NEWMAN, Calif. – Patricio Kearney is a two-sport athlete at Orestimba High School.
Now the Warrior senior plans to follow the same format in college, and will be staying in the Stanislaus County during the process.
Kearney, who competes on the Warrior boys track and field and cross-country teams in recent years, recently inked his decision to continue his education as a business major and compete in both sports at Stanislaus State later this year. He recently held his National Letter of Intent signing at Orestimba High in front of family and friends.
“I was down between two colleges which were Stanislaus State and Saint Mary’s College,” said Kearney, as the latter is in Moraga.
Kearney explained why he chose to stay closer to home instead of living the college life in the Bay Area.
“Some of the factors as to why I chose Stan State were the team, the coaches and my vision of making it big coming from the Central Valley,” Kearney said.
Kearney has had strong performances as a member of the Warrior boys track and field. Last November, he competed at the 37th annual California Interscholastic Federation State Cross-Country Championships, running the 2.1-miles course at Woodward Park in Fresno. He finished with a time of 15 minutes, 48.6 seconds for a 22nd place finish in the Division IV boys race. There were 204 runners in this division.
“As a student-athlete at Orestimba High School, it has been fun and has brought me many wonderful memories and experiences,” Kearney said. “Balancing school and training a lot for running can be challenging but it pushes me to become a better version of myself.”
Once the high school track and field season is over, and after receiving his diploma from OHS, Kearney will continue working out in preparing for the next level at Stanislaus State.
“I currently am preparing to compete at the next level as I’m training consistently and staying determined,” Kearney said.
Additionally, Kearney will be going up to Mammoth Lakes for a month over summer with the Stanislaus State team and train with them at a higher altitude in preparing for the upcoming collegiate cross-country season.
But in the upcoming days and weeks leading to graduation from OHS, Kearney is savoring every moment.
“I’m excited for graduation and ready for my next chapter,” Kearney said.
Mike Bush is a multimedia journalist who was born and raised in the Stanislaus and Merced County areas. Follow him on X/Twitter @MikeBMultimedia and Instagram @mikebushmedia.
