M-ette great recalls 2000 team title

It has been two decades since the 2000 Malta M-ettes track team was crowned the State B champion, earning the school a three-peat.

The team won the title on Saturday, May 27, 2000, with a total of 74 points.

This past week, the PCN caught up with Mariah (Guilfoyle) Patterson who won four individual events that season and a school record of 13 state championship medals. She currently lives as a stay-at-home mom in Lewistown, Mont. with her husband R.J. Patterson and their two sons 11-year-old Colt Patterson and eight-year-old Jett.

Patterson, who was born in Libby, Mont., and her parents Bob and MaryAnne Guilfoyle moved to Malta during her freshman year, a year that she had been looking forward to for most of her young life.

“I grew up watching my sisters (Shannon, Courtney, and Mary-Kate, who all went to Billings Central) run track and I could not wait for my turn,” Patterson said.

Before the move to Billings, Mont., Patterson and her family lived in Noxon, Mont. without electricity. After Billings, the family moved to Malta because they liked the area and found a house to renovate.

“I remember my first day of school, I was living in the back of a pickup camper

Though she had success in each of her seasons at MHS, Patterson learned a hard and valuable lesson during her freshman year. She was posting the fastest times in the state for Class B, but she was cited with a MIP, disqualifying her from post-season competition.

“We were just out one night,” she said. “I had a great season, was super excited, and had a few beers. We got pulled over and had got a MIP.”

Patterson remembers that moment in her as being one of the worst moments in her life, but she also said that it pushed her to compete harder.

“It made me want to run more, I wanted to win more, I wanted to be the best,” she said. “And I will never forget watching that bus drive to Missoula, and I wasn’t on it.”

To this day, thinking of the situation makes her shake.

Though she pushed to become a better athlete, Patterson said that she remembered the feeling of disappointing many, including her teammates, coach, the community, and most of all, her parents.

“You don’t realize the impact that your bad choices have until to let everyone down and hurt the people around you,” Patterson said emphatically. “So make good choices.”

She believes that her poor decision cost her four or five more state titles.

“I was never doing that again,” Patterson said.

In her sophomore season Patterson was a part of the short relay state championship team, and won the 100, 200, 300 hurdles, and 100 hurdles. In her junior season, Patterson won the same three events and finished second again in the 100. Her senior season, Patterson retained all three of her titles and once again won the 100 event. She set a record an All-State record of 43.34 in the intermediate hurdles in the 2000 State Meet, a record that stood until 2012. She currently still holds the State B Record.

“That third team title meant the world to me,” Patterson said. “The 200 was my last event of the weekend. I remember crossing that finish line and it felt like the weight of the world was off my chest.”

She was battling expectations and the thoughts of breaking records. Prior to her last race, she ran and won the 300 hurdles, but during the finals, Patterson did not feel good. She cleared the final hurdles and coasted in towards the finish line. After the race, M-ette Track Assistant Coach Scott King, her running coach, approached her to tell her that she had broken the state record despite the sickness.

“I had relaxed because I had so many events and I wanted to win all of them,” Patterson said.

Patterson fondly remembers the support that the community of Malta and Phillips County gives to its youth.

“The small towns like Malta have a lot of state championships and that takes the whole community,” Patterson said. “When I went to Missoula, I lost that sense of community and that sense of belonging. As a person, an athlete, and individual, you need that little community to make you feel like you are somebody.”

After high school, Patterson ran track at the University of Montana and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology Criminology in 2004. She won the 400 Hurdles in the Conference meet that day of her graduation. After competing for the women’s track and field team, Patterson started coaching high school track and field. She married her college friend and roommate; R.J. Patterson, in 2004. R.J. was a part of the University of Montana Rodeo Team and currently is the Chief Operating Officer of Side Sledge. He also works for Fay Ranches. Mariah and R.J. participate together in Team Roping events.

The influence that Malta has made on Patterson, was one reason that she and her family moved to Lewistown two years ago, giving their children a sense of community and the experience of playing sports in a small-town setting.

“There is nothing like small-town sports,” Patterson said.