2025 MD Private School Championship: Info

Thursday, November 6, 2025

Athletes will be dismissed from school at 11:15am and the bus will depart from DeMatha at approximately 11:45am. It is, approximately, a 60-minute drive to Bittersweet Field in Poolesville, Md but we want to give ourselves a little extra time in case of mid-day traffic.

Note the following meet details:

Location
Bittersweet Field
11401 Partnership Road
Poolesville, MD 20837

Meet Schedule
1:00p - Property opens for team arrivals & athlete warmups
2:20p - Course closes for warmups
2:25p - JV Boys 5k (Unlimited entries)
2:55p - JV Girls 5k
3:27p - National Anthem
3:30p - Varsity Boys 1A/2A* 5k (Max 10 entries)
4:00p - Varsity Girls 1A/2A 5k
4:40p - Awards Ceremony
5:30p - Course closes

*The private school championship divides teams into divisions for the purpose of team awards, though they run together in the race.

1A (small school) division - <400 coed students or <200 single gender students

2A (large school) division - 400+ coed students or 200+ single gender students

We are, of course, in the 2A, or large school, division.

Registered athletes
Our Junior Varsity team at the MD Private School State Championship will consist of TBD

Our Varsity team at the MD Private School State Championship will consist of TBD*

*Once I have a final list of those athletes continuing on, I will announce our entries. My policy for varsity races, especially for championship meets, is that I always enter a minimum of seven athletes and only exceed that number with additional athletes who have broken 20 minutes in the 5k. With that in mind, there's a good chance we will have 10 in the varsity race, but it depends on how many are continuing on.

Award Ceremonies
This is a championship meet. Regardless of how we perform on Thursday, we will remain as a team through the conclusion of the awards ceremony in the interest of good sportsmanship.

JV Races - Top 25 overall individual finishers; Top 2 teams

Varsity Races - Top 25 overall individual finishers; Top 2 teams in each division

Maryland Senior Athlete of the Year Award

The Maryland Senior Athlete of the Year Award is presented to one Senior girl and one Senior boy cross country runner in the state of Maryland who have demonstrated uncommon commitment to the sport, model leadership among their peers, exceptional personal performances and sportsmanship, and have had measurable positive impacts on the culture and performance of their team.

Estimated return to DeMatha
6:30pm (give or take depending on traffic)

Athletes:

• • Wear your racing uniforms

    • SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPRESSION GEAR WORN UNDER THE UNIFORM: Compression shorts, if worn, MUST be the same BLUE as our school color (ROYAL BLUE) and stop above the knee. Compression shirts may be short or long sleeve (though I recommend no compression shirts unless the weather is exceptionally cold) but MUST be WHITE . If a logo is visible on either piece of apparel, it must be Under Armour.

  • Wear your team gear (if you did not order any or yours has not arrived, you MUST wear Under Armour clothing to warm up in; do not show up in just your uniform).

  • Wear your training shoes. No flip-flops or crocs until after you've cooled down.

  • Pack your racing spikes, if you have them. These should not be your primary shoes for the course walk and warmup/cool down; these are only to be worn during the race.

  • Everyone must pitch in during set-up and/or take-down in regards to the tent, tarp, etc.

Additional Important Details

• • The distance for this course is 5 kilometers.

  • Parents/guardians can sign up to bring water, gatorade, and/or snacks for the athletes to have before and after their races by using this Signup Genius link for this week.

  • There site map includes a space for vendors. The meet website does not appear to detail what those vendors will be selling, but an email from the meet director suggests an MDXC-like "Vendor Village" providing a "festival atmosphere" including several food trucks.

  • Parents and relatives are encouraged to attend. There is a non-refundable parking fee. Pre-purchased passes are $11 (including a $1 service fee) and can be purchased via Hometown Ticketing. Beginning after 12:59 p.m. on race day, parking passes will increase $20 cash if you purchase on-site. Please read all details provided by the meet host on Hometown Ticketing and refer to their parking map.

    • Please note that I expect athletes to stay with the team until the conclusion of the meet to support their teammates. Additionally, this is a championship meet. Please do the best you can to avoid missing your teammates' races. In the event that you absolutely must leave the meet early, you must check in with me first because I need to remain aware of each athlete's location until either I dismiss them to leave with their guardian or until we arrive back at DeMatha. Please do not leave the meet location with your son unless I have dismissed him.

    • IMPORTANT: If you intend to bring your son home from the meet (whether he rode to the meet with you or not), you MUST sign the Return Trip with Parents form and return it to coach before you leave the meet.

    • IMPORTANT: If your son will drive to/from the meet, or if your son will leave the meet with another athlete or parent, you MUST sign the Transportation Verification Carpool form and return it to coach before we depart for the meet.

  • Anybody who takes photos during the meet is encouraged to share them to this shared Google drive folder for the MD Private Schools State Championship

  • Athletes will be told to call/text their ride when we leave Bullis School. I will also send an alert via Remind with an estimated time of arrival at DeMatha.

• As of Saturday, October 25, the forecast for November 6 is partly cloudy with a high of 55. With afternoon race times, it should make for some chilly but comfortable race conditions like the freshmen and varsity B runners had at WCACs.

If you have any questions, contact Coach Puffett directly.