Krista Baker came to WPI as a sprinter and jumper and was projected to be a high performer in those disciplines. But due to a leg injury in her freshman season on the soccer team, she was unable to sprint or jump. In wanting to find a way to contribute, she transformed herself into a thrower and became one of the top female Track & Field performers ever to compete for WPI.
“She's perhaps one of the most underrated athletes the university has ever seen,” quipped director Brian Chabot. “Due to that injury she switched event groups and went on to have a Hall of Fame career as a thrower. It speaks not only to her athleticism, but to her determination and grit to work at a skill she did not initially have.”
She has contributed to the program as an excellent coach as well, having guided multiple athletes to NEWMAC individual titles and All-New England performances.
Baker won the NEWMAC Discus title in 2009 and captured individual championships in Shot Put and Hammer Throw in 2010. The four-time All-NEWMAC selection was also a nine-time Division 3 All-New England qualifier and a five-time All-ECAC performer, earning her accolades across shot, discus, hammer, and weight throws. She also qualified provisionally for the NCAAs in hammer (2010) and weight throw (2011).
USTFCCCA New England Women’s Field Athlete of the Year, her 23 individual points at the 2010 NEWMAC Championships helped the WPI women’s team to a third-place showing, their highest ever placement at the time. Baker still holds school records in the 20 lb. weight throw and the 20 lb. hammer throw, and ranks in the top five all-time for the indoor/outdoor shot put and discus.
“Krista’s love for the sport of Track & Field and for the university was clear, not only as an athlete but later during her time as a coach,” continued Chabot. “She helped our program advance during her time with us in every capacity.”
“She was a dynamically motivated student-athlete with a strong work ethic that led to her achievements and to accolades in the region’s throwing circles,” remarked throws coach Mike Stomski. “Upon graduation Krista began coaching at WPI and used those same qualities to help student-athletes achieve their own personal goals.”
The California transplant, who won WPI’s prestigious Patricia Graham Flaherty Award in 2010, graduated that year with a double major in chemistry and biochemistry. She has dabbled in a few career paths, but currently enjoys making beer as cellar person and lab assistant at Wormtown Brewery.
If she's not at the Worcester brewery or a weightlifting gym, she is most likely to be found rock climbing somewhere along the East Coast. She is currently studying for her single pitch instructor certification to become a climbing guide.
