Hall of Fame Inductees
A defining moment for Wesleyan women's crew, as well as for women's athletics at the University, the 1978 varsity 8 goes down in history as National Champions and Hall of Famers.
Having gained varsity status just four years prior, women’s crew was still very much in its infancy in the spring of 1978. Only one woman had rowed prior to coming to Wesleyan. Future Olympian and Wesleyan Hall of Fame inductee Kathy Keeler ’78 was the first to row all fours at Wesleyan, but everyone else on the team had prior athletic experience.
The team committed to a strength training program following the fall rowing season and with four rowers in their senior year, the varsity 8 boat improved throughout the spring. Even though the Cardinals were not a favorite to win the Dad Vail (what was then regarded as the National Championship for the sport), when the boat qualified for the finals, those on the team sensed they were ready for their moment.
At the end of the pre-race meeting, Kathy turned to Head Coach Pat Callahan and said, "Relax, Pat, we’re going to win.”
Racing against five other crews for glory, Wesleyan’s boat rallied from half a length down at the 1000-yard mark to dominate the defending champion Western Ontario, winning by four seconds. Running a controlled race from the start, Callahan’s group pulled away from a field that also included the Florida Institute of Technology, Purdue, Ithaca, and New Hampshire to seal the small college national crew championship.
The first-ever Wesleyan men’s crew head coach and fellow 2024 Hall of Fame Inductee Phil Calhoun ’62, who was in Philadelphia for the 1978 Dad Vail, remarked in a letter he penned to Coach Callahan following the win, “I must admit that the victory was one of the most thrilling experiences I have ever had. The team showed class, style, superb conditioning, and best of all, a positive and infectious spirit.”
The championship crew included Cecily Harshmann ’79, box; #2 co-captain Dianne Edgar ’78; #3 Elisabeth Sikes ’80; #4 Sandy Cleveland ’80; #5 co-captain Joan Chevalier ’78; #6 Pamela Grant ’80; #7 Cindy Markert ’78; #8 Kathy Keeler ’78; and coxswain Linda Iannone ’79.
