Patrick Fortney, born June 30, 1957, is an SHS graduate of the class of 1975. While attending Sterling High School, Pat received four varsity letters in cross-country and four in track. An All-Conference Cross Country runner all four years of high school, Pat was also named Most Valuable Player his sophomore, junior, and senior years. As a freshman, he competed at the state meet, where he finished in 165th place. Pat again qualified for the state meet his junior year and finished in 80th place. Captain of the team his senior year, Pat ran at the state meet for the second consecutive year and placed 49th in the state. In addition, Pat won the district and sectional meet titles his senior year. A member of the track team, Pat participated mainly in the mile and two-mile races. During his sophomore year he set the school record of 9:56.9 in the two mile and continued to break it several times, until he set a final record of 9:27.0 his senior year. In the mile run he set a time of 4:27.3 his junior year and continued to break it until he set a final record of 4:22.1 his senior year. Throughout his track career at Sterling he set a total of nine meet records. His junior year, he received the Hustle Award and was elected as captain of the 1975 team. During the 1975 season he was named Most Valuable Player. Aside from athletics, Pat was involved in numerous extra curricular activities, such as National Honor Society, president of "S" Club, freshman class president, and was named an Illinois State Scholar. In the conclusion of his high school career, he was honored with the Roscoe Eades Award. Upon graduation, Pat continued his education and running career at Augustana University in Rock Island, Ill. While there, he was a member of the cross-country and track team. Pat received three varsity letters in cross-country and two in track. In 1979 he qualified for the national cross-country meet. Receiving collegiate commencement in 1979, he was employed by Rock Falls High School as a teacher and coach. He coached NCIC champion girls 1979 cross-country team and fresh-soph boys 1981 and 1982 cross-country teams. In 1992, Pat began teaching special education at Sterling High School until 1996, during which time he continued to coach track at Sterling High School. During the 1996 school year, he moved to Jefferson Elementary School, where Pat was the special service coordinator. Pat also attended Northern University in 1997 and received his MA in Education Administration. In 1999, Pat was employed as the Dean of Students at Challand Middle School. Pat is currently retired, last having been a principal at Washington Elementary.