To call Michael Fitzpatrick an overachiever might be an understatement. The former Revere High Patriot is a workhorse as a competitive runner, playing played cross country, winter track and spring track in his freshman year at the University of Maine.
The most amazing part of Michael’s success story? He was a walk-on for the UMaine Black Bears. Michael kept himself in hardy shape a summer ago to give himself an opportunity to compete at the intercollegiate level.
As a three-sport athlete at UMaine, Michael was able to record personal records throughout the entire year. In cross-country, he was able to post a personal best of 20:29.69 in a 6,000 meter meet against UMass Amherst. His favorite meet of the year, though, took place at the biggest stage of the season: the America East Cross Country Championships.
“My favorite meet was the America East Cross Country Championship race because it was one of my only races that I felt I was firing on all cylinders,†Michael stated. “I ran a 26:59 on the course but the course was much longer than an 8k, the actual 8k time was closer to a 26 flat.â€
Michael was most proud of his performance in the 2012 America East Cross Country Championships, but he articulated that spring track was his favorite season to compete in.
It is easy to see why he prefers the outdoor track season, given his remarkable performances in spring meets against the University of New Hampshire and in the University of Massachusetts Pre-Conference meet. Michael was able register personal record in each of these events, running a 4:08.20 in the 1,500 meter run against UNH and then running a time of 1:58.54 in the UMass Pre- Conference meet.
Although Michael enjoys outdoor track the most, he conveyed that he performs the best in the winter track events. It’s hard to argue with Michael on that claim, given his magnificent conquests in indoor meets against Holy Cross and in the 2012 America East Indoor Track Conference Championship.
In each indoor meet, Michael was able to post personal bests, scoring a 4:25.36 in the mile run against Holy Cross and then posting a time of 2:35.73 in the 1,000 meter run in the 2012 America East Indoor Track Conference Championship.
Despite his assiduous devotion to running year-long, Michael was able to succeed in the classroom. He maintained his status on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll, attainable with a 3.5 GPA or higher, throughout the entire year as he excelled with his academics.
“For some reason my academics came really easy to me at college,†Michael said. “I did much better than I had in high school mostly because of how different the schedule is and the fact that I was taking courses that actually interested me made it really easy to learn the material,†Michael revealed.
Despite all of his achievements athletically and academically, Michael did face his share of hardships in his freshman year.
