Michelle Roca

Photo by: Justin Pacheco

Photo by: Mary Ginsbach

Photo by: Trevor Cokley

Photo by: Justin Tafoya, NCAA Photos

Class:
Senior
Events:
400m Hurdles
Hometown:
Spanish Fort, Ala.
Height:
5-2
High School:
McGill-Toolen Catholic
Squadron:
34 Loose Hawgs

JUNIOR YEAR | 2020-21: Set the Academy Record in the 400-meter hurdles…NCAA qualifier in that event…clocked a career-best time of 60.01 at the West Coast Classic to break the program’s five-year-old record by more than a second…named the Mountain West Track Athlete of the Week following that meet…impacted the Academy’s Top 10 during first three meets of the season – debuted in sixth (61.98) at the Aztec Invitational, moved into second (61.23) at the Baylor Invitational, broke Academy Record (60.01) at the West Coast Classic…claimed five top-five finishes…ran the 400-meter leg of the distance medley relay that accounted for the seventh-fastest outdoor time in Academy history at the Drake Relays (11:30.20)…also impacted the Academy’s all-time standings in two events during the indoor season…equaled the fifth-fastest 60-meter hurdles time in Academy history (career-best 8.87) to win the Air Force Holiday Open…posted a personal-best 400-meter time of 57.02 to match the program’s sixth-fastest time at the Championships at the Peak meet…claimed a first-place finish in that event at the Air Force Collegiate Open (57.14)…earned the team’s Track Athlete of the Week award four times…also claimed the team’s Most Improved Award…academic all-conference selection…MW Scholar-Athlete…named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team.

SOPHOMORE YEAR | 2019-20: Anchored the 4x400-meter relay that accounted for the second-fastest time in Academy history (3:48.35) at the Mountain West Indoor Championships...also anchored the relay that first debuted in sixth on the program’s all-time standings at the Don Kirby Invitational (3:50.78)...competed in the 400-meter dash during three meets...posted a season-best time of 57.97 at the conference meet...academic all-conference selection...MW Scholar-Athlete.

FRESHMAN YEAR | 2018-19: Competed in four different events...used an indoor-best 400-meter time of 1:00.39 to earn runner-up honors at the Air Force Collegiate Open...improved that time to 59.07 during the outdoor season...also raced in the 200-meter dash during both seasons (indoor 27.25, outdoor 27.76)...competed in the 400-meter hurdles three times...posted a career-best time of 1:07.02 at the Jack Christiansen Invitational...academic all-conference selection...MW Scholar-Athlete.

HIGH SCHOOL: McGill-Toolen Catholic High School...earned all-state honors in the 300-meter hurdles after finishing second at the 2018 AHSAA 4A-7A Track and Field Championships...also earned a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles at that meet...graduated with a 4.37 weighted GPA...top all honors and AP courses...served as co-editor of the school’s literary magazine, Ingenium...ranked 10th out of 274 students in graduating class.

PERSONAL: Full name is Michelle Renee Roca...daughter of Dr. Cesar and Dr. Theresa Roca...has three older sisters...majoring in biology...future plans include becoming an intelligence officer in the Space Force...currently serving as the Cadet Group 4 Honor Chairperson…has also served as the Cadet Group 4 Honor NCOIC and CS-07 Chief Clerk...named to the Superintendent’s List for excellence in military, academic and athletic performance every semester…ranked within the top two-percent of the USAFA Class of 2022 for cumulative Academic, Athletic, and Military Performance…ranked #1 in Class for Athletic Performance…member of the USAFA Scholars Program, the National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and the National Honor Society of Tri Beta...hobbies include yoga, hiking and skiing...classical pianist...competitive sailor...avid baker...has three boxer dogs back home...completed a Cadet Summer Research Project (CSRP) at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, over the summer, testing a synthetically manufactured probiotic that was intended to be used to reduce the effects of stress and anxiety within the human body in deployed environments by producing serotonin, which would offset the accumulation of cortisol in the bloodstream...member of Cadet Squadron 34.