2026 MD Private School State Championship: Info

Thursday, November 5, 2026

Athletes will be dismissed from school at 10:15am and the bus will depart from DeMatha at approximately 10:45am. 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.

Location
Bittersweet Field
11401 Partnership Road
Poolesville, MD 20837

Meet Schedule
12:00p - Property opens for team arrivals & athlete warmups
1:50p - Course closes for warmups
1:55p - National Anthem
2:00p - Boys 2A Varsity Championship / 2A Open (Max 10 entries for varsity / Unlimited entries for open)
2:25p - Girls 2A Varsity Championship / 2A Open
3:10p - 2A Division Awards Ceremony
3:30p - Boys 1A Varsity Championship / 1A Open
3:55p - Girls Varsity 1A Championship / 1A Open
4:35p - 1A Division Awards Ceremony
5:30p - Course closes

*The private school championship divides teams into divisions based on school size.

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.

This year, they have changed the format. In the past, they have run the two varsity divisions together and separated them for team scoring, and then run the two open divisions together. This year they are separating the divisions and running the varsity and open runners within the same division together. This means all of our athletes will run in one race.

Registered athletes
Our athletes entered as open runners at the MD Private School State Championship are:

•  Zahir Accilien, Oladimeji Alade, Ian Andrews, Michael Bridges, Eddie Castillo-Gutierrez, Emilio Chicas, Remi Cornelius, William Dougherty, John Tomas Felicio, Nathaniel Garvin Jr, Kendall Gratton, Miguel Guzman, Ryan Hickey, Dominic Hislop, Dane Kuzner, Stephen Lawrence Jr, Caene Nartey, Nnamdi Onwuka, Chase Osby, Luke Anthony Quach, Terence Rascher, Stavros Rodousakis, Logan Von Spiegelfeld

Our athletes entered as varsity* runners at the MD Private School State Championship are:

• Evan Bouchard, Satchel Drabinski, Dominic Hilton, Blake Inzeo, Arvin Mirchandani, Lucas Moisiuk, Fareed Rahi, Alexander Soto, Renaud Williams

If you see your name on this list but were not planning to continue through the private school championship, please be sure to see me this week to let me know why you are not continuing. Likewise, if you do not see your name on this list but were planning to race, please let me know.

*My policy for varsity races, particularly for championship meets, is that I always enter a minimum of seven athletes and exceed that number only with additional athletes who have broken 20 minutes in the 5k.

Awards Ceremony

This is a championship meet. Regardless of how we perform on Saturday, we will remain as a team through the conclusion of the awards ceremony.

Individual - Medals to Top 25 finishers in each varsity division*

Team - Awards to Top 2 teams in each varsity 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.

*The top 16 will receive their awards during the award ceremony, while the 17th through 25th finishers will have their medals available for coaches to pick up at the end of the meet.

Estimated return to DeMatha
5:00pm (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 but MUST be WHITE (though I recommend no compression shirts unless the weather is exceptionally cold). If a logo is visible on either piece of apparel, it must be Under Armour.

*I want to emphasize that it is critical we comply with this rule for the WCAC Championship. Members of the same team wearing mis-matching undergarments is something they can disqualify an entire team for at any meet. Other schools will often not complain during regular season meets because they would rather get another team disqualified at a championship meet. We may have gotten away with some uniform violations up to now, but we must not risk any violations this weekend.

• Wear your team gear (if you did not order any, 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.

• Recommended: Bring your yoga mat (or towel) for cooldown stretches.

Additional Important Details

• • The distance for this course is 5 kilometers.

    • The course has changed since last year [Course Map]

  • 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.

  • Their 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 to $20 cash if you purchase on-site. Scroll to the bottom of the meet website to view the 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 or the awards ceremony. We will likely take some team photos after the conclusion of the awards ceremony and I'd like to have everybody present for that. In the event 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 under 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 School State Championship

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

Forecast

• This page will be updated when we are within a week of race day.

  • Remember to follow instructions regarding undergarments, should you wish to wear anything under your racing uniform.

If you have any questions, contact Coach Puffett directly.