Pam Owen McCartney (2025) - CU Athletic Hall of Fame - University of Colorado Athletics

Pam Owen McCartney

Induction:
2025
Class:
1993

A member of Jerry Quiller's indoor and outdoor track and field teams, earning letters all four years (1989-1990 through 1992-1993) – her best event was the pentathlon … She was the 1993 Big Eight conference indoor pentathlon champion, setting the CU record in the process with 4,046 points; it was a record that would stand for 20 years … The NCAA did not host the pentathlon during her career (just the heptathlon) … Her best individual event was the high jump, with her best effort of 6'0 is still tied for the second-best of all-time at Colorado … She qualified for the 1993 NCAA Indoor Championships in the high jump. As the 1993 Big Eight Outdoor heptathlon champion, she accounted for 25½ of CU's 89 team points, placing in the heptathlon, high jump, 100-meter hurdles and the 4x400-meter relay, helping CU to a fourth place finish, its highest at the time in program history … She was denied All-American honors in the heptathlon her senior year as her two heptathlons were plagued by pouring rain … A member of CU's '93 4x400-meter relay team, she helped set the school record at the time of 3:45.54; she ran on that relay team all four years in college … She was the runner-up in both 1991 and 1992 in the Big Eight indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon … Other personal college bests included: 14.13 (100-meter hurdles), 6'0 (indoor high jump), 5'11½ (outdoor high jump), 2:16.67 (800-meter run) and a 55.7 split in the 4x400 … Finished 10th at the 1993 U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the heptathlon ... She is currently competing to this day in Masters Track and Field competition (ages 50-54): she was the gold medalist in the high jump (1.55m) at the 2025 Indoor World Championship and the silver medalist in the pentathlon (3,861 points) in which her total surpassed the 25- year old American Record … She owns the second-best high jump in the world for a woman age 50 and over (5'3¾ or 1.62m), which is the U.S. Outdoor Age Group record … She has consistently been ranked in the top three in the world in the high jump since 2020 … She finished the 2025 indoor season ranked No. 1 in the world in the high jump and No. 2 in the pentathlon … Graduated from Littleton's Heritage High School, where she was s three-time state champion in the high jump (she held the state mark of 5'10 from 1987-2005); also was on the state runner-up 4x400m relay team … She also was the 1992 American Gladiator champion in competition held at the Denver Coliseum … She was born in St. Louis, Mo., on Dec. 21, 1970 and is married to Tom McCartney, the longtime head football coach at Fairview High School; the couple have two grown children, twins Matthew and Grace (who is the sports information director at Colorado Christian University).