Bio

When Cathy Challener came to the Goucher campus in 1969, she entered during a tumultuous time not only on campus but in the community-at-large. In her time at Goucher, Challener became not only an expletory student who went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in English, she became an athlete who excelled at three sports, who was a leader both on the playing field and in the campus community.

Challener joined the freshman field hockey team in her first weeks on campus in 1969, and excelled on the field from the start. A four-year varsity performer in three sports (field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse), Challener earned various accolades throughout her career in all three sports.

In field hockey, she was selected for the Baltimore Area College Second Team as a junior, and in her senior season, she served as team captain, was named the team’s most valuable player, and was selected to the First Team of the Baltimore Area College Team.

On the basketball court, she eventually became team captain as a junior. In lacrosse, she was selected to play in four United States National Lacrosse Tournaments, earning a spot on the Southeast Regional Team each year she was at Goucher, along with selections to the Baltimore Area College Team in each season she played. And, of course, she was a captain for the Lacrosse team, earning the distinction as a junior and a senior, while also being the named the teams most improved player in 1972.

The recipient of Goucher’s Scholar-Athlete award after her junior year of 1972, Challener left Goucher in 1973 and has gone on to earn two Master’s Degrees (M.S. in Physical Education and M.A. in English), while achieving a nearly 30-year career in education. She has taught high school and middle school English, while also teaching some physical education classes. Meanwhile, she has also served as a coach for 22 years, leading teams in the three sports she excelled in at Goucher College.