Latest / The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast / BONUS: Maryland State Meet featuring Patrick Malone from Crofton HS

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BONUS: Maryland State Meet featuring Patrick Malone from Crofton HS · The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

• 0:00
  It's bonus time here on the Gill Connections podcast.
• 0:03
  In an effort to increase communication, empathy and
• 0:06
  understanding around the country, we're going to be
• 0:08
  running a new episode every day interviewing a coach, a high
• 0:12
  school coach from every state, and yes, even you, Washington,
• 0:16
  DC with explaining how the state qualifying system works in their
• 0:21
  state. We'll be talking with a local
• 0:23
  state expert on how many classes, private versus public
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  schools, what events and what is the process?
• 0:30
  Is it areas, districts, regionals, state meet?
• 0:34
  Is it a descending order list? Are there fun things that you do
• 0:38
  a little differently? Like maybe you, I don't know,
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  maybe you do double points for relays looking at you Texas.
• 0:45
  And then we're also going to get to the bottom of is it the state
• 0:48
  meet or do you qualify for states?
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  So check us out every day here at April and May of 2024 as we
• 0:54
  run through each state with a local state expert.
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  So let's get started right now. All right, here we go.
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  We are back continuing on our 51 day journey every day here in
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  the months of April and May 2024 as we have leaders from each
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  state high school wise talking to us about their outdoor state
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  meet championship series. So I'm super happy we are here
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  on Maryland. I know stereotypically I'm
• 1:29
  supposed to say something about crab cake, so I'll just throw
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  that in right there. I do love them.
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  They do a great job there and a lot of other places.
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  So help me welcome Patrick from Crofton High School in Maryland.
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  Patrick, how are you Sir? I'm doing well, Mike.
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  Thanks for having me. Awesome man.
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  Thank you. You know, I'm just very grateful
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  for the 51 leaders that are stepping up in each state and
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  even you, Washington, DC just so grateful.
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  So really, you know, thankful for you being here and
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  representing this great state. So why don't we start?
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  Let me give us like a 32nd 30,000 foot level introduction
• 1:58
  of yourself. Sure.
• 2:00
  So I've been coaching in the state of Maryland since 2004.
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  I actually started coaching when I was.
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  Interning for my my student teaching internship all out in
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  Northern Garrett High School in Garrett County started coaching
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  throws and sprints out there. I then went and I Co was a head
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  coach at Mardela Middle and High School on the Eastern Shore, one
• 2:25
  of the smallest schools in the state.
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  We only had about 300 kids in the high school.
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  We won the 1A East Region title in 2008.
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  And then I kind of was just doing some individual coaching
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  on the side. Got married, had a kid.
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  Then I was up at Goucher College for a couple years doing their
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  throws. Coaching moved to Northeast High
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  School, which was a 2A school in Anne Arundel County.
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  And then was out of coaching for a few years and then for the
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  last three I've been volunteer. Well, I was started
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  volunteering, but I'm I'm a paid assistant now at Crofton and I
• 3:11
  handle the horizontal jumps and the throws.
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  I like how you got out, but check coaching pulled you right
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  back. Yeah, that's we're better for
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  you. It's good to hear it.
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  It, you know, I I had a little girl and and I want to put full
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  attention into that And then as she got older she's like, yeah,
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  go ahead. There's a new high school
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  opening up Crofton. We've only been a high school
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  for about. We graduated our first senior
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  class last year. Oh, wow.
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  That's awesome. That's great.
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  Well, let's start digging into Maryland.
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  One of the first questions we ask is some states, not many
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  we're finding out, but some states have a different
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  organizing body for private schools and a separate one for
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  public. Most states we're learning have
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  both together. We're all going towards the the
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  same state team title. What are we doing in Maryland
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  for private and public schools? Maryland.
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  We've got the MPSSAA, which governs the public schools, and
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  then there's a different governing organization for the
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  private schools. I don't have much experience
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  with that, so I can't speak exclusively that, but I know
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  that there's, I just know that there's a, there's an
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  independent schools association that handles the, the private
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  parochial schools and I believe there's two divisions in that.
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  So they're going for a separate state title.
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  OK, perfect. That's separate state title.
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  That's what we need to know. So we do have separate routes
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  for private and public schools in Maryland.
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  Perfect. OK.
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  No, no. Then then with the public
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  schools, there's four divisions, 4 classes.
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  Eventually you have class, you have one A2A3A and 4A and then
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  within that we've got different regions.
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  So you've got East, West, north-south for for, for track.
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  For indoor, we've got it, it it shrinks a little bit but you
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  know we split it up. You've got the the different
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  classes and regions in that respect.
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  So we've got four classes. Which one?
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  Typically they're by volume of students, right?
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  So which one's the big school? Which one's the smaller schools?
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  Big schools 4A and then it goes down all the way to to 1A.
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  Got it? So we've got four boys teams are
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  winning the state title and four girls teams are winning the
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  state title that. Is correct.
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  Perfect. OK, Well, let's start talking
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  about how they go on to earn those state titles all across
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  the country. Typically, depending on how many
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  rounds you have until the state meet, we've got districts, area
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  sectionals, regionals, we have all these different names.
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  What's the first round for Maryland?
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  First round is the regionals. So you could each team can enter
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  up to for the individual events. You can enter up to three
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  athletes in each individual event and that's contested and
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  you they take the top 2 automatic and then we take the
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  next best time timer distance qualifiers.
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  So we go to regionals, pardon me, we're allowed in our
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  individual events. We're allowed three athletes per
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  no time qualifier. If I have 4 stud Millers, they
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  all run 4 minutes flat. I'm only going to get to go
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  three of them. The other one's got to figure
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  out the two mile or the half mile or something like that.
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  That is correct. And then assuming relays one,
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  yeah. And then so that's regionals.
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  And then so are you saying the next round is the state meet?
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  Next round of state meet So you you qualify for the state meet
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  one of two ways. You either finish in the top two
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  or we do have automatic time and distance qualifiers.
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  So if you if you meet that and finish outside the the top two,
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  you can get in. So OK, let me make sure I'm
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  hearing this. So top two, that's easy.
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  You know that's easy. Top two.
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  And then to fill out the field, you're saying that there's a
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  time qualifier for the rest of the so all regional results put
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  into one, there's a time qualifier and all of them also
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  go to state meet, not the next 10 best times.
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  You're saying a hard, hard, fast time.
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  It's actually both. OK, explain that.
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  So. If you meet so let let let's
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  let's say just you know my throws background.
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  Let's say the the cut off or not the cut off but let's say the
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  the auto for for girl shot is 33 feet.
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  Any girl that throws at the region meet over 33 feet
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  qualifies for the state. Now the the the qualifying
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  distance is different. Based on the state
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  classification. So it might be 32 feet for one A
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  might be 33 feet for 3A. And you know if you meet that
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  distance then you get to go to states.
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  If you don't meet that distance, they will look at all right,
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  we've got the the eight top two finishers, and then they'll fill
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  the field with the the remaining distances.
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  But it but if you meet the the qualifying distance or time,
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  you're automatically in. So they're guaranteeing they
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  have their minimum to state. Maybe it's 16 or something like
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  that, right. So if using your girl shop, put
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  there. If I'm going to do the wild,
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  crazy example here, if 100 kids at regionals throw over 33 feet,
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  we're going to have 100 kids at the state meet that that is an
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  exaggeration. So they may say no that.
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  That is an exaggeration. Yeah.
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  God, I'd. I'd love to Having everybody
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  grow. Let's make it more reasonable.
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  You said they they take up to 8 kids go.
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  What if twenty other kids than regionals throw 33 feet?
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  So we're gonna have 28 kids at stake.
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  Man, that's a that's a really good question.
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  I'd have to, I'd had, I'd. I hadn't thought of that and I'd
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  have to ask our Commissioner because.
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  It's it. It's never happened.
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  I don't know if it's come close. I I think what what's happened
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  previously is we've had some auto we we in some events we've
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  had some auto qualifiers like let's say the field is set at 16
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  then you know if everybody's met auto qualifying they might add
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  like a 17th or 18th but that that doesn't happen too often,
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  right? OK, so top two plus this
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  standard to so we can fill out the field for the state meet.
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  So let's talk about the state meet is do we do all four
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  classes at the same venue? Is this venue rotated around and
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  is it a college facility, private facility?
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  How many days talk to us about the actual state meet?
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  So that's we've made an interesting change because when
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  I started and for most of my career, Maryland, we were going
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  to Morgan State University in Baltimore, right?
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  They've got a beautiful facility up there.
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  And what they would do is it would be a essentially it was a
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  three day meet, so you'd have the large schools come Friday
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  and Saturday and then the small schools would be Thursday and
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  Saturday. So Saturday they'd be finishing
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  up the second day with everybody, but the small schools
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  would be able to take care of some of their stuff on Thursday
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  and then the large schools on Friday since the pandemic.
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  We've moved things to the Prince George's sports and learning
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  complex right by FedEx Field. Again another beautiful
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  facility. It's a it's I mean it's a it's
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  pretty much a world class facility.
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  I mean they've got great services and and facilities, but
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  again it it's a similar concept as you have that Thursday,
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  Friday, Saturday split. And I think it was part of the
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  reason was because I think Morgan's gone undergone some
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  major renovations recently and we just haven't been able to to
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  get back to that. But we're still a three day and
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  we're still all classes during that three day, correct.
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  And do we still do crown all the state team titles on the
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  Saturday? Yes.
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  And then the SAT and and what they just just to make sure
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  we're not overcrowded because they don't have the seating
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  capacity at Morgan. The you'll have a morning
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  session for the large schools and then you'll have an
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  afternoon session for the small schools.
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  So you might get some overlap because like, you know, coaches,
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  we've got friends and all division.
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  So you know, you might see some kids and some coaches rolling in
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  from smaller schools that you know and you DAP them up.
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  Hey, how you doing? Good luck, that type of thing.
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  But yeah, everybody on on Saturday is that's that's where
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  your team champions are crowned. I like that.
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  It's kind of like a championship Saturday.
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  You're everybody's going to get crowned their state titles,
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  their team titles on one day. That's that's a pretty cool day.
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  That's 8 teen titles in one day. That's a that's a fun day.
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  Let me tell you that's. Really, it is.
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  Hey, you, you wait. You come, You come for the
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  championship. You stay for the fried catfish.
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  There we go. All right, Love it, love it,
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  love it. Might have to be there this
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  year. Now, he said.
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  That do we, since we moved to Prince George, are we kind of
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  set there for a while or do we think we're going to rotate?
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  I think so I I I foresee that happening.
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  I I've I've heard talk that they're adding some seating on
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  the on the back stretch. You know they I know they really
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  enjoy having us there. You know they've they've really
• 13:04
  gone above and beyond trying to adapt the facility, add some
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  some Wi-Fi capabilities for the auto timing and and live live
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  scoring. So yeah, they're they're all in
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  and and then they're indoor facility, they're currently in
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  the process of completely resurfacing right now.
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  So we're you know when we compete indoor this year it's
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  going to be a fully brand new surface top to bottom on on the
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  indoor and that's where our indoor championships are which
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  is also the sporting learning complex.
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  That's just a. That's a.
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  That's a Class A facility right there.
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  Perfect. Awesome.
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  A lot of states, we're learning are adding some type of adaptive
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  athlete or wheelchair athlete events to the state meet
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  anything like that here in Maryland.
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  We've had wheelchair events since I started as a head coach
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  back in O5 and there's actually a funny story in that is I
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  almost got reprimanded because. Tatiana McFadden the great
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  Tatiana is is a is a Maryland product at least she's from
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  Appleton High School and there was a bit of a controversy with
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  her and her her able bodied athlete teammate.
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  They ran the the the 1600 simultaneously and she was
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  accused of pacing and I I didn't like that argument.
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  So me the the young and fiery coach that I was.
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  I just. I I was, I was yelling at other
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  coaches just lay you know layoff that this and that stuff.
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  So yeah and it's it's it's an exciting event because I I think
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  it it really, you know just seeing how great she's become.
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  But she's been a great example for all the other wheelchair
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  athletes coming up. Yeah, we, you know, we're here
• 14:53
  in Champaign, IL where Tatiana is.
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  So I've had the occasion to run into her on flights and stuff
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  like that many times. And we have a great wheelchair
• 15:01
  racing team and even basketball team here at the University of
• 15:04
  Illinois. So it's really cool to see these
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  amazing athletes. I mean, they're just in Tatiana.
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  I mean, gosh, just the, the crown jewel of these athletes.
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  Quite amazing, very cool. Love that you're doing that in
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  Maryland and you have done it for quite a while.
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  How about since we have four different classes, some states,
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  whether it's official or unofficially do after the state
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  meet a meet of champions type where they, you know, bring the
• 15:25
  Champions of all four classes and you know maybe the next two
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  or three and find out who the air quotes here true state
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  champion is anything like that. Nope.
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  I I've been trying to talk into that because I'm I am originally
• 15:38
  from the great state of New Jersey.
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  So we I just growing up we always had to meet champions and
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  then when I see other states that don't have it, I'm like why
• 15:47
  not that that that's actually my my one thing.
• 15:51
  That that if we, if we if we, we'll, we'll save that, all
• 15:54
  right? Yeah, we, we, we end at, you're
• 15:57
  either the one A2A3A4A or you're the Class A or B independent
• 16:04
  schools. Perfect.
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  All right, let's talk about your events.
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  This is always kind of a hard question because I want to ask
• 16:09
  what are the unique events? But they're not unique to you,
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  you just do them. So let's kind of go in groupings
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  here. We can assume you're doing the
• 16:16
  102 hundred, 400 and 800 in the 1632.
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  Are you doing the 1632? Are you doing the mile, two
• 16:22
  mile, the 15103 thousand? What are you doing in those two
• 16:24
  events? It's a 16 and a 32, OK, that's
• 16:27
  the most common. Now we go to the hurdles.
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  We're doing the 110 highs and the 100 meter hurdles.
• 16:31
  For the boys and girls, we're doing 3300 hurdles.
• 16:35
  Yeah, 300 not 4, correct. For the relays, we're for sure
• 16:39
  doing the four by one and four by four, because if you're not
• 16:41
  doing those, you're not really doing track and you wouldn't be
• 16:43
  on this podcast. What other relays might you be
• 16:45
  doing? We do the four by eight and the
• 16:47
  four by two, four by eight and four by two, all right.
• 16:50
  We're getting about, I think we're about 5050 ish on those
• 16:53
  two events, any Sprint Medleys or any other.
• 16:57
  Nope. And then that's actually just on
• 16:59
  a state level, it's not really a popular event.
• 17:03
  Well, we don't have, we don't have too many relay meets in the
• 17:08
  state of Maryland. So where other states might have
• 17:11
  these big relay carnivals, well, whether you see the DMR or
• 17:15
  you'll see the SMR. We we catch it on occasion at
• 17:19
  some meets, but it's not this big, widely contested stuff.
• 17:24
  Interesting. But at State we're doing 4 by 1,
• 17:25
  four by two, 4x4 and four by eight.
• 17:28
  Let's go to I'm going to assume some of your favorite events.
• 17:31
  Let's go to the field event. So we've got long jump and
• 17:33
  triple jump, correct. We've got shot put and discus.
• 17:37
  We've got pole vault and high jump.
• 17:40
  We got any kind of javelin hammer throw?
• 17:44
  I'm working on it. You're working on it.
• 17:45
  All right. That's a you know what?
• 17:46
  That's a great attitude. So we don't have it today, but
• 17:49
  we're working on it. I I my hope is within the next
• 17:53
  five or six years if if everybody keeps saying yes, good
• 17:58
  we're we're certainly seeing it over the past five to 10 years.
• 18:01
  A surge here with Missouri, Florida, South Carolina, Idaho
• 18:06
  is adding here as a provisional this year and then as a full
• 18:09
  event next year. So we Arizona's added we're
• 18:11
  definitely we're getting over the hump, we're over 25 now.
• 18:14
  So that's great to hear that we're working on.
• 18:16
  Yeah, and. And I know the Texas Coaches
• 18:18
  Association can they do their their.
• 18:21
  End of the season stuff. They're starting to add that
• 18:24
  too. And that that to me is the big
• 18:26
  tipping point. You get Texas or California
• 18:30
  getting it. I mean, Florida is a huge ad
• 18:32
  just population wise, but you get Texas or California and
• 18:36
  we're sailing. That's a great point.
• 18:37
  What about some states will do unofficial state meet events
• 18:41
  after the state meet? Typically it's the hammer or the
• 18:43
  javelin or even the heft, athon or decathlon, anything like
• 18:46
  that. No, we we haven't we haven't
• 18:50
  seen anything like that and I I honestly I wouldn't know how to
• 18:55
  how to approach doing that yet but I I, I am working at leaders
• 18:59
  at our county level on kind of building up javelin exposure.
• 19:02
  Awesome. Anything before we get to the
• 19:04
  two more fun questions here to end us out today, anything that
• 19:08
  we missed that's interesting and unique that you know of in the
• 19:11
  state of Maryland. No, it, I mean.
• 19:17
  You know, not to be condescending it's it's pretty
• 19:19
  pretty standard. You know it it's got a a fairly
• 19:24
  well oiled process and you know we've got some great district
• 19:32
  level commissioners, county level commissioners that that
• 19:35
  they they work their tails off to get a great meet for the
• 19:39
  kids. So, especially coming out of
• 19:42
  COVID, I think everybody's just. Really, really tried working as
• 19:46
  hard as they can to make sure we just renormalize the the, the
• 19:51
  meet hosting and everything. There's a good word renormalize.
• 19:55
  I like that. All right, let's have a little
• 19:57
  bit of fun here, Patrick. Let's settle a debate, at least
• 20:00
  inside of your culture, your area, from what you and your
• 20:04
  team or maybe, you know, friends in your conference say.
• 20:07
  What do we say there? Are we qualifying for state?
• 20:09
  Are we qualifying for states? Are we just qualifying for the
• 20:11
  state meet? Which one are we kind of
• 20:13
  culturally saying there? You're you're you're qualifying
• 20:16
  for states because honestly, you sound like a communist.
• 20:18
  If you're saying you're you're qualifying for the state meet,
• 20:21
  that's a little too formal. You know what's funny is
• 20:24
  earlier, about 10 minutes ago, you said states.
• 20:27
  And I was like, oh, when I ask him this question, if he doesn't
• 20:29
  say states, I'm a roll the tape back.
• 20:31
  So wait, wait. To be consistent, Sir.
• 20:33
  Very good. Very good.
• 20:34
  All right. You've been great with us.
• 20:36
  You've been a great sport helping us out.
• 20:37
  Learn about Maryland. I'm going to hand you the magic
• 20:39
  wand. You kind of already maybe hinted
• 20:41
  at what your magic wish might be here.
• 20:43
  If you could change one thing. To improve in your opinion the
• 20:46
  great state of Maryland for outdoor track and field what
• 20:48
  might that be? Me the Champions.
• 20:51
  I I I think at the very least we can do it with the public
• 20:55
  schools you you had to one day meet the week after states just
• 21:01
  make it happen. I I think with the the size
• 21:05
  population Maryland has and I think there's a there's a level
• 21:09
  interest because everybody sees everybody else competing over
• 21:14
  the three days that we have the state meet let you know line it
• 21:18
  up let who we got you know that that's that would that would be
• 21:22
  my my big big lift is let's just one more let's just do it one
• 21:27
  more time. I tend to agree with you on any,
• 21:31
  and I think it's almost every state so far has more than one
• 21:33
  class. If you have more than one class,
• 21:34
  I I like how you put it there. Let's line it up and let's find
• 21:37
  out. Because guess what?
• 21:38
  When you get to college, you can be lining it up no matter what
• 21:40
  division you are. So I like that meter champs
• 21:43
  approach. I I, you know, I I grew up with
• 21:46
  it. I I see other states trying to
• 21:49
  do that you know and and where I grew up it was everybody it was
• 21:53
  you were taking the the private schools you were taking the
• 21:55
  public schools let's go let's let's and and there's some great
• 21:58
  champions and there's been some great champions that have gone
• 22:01
  on to to national and international stages in in
• 22:06
  Maryland. You know I I remember watching
• 22:10
  Matt Centro at set the state record in the 1600 my first year
• 22:14
  coaching. You know we we've had the
• 22:17
  Nigerian 800 record holder EOS come come through the Maryland
• 22:23
  public school system so we've got these these great athletes
• 22:27
  coming through let let them at least leave their high school
• 22:30
  career I'm the Maryland me to chant I'm I'm I'm it.
• 22:36
  I'm the top person. I like it.
• 22:38
  Let's go, Marilyn. Let's make that happen and let's
• 22:39
  make the javelin happen as well out there.
• 22:42
  So, Patrick, thank you so much. You've done a great job
• 22:45
  representing this great state. We're very thankful for you
• 22:48
  being involved in our series as we continue to travel around the
• 22:50
  country and check out every state meet there is.
• 22:53
  So thank you very much, Patrick. I appreciate it.
• 22:55
  Mike. Thank you very much.