1998 Maine Class A State Championship 4x400m Relay

Memorial Day hits a bit harder this year. A few weeks ago we lost a great warrior, Kyle Milliken. Kyle was a member of one of the toughest teams in the world, the Navy Seals, where he served our country for 15 years. I first met Kyle in 1996 when we became teammates on the XC team my freshman year at Cheverus High School. He quickly became one of my closest friends on the team and being two years older than I was, he became someone I looked up to while learning to navigate through my new surroundings. Kyle was a teammate in every sense of the word. He was always there for anything you needed, whether it was giving you a ride to a meet, helping you through a tough time or battling your rivals on the track. His college coach at UConn called him a "glue guy," a reference Tom Brady even called out in his dedication to Kyle.

On the track, he became a guy we counted on for our 4x400m relay team....especially in 1998. This was the team that set the state record in the event and at they state meet that spring, it was the team that held our state title hopes in their hands as our school was trying to win our 6th consecutive state title. We had a one point lead heading into the final event and had to beat rival Edward Little to win the event to secure the team title. And for three of the guys on the team, it was their last race they'd ever run together in a Cheverus uniform. Kyle's leg that day really demonstrates the kind of teammate and warrior he was. He received the baton with the largest deficit the team had experienced all season. It didn't matter though...when the stakes were highest, he came through. He wasn't going to let his teammates down. There's no way they were ending that meet and their careers without a victory.

Thanks for all the memories, thank you for protecting our country and thank you for being the greatest teammate. We are thinking about you and your family today along with the many others they have lost their lives serving.