Margaretta's Bailey brothers on same track one last time

CASTALIA — Competitive by nature. Tate Bailey, a senior, and younger brother Kale, a sophomore, have one more weekend of battling each other. The two will be a part of a contingent of Margaretta athletes that will compete at the state track and field championships Friday and Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. "It means a lot because it means all of your hard work has been paying off," Kale said. "We had a great coach to help us out through all of our form in running and everything." Both Baileys will participate in the long jump while forming half of the 4x100 and 4x200 relays for the Polar Bears. "I expected to be here," said Tate confidently. "I've done it my last two or three years, so I expected to compete back here." The long jump is one day of competition. In the 4x100 and 4x200, there are two heats with the top two finishers in each heat automatically advancing to the final. The next best five times also move on to Saturday's finals. "You just don't want to get in your mind, so you want to have fun with your friends," said Kale of the busy weekend. "That way it's not always holding you down and you're not nervous. You have to let some of that go to perform at your best." In the long jump, Tate was third at the Sandusky Bay Conference meet with a top mark of 21 feet, 2.5 inches. Kale was fifth at 20-11. At the district meet, Kale won with a best jump of 20-8 while Tate was fifth at 19-10. "Their biggest thing is staying consistent in their approach," Margaretta coach Kasey Haerr said. "We've worked a lot on that over the last two weeks. They have to get enough air. They're already athletic in nature, so working on their form is big." In the regional meet this past weekend, Kale was victorious with a top mark of 21-10.5. Tate was third with a 21-6.5. "I'm a little nervous, but the biggest thing is making sure we get height on the approach," Kale said. "Our form has to be good." The two are joined by Carter Luzader and Zachary Bouy on their relays. The 4x100 team was third at the Sandusky Bay Conference meet with a time of 43.31 seconds. They finished second to Huron in 44.55 at the district meet and second to the Tigers at the regional with a time of 43.74. "They've been great all year," Haerr said. "The biggest thing in the 4x100 is handoffs and getting out on time. They need to get out fast and maintain their speed throughout the race. We have big competition in Huron, who we've seen in every meet over the last three weeks. "Going into it, they're going to have a lot of adrenaline. They're all super competitive. They know what it's going to take to win the title." The 4x200 quartet took third at the SBC meet in 1:30.09. The Polar Bears were second to Huron at the district meet, crossing the line in 1:31.72. At the regional, Margaretta was runner-up to Huron, finishing in 1:29.33, a school-record time. "It's handoffs there, too," Haerr said. "They need to get out fast enough so you're already at your top speed when you get the baton. We want to be consistent in our runs. We actually switched the order of the relay. Hopefully that helps us get a little faster start at the beginning." The Bailey brothers were key pieces to Margaretta's boys basketball team that won the SBC Bay Division title and a district championship this past winter "When I win, I let him know I won, I'll just say that. It's a little rivalry," Kale said. "It's something really cool because not everybody gets to play with their siblings. This is probably the last time we can play an organized sport together unless we join a rec league or something. It's really cool to be able to participate in sports with him." Kale is right. Tate graduated over the weekend so the two have one more event together as Margaretta athletes. Both have very distinct goals this weekend: win medals, set personal records and maybe come home with a state championship. "You have to have a positive mindset and don't worry about it. It's track," Tate said. "It's fun. You have a lot of accountability, so it makes for a good atmosphere."