Devan FitzPatrick GA'05
Q: Why do you love cross country and track?
A: I love the competitiveness of cross country and track and the mental toughness it requires. I love the simplicity as well as the team aspect of running. Although it is considered an individual sport in many aspects, you couldn’t be able to put everything on the line if you didn’t know your teammates were too.
Q: How did GA prepare you for college athletics?
A: GA taught me how to balance my academic work with my athletic commitments while still leaving time to relax and enjoy college! Competing in several track meets my senior year was crucial to my first collegiate track season. I can’t thank Ms. Tammaro, Ms. Finn-Welch and the athletic department enough for supporting the formation of GA track. I felt much more confident going into the season having run at competitive track meets. I was able to try out several distances and to find the events I was best at before coming to Colby. Running Track has a completely different mindset, strategy, and pacing than cross country so I am very grateful for this opportunity
Q: Did you have any mentors at GA who inspired you?
A: I have been inspired by so many of the teachers at GA who have supported and guided me. My coaches, especially Mrs. Finch, Ms. Meiklejohn and Ms. Finn-Welch enabled me to fulfill my potential as a runner. Mrs. Finch helped me to develop the mental toughness necessary to compete at the collegiate level. Ms. Meiklejohn gave me crucial guidance on race strategy and inspires me as I consider all of the long mileage races she finishes! Ms. Finn-Welch gave me the confidence to try different distances on the track and taught me the fundamentals of this discipline.
Q: What do you miss the most about sports at GA?
A: Most definitely my teammates. The cross country and track girls are energetic and lots of fun, and they also know how to work hard, run fast and win FAA championships. I hope they know how much they inspired me in my races at GA, and continue to inspire me at Colby.
Q: How does participating in athletics at Colby differ from playing at GA?
A: We travel out of state more often, and it is more of a time commitment. Races are more intense and competitive in college, but all races are similar in that you always run the best race you can, regardless of how fast the field of runners is.
Q: What do you think you want to do after college?
A: I am interested in many areas and I am keeping my mind open to lots of different possibilities. I just want to take lots of courses that I enjoy and see where that takes me!
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Devan on the move
College: Colby College
Major: English
Athletic Awards:
Greenwich Academy
- All FAA 4 years
- FAA Champ 2 years
- All New England 2 years
- Cedarwood Award (3 years)
- Most Improved (1 year)
Colby College
Cross Country:
- I earned 6th Place at ECACs, which gave me all ECAC honors. I had just come off of an IT band injury and hadn’t been running for a while but had a wonderful race. This is the highest any individual has performed for Colby at the ECAC championship.
- At this race, my first 6K, I broke my own 5K goal of the season (to run under 19 minutes), and I now hold the 7 th fastest 6K time at Colby with a 22:50.
- I went to Nationals as an alternate, our team ran to 5 th place at NCAA Division III Nationals at Ohio-Wesleyan University.
- I ran at NE DIII and was part of the 2 nd place national qualifying team.
Indoor Track:
- 4x800 All New England Division III for 5 th place
- All Open New England, 6 th Place DMR, ran 800 leg
- National Provisional Qualifiers, 13 th Ranking, needed 10 th close but not quite there---since this team is made up of 2 sophomores and 2 freshmen, we have the opportunity to run this two more years all together.
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