Hall of Fame
Laura Pierce was an elite distance runner on the Oberlin College track and field and cross country teams from 1999-2003.
Earning All-NCAC honors 12 times, Pierce was a five-time NCAC champion in track and field and a national qualifier in cross country in 2001.
A member of the NCAC All-Decade team, she once held five different school records, which included the conference record in the distance medley relay indoors.
She earned NCAC Distance Runner of the Year laurels outdoors in 2002 and indoors in 2003. She won conference titles in the 3,000, 5000, and DMR indoors and was a conference champion in the 5,000 and 10,000 outdoors.
Pierce was a two-year captain for the cross country team and three-year captain on the track and field team.
A double major in chemistry and biochemistry, Pierce was an NCAC scholar-athlete and earned all-academic honors from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
"Much of who I am today stems from my experiences as a college athlete," she said. "Athletics, specifically running, was without a doubt my favorite part of my Oberlin experience. Qualifying for and running at the national cross country meet as a junior is still one of the most special experiences of my life."
Pierce, who went on to earn a master's of science in kinesiology at the University of Illinois, continues to share her passion for running as the volunteer assistant track and field and cross country coach at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.
