St. Joseph Christian’s Glise to represent Missouri at Patriot Games

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- When the first-ever Patriot Games take place in early August, a local from the St. Joseph area will be representing Missouri in the girls division in Geneva, Ohio.

Maddie Glise is an area teen who will be entering her senior year at St. Joseph Christian. Throughout her young life, she's played multiple sports, including softball and golf, competed in track, and is a captain on her basketball team for the Lions.

Her mother, Amanda Glise, who is a member of the Missouri National Guard at the 139th Airlift Wing, received a recruitment email about the Patriot Games. An event organized by the White House to help celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States of America.

During these games, one boy and one girl from all 50 states in the country, including territories, will compete in different high school area events according to what Glise has been told since qualifying.

According to Glise, not all details have been communicated to the participants to help build a competitive field. However, she has gotten some insights into what they will compete in, which is running a mile, dodgeball, and other similar events.

When Maddie was approached by her mother about trying out for qualifiers for the new major sporting event, she was optimistic from the get-go.

"I was like really excited and interested in it. I honestly didn't think I was going to get it. I felt like I was underqualified," Glise said about the opportunity. "So I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to even get to go."

However, for the boy and girl who stand victorious at the end of the event, the title is not the only prize for the victor. The two young adults will be awarded through a $250,000 scholarship prize pool.

Although just happy to be involved, Glise admits that the prize would be nice as she plans to become a lawyer after graduating from St. Joseph Christian in 2027.

"They've told us in little, little bulletin points kind of what to expect. So like I've just been doing what I've done, my whole life, just practicing my sports and going to weights and everything like that," Glise shared about her preparation.

This brand new multi-day competition will also be featured nationally on the ESPN App August 9-11. An hour special culmination of events covered will also be featured on ESPN and ABC two days after the events conclude on August 13.

However, Glise is just happy to be here and is not sweating the big stage.

"I just feel so blessed like that I was given the opportunity in general or to even find out about it," Glise said. "Like I'm sure a lot of people don't know about it yet, you know, until it's been broadcasted at this point."

Glise is documenting her journey to Geneva via a special Instagram page, which can be found here.