2016 Hall-of-Fame Inductee: Poole Helped Wooster Cross Country to National Championship Appearance

The highly-decorated Michelle Poole graduated as one of the top cross country and mid-distance runners in the history of The College of Wooster cross country and track & field programs.

A perennial point-scorer at the North Coast Athletic Conference championship meets, Poole collected 20 all-conference certificates during her four-year career, a total that ranks third in the program annals for the NCAC era. Even more impressively, eight of those 20 all-league laurels came from first-place finishes, including the 800 meters (2:21.80) and the 1500 meters (4:50.3) at the 1997 indoor conference meet, a pair of performances that led to Poole being named as the Mid-Distance/Distance MVP.

“Michelle was a fierce competitor that thrived on big-meet competition,” stated longtime head coach Dennis Rice. “She was able to dominate all aspects of racing at the NCAC championships, and was always mentally prepared and focused for those meets.”

That same year, Poole went on to qualify for the indoor track & field national championships in the 1500 meters, a memory Poole lists as one of her most memorable events.

In the fall of her senior year, Poole was a part of the history-making women’s cross country team at the College. The harriers won the program’s first NCAC cross country title in nine years, and later qualified as a team for the 1996 NCAA Div. III Cross Country Championships at Rock Island, Ill., marking the first (and only) team appearance at the national meet. Wooster placed 15th at the national meet with Poole crossing 87th overall and second among the Fighting Scots’ competitors. A few weeks prior, Poole turned in a fourth-place finish at the NCAC Championships, which at the time was tied for the sixth-highest individual finish at the NCAC meet in program history.

“Michelle was an outstanding team leader for the 1996 team,” commented Rice. “That team was the most successful team in the history of the program. She had great respect by her teammates while setting the tone for practice.”

After narrowly missing on all-region honors in cross country as a freshman, Poole crossed 26th at the 1994 NCAA Div. III Cross Country Regional Championships. As a senior, she added a second all-region certificate, when her time of 20:11 garnered 20th-place honors.

A standout in the classroom as well, Poole earned all-academic honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as a senior, an award that recognized a combination of Poole’s grade-point average and her bid to the indoor national championships.

“Michelle had tremendous balance with her academics and running,” said Rice. “She maintained self-discipline, and handled the high academic workload with positive time management, while also having the strength to excel in her daily training for competition at the conference and national level.”

To this day, Poole still holds five school records – the indoor 500, 800, 1000, and 1500 meters, and she is part of the outdoor 4x800 meter relay record.

The psychology alumna was also heavily involved in non-athletic organizations on campus, most notably the Pi Kappa sorority.

Today, Poole has settled in Gilbert, Ariz., where for the last 15 years, she has worked in both retail and whole lending. Currently, Poole holds an active real estate license and works as a project coordinator on luxury home renovations, new build homes, and also works with buyers and sellers.

Personally, she has one daughter – Raigan Shea (9).