Wachtel has observed two of her runners achieve All-American status; PHSC student athlete Kayla Bratcher earned the honor at the Half Marathon National meet in 2011; Samantha Greenlee became a two-time All American in 2012 and 2013 through her success in the Half Marathon National meet and the 5K NJCAA National Cross Country meet. Olivia D’Angelo earned All American honors at the 2018 5k championships and the half marathon championships. Grace D’Angelo and Quincy Mayer also earned All American Honors at the 2018 half marathon championships.
Wachtel graduated from River Ridge High School in 1997, having achieved high school state championship status for the 3,200 meter (two mile) race in 1995. She continued her running endeavors on a cross-country/track scholarship to Ohio University (OU) where she spent 12 seasons on the cross-country, indoor and outdoor track teams. After earning her bachelor’s in secondary education from OU in 2001, Wachtel returned to the Tampa Bay area and earned her Masters of Science in biostatistics from the University of South Florida.
Prior to signing on as head coach at PHSC, Wachtel spent two years as head coach for the boy’s track team and the boy/girl cross country team at J. W. Mitchell High School in New Port Richey, Fla. From 2002 to 2008, Wachtel was a math instructor at the high school as well. She continues to teach at the high school level at Pasco eSchool in addition to being an adjunct math instructor at PHSC.
She continues to compete in races, most recently taking first place in the 2019 Iron Girl Half Marathon in Clearwater, Fla. She also finished first in the female overall category in the 2019 RAP River Run 10K in New Port Richey, Fla.
