The team was split this past weekend and we attended Colonial Forge Showcase Meet and Battlefield Relays. Both meets were very windy, but the team did very well. The boys and girls placed second at Colonial Forge and Ashley Bowman was named meet MVP for the track events. We also had three state automatic times achieved with Korkor Sackey in the high jump, Rena Johnson in the 1600, and Sidney Nolan in the 800.  

Those earning medals (top three):

Sierra Whitaker and Karlee Brasfield went 1-2 in the freshman 100. Sidney Nolan and Rena Johnson went 1-2 in the 800 and then switched the order in the 1600. Francis Rein won the freshman 1600 in a big PR. Ashley Bowman and Sa'Diah Hendershot were 2^nd and third in the 100 hurdles, and Ashley won the 300 hurdles with Sa'Diah 3rd. Korkor won the high jump in a new pr of 5'4" and Lydia Landers was third. Alani Hampton was third in the long jump. The 4x1 was second and the 4x4 third. 

Jason Mwangi finished 2^nd in the freshman 400. Henry Birge swept the 1600 and 800 and ran a leg on the winning 4x4 (Nick Daly, Henry Ausby, and Jason Mwangi on 4x4). Nick Daly was second in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles. Lyndon Amoateng was third in the triple jump. Andrew White finished second in the freshman 1600. 

At Battlefield Relays, Jameson Grant and Carter Warren tied for 2^nd in the pole vault. Catherine Blankenship was third in pole vault. The girls and boys 4x200 relays placed 3^rd and the frosh soph guys 4x4 placed 2nd. The throwers Relay with Olivia Williams, Ridwhan Rahman, Payton Holmes, and Christina Korkos smoked the competition in the throwers relay.

Colonial Forge Showcase Meet: https://va.milesplit.com/meets/564556-colonial-forge-showcase-2024/results

Battlefield Relays Meet: https://milesplit.live/meets/586036

Meets remaining:

** 04/12 – 4/13 2024 =PR= Northern Virginia Invitational at South Lake High School

** 04/17 The Running Store City-County Championship @ Osbourn Park HS

** 04/20 Gainesville Cardinal Classic at Gainesville High School

** 04/24 CRD #2 at Patriot High School (need volunteers)

** 04/27 OBX Invite at Chantilly H.S.

** 05/02 CRD#3 at Osbourn HS

** 05/03-04 Dogwood Track Classic at University of Virginia

** 05/11 19th Victor Cahoon Track Classic at Osbourn Park HS

** TBA Cedar Run District Track & Field Championships

** 05/21 Class 6 Region B Outdoor Track and Field Championship - Stafford, VA

** 05/31-06/01 Class 6 State Track & Field Championships – Todd Stadium, Newport News

Meet Schedule: The Patriot Outdoor Track & Field Meet Schedule is here: https://www.patriotpioneers.org/main/teamfiles/id/23622/seasonId/4764168

Practice Schedule: We practice Monday through Friday from 2:30-5 on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday ending in the weight room. If you have a weight room class in school, then you are done by 4:30. On Tuesday and Friday, we are done by 4:30. The middle- and long-distance runners practice on Saturdays. We will have practice during spring break. If you are out of town, please fill out a practice form letting us know what you did. 

Uniform: If you are new, you can order your uniform here: https://stores.athletesmark.com/patriot_track_field/shop/home

The singlet and shorts are required (the uniform). We would also like the kids to have a white hoody and a blue t-shirt. If they did indoors, they just need the blue T-shirt. The uniform is the same as cross country and indoor track. All of the other items are optional. Parents can buy items also for themselves to wear to meets. The deadline for orders is March 5th. 

Fundraiser: The booster club has all teams help with the school's mulch sales. If you need mulch for your yard this year, we would appreciate it if you could buy it from boosters. The team helps deliver the mulch to homes, so if you need some it will be dropped off to your home. Mulch Sales link is here: https://patriotpioneers.square.site/product/phs-booster-mulch-sale/204?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=12

Team Policies: Look for the link for 2024 Team Policies.  

State website for results and meet information: www.Milestat.com 

Please make sure to have your eligibility form turned in to the school. You will not be able to practice until you are cleared. 

2/20/2024 Start of the Outdoor Track & Field season

2/20-2/23 Tryouts at the Patriot Track 2:30-4:45 pm

2/23/2024 – Parent Meeting – Commons at Patriot HS at 5:30 pm

** 03/20/2024 CRD #1 (OP, Patriot, FSR) at Osbourn Park HS

03/25-30 Spring Break (We will have practices)

** 04/06 Battlefield Relays at Battlefield HS

** 04/06 Colonial Forge Showcase at Colonial forge HS

** 04/12 – 4/13 2024 =PR= Northern Virginia Invitational at South Lake High School

** 04/17 The Running Store City-County Championship @ Osbourn Park HS

** 04/20 Gainesville Cardinal Classic at Gainesville High School

** 04/24 CRD #2 at Patriot High School (need volunteers)

** 04/25-27 The Penn Relays Carnival Presented by Toyota at University of Penn

** 05/02 CRD#3 at Osbourn HS

** 05/03-04 Dogwood Track Classic at University of Virginia

** 05/11 19th Victor Cahoon Track Classic at Osbourn Park HS

** TBA Cedar Run District Track & Field Championships

** 05/21 Class 6 Region B Outdoor Track and Field Championship - Stafford, VA

** 05/31-06/01 Class 6 State Track & Field Championships – Todd Stadium, Newport News

State Championship Rundown!

The boys pulled off an incredible meet to win the VHSL Class 6 Outdoor Track & Field Championship! What a roller coaster it was over the two days. It was a rocky start but Patriot finished strong outscoring our projected points. Patriot won the Cedar Run District, the Region 6b Championships, and now the story on how we won the VHSL 6a State Championship!

Day One: The bus left at 6:45 am. We shared the bus with Battlefield and Gainesville High School. A quick reminder, the top eight score at state (10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1) with first getting ten, second earns eight points, third gets six points, etc. To get here, the top six from districts advance to regionals. The top four from regionals advance to state.

Junior Lyndon Amoateng started the state meet for Patriot with a 9th-place finish. Lyndon fell short of his goal but had a tremendous year. Lyndon’s personal best through his sophomore year was 41-11, and now he has a 45-foot best. Lyndon will be back next season and we could see his name on the record board.

The 4x800 relay was next. Our girls’ team qualified for states and it was the fastest time (9:35) since 2017 when Patriot’s had some of Virginia’s all-time great 4x8s. The team of Sidney Nolan, Anna Rigby, Rena Johnson, and Camila Weber placed 16^th in 9:56.44.

The boys' 4x800 relay came into the meet ranked third behind Woodbridge and indoor champs, Oakton. Patrick Lowry handed off in third (1:58) behind Oakton and George Marshall, with 17 teams handing off within three seconds of each other. Carlos Garcia ran his fastest split ever moving Patriot up to second (1:57.71). James Fillmore kept us in contention handing off in third, with Lake Braddock and Woodbridge right behind. Henry Birge, a freshman, was able to hold on to third with a stellar split of 1:56.10. Patriot was now on the board with 6 points!

In the boys' high jump, we had Chase James, Shadrack Nvodjo, Jay Randall, and Kendall Robin competing. The opening height was 6 feet. The opening height was Chase James' personal best. Chase had three great attempts just coming up short. Shadrack missed on his first attempt at 6 feet and then had to leave to get ready for the 100-meter dash. When he got back the bar was at 6’ 2” and he had to jump his remaining two jumps in succession at his personal best height. Shadrack ended up not clearing. Kendall Robin missed on his first attempt but cleared on his second. At 6’2” Kendall had three misses. One of his attempts he was over, just barely clipping the bar. Kendall finished 13^th. Jay Randall cleared six feet and 6’2 on his first attempts. At 6’4 Jay had a miss but then cleared on his second attempt. There were now three jumpers left as the bar was raised to 6’6. No jumper made their first two attempts. On his third attempt, Jay came up big clearing 6’6. Thomas Dale’s Stephon Hicks also cleared on his final attempt. Now there were only two jumpers remaining. Jay was not able to clear 6’8 (his third attempt was so close. Hicks cleared on his final attempt. Jay was the state runner-up and added 8 points to Patriot’s team score. Patriot now was at 14 points.

The heats started for the 100/110 hurdles and 100-meter dashes during the high jump. In the 110 hurdles, Wathen Montgomery and Nick Daly finished 10^th and 15^th. The improvement both these guys made over the past year was a big reason for our team's success. Although they didn’t make finals they both are back next season and with their work ethic and drive they will continue to take tenths of a second off their times and compete for All-State honors.

In the 100-meter dash Patriot qualified four athletes! Shadrack, Jackson McCarter, Eddie Henry, and Aaron Glover. Shadrack qualified by winning his heat in 11.08, .01 ahead of second. Shadrack’s heat was the only heat with a headwind. Jackson McCarter ran 10.92 to finish third in his heat and place 15th overall. Aaron Glover placed 6^th in his heat and 33^rd overall in 11.18. Eddie Henry placed 6^th in his heat and 41^st overall in 11.30. It’s a huge accomplishment to get four qualifiers in a single event and Patriot did it in three events (100, high jump, and 3200-meter run).  Jackson and Aaron will only be juniors next year and will lead Patriot’s strong sprint squad next year.

The last event of the day for Patriot was the 200-meter dash prelims. Shadrack was ranked number one in the state for Virginia 6A. Shadrack didn’t have his normal power in his legs and just struggled in all of his events on day one. Shadrack finished 3^rd in his heat, 12^th overall, and did not make the finals. Jackson McCarter finished 4^th in his heat with a new personal best of 22.20. Jackson finished 15^th overall.

We left the track and headed to the hotel (Marriot at Town Center). We had Olive Garden at the hotel. The kids were down. After dinner the mood was relaxed and everyone seem to be having a good time.

We were down 13 points from what we figured we could earn on paper but also knew the favorites (West Springfield) were down 9 points. Instead of a two-team race, the door was open for several teams to win it. Western Branch had outperformed their seed marks in several events and were the “hot” team going into day two. We believed we certainly had a shot but needed a few events to really go our way. Everything depended on doing what we were supposed to do, and then doing what we knew we could do in the 1600, 4x100, and 4x400 – all events that we were not ranked highly (1600 meter run due to it being Patrick’s third event in the meet).

Day Two:

The 3200-meter runners were up early to eat and get ready as they would get day 2 started at 8:30 am.

Rena Johnson and Anna Rigby would be coming back after the 4x8 the day before. Anna’s heat was first. Anna’s day would be tough, she set the race up for success but was obvious her legs didn’t have it. She would finish 20^th. Anna missed all of indoor and worked out on the bike and weight room doing 90-minute hard sessions on the bike often. Due to her hard work, often by herself, she came into outdoors able to run and in great shape. She ran four state auto performances this spring. By the time conference was done (2^nd in the 3200, 2^nd in the 4x8, and 4^th in the 1600) Anna's base was pretty empty. We didn’t have the running miles to finish the rest of the postseason strong. Anna PRed by 24 seconds in the 3200 meters and 18 seconds in the 1600 meters. It was one of the best comebacks from injury I have seen.

Rena Johnson was up next and started off with a 79-second first 400, then several 81s. She went through the mile in 5:25 and moved from 7^th to 4^th. Rena moved up to third on the final lap but was caught on the final straightaway. Rena 10:47.37 ranks #2 in school history and she put the Patriot girls on the board with five points. Rena will be among the top returners in the state next year.

The boys were up next and Patriot had four runners ready to go. Carlos Garcia, James Fillmore, and Kaiden Brewer would be in the first section and Patrick Lowry in the second. All three had huge improvements to get to the state championships. Carlos would end up placing 4^th in his section and 14^th overall with a time of 9:47 and James was one spot back (5^th and 15^th) in 9:52. Sophomore Kaiden Brewer, whose mile time last year was 5:20 (HUGE jump this year!), placed 20^th in 10:05.

Patrick had the 7^th fastest time of the field coming into the 3200-meter run. Running in the fast section, he made great moves through the race to stay out of trouble and stay in contact with the leaders. Patrick went through the mile in 4:46 in what was turning out to be a slow, tactical race. With 800 to go Patrick went from 4^th to 2^nd and was able to hold on running 9:19 (4:33 2^nd mile). Patriot earned another 8 points and we moved back into the lead with 22 points.

In the boys' long jump, Shadrack was able to get one clean jump to place 12^th in 20-6.75 feet. Lyndon Amoateng placed 18^th in 20-2.75. We were not supposed to score in this event.

In the pole vault, Carter Warren and Jameson Grant would open the competition up at 12 feet. They both missed on their first attempt but cleared on their second try.  At 12-6, Carter was unable to clear and would finish in a tie for 11^th. Jameson had two misses but on his third attempt came up big with a 12-6 clearance. At 13-0 his third attempt was his best and just barely missed clearing. Jameson placed 10^th. The swirling winds and gusts were problematic for the vaulters with seven not clearing the opening height. The vaulters were not expected to score but they came real close.

In the 100-meter dash, Shadrack came back from a disappointing meet on day one to place third in the finals in 10.9. This was huge and helped fire up the team. Shadrack added six more points to Patriot’s total, giving us 28 points. Grassfield had now taken the lead with 32 points but their best events were now done and they don’t have many athletes left in the remaining events.

The girls’ shotput was our best event for the girls this season highlighted by our 1-2-3 finish at districts. Unfortunately, state did not go well. Chim and Mide both had an incredible spring, with both smashing the school record. Their best throws this season of 39-10 (Chim) and 39-9 (Mide) would have been 2^nd and 3^rd at state. Chim and Mide didn’t make finals and I am sure if they had three more throws, things would be different. Chim finished 10^th and Mide 13^th. Both of you ladies should be proud of what you accomplished and excited for things to come. Chim is off to George Mason where the T&F program would like her to compete for Mason, and Mide will be back for her senior year where she will try and take back the school record from Chim and break the 40-foot barrier.

In the girls high jump, KorKor Sackey was able to clear opening height of 5 feet even (set at her personal best).  19 girls no heighted and Korkor finished 15^th overall and got valuable experience for next year.

Rena Johnson was back on the track for the 1600-meter run. She went out very well and made great moves to keep in contact. After the 800 Rena struggled and her signature kick was spent. She still ran a 5:07 1600 for 11^th place. It was a great meet and season for Rena who has garnered the attention of a lot of colleges.

The 1600 meter was next and Patrick Lowry would be tested. He went with the pack in 12^th running 62 for the opening 400. At 800 Patrick hit 2:09 and moved up to 6^th. On lap three Patrick picked up another three spots and was now in third with a lap to go. Patrick ran a 63 final 400 but was passed near the finish. Patrick finished fourth picking up five huge points for us. Patriot moved back into the lead with 33 points.

The 4x100 relay was next. The 4x100 team won the regional meet beating some impressive teams. The second handoff between Jackson McCarter and Eddie Henry didn’t go well at regionals. At state, we knew if we hit the handoff this group could be a difference maker in the meet. Malik Dark got out very quickly and got the stick to Jackson clean. Jackson stormed down the track and had a perfect handoff to Eddie. Eddie flew around the turn handing off in third. Shadrack received the stick and flew to the finish, passing West Springfield to claim second behind Oscar Smith. The guys broke their own school record with a runner-up finish in 41.83 – breaking the 42-second barrier for the first time. We were seeded for three points and now earn eight. Patriot was now at 41 points and only nine short of the 50 points we thought would be needed to win.

In the 400, junior Sidney Nolan placed 7^th in section two and 16^th overall in 59.78. Sidney had a terrific year running 2:15 and 57 during the indoor season.

Sophomore Malik Dark, placed 4^th in his section and 11^th overall in the 400 (50.14). There were only two sophomores ahead of Malik, and with five graduating seniors, Malik will be one of the top 400 guys in the state. Malik just missed scoring by .21 of a second.

In the 300 hurdles, freshman Ashley Bowman just missed scoring with a 9th-place finish. I believe this was only Ashley’s fifth time running the 300 hurdles. She crushed it! To say the future is bright for her is an understatement.

In the boys 300 hurdles, Wathen Montgomery was seeded to earn four points after his big race at regionals. Wathen got out well and was running clean. Despite the wind picking up, Wathen came off hurdles five and six in great shape and raced down the track to a new personal best 38.62 and a 4^th place finish. Wathen ranks #3 all-time at Patriot. Patriot needed those points badly as Western Branch went 1-3 in the 300 hurdles to score 16 points. It was now 46 points for Patriot to Western Branch’s 45 with three events remaining. Patriot had potential points in two of the remaining events (800 and 4x4) as did Western Branch (200 and 4x4). West Springfield was in third and within range.

The 800-meter race was next. We were hoping to get three points in the 800 to distance ourselves from West Springfield who had won the indoor 4x4. If we could do that, the worse we could finish at state is second. Patriot freshman Henry Birge got off the line well in what is the toughest start in track, due to it being the fastest event that runners are not in lanes. He handled a little pushing and established himself in 5^th place. Going through the 400 in 58.11, Henry was able to maintain his speed and fought hard to finish with another 58 400, passing another competitor down the home stretch. Henry finished fourth scoring five points for Patriot. A huge, clutch performance from the freshman! We now had a six-point lead and no one but Western Branch could catch us.

In the 200 Western Branch picked up three points. Going into the 4x400 Patriot had 51 points and Western Branch 48. Patriot and Western Branch were in the second section (of three sections) together. If we beat them we win the state championship. Western Branch would have to get fifth overall or better to win the meet. The team of Nick Daly, Jay Randall, Malik Dark, and Wathen Montgomery was ready and focused. The girls would be first and then the guys.

The temperature was dropping fast and the wind was really blowing as a storm wasn’t too far off. Sydnee Smith led off the race and was moving well. Sydnee Smith got the stick to Sidney Nolan, clocking a split of 61 in the windy conditions. Nolan split a 62 (her third event) handing off to Sarah Kim. Sarah, only a freshman managed a 68, and Ashley Bowman split 61 in her anchor leg. We lose Sydnee Smith to graduation but the other three return.

The guys were focused and waiting, hanging out together but all in their own world getting ready for the task at hand. Michael Jordan always said he wanted the ball in his hands when the game was on the line. The ball was now in Nick’s, Jay’s, Malik’s, and Wathen’s hands. Nick got out well and handed off in third. He put some distance on Western Branch. Jay Randall, who was one of the great surprises this season, went out and crushed his leg. By the time Jay handed off he had gotten Patriot into second, and very close to the leaders. Malik tore through a 50.92 and we were neck and neck going down the homestretch. Wathen was eager to get going and we barely kept the baton in the zone. We lost some ground to Hayfield but Wathen stayed even through 250 meters. In the last 150 Wathen turned on the jets and went by Hayfield to win the section. Western Branch finished 7^th in the section. Patriot boys overcame Friday’s disappointment and crushed day two. In every event we did what we were supposed to or exceeded expectations. Patriot Boys = STATE CHAMPIONS! The last section (fastest seeds) ran and the guys were two seconds away from winning the 4x400 outright placing 5^th overall, adding another four points.

39 teams scored TOP TEN.

Live Results link here: http://milesplit.live/meets/558327

Results Link with athlete data: https://va.milesplit.com/meets/536859-vhsl-class-6-state-championships-2023/results/943727

Thanks to Coach Grant, Coach Fell, Coach Gaskins, Coach Hawk, and Coach Della Peruto for putting your passion, time, knowledge, and energy into our student-athletes!

• Coach James DeMarco

Led by school record performances by Jay Randall in the high jump and the boys 4x800 relay team of Patrick Lowry, Henry Birge, Carlos Garcia, and James Fillmore, Patriot leads day one of the region track & field championships with 53.5 points. Colonial Forge is second with 36 and Woodbridge has 30.50 points. 

Randall cleared 6 feet 6 inches in the high jump to take second place. The 4x800 relay broke their school record set last week by five seconds to run 7:52.40 to claim second. Shadrack Nvodjo claimed third in the high jump (6-2) and fourth in the long jump (22-1). Lyndon Amoateng claimed third place in the triple jump with a new personal best of 45 feet and a half inch. The top four placers advance to the state championships at Todd Stadium in Newport News.

School records have been broken in six events this season. The boys 4x800, boys 4x100 (Aaron Glover, Jackson McCarter, Eddie Henry, Shadrack Nvodjo), high jump (Randall), 1600 (Patrick Lowry), 3200 (Patrick Lowry) and girls shot put (twice- Mide Akinkugbe and Chim Okafor) this season! 4x100 could go down again on day two of regions. 

The girls 4x800 relay team of Anna Rigby, Rena Johnson, Camila Weber, and Sidney Nolan placed second in the 4x800 relay in 9:35.0. In the shot put, Chim Okafor placed second with a throw of 38 feet 11 inches. Mide Akinkugbe placed 5th but will also advance to state by achieving the state automatic standard in a previous meet. The Patriot girls are currently in 6th place with 20 points.

Patriot scorers:

Boys

4x800 - 2nd (7:52.40) Patrick Lowry, Henry Birge, Carlos Garcia, James Fillmore)

High Jump - Jay Randall (2nd, 6'6"), Shadrack Nvodjo (3rd, 6'2"), Kendall Robin (6th, 6'0)

Pole Vault - Jameson Grant (5th, 11'6"), Carter Warren (6th, 11'6"), Kevin Miner (7th, 11'6")

Long Jump - Shadrack Nvodjo (4th, 22'1"), Lyndon Amoateng (5th, 21-10.50)

Triple Jump - Lyndon Amoateng (3rd, 45'0.50"), Jay Randall (6th, 42'7")

Shot put - Kevin Miner (6th, 44'1.25")

Girls

4x800 relay - 2nd (9:35) Anna Rigby, Rena Johnson, Camila Weber, Sidney Nolan

Shot put - Chim Okafor (2nd, 38' 11"), Mide Akinkugbe (5th, 35'5")

We had a terrific district championship meet. The boys won big and the girls almost pulled off a huge upset win to nab second, just six points out of first. We also broke two more school records. The boys' 4x800 relay team (Carlos Garcia, James Fillmore, Henry Birge, Patrick Lowry) ran 7:57 to break the 8 min barrier and are ranked #3 in the state. They broke the school record by three-tenths of a second. They can go faster too so will be an exciting regional and state race for those guys. The girls shot put record was destroyed by Mide Akinkugbe last Saturday, and then at the district championship meet, Chim Okafor broke Mide's record by one inch. Mide obviously didn't want her record broken but she was the first to congratulate her teammate with a hug. Patriot has the best throwing duo in the state. They are ranked #3 and #4 in the state and keep pushing each other to new heights. Congratulations! 

 Female Team Scores

 Place School Points

 ===================================================================

 1 Osbourn Park OP 151

 2 Patriot High School PAT 145

 3 Battlefield BTFL 110

 4 Freedom (South Riding) FRDO 38

 5 John Champe High School CHAM 36

 6 Gainesville High School GAIN 33

 7 Unity Reed UNR 8

 8 Osbourn OSB 3

 Male Team Scores

 Place School Points

 ===================================================================

 1 Patriot High School PAT 229

 2 Battlefield BTFL 110

 3 Freedom (South Riding) FRDO 72

 4 Osbourn Park OP 54

 5 Gainesville High School GAIN 36

 6 John Champe High School CHAM 21

 7 Osbourn OSB 8

 8 Unity Reed UNR 2

Congratulations to our district champions:

Girls:

Ashley Bowman - 300-meter hurdles (state auto also!)

Sidney Nolan - 400-meter dash

Rena Johnson - 1600 and 3200-meter runs (pulled off the double)

Chim Okafor - Shot Put

Boys:

Shadrack Nvodjo - 200-meter dash

Malik Dark - 400-meter dash

Patrick Lowry - 800-meter run

James Fillmore - 3200-meter run

Jay Randall - High Jump

Lyndon Amoateng - Triple Jump

4x800 relay - Carlos Garcia, James Fillmore, Henry Birge, Patrick Lowry

We had three events where Patriot went 1-2-3. Girls shot put with Chim, Mide and Lauren Katz making shot put our best event on the girls' side. Boys high jump didn't just go 1-2 with Jay Randall and Kendall Robin, but we also tied for third with Shadrack Nvodjo and Chase James. That event brought in 28 points! The boys' 3200-meter run also went 1-2-3 with James Fillmore, Carlos Garcia and Kaiden Brewer bringing in 24 points to Patriot. 

At districts the top six score points and earn All - District Honors. There are eight schools in the district. Patriot had four of the six scorers in the boys 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, 1600 meter run, 110 meter hurdles, and long jump.

The top six at districts qualify for regionals PLUS those with regional qualifying marks. At regionals we will enter kids in events that will give them the best chance to qualify for the state championship meet at Newport News next week at Todd Stadium. If someone has qualified for an event and are ranked 14^th but they have a later event where they have a much better chance at qualifying, we will not compete in the earlier event to give our athlete the best chance to advance. 

The Tuesday portion of the regional championships will be at Woodbridge High School - this is a change from earlier when it was supposed to be at Colgan. Tuesday is the field events and the 4x800 relay. Wednesday is at Freedom Woodbridge High School which will be the running events. Please note that Woodbridge High School and Freedom Woodbridge High School are different high schools. The top four individual and top four relay teams advance to the state meet and also those with a state meet auto mark. 

Conference Results for Patriot:

Thank you so much for the help on Wednesday with the meet. It takes a lot of people to run a track meet and our team of parents and athletes did a great job. We also got to recognize our seniors and their number-one supporters at the end of the meet.

The boys won the meet and the girls finished strong to get second to Osbourn Park. Meet results are here: https://va.milesplit.com/meets/526266-the-running-store-city-county-championships-2023/results#.ZFSRJXbMK70

Patriot boys won nine of the 17 events.

• Shadrack swept the 100, 200
• Patriot went 1-4 in the boys 800 (Patrick Lowry, Henry Birge, Nick Daly!, James Fillmore)
• Carlos Garcia won the 1600
• Nick Daly won the 110 Hurdles
• Patriot swept all three relays including setting a school record in the 4x100 relay! Malik Dark, Jackson McCarter, Eddie Henry, Shadrack Nvodjo
• 4x400 winners Chase James, Henry Birge, Malik Dark, Nick Daly
• 4x800 winners Joseph Maday, Alex Eye, Daniel Ansah, Brady Widlake
• 1-2 in the high jump with Jay Randall and Kendall Robin
• Other highlights: We went 2-6 on the triple jump, 2-3 in the polevault, and freshman Payton Holmes led the boys in the discus.

The girls had three event winners

• Sidney Nolan won the 400

• Mide Akinkugbe set a new PR and moved to #2 All–Time in the Shot Put. Chim Okafor finished second for a 1-2 finish for Patriot
• The 4x400 (Sidnee Smith, Sidney Nolan, Ashley Bowman, Rena Johnson) ran a blazing 4:07 to win by 18 seconds.

2023 Patriot Track & Field

Important Dates:

March 18^th – Mulch Date – need everyone to help deliver mulch – Booster fundraiser

March 21st – Team picture day and individual shots

March 24^th – Raleigh Relays – NC State University (3200 hs only event) – parent would drive

March 25^th – Battlefield Relays – Battlefield H.S. – bus

March 28th (Tuesday) – District Meet at Freedom South Riding (Gainesville, Osbourn Park, Freedom) – 3 buses

March 31^st – Colgan Distance Meet – limited

April 1^st-10^th – Spring Break. Practices 10am – noon.

April 11th (Tuesday) – District Meet at Patriot (Battlefield, Osbourn Park, Unity Reed)

April 15^th – South County Invite

April 22^nd – Colgan Invite

April 25^th (Tuesday) – District Meet at Unity Reed (John Champe, Osbourn, Unity Reed)

April 27-29^th – Penn Relays

April 29^th – Gainesville Cardinal Classic

May 3^rd- Running Store Prince William County Championship at Patriot

May 5^th-6^th – Dogwood Invite at University of Virginia (qualify by time)

May 13^th – Victor Calhoon (Prom)

May 16th, 18^th – Cedar Run District Championships

May 23-24^th – 6b Region Championships (Colgan, Freedom Woodbridge)

June 2^nd-3^rd – Class 6 State Track & Field Championships (Newport News at Todd Stadium)

** We are trying to add a meet in May for our kids not competing at conference.

We had a great meet to start the season at the Battlefield Relays on Saturday with the boys and girls sweeping the team titles in the 25-team invitational. We also had numerous personal bests. The kids handle the weather conditions well and did not let it affect their effort.

Congratulations to meet winners! Some events like shot put added the two athletes’ performances together to get the team time or distance.

110 meter hurdles: Wathen Montgomery and Nick Daly

400 meter hurdles: Nick Daly and Wathen Montgomery

4x100 Relay: Eddie Henry II, Jackson McCarter, Malik Dark, Shadrack Nvodjo 42.91 (State Qual!)

4x400 Relay: Jackson McCarter, Malik Dark, Wathen Montgomery, Nick Daly 3:29.87 (Reg Qual!)

4x400 Relay 9/10 grade: Henry Birge, Payton Holmes, Jacob McGonigle, Omar Allen

Distance Medley Relay: Henry Birge, James Fillmore, Connor Balcom, Patrick Lowry

Pole Vault: Carter Warren 12-0 (Reg Qual!), Jameson Grant 10-06 (Conf Qual!)

400 Hurdles: Kiara Garcia and Maddy Schmidt

4x100 Meters: Sidney Stith, Jolen Adu, Davina Owusu, Sydnee Smith

800 Sprint Medley: Sidney Stith, Davina Owusu, Sydnee Smith, Sidney Nolan

Shotput: Mide Akinkigbe (32-08 Cong Qual!) and Chim Okafor (32-04 Conf Qual!)

Battlefield Invite Results here:

https://va.milesplit.com/meets/513226-battlefield-relays-2023/results#.ZCJvZXbMK70

Raleigh Relays: Patrick Lowry and Rena Johnson made the invite-only high school 3200-meter race last Friday at NC State University. The huge college meet has one high school race and they made it into the star-studded race. It was very hot! 87 degrees when they ran, unfortunately. Patrick got the state standard running 9:25.82 to place 11^th and Rena earn the region standard running 11:26.16 to place 20^th.

Hi Everyone!

Thank you for coming out tonight to the parent meeting. If you were not able to make it, I will run through some main points.

Indoor Season highlights: The boys won the conference and regional championships and placed 7^th at state. The girls were 3^rd at conference, 6^th at regionals and 17^th at state. Athletes achieving All-State honors: Patrick Lowry (state champion in the 1600, 5th in the 3200), Sidney Nolan (3^rd in the 500), Rena Johnson (4^th in the 1600 and 4^th in the 3200), Lyndon Amoateng (5^th in the triple jump), Boys 4x200 6^th (Shadrack Nvodjo, Eddie Henry II, Jackson McCarter, Malik Dark) and the boys 4x800 (Patrick Lowry, James Fillmore, Jacob Casey, Carlos Garcia). 24 of our kids made it to the state meet.

We think we will be even better in outdoor by looking at the talent and work ethic so far!

Coaching staff: Head Coach James DeMarco (middle and long distance), Jason Grant (sprints, hurdles, jumps), Perry Gaskins (shot and discus), Craig Fell (pole vault), Cameron Biendl (new and will run weight room and work with injured athletes), Naomi Nvodjo (new and will assist sprint and jumps).

Meet schedule: Our first meet will be the Battlefield Relays on March 25^th at Battlefield High School. That meet only takes a limited amount of athletes. On March 28^th, we will go to Freedom High School and everyone who has been coming to practice will be able to compete. At the end of the week, I will have the meet schedule finalized as we are looking to host a few meets at home to get more of our kids an opportunity to compete.

Uniforms: In track, we have the kids purchase their uniforms. We use the same uniform in cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field. We would like all the kids to have a t-shirt and a long sleeve shirt (top of page under mandatory) and the uniform. Everything else underneath is optional stuff you can order for your athlete of for yourself when cheering at the meets. Orders DUE March 3^rd:

https://stores.athletesmark.com/patriot_track_field/shop/home

The boys’ half tights are not in stock but a shipment is coming in early March. You can also wear a plain navy short from another brand as well, as long as the logo is not bigger than 2 ¼ inches.

Team information: Weekly emails about upcoming meets and team information are sent out. If you are not receiving them you can fill out the QR code and will be added or just email me (demarcjb@pwcs.edu). You can also go to PatriotPioneers.org, click “Spring” and then “Track” where I post weekly with updates and also all our team files are located. Everything should be updated by the end of the week (roster, schedule, coaches' bios, etc).

Team cuts: The team is very large (168) and we will keep everyone if they are following directions and working. We do have event cuts in the pole vault and throws due to the need to have enough repetition and training. Too many kids mean we don’t have as many reps for everyone. Pole vault cuts will be finalized on Thursday and Throws on Friday. If cut the kids can do sprints, hurdles, middle and long distance.

Kids who are not training, not doing the warm-ups, and walking the majority of practices will be told to go home and come back when they are ready to get better. If this is a common occurrence they will be removed from the team.

Schedule: The schedule is 2:30-4:30 pm Monday – Friday. Mid and long-distance meets on Saturdays to run at the Manassas Battlefield from 10 am – 11:45 am. Distance will run off-site at the Bristow Station Battlefield on Tuesday. On Monday and Wednesday if your athlete wishes to lift we do go till 5 pm.

Team Contract: The contract is on PatriotPioneers.org and under “Spring” and then click “track.” Please return the signature page that lists any important schedule issues.

Team Pictures: March 21^st are team and individual pictures

Mulch Fundraiser: The only fundraiser we do in outdoor is the Booster Club Mulch Fundraiser. We ask that everyone support the booster club who covers all of our expenses by buying mulch, helping deliver it, or becoming a booster member.

11^th Annual Mulch Madness: Please support the booster club by ordering your Spring Mulch through them. The mulch deadline is March 6^th and it will be delivered to your home on March 18^th. The form is here:

https://bigteams-public-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/library/files/patriotpioneers_org_437/files/2022%20Mulch%20Order%20Form%20copy-2.pdf

To order online go here:

https://patriotpioneers.square.site/product/phs-booster-mulch-sale/204?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=12

Patriot Track & Field

2023 Information

The Outdoor Track and Field season will be starting soon! The season starts soon and we would love to have you on the team. Outdoor track and field will get you fit, fast and strong. We have a great team of hard workers with awesome attitudes.

Tryouts are from February 21^st-23rd. As long as you have a great attitude and work hard we will not cut you. If you are not hustling, following directions and are not trying, then you won’t make the track team.

Official Season Start Date

Outdoor Track and Field Tryouts are February 21st – 23rd, 2023 (2:30-4:30 pm). Meet at the track.

All the following documents are required for tryouts and are due on Tuesday, February 21st, 2023, no later than 2:30 pm:

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

*If you have participated in a fall or winter sport this school year, the only form you need to turn in is the Eligibility Form. If you are still participating in a winter sport when Outdoor Track & Field starts, you are welcome to join us when your winter 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 Outdoor track and field, please do so now by using the QR Code below: you can also go here: https://forms.gle/ZwSAxkFULFjNajD96

Go Pioneers!

James DeMarco

540-230-2154 / demarcjb@pwcs.edu