Hobart and William Smith Colleges

27 July 2015 2 Herons take home medals for Team USA in Pan Am Games

Former William Smith College sailors Kathleen Tocke 95 and Caroline Patten 11 medaled for Team USA at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. Patten earned a silver medal, and Tocke took home a bronze medal.

Patten competed as a part of the Lightning team which secured a silver medal on Sunday, July 19. Patten, and teammates Justin Coplan and Danielle Prior, fought hard all week to keep themselves in medal contention, finishing first in three races and taking second place in three others. It ended up being a pretty simple medal race. We had good speed at the start, and [closest competitors] Chile and Brazil were battling each other. Gold was already locked up by Argentina, so we just played good defense, said Patten.

Tocke paired with Augie Diaz of Miami, Florida, to capture their second straight medal in the Snipe class at the Pan American games. They earned two victories and took second place in three races. Tocke and Diaz also won a silver medal at the 2011 Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Tocke and Patten helped the United States tie Brazil for the most sailing medals won at the event, with both nations taking home six apiece.

A 2011 ICSA Womens Skipper honorable mention All-American, Patten sailed in four consecutive Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association Womens Dinghy National Championships during her career at the Colleges. As a senior, Patten earned the Ady Symonds 96 Most Valuable Sailing Award and the Marion Harrison Greene 20 Award, the latter is presented to an outstanding senior athlete who has made a significant impact on her team and William Smith athletics. She was also a two-time recipient of the Christine Jurczak 00 Sailing Coachs Award. Patten graduated from William Smith with a bachelors degree in environmental studies.

Tocke graduated from William Smith with a bachelors degree in Asian studies. In addition to being a member of the nationally ranked Hobart and William Smith sailing team, she also competed with the club ice hockey team and club skiing team.