednesday meet at Gainesville High School, the meet starts at 2 pm. PLEASE wear your Patriot Track & Field long-sleeve shirt at school.

Slight change - we will get out of class at 12:15 instead of 12:30 pm. Teachers will already have your names for dismissal. They generally do not make an announcement. Please come down to the locker rooms and change. We leave at 12:30 pm and we have three buses. 

They are going to start field events 45 minutes after the last school arrives (so hoping to start those prior to 2. Running events will start around 2:15 to 2:30 when the electronic timer is set up. We start with the 4x800 relay and 3200-meter run - they will start together with boys and girls. 

Meet Order of events:

4x800/ 3200-meter run boys and girls

55Hurdles, girls first then boys for the rest of meet

55-meter dash 

1600-meter run

4x200 relay

500-meter dash

1000-meter run

300-meter dash

4x400 meter relay

For field events - I believe the long jump for boys and girls will be first then the triple jump. Not sure about the shotput, pole vault or high jump on who goes first (boys or girls)? We will find out when we get there.

We had a great first meet at Liberty University. It was a long day, but the kids did great. Everyone checked in on time, was clerk in the correct area and no one missed their race. We also performed really well, especially for the first meet.

We had 15 boys achieve district qualifying marks in 21 events. Shadrack Nvodjo and Malik Dark qualified in three events each, Nick Daly and Lyndon Amoateng in two events.  Of those 15 boys, five achieve regional standards already! Shadrack, Malik, Patrick Lowry, James Fillmore, and Carlos Garcia already punched their tickets to regionals. Patrick Lowry did one better by also getting the state standard in the 3200 meters. Shadrack (HJ) and Patrick each won an event!

The girls had seven girls achieved the district standard in eight events (Reagan Jones hit two standards) and two have already achieved the region standard - Rena Johnson and Maddie Hodges. 

What a GREAT beginning! 

Girls District Qualifiers (7 girls)

Kiara Garcia – 55H (9.88)

Sa’Diah Hendershot – 55H (9.91)

Reagan Jones – 55H (10.35)

Reagan Jones – 500 meters (1:24.72)

Rena Johnson – 3200 meters (11:37.56) 2^nd

Maddie Hodges – Pole Vault (8-06)

Davina Owusu – High Jump (4-06)

Chim Okafor – Shot Put (28-03.25)

Regional Qualifiers:

Rena Johnson – 3200 meters (11:37.56) 2^nd

Maddie Hodges – Pole Vault (8-06)

Boys District Qualifiers (15 boys)

Malik Dark – 55 (6.80)

Shadrack Nvodjo – 55H (8.07) 5th

Wathen Montgomery – 55H (8.32) 8th

Nick Daly – 55H (8.46) 9^th in prelims

Brooks Montgomery – 55H (9.19)

Kaiden Brewer – 1600 meters (4:53.92) 8^th

Nick Daly – 500 meters (1:10.48) 6^th

Shadrack Nvodjo – 300 meters (36.45) 7^th

Malik Dark – 300 meters (36.65) 8^th

Lyndon Amoateng – Triple Jump (38-03)

Kevin Miner – Shot put (38-07.25)

Shadrack Nvodjo – High Jump (5-10) 1^st

Bryan Bivens – High Jump (5-04) 8^th

Warren Carter – Pole Vault (10-06) 4^th

Trevor Stilling – Pole Vault (10-00) 6^th

Malik Dark – Long Jump (20-04.25) 3^rd

Lyndon Amoateng – Long Jump (19-08.25) 8^th

Patrick Lowry – 3200 meter run (9:36.63) 1^st

James Fillmore – 3200 meter run (9:45.06) 3^rd

Carlos Garcia – 3200 meter run (10:00.02) 6^th

Jacob Casey – 3200 meter run (10:12.83)

Region Qualifiers (5 boys)

Shadrack Nvodjo – 55H (8.07) 5^th

Shadrack Nvodjo – 300 meters (36.45) 7^th

Malik Dark – 300 meters (36.65) 8^th

Shadrack Nvodjo – High Jump (5-10) 1^st

Malik Dark – Long Jump (20-04.25) 3^rd

Patrick Lowry – 3200 meter run (9:36.63) 1^st

James Fillmore – 3200 meter run (9:45.06) 3^rd

Carlos Garcia – 3200 meter run (10:00.02) 6^th

State Qualifiers

Patrick Lowry – 3200 meter run (9:36.63) 1^st

I first want to THANK everyone for their help with our fundraiser. The online link is now closed but we are still collecting checks/ cash made out to Patriot Booster Club. Today we hit $11,000! Only $1000 short of our goal! THANK YOU SO MUCH! You all are amazing! We can cover the entry fees for the entire team this season and get equipment and work on facilities. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Team and individual pictures are today (Thursday) - We will meet in the gym at 2:30 pm. Go over meet information, track etiquette, and get ready for pictures. We gave out uniforms and spirit wear on Wednesday. Anyone who did not get their orders will get them at the meeting. At 2:50 we have to be ready for the team shots. 2:55-3:00 pm is our scheduled time. We will then change and have practice. 

Contract Forms need to be turned in (just the last page). Athlete Contract Form

LAST DAYS APPROACHING to join the team! - We will have to close our roster on Friday. If you don't have your paperwork in (physical, concussion, eligibility form) you will not be able to be on the team. Those who were on varsity football have until 12/12 to turn in paperwork and come out. 

NEXT WEEK: We have a Wednesday meet at Gainesville High School open to everyone and a meet at Battlefield on Saturday that is limited in the number of entries (most of the team will not be able to do Battlefield). We will go over entries on Monday for Gainesville and Battlefield. If you are not going to make Monday's practice send me an email if you can make the meet so we sign you up. 

ATTENDANCE - Please make sure to sign in when you get to practice. If you come late to practice from a club meeting, make sure to sign in. 

Blue Card - Emergency information card and treatment release. If you have not turned this in please do so. I will hand out more tomorrow. It is important that the coaches have this as we are starting to travel for meets. Thank you!

Liberty High School Opener Meet Information: 

The first bus leaves for Liberty from door 20 at Patriot at 5:30 am. Please be there at 5:20 am. We will stop halfway at McDonald's or Sheetz to use the restroom and if anyone needs food. We told the kids they should pack two lunches for the meet. There are also concessions at the meet.

Those that need to be on this bus: Girls and Boys 55 Meter Dash, Girls and Boys Long Jump, Girls High Jump, Boys Shotput, Girls 1600-meter runners, and Girls pole vault.

The second bus leaves at 7:20 am from door 20 at Patriot. Everyone else should be on this bus unless driving up with a parent. If you are driving up try and be at the meet 90 minutes before the start of your event. 

Click for Updated Meet Time Schedule 

 Live Results

Meet Information

We will receive our spirit wear and uniforms on Wednesday (11-30). Team pictures and individual shots are on Thursday. 

We travel to Liberty University for the Liberty High School Opener on Saturday. The first bus will leave from door 20 at 5:30 am and the second bus at 7:20 am. Those competing in the following events are on the early bus:

Pole vault girls, shotput boys, high jump girls, 55-meter dash boys and girls, 1600-meter girls, and long jump girls and boys. 

Meet Information 

Our fundraiser is today! We will have food, fruit, snacks and drinks after practice and get rolling at 5pm. Will be done by 6 to 6:15ish. Enough time to enjoy the football game. IF YOU CAN HELP - Boosters can use help at the playoff football game - really need parents to help. If you can help tomorrow please go here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4ba5ae2aa6f85-20221 THANK YOU!!!

First-day practice Information: Please turn paperwork into Mr. Qualls office asap. Once you are cleared you can come to practice. 

We will meet at the track through the main gates at 2:30 pm.

1) Paperwork status checked

2) Receive bib number and safety pins to wear during testing. 

3) Team warmup (dynamic, active, core, jog, and drills)/ Following testing. Team cool-down and stretch.

Testing:

Monday, November 7th: 100-meter dash, shot put, and broad jump

Tuesday, November 8th: vertical test, deadlift max, 400-meter dash (Practice from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm)

Wednesday, November 9th: Physical and Mental fortitude test

Thursday, November 10th: Make-up testing day (normal practice)

Friday, November 11th: 10:00 am at track. normal practice. (10 am to noon).

The first week went well. We tested seven areas. 100 meters, broad jump, shot put, vertical, deadlift, 400 meters, and an endurance challenge with exercises, sprints, hills and finished with an 800. The testing was to help athletes and coaches figure out what event area they may be best suited for. The ultimate decision is given to the athletes, however. If the athletes like the events they are practicing, they will bring more passion and drive to practice. If an athlete tries an event area and doesn't like it they may switch.

For most of the team they are divided by sprinters/ hurdles and mid distance to distance. For high jump, pole vault, shot put, long and triple jump those events are by invitation only. We look at interest in doing the event, testing results and what we see in practice. Those events are limited because if you have too many, not much coaching gets done and very few reps.

This week we have the winter sports parent meeting on Thursday starting at 6:30 pm in the auditorium. After the general meeting parents will break up into the sports their student-athletes is competing in.

Friday is our fund raiser. We will have food and drinks for all the kids following practice. The fund raiser goes from 5pm to 6:30pm (usually done a little earlier). Each athlete needs to bring their Hour-A-Thon list of contact numbers of family and friends that they will send a personal text too and then follow up with a phone call. This is a quick and easy fundraiser that raises quite a bit of money. Our hope is the fundraiser will cover our entry fees (estimated at $7000), equipment costs, and trail work. We will answer any questions about this on Thursday or via email to Coach James.

Football concessions: If you can help at the football playoff game your help would greatly be appreciated. Please sign up here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4ba5ae2aa6f85-20221

2022-23 Patriot H.S. Indoor Track & Field

Welcome to a season that we hope produces great memories and brings a sense of fulfillment and pride in each athlete’s accomplishments. Our coaching staff gets to coach a sport that challenges every athlete, that allows everyone equal “playing time”, and that brings the best together to compete against each other from all over the nation. It's head-to-head competition in all divisions and at the same time teaches healthy life habits. Put in the work and you will leave faster, stronger, healthier and I believe happier.  

Showing heart, desire and dedication happens for all athletes during competitions – but it counts most on the days that people aren’t watching. Great programs run, lift weights and do core. They cheer for each other and encourage each other to get better. They come prepared with the correct clothes, water bottle and recovery snack and with an “I can do this” attitude. This happens at every level from the beginner to the state champion. This will define Patriot. It starts with you.

We are excited to work with you!

Pre-season workouts

We will start pre-season workouts on Wednesday, September 28^th from 2:30-4:00 pm at the track. You must have a current physical to participate in pre-season workouts. Pre-season workouts will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until the season starts. October 5, 10, 24, and 31st we will not be allowed to meet, since there is no school.

Official Season Start Date

Indoor Track and Field Tryouts are November 7 - 11, 2022 (2:30-4:30 pm) at the PTHS stadium, including Thursday, which is a school holiday.  

All the following documents are required for tryouts and are due on Monday, November 7, 2022, no later than 2:30 pm:

• VHSL Physical Form for 2022-2023 - (dated after May 1, 2022) - 
• Concussion Training online 
• Eligibility Form - You can pick on up the form at the athletic office.
• Blue Emergency Contact Card Form

*If you have participated in a Fall Sport this school year the only form you need to turn in is the Eligibility Form. If you are still participating in a fall sport when Indoor Track & Field starts, you are welcome to join us when your fall season is complete.

Please turn in all your forms to the main office, and have them placed in Mr. Qualls' mailbox.

You will not be able to participate in tryouts until you have turned in all the required documents.  

Lastly, if you have not sign-up for this year's Indoor track and field, please do so now by using the QR Code below: 

https://forms.gle/f7dyrceQqjjyoQ3t5 

ORDERS ARE DUE THIS SUNDAY! ORDER HERE!

If you have a uniform from last year you are good. If you are new you need to buy the jersey (singlet) and shorts (shorts can be half tights or shorts for guys and the power race day boy shorts for girls). This is the same uniform we use in outdoor track and also cross country so you will not need another uniform if you have one from those sports. 

We would like everyone to have the red Track & Field hoodie and the long sleeve technical shirt (we have a V-neck option for girls but can order either long sleeve). All the other items below the uniform are optional items. Parents can also buy a t-shirt, sweatshirt, etc to wear at meets if you would like. 

ORDERS ARE DUE THIS SUNDAY so we will have them in time for the first meet.

ORDER HERE!