Cathy Fitzpatrick was the dominant female sprinter in the Muskegon area in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and arguably the top female sprinter in the entire state at that time. She captured an amazing seven top-four state meet finishes in individual events during her three-year varsity career at Mona Shores High School, highlighted by winning the 1981 Class A state championship in the 100-yard dash in a then state-record time of 10.8 seconds.

Fitzpatrick dominated the local city, Lake Michigan Athletic Conference and All-Star meets, but turned the heads of college coaches with her consistent excellence at the state finals – placing third in the 200 and fourth in the 400 as a sophomore, first in the 100 and second in the 200 as a junior and second in the 200 and 400 and third in the 100 as a senior.
After graduation in 1982, she was offered a full-ride track and field scholarship to the University of Michigan – the first for a woman in the college’s history. Instead, Fitzpatrick accepted a similar offer at the University of Virginia, where she earned All-American honors in 1986 and ran in such prestigious events as the Penn Relays and the Millrose Games. Cathy joins her father, 1998 inductee Jerry Fitzpatrick, in the Hall of Fame. Cathy and her husband, Eric Nowak, have four children and live in Manassas, VA., where she is an elementary physical education teacher and coach.