MADness—the Blog

This has nothing to do with movies, but it’s quite a story.  It’s about a high school kid who tries out for the track team in his senior year, goes on to set records, and is named Athlete of the Year. 

Armory Track:

When it started, Patrick Farmer was some kid that came out for winter track in his senior year of high school. He was a soccer player at St. Anthony’s and would have probably taken a scholarship to play at Loyola.

But he had a friend on the girls track team, Olivia Abbate, who kept prodding him to join the track team. She told the boys coach Tim Dearie that he was fast. She told sprint coach Rich Panker the same thing. It’s a familiar story, a kid from one sport that joins the track team because a friend wouldn’t lay off and because, if nothing else, it was something to do.

But most stories don’t end like this.

[snip]

It took Farmer three months to join the track team, make a splash on the national scene, grab a CHSAA record, an athletic scholarship to Virginia, a state championship and all-American honors, running the 400 leg on St. Anthony’s national champion sprint medley relay.

“I still can’t believe it,” he said.

Congrats, Patrick, from Uncle John.  I’m happy to say I knew you way back when.