Two years was all it took for Patsy Cargill ’95 to become a trailblazer in the sport of women’s track and field at North Central College.
As a first-year student-athlete, she became the first female Cardinal to win multiple national championships and the first to win more than one at the same competition. She burst onto the scene in her first national championship meet, the 1994 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, and claimed a national title in the 400-meter dash (57.04 seconds). She also earned All-America honors in the 4-by-400-meter relay, placing third.
“I was very nervous,” Cargill said of her first trip to a national championship meet. “It was overwhelming. I didn’t know what to expect, but I felt very confident in the coaching I received. I felt I was just as prepared as any other athlete.”
At the outdoor championships the same year, she doubled her championship haul, again winning the 400-meter dash in 55.10 seconds and also claiming first place in the 400-meter hurdles (1:01.06). Cargill once again secured All-America accolades in the 4-by-400-meter relay, placing fourth.
Cargill repeated as a national champion indoors in 1995 with a time of 57.39 seconds in the 400-meter dash. She remains the only female North Central athlete to win four individual national titles and is one of just two females (joining Amber Druien ’06) to win titles in two different events at the same championship meet.
“I knew I was going to have to work harder going into (1995),” she said. “When you’re a returning champion, those people competing against you will most likely train harder to beat you. I was sure it was going to be more competitive and it was, but my coaches definitely challenged me and made sure I was prepared.”
At the time of her induction, Cargill remained North Central’s all-time record holder in the indoor and outdoor 400-meter dashes and the 400-meter hurdles, while also ranking in the program’s top 10 in the indoor 800-meter run.
“It was the experience of a lifetime,” Cargill said of her time at North Central. “It was definitely challenging, but I felt like that was what I needed. I think you become a better athlete when you’re challenged. I also wanted to be in an environment where people cared about me as more than an athlete. It made me not just a better athlete, but a better person.”
