2026-27 Track and Field Rules Committee Welcomes New Members

NFHS rules writing committees consist of experts in the given sport. Each committee member is nominated by state associations, as is the chairperson, who guides the members through their work.  Each of the NFHS’s eight sections are represented on the given rules committee. To allow for equal representation, there is also a member of the NFHS Coaches Association and the NFHS Officials Association on each rules committee. Each committee member serves a four-year term.

The NFHS is pleased to welcome four new members of the Track and Field Rules Committee: Patrick Castagno, Jackie Martinez, Kimo Weaver and Trent Ellis.

Patrick Castagno, Section 2, has coached The Tatnall School track and field and cross country teams since 2000.

Castagno joined the Tatnall faculty teaching computer science and energized the cross country and track programs. Since then, the Hornets have won 63 team state championships, with 276 individual and relay titles. Castagno has been named U.S. Track and Field Coaches Association Coach of the Year five times and Delaware Coach of the Year 15 times. He received the Tubby Raymond Award as state Coach of the Year from the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association in 2005. 

In 2025, Castagno was inducted into the prestigious New York Armory Coaches Track and Field Hall of Fame and was awarded the 2025 NASF Coaching Legacy Award. He currently serves on the Delaware High School Athletic Association Cross Country and Track & Field Committees.

Jackie Martinez, Section 6, serves as an Assistant Director with the New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA). She joined the NMAA in 2008 and currently oversees the sports of cross country, swimming and diving, and track and field.

Martinez’s passion for running began in elementary school and carried through a highly successful high school career, where she became a ten-time state champion. She continued her athletic journey at the University of New Mexico as a member of the Lobos. In addition to her own athletic career, she dedicated seven years to coaching high school cross country with the La Cueva Bears.

Outside of athletics and her professional role, Martinez has been married to her husband, Nick, for 13 years. Together, they enjoy supporting their two children, Selena and Zack, as they begin to discover their own love for running.

Kimo Weaver, Section 7, is entering his 34th year in education. Weaver began his teaching and coaching career in Utah in 1991, focusing primarily on football, wrestling, and track and field. He later taught and coached in Las Vegas, Nevada, for nearly a decade before returning home to Hawai‘i, where he continued to coach and officiate track & field.

Since 2005, Weaver has served as the track and field sport coordinator for both the Hawai‘i High School Athletics Association and the Big Island Interscholastic Federation. He is currently the athletic administrator at Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i.

Passionate about athletics and student development, Weaver has dedicated his career to fostering excellence in sports, supporting athletes and coaches, and advancing the sport of track & field across the state.

Trent Ellis, NFHS Coaches Association, is the head cross country and track and field coach and head girls basketball coach at Brusly High School. Ellis is also the founder and head coach of the Future Track Club.

Ellis has coached collegiately for six years, at the high school level for 24 years and club level for 27 years. In addition to his coaching roles, he is the current director of track and field for the Louisiana High School Coaches Association (LHSCA)

Ellis received his Ed. D. from Northcentral University and a Bachelor of Science from Southern University.

The Track and Field Rules Committee Meeting will take place June 15-17, 2026, in Indianapolis, Indiana.