Few, if any, student-athletes dominate the Wayland Baptist record books in their chosen field like Michelle (Haage) Barton.
A 12-time all-American and three-time national champion thrower, Barton owns the top 10 marks in Wayland history – even after almost two decades have passed – in the indoor shot put as well as the outdoor shot and discus. In addition to her trio of national titles, Barton finished as national runner-up six times. She capped her amazing collegiate career by earning the 1999 Roscoe Snyder Award as Wayland’s top senior female athlete before going on to represent her native Australia in international competitions, just missing a spot on the Olympic team.
I still look at my time at Wayland as such a memorable experience, for me to have the opportunity to not only get a degree but to do it in another country,” Barton, of Woongarrah, New South Wales, Australia, said. “I learned so much at Wayland, and the years spent there were such a memorable time.”
Some memories, however, are more pleasant than others. “You had to get used to sleeping on a bus for 10-12 hours going to a meet,” Barton recalls with a laugh. But she even learned to embrace the seemingly never-ending road trips. “It was part of the experience. I thoroughly enjoyed our bus trips and competing with my fellow teammates.”
Barton knew from a young age that she wanted to be a shot and discus thrower.
“I starting running at the age of 4 as my sister Karen, who is eight years older than me, was involved in Little Athletics. I looked up to my sister and wanted to be like her. Once I was 6 I was able to compete, and having the two years advantage from the other kids helped me develop in all disciplines involved in track and field.” It was at age 9 that she decided to focus on the shot and discus as she broke the state and national records for under 10s, which still stand after 34 years. “From then on shot put became my (main) event as I was ranked the top shot putter in my country for my age for over a decade.”
Part of Barton’s love of being a thrower stemmed from her love of food.
“I have to admit food did have a little part in why I liked being a thrower. I love my food, and being a thrower you were able to enjoy life’s little luxuries of sweets, chocolate and pizza without watching your weight.”
At just under 5-foot, 5-inches, Barton did not possess a typical thrower’s height. “I was relatively small for a thrower, but what I lacked in height, I gained in power and speed. I was called a pocket rocket.”
Haage credits the coach she had throughout her athletic career, Roger Green, for much of her success.
“Like all sports you need time to focus and develop skills for the event. It just doesn’t come to you. I was lucky enough to have one of the top throws coach in the country and started training with him when I was 9. In the early years I trained three days a week being technical and with fitness, and when I was 16 I started weights. My training program increased when I made the Australian World Junior Athletic Team in Seoul, Korea, for the shot put. Training was six days a week and competition on the seventh day. I worked hard 2-3 hours a day, seven days a week, and it paid off.
“It was my coach who helped me with the opportunity to go to Wayland, and I was much honored when he came to my graduation in 1999.” Green died in 2010 of a heart attack. He was 65.
Barton said Rick Beelby, Wayland’s head track & field coach at the time, was always helpful and welcoming, especially to someone from a foreign land. She said Beelby wound up making a lasting impression on her.
“It’s hard living in another country and adapting to their lifestyles and the way things are done, but I have to admit that Wayland made me feel like part of a family. Coach Beelby was amazing. He was so caring and supportive to all the athletes on the team, no matter who you were. He was a father-figure to me.” Barton also thanked assistant coach Scott Davis for his support. “The jokes he tried to pull off weren’t very successful, but we loved him anyway,” she joked.
The Christian environment at Wayland also made a huge impact on Barton.
“Religion was not something I was familiar with in my country, so it took a long time to understand why it was so important. Having found God during my time at Wayland is something I am glad for and believe I was meant to go to Wayland for that reason.”
While attending weekly Wednesday chapel services took time to get used to, it didn’t take Barton long to settle into competition. As a freshman, she won her first national title at her first national meet, the 1995 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Unfortunately, Barton torn her right rotator cuff ligament lifting weights, forcing her to have reconstructive surgery and miss her first outdoor season. “Needless to say I was devastated, being my freshman year and having major surgery. But the doctors were fantastic with a strict rehab plan, and I was back my sophomore year eager to win more titles again.”
Barton would settle for four national runner-up finishes – two in the shot, one in the discus and one in the 20-pound weight throw – before her next national title at the 1997 indoor nationals when she recorded her collegiate-best shot put of 48 feet, 10¼ inches. She got within two inches of that distance and won her third national title later in 1997 at the national outdoor meet.
Barton closed out her national meet career with two more runner-up showings in the shot: outdoors in 1998 and indoors in 1999. In earning her 12 all-American honors, Barton never finished lower than fourth place.
“I loved the balance of study and training. It was perfect for an athlete being able to do your classes in the morning and attend to your sporting commitments in the afternoon,” said Barton, who was a member of Phi Chi Epsilon and the Student Union Board. In addition, she was named Homecoming Queen runner-up in 1998 and to Spinning Wheels as a campus leader in 1999.
While she specialized in the shot and discus, Barton gave the javelin a whirl a time or two, mainly at Sooner Athletic Conference Championship meets and mostly in an effort to score points for the team competition. Barton certainly more than held her own with the spear, earning three top-three finishes, including a conference title in 1997 when she was named SAC Most Valuable Athlete.
Despite her tremendous efforts, Wayland didn’t quite have enough firepower to win any national team titles during Barton’s tenure. WBU’s highest finishes during that period both came in 1996 when Barton was a sophomore as the Pioneers finished third outdoors and second indoors.
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree, Barton returned to her hometown in Australia where she worked as gym manager at University of Western Sydney-Campbelltown and continued her athletic career. “In 2000 I qualified for the Sydney Olympics, but coming in fourth meant I just missed out on a place on the team,” she said. The next year she represented Australia at the Trans Tasman Test against New Zealand and also competed at the East Asian Games in Osaka, Japan. The highlight of Barton’s career came when she competed at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England. She retired from competitive athletics in 2003.
“Athletics (track & field) was my life, but I would not change it for anything as I have seen a lot of the world due to my career as an amateur athlete,” Barton said.
Today, she and husband Michael have two children: Zac, age 9, and Ava, 5. Michelle last year opened her own business, Michelle’s Therapeutic and Sports Massage, and also serves as a recreation center fitness instructor in Lake Haven. For many years Michael was a shift worker in various mines in Australia, including a coal trainer driver for seven years. However, the past five years have been a struggle with illnesses, and Michael had to quit work 15 months ago due to medical conditions.
“Michael has been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, vestibular dysfunction, gastritis, heavy metal toxicity and the most serious one being Lyme’s disease, which unfortunately is not a recognizable disease in our country as they believe that this particular tick that carries the disease does not live here even though we have had tests completed in the United States that say otherwise. It has been a real struggle for our family while Mick is getting treatment and me working long hours to be the main financial income earner. While there is no cure for Lyme’s, we are willing to try anything and everything so he can have a better quality of life. He is my best friend and he is my rock for our family. We will do this together and get through it. Thankfully, the thing that has helped Mick the most during this time has been training with Coach Chris Rider from Pennsylvania. Chris was just featured in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not 100-Year Anniversary Book” for his amazing feats of strength. Chris has been mentoring Mick in old-time strongman feats such as bending steel, bending horseshoes, and nail driving. Through this he has been able to keep his mind and body strong.”
The couple also stay busy taking their kids to various sports such as footy, basketball, little athletics, OzTag, swimming, ninja warrior training and gymnastics, Michelle – who was voted New South Wales Fitness Industry Employee of the Year in 2005 – enjoys watching movies, nature walks, catching up with old friends…like the ones she made at Wayland, but most importantly spending time with the family and sharing life experiences together, just like their trip to back to Plainview, Texas, for the Hall of Honor induction.
“The friends I made at college are still my friends today, 20 years on, and I have the world of Facebook to thank for that. Even though we are oceans apart, we have seen our families grow and now I finally get to see all of them in person.
“My college years were some of the best years of my life, and I have to thank the whole Wayland experience for that.”
