32 | FEBRUARY 29 • 2024 J
N

I

t seemed like Brooke Soper was des-
tined to be a Spartan.
She attended Okemos Public Schools, 
a school district that’s next door to the 
Michigan State University campus in East 
Lansing, and graduated from Okemos 
High School in 2020.
Her mother and father graduated from 
MSU. Her sister graduated from MSU. 
Three of her four grandparents graduated 
from MSU, including John Fleser, who 
played baseball for the Spartans and was a 
1959 First Team All-Big Ten selection.
Her family home in Okemos is five min-
utes from the MSU campus. MSU’s animal 
farms can be seen from Bennett Woods 
Elementary School, which she attended.
But when it came time for Soper to make 
her college choice, she decided to go to 
Western Michigan University to continue 
her academic and athletic careers.
“It just felt like it was the right thing for 
me to do,
” she said.
Four years later, during her senior year at 
WMU, it appears her decision to become a 
Bronco was a wise one.
A distance runner who participated in 
the high school cross country state meet all 
four years she was at Okemos, Soper com-
petes for the WMU women’s cross country 

and track and field teams. 
After literally a slow start to her college 
running career, she’s steadily improved 
her times since distance running specialist 
Kevin Cataldo was hired as an assistant 
coach for WMU’s women’s cross country 
and track and field teams in March 2022 
before being named coach in May 2023.
A strong runner despite being 5-foot-3 
and 105 pounds, Soper has bumped up her 
weekly mileage to between 55 and 60 miles.
Earlier in February, Soper led her team 
in the 3K run at the Big Meet at Grand 
Valley State University, finishing in 
10:08.29.
Soper is definitely going the distance 
in the classroom at WMU with a 3.79 
grade-point average. She’s been named to 
the Academic All-MAC (Mid-American 
Conference) Team six times in women’s 
cross country, and women’s indoor and 
outdoor track.
“
Academics is very important in our 
program. Our women’s cross country team 
had a combined 3.67 GPA last fall,
” Cataldo 
said. “We put the student before athlete in 
student-athlete. 
“Very few go pro in our sport. But they 
will go pro in their profession. Brooke has 
been able to balance running and academ-

ics. Her grades and academic awards prove 
that.
”
Soper said she decided to continue run-
ning in college, knowing the time that must 
be devoted to it, because she knew it would 
help her academically.
“I like to keep busy. I don’t do well with 
free time,
” she said.
Her involvement at Hillel at WMU also 
keeps her busy.
Soper’s major is digital media and jour-
nalism. 
The 22-year-old said she’s not sure about 
her specific career path yet, even after she 
enjoyed a marketing and communications 
internship last summer with the United 
Dairy Industry of Michigan. 
She does know she needs to attend 
WMU during the 2024 fall semester to 
complete her graduation requirements and 
has one season of cross country eligibility 
remaining, and she’s leaning toward focus-
ing just on academics.
Her parents are Neil and Susan Soper.
Her sister Alex, 24, is a program assistant 
for alumni relations and development at 
the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences at 
Northwestern University. 

Send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.

Brooke Soper is a distance runner and an 
academic achiever at Western Michigan.
Spartan Roots, but a Bronco Star

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

SPORTS

LEFT: Brooke Soper competes in the 5K at the 2023 Mid-American Conference indoor track championships. 
RIGHT: Brooke Soper competes in the 10K at the 2023 Mid-American Conference outdoor track championships.

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