Michelle Murphy Scott - a native of Cork, Ireland, and former Lady Topper great - is in her 14th year as women's distance coach on the Hill. She joined the WKU staff in 1996 after a year stint at Southeast Missouri.

 During her coaching tenure at WKU, the Lady Toppers have never finished lower than second in the team scoring at the Sun Belt Conference cross country championships. Since joining the staff in 1996, Scott's distance teams have won eight SBC cross country titles, while finishing as the runner-up on five occasions. In that time span, five Lady Toppers have won the SBC cross country title, with Valarie Lynch taking the first in 1998 and again in 1999, while Bonita Paul won in 2003, Cara Nichols in 2004, and most recently Janet Jesang in 2007 and 2008.

 Scott mentored Jesang to three all-America honors in 2008-09. In the fall, Jesang became just the second Lady Topper ever to earn all-America laurels in cross county, placing 13th at the NCAA championships in Terre Haute. Then during the indoor season, Jesang earned her second all-America accolade with a seventh-place finish in the 5,000 meters. Jesang again qualified for nationals in the 5,000 meters during the outdoor season, where she finished fifth to earn her third all-America honor of the year.

 On the conference level, Scott's distance runners helped the women's program to yet another SBC triple crown in 2008-09. She was named SBC women's cross country coach of the year for the first time after leading the Lady Toppers to their third-straight SBC cross country championship. Jesang won her second-straight individual league title, while Eimear O'Brien, Sarah Namara, and Ashley Moore all earned all-league honors. At the 2009 SBC indoor championship, Jesang paced the women's distance corps with individual titles in the mile and 3,000-meter run, while O'Brien won the 5,000 meters for her first all-SBC indoor honor. At the outdoor meet, three Lady Toppers earned a pair of all-league laurels. Jesang won the 10,000m and was runner-up in the 1,500m, while O'Brien won the 5,000m and was third in the 1,500m, and Marion Kandie was second in the 5,000m and third in the 10,000m.

 Scott's athletes dominated the distance events in the SBC during the 2007-08 school year. The Lady Toppers won their second-straight SBC cross country championship, led by the Jesang's championship performance. Joining Jesang on the all-league team was O'Brien and Natalie Leeper. Then, at the NCAA Southeast Regional, Jesang received an at-large berth to the NCAA Cross Country Championship in the fall of '07 after finishing seventh at the NCAA Southeast Regional. At the national meet, Jesang finished 47th, and was the 14th-best sophomore finisher in the competition.

 Jesang's success from cross country carried into the indoor season in her sophomore campaign. At the SBC indoor meet, she earned Top Track Performer and Top Point Scorer honors after winning the mile, 3,000m, and 5,000m. Then, during the outdoor campaign, Jesang qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional in the 5,000 meters at Stanford before being forced to sit out the season due to injury. However, her distance teammates picked up the slack at the SBC outdoor championship - led by O'Brien, who won both the 5,000m and 10,000m races and qualified for the regional meet. Also, Leeper earned a pair of all-SBC honors with a runner-up finish in the steeple and a third-place finish in the 5,000m. Namara earned all-league accolades with a runner-up finish in the 10,000m, while Moore earned all-SBC laurels with a third-place finish in the steeple. Then, at the Cardinal Twilight last chance meet, Leeper bettered her own school record in the steeple, qualifying for the regional meet.

 The WKU women's distance corps had an impressive year in 2006-07. After finishing runner-up in 2005 at the SBC cross country championship, the lady Toppers claimed the 11th league title in team history in 2006. Led by the runner-up effort of Jesang, the women took the team title by placing four runners on the all-SBC team - Jesang 2nd, Natalie Leeper 4th, Emily Leeper 7th and Amanda Adams 9th.

 A pair of Lady Topper distance runners qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional in 2007. Jesang had a stellar freshman campaign, earning top-point scorer honors at both the SBC indoor and outdoor meets, and qualifying for the regional in the 5,000m. The other qualifier was Leeper, who qualified for the regional in the steeple with her winning performance at the league meet.

 In the fall of 2002, Scott coached her first athlete to the NCAA Cross Country Championship. Olga Cronin - also a native of Cork - was only the second Lady Topper in the history of the program (at the time) to qualify for the championships. Scott also coached Cronin, Nichols, and Paul to the NCAA Regionals in the spring of '03, with Nichols and Paul returning again in '04, and Nichols again in '05.

 A former Lady Topper runner, Scott was named WKU's 1992-93 Female Athlete of the Year after earning four SBC titles - cross country, indoor 3,000m and 5,000m, and outdoor 5,000m - that academic year. She also won the SBC indoor 3,000- and 5,000-meter races in 1992. And, during her tenure at WKU, she was named to the SBC all-Academic Team four times. In all-Scott earned 13 all-SBC honors, and has been named to the Sun Belt Conference all-time cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field teams. Scott earned her bachelor of arts degree in French from WKU in 1993, and added a master of arts degree in communication from WKU in 1995.

 Scott is married to former WKU steeplechaser and Sun Belt champion Jef Scott, an associate at Fruit of the Loom. The couple is still very active in the sport, running in many road races for Fleet Feet of Louisville, as well as running unattached at many track and cross country events in which WKU is competing. Scott has also earned her USATF Level I coaching certification, and Level II certification in the distance events, and teaches part-time in the WKU communications department. Jef and Michelle have two children: a daughter, Ciera, and a son, Patrick.

The Scott File

Education

 • B.A., WKU, 1993

 • M.A., WKU, 1995

 • USATF Level I, 2005

 • USATF Level II Distance, 2007

Coaching Experience

 • SEMO - Asst Coach, 1995

 • WKU - Asst Coach, 1996 -

Athletic Experience

 • Cross Country, WKU, 4 letters

 • Track & Field, WKU, 4 letters

 • WKU Athlete of the Year, 1993

 • SBC All-Time Cross Country

 • SBC All-Time Indoor Track

 • SBC All-Time Outdoor Track

 • All-Sun Belt, 13 honors

Coaching Honors

 • 3 All-Americans

 • 4 NCAA Cross Country Qualifiers

 • 156 All-Sun Belt Performers

 • 47 Sun Belt Event Champions

 • 3 SBC Top Track Performers

 • 1 SBC Coach-of-the-Year