2023 Inductee
Good coaches not only win games, meets and matches, they nurture young people to become good athletes and better people, and often have such a positive effect that some of those young people want to become coaches when they grow up.
That’s how it went for Pat Meehan.
He had the opportunity to compete for, and learn from, two Hall of Fame coaches, Ken Fearing at Anamosa High School and Dan McClimon at Loras College.
Meehan was an outstanding high school athlete, placing 3rd at state Cross country, and in Track and Field he helped lead the team to a state runner-up finish in 1965. He earned state meet medals in Cross Country and Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field while competing for the Blue Raiders.
While at Loras, he ran varsity track for the Duhawks, competing in the mile and half mile and was a Co-Captain in Cross Country.
After graduating from Loras in 1969, Pat joined the Peace Corp and was assigned to the small West African country of Ghana, as a Regional Track and Field and Cross Country Coach, leading the Cross Country team to a national title.
After his Peace Corps experience, he was accepted into Grad School at UNI and worked with the Panthers Cross Country and Track and Field teams. After UNI he taught Social Studies for 3 years at Sacred Heart in Waterloo. At the start of the 80-81 school year, Pat landed in Delhi, Iowa for what would be a long and successful teaching and coaching career at Maquoketa Valley.
Pat started both the Boys and Girls Cross Country programs in 1982 and was the head coach of both for 19 seasons, while also serving as the Head girls Track and Field Coach for 18. That is 56 seasons as a Head Coach for the Wildcats. When he wasn’t the Head Coach, Meehan was a paid or volunteer assistant for his favorite sports, bringing his total number seasons of coaching service to Maquoketa Valley, to an astounding 102.
In Track and Field, he coached Girl’s state champs in the Shot Put and 4×4 and Boys in the 400M Dash and 800M Run. Donna Wheeler’s win the Shot Put in 1985, made her the first individual state champion in any sport at Maquoketa Valley.
Meehan coached Cross Country teams qualified to state 10 times in all. Winning the 1A Girls team title in 1988. That was Maquoketa Valley’s first ever team title in any sport.
Pat and Margie, his wife of 35 years, reside in Hopkinton. They have two sons, Chris who lives in Minnesota and Sam who resides in Texas, and they are proud Grandparents to four Grandchildren.