Pam Connell is a 1986 graduate of Norwell H.S. I was fortunate enough to witness some of Pam's accomplishments. I had just started coaching and remember wanting to go and watch this phenom from Norwell compete. All the talk was about how this girl could do anything. She could win track meets all by herself. Pam however was not about herself. She says that some of her fondest high school memories are of her practices with teammates, meets and her coaches. Specifically, Bob Littlefield. Pam recently told me that she loved Bob's unique workouts such as: Running around the school driveway avoiding the patches of ice. Running in sub-freezing temperatures into a bitter headwind Sprints up loose grain sand dunes, pushing his VW Rabbit for leg strength and 200m sprints on the beach. When I asked Pam what running track meant to her she replied: “In the 80's it was a time to blow off steam with friends. I looked forward to track practice every day because I knew I would feel exhausted yet stress free before I went home for the day. After a track practice, everything that seemed so overwhelming during school hours were placed into a more realistic perspective after a workout.” As a coach of high school athletes today, I would only hope that they would all have the same outlook as Pam did back then.

In 2010, Pam was inducted into the Norwell High School Hall of Fame. It only took us a year to find Pam. The Norwell Hall of Fame had the following to say about Pam: “Pam Connell Gess was the premier runner and jumper in New England during her high school years. A five-time Boston Globe All-Scholastic student athlete, Pam was twice named as the Globe's Athlete of the Year. Pam set 16 Norwell High School records while a member of the Clipper Indoor and outdoor track teams, and won an unprecedented 14 All-State Championships, including gold medals in the 600-yard (her most memorable race), long jump, triple jump, high jump, 300 meter hurdles, and the mile relay. Twenty-four years later, Pam's New England record of 43.00 in the 300 hurdles still stands. Pam also led her team to two All-State Championships in 1985 and 86. While still a high school student athlete, Pam was a two-time national indoor champion in the pentathlon, and represented the United States at the World Junior Track and Field Championships in Athens, Greece. Pam still ranks #3 all time in the national high school pentathlon.

With such a tremendous resume, Pam earned an athletic scholarship to Penn State. She would go on to become an NCAA all American in the Heptathlon. To this day at Penn State Pam ranks #10 in the 200 @ 24.32 10th in the 4X400 @ 3:44.72, 8th in the long jump @ 19'7” 8th in the 400 IH @ 61.05, 8th in the 4x100 @ 46.63, 6th in the 100 meter hurdles @ 14.13, 6th in the 4x200 @ 1:39.40, 5th in the Sprint Medley @ 3:55.55, 2nd in the High Jump @ 5'11.25” and beyond stating the obvious # 1 in the Heptathlon. In 1990 Pam earned the “Ernest B. McCoy” award for being the top female Student/Athlete at Penn State.