According to her coaches, Michele Stackhouse is one of those people who don’t come walking through a high school every day.
The Woodrow Wilson senior has played nearly every varsity sport on the docket during her four years at the school, but it’s her attitude that separates her from the pack.
“Michele has a willingness and aptitude for hard work,” says track coach Steve Wulf.
“She’s a good student, a natural team leader who’s very responsible and very unegotistical. She’s not blessed with a lot of natural foot speed, but she makes up for it with determination.”
The 17-year old Dallas native participated in five varsity sports as a junior, including soccer, volleyball, cross-country, track and swimming.
Admittedly, at times she had to check her schedule to see which practice was next. Although the Wildcats encourage athletes to participate in as many sports as they wish, Stackhouse decided to concentrate on her three best sports – cross-country, swimming and track – during her senior year.
As if sports didn’t keep Stackhouse busy enough, she also was president of the Key Club, a varsity cheerleader and maintained a 96 (out of 100) grade point average. This combination of achievements earned her an academic scholarship to SMU.
Stackhouse’s juggling act has been a huge success in her senior year. She started in the fall with a strong cross-country campaign, finishing second in District 12-4A with a time of 12:45 and qualifying for the regionals, where she placed 17th. Stackhouse confesses that cross-country is her favorite sport – and perhaps her best.
“I love running around White Rock Lake,” she says. “And our cross-country team had great camaraderie this year. We had about 50 people on the boys and girls teams. Cross-country is also a 3-mile race, and for me, the longer the race the better.”
Immediately after cross-country season, Stackhouse dove into the pool to prepare for her specialities, the 200-meter and 500-meter freestyle events. Despite racing against many girls who train year-round, she claimed district titles in both events.
During the past month, Stackhouse has returned to the track to concentrate on the 1- and 2-mile runs. Although she is just beginning to hit her stride after spending most of the winter in the pool, her times of 6:08 and 13:20, respectively, put her near the top of the district hierarchy.
Her goal is to break the 6-minute mile mark and the 13-minute, 2-mile mark before she dons her graduation cap and heads to SMU.
“I have enjoyed every minute at Woodrow Wilson,” Stackhouse says. “The tradition here is great, and you get to learn backgrounds and students of many different cultures. I am very excited about going to college in my hometown and running for the cross-country team.”
What else makes Stackhouse tick? She looks up to Dallas’ own long-distance legend, Francie Larrieu Smith, for running inspiration. But obviously, there’s more to her character than just a love of sports.
During the summers, she volunteers at Scottish Rite Hospital (Stackhouse says she wants to become a sign-language interpreter). She also loves animals, owns two Labrador retrievers, and used to dream about working as a trainer at Sea World.
Stackhouse’s older sister, Ariella, graduated from Woodrow last year and is finishing her freshman year at SMU. Michele admits to some athletic competitiveness between the two while they were growing up, although the sisters’ athletic pursuits generally took place on different fields.
Stackhouse’s father played football at the U.S. Naval Academy, and her mother was active in high school sports.
Stackhouse grew up in a neighborhood where sports were important, and the girls competed right along with the boys. This competitive spirit still drives her to do her best.
“I just love to compete,” she says. “It’s a challenge to better yourself. Sports have always been a major part of my life.”
If attitude and outlook mean anything, look for Stackhouse to be a winner in all facets of life. When asked about her goals, she pauses thoughtfully and responds: “To be successful and happy in whatever I do.”
She certainly is on the right track.
