This year at the Iowa High School State Track and Field Meet, the IGHSAU Track and Field Hall of Fame class of 2025 will be inducted. Amongst those inducted will be former Waverly-Shell Rock athlete Rachel Bishop (formerly Rachel Peth). Bishop will be the second W-SR athlete inducted into the IGHSAU Hall of Fame, joining Morgan Kuhrt, who was inducted in 2020 for Volleyball.
Bishop comes from a family of athletes. Her dad, Dick Peth, played basketball and baseball at the University of Iowa, and also spent 27 years as head coach of the Wartburg men’s basketball team. Her brother, Derek Peth, was a multiple time All-American in track and field at Wartburg.
It was through her brother that Bishop’s love for track and field grew. Mixed with a great lineage of athletes, athletic success came pretty easily for Bishop.
“My brother was a track athlete, and he was about six or seven grades above me. I spent so much of my childhood watching him run at track meets. We went to the Drake Relays, I saw him run at state, and then once I got to high school I got to watch him run at Wartburg. So I was a fan watching him, and then when I started myself I realized I had some talent, and when you have talent it makes any sport more enjoyable,†Bishop mentioned.
Over her time with W-SR, Bishop became one of the most decorated athletes to ever compete for the school. During her career, Bishop was a 16-time state qualifier, placing top eight in 15 of those events including six state championships.
Bishop set school records in the 100-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash, and was a member of the record-breaking shuttle hurdle team. Both the 100-meter hurdles and shuttle hurdle relay records still stand to this day.
Bishop also had an incredible end to her high school track career, as she won four state championships her senior year. Those championships came in the shuttle hurdle, the 100-meter hurdles, the 100-meter dash, and the 200-meter dash. Bishop also set a class 3A state record in the 100 meter hurdles en route to her state championship win.
Bishop was phenomenal on the track, however, it would be another sport that would initially call her at the collegiate level.
“Volleyball was my focus all through high school. My senior year at the state track meet, I thought that was it. I thought I had closed the book on track, and I was fine with that. I went out as high as you can, and I was really excited to continue playing volleyball at UNI,†Bishop described.
After some time with the UNI volleyball team, Bishop began to miss track and field. She consulted with coaches, and quickly transitioned into doing both volleyball and track. However, an injury sustained before the 2012 volleyball season would force Peth to miss the entire 2013 volleyball and track seasons. That is when she made the switch to track full-time.
“When I got hurt in volleyball, my track coach gave me the opportunity to replace my scholarship if I would try the heptathlon,†Bishop described.
The heptathlon is a series of events done by one athlete which include sprints, hurdles, and field events. Scores are kept based on where athletes place in each event, and the athlete with the most points at the end of every event is the winner.
Bishop described having a teammate at UNI, who was amongst the favorites to win the heptathlon, sustaining an injury. That injury allowed Bishop to step into her place for the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
Bishop would go on to win the conference championship in the heptathlon with the support of her injured teammate. Not only did Bishop win the conference championship, but her score of 5,245 in the event still ranks fourth in school history.
“It was an amazing meet. I [set personal bests] in every single event. It was a great way to [end my collegiate career].â€
In addition to her heptathlon conference championship, Bishop also earned two all-conference (top three) finishes and 13 total place finishes (top eight) in her career at UNI.
Today, Bishop calls upon her experience doing the heptathlon to help her coach at Janesville, where she is the head girls track and field coach.
“I learned all the events through the heptathlon, and that’s helped me a ton as I’ve shifted into coaching,†Bishop said.
Bishop relishes her role with the Wildcats, getting a chance to pass along her knowledge, as well as getting a chance to get to know each of her athletes.
“I love sharing the sport of track, and trying to find the event where each athlete can feel successful. That looks different for every person, but it’s great to celebrate their successes with them and capitalize on each of their talents.
“I’m a first grade teacher, so I spend my days with the littles. I tell my high school girls it’s so fun to end my days having real conversations with them. Not just being their track coach, but checking in on their life and being someone that cares about them in more ways than just an athlete,†described Bishop.
Bishop will be enshrined amongst the very best track and field athletes in Iowa high school history. That legacy brings her both “joy to reminisce over,†as well as the expertise for the next generation of athletes under her tutelage.
