Women's Cross Country Coaches

Joe Fisher

Head Women's Cross Country and Track & Field Coach jfisher974@aol.com 202-319-4742

Joe Fisher, now in his 29th year directing the Catholic University women's cross country and track and field teams, has guided the Cardinals to tremendous success. He has been named the Capital Athletic Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year four different times including this past season (1991, 1993, 2001, 2006).

After winning the Mason-Dixon Conference Cross Country Championships in 1979, Fisher led the Cardinals to the 1982 and 1984 NCAA South/Southeast Regional Titles. His 1982 team placed 11th at the NCAA Division III Championships. In the Capital Athletic Conference he has coached three Runners of the Year as well as three Rookies of the Year.

In track and field, Fisher coached the first CUA woman (Carolyn Hughes Brady) to be named an All-American (1981-82) and helped her become the only woman in school history to win a national championship (1982 NCAA 800-meter outdoor title). Fisher also coached track star Janet Muckenthaler, who was named 1998 NCAA Woman of the Year for the District of Columbia. Hughes Brady and Louise Mallet-Kelly, a member of the 1984 NCAA Regional Champiomship squad, are now members of the CUA Hall of Fame.

Fisher enjoyed an outstanding running career at CUA. He performed on two Mason-Dixon cross country championship teams (1973-74) and one indoor track title-winning squad (1973). He ran a leg on a two-mile relay team that placed fifth at the 1973 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. His outstanding performances earned him AAU (1973) and NCAA (1975) All-American honors.

Fisher, who competed for the Cardinals under former men's track and field coach Jerry McGee, is a firm believer in the many benefits of athletic competition.

Fisher graduated from CUA in 1975 with a degree in elementary education and later earned his master's degree in education from Morgan State University. An eighth grade social studies teacher in Howard County, Md., he is also the CEO and founder of First Generation College Bound, Inc., a company that has helped more than 350 students become the first people in their families to attend college. FGCB also hosts tutoring sessions and homework clubs for students of all ages. Thanks to Fisher's dedication, the organization has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in support from various civic groups in the D.C. area.

He and his wife, Pat, live in Laurel, Md., with their children, Joseph and Mya.