Hall of Fame
Over her four-year career as a student-athlete at Pitt-Johnstown, Ms. Michelle Kropelak-Brownback proved to be one of the most talented and versatile women’s track and field athletes in program history on her way to setting several Mountain Cat records that still stand today.
After earning six District (7) WPIAL championships, and four PIAA State-Place finishes as a member of the Springdale High School track and field team, Ms. Kropelak-Browback joined Pitt-Johnstown Hall of Fame Coach Clyde Horner’s squad in 1998-99 and made an immediate impact on the program.
Throughout her career, Ms. Kropelak-Brownback, a native of Springdale Pa., competed in up to seven events in a single track and field meet. She accumulated 313 ¾ career points to surpass the previous Pitt-Johnstown record holder by nearly 100 points.
Ms. Kropelak-Brownback also broke the Mountain Cat record for points in a season with 124 ¾ in 1999, points in an outdoor meet with 47.0 at Juniata College on April 6, 2002, and points in an indoor meet with 43.0 at Albright College on March 20, 1999
In addition, Ms. Kropelak-Brownback set Pitt-Johnstown’s top mark in the Long Jump (17.6m), posted the second-best time in the 100-Meter Dash (12.7) and 100-Meter Hurdles (15.7), and fourth-best time in the 200-Meter Dash (27.2).
When her career came to an end, she collected 50 first place finishes and set stadium records in the 100 and 200-Meter Dashes, 100-Meter Hurdles, Long Jump, Triple Jump and two relays.
In her final home meet in 2002, Ms. Kropelak-Brownback won first place honors in the 100 and 200-Meter Dashes, 100-Meter Hurdles, Long Jump, Triple Jump and ran legs of the winning 400 and 1,600-Meter Relays that broke school records.
Ms. Kropelak-Brownback, also a four-year member of the Pitt-Johnstown women’s soccer club team, served as President of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and spent her 2021 Spring Break with fellow Pitt-Johnstown students building houses for impoverished villagers in Jamaica.
She earned a NCAA Degree Completion Scholarship and graduated from Pitt-Johnstown in 2002 with a 3.4 overall GPA in Elementary Education. In 2009, Ms. Kropelak-Brownback received her Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology from Wilkes University.
Ms. Kropelak-Brownback began her professional career teaching sixth grade in the Whitehall Coplay School District and coaching junior high soccer for the Moravian Academy boys’ and girls’ teams. She and her husband would also serve as Christian sport camp counselors during the summer. As her family grew, she began to coach her children and invest in her surrounding community.
Currently, she is a sixth-grade math teacher in the Wilson School District and continues to be active in sports as a youth soccer and Junior High track and field coach. She is very active in the community and serves in various leadership roles.
Ms. Kropelak-Brownback, her husband and former three-time Pitt-Johnstown All-American Wrestler Ethan Brownback, and their three children, EJ, Luke, and Lillian, all standout athletes in various sports, reside in Reading, Pa.
“I am incredibly humbled and honored to join the extremely talented group of women that have paved the way at Pitt-Johnstown,” Ms. Kropelak-Brownback said. “Their strength and commitment passed on a tradition of excellence that challenged me and fueled a passion to succeed. I never would have anticipated joining them in the Athletic Hall of Fame. Pitt-Johnstown will always have a special place in my heart. I am proud to be a Lady Cat!”
