Michael Petro was named the head coach of Hood College's cross country and track and field programs in the summer of 2021.
The spring of 2024 saw six All-Conference athletes and the first USTFCCA All-Region recipient in a field event in Harryson Bellevue.The MAC Championships saw four medals, including a gold for Jamel Mins in the 100m dash while Aylene Noy earned bronze in the 10,000m. At the ECAC Championships, both the men's and women's outdoor teams saw a second-place finish as a team and at least one Top 5 finisher in every event they participated in.
The cross country season of 2024 saw the program's first USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Honors runner in Noy while All-Conference honors were earned by members of both the men's and women's squad.
Petro has trained a successful relay team including Chris Sappe, Mins, Owen Ellington and others that have repeatedly earned conference honors especially in the 4x400 event.
Petro arrives at Hood after serving as an assistant coach at Seton Hill from 2019-21. Working primarily with the throws, his recruiting efforts grew the event group from eight to 18 student-athletes during his tenure. He coached one school record holder and five Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference qualifiers with the Griffins. On the cross country side, he oversaw the weight training protocols and supervision of daily workouts as Seton Hill finished third at the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional and earned a bid to the 2019 NCAA Division II Championships.
Prior to his time at Seton Hill, Petro was an assistant coach at Division III Denison University. He increased the number of throwers in the program from four when he arrived in 2015 to 20 when he left after 2019. He coached 23 All-North Coast Athletic Conference performers, 10 All-Great Lakes Region student-athletes, six conference champions and five NCAA qualifiers.
Additionally, he was the strength & conditioning coach for the Seton Hill's women's basketball team and was an assistant strength & conditioning coach at Denison.
He has USATF level 2 throws certification and level 1 coaching certification from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, Petro holds certifications as a throws specialist and has attended academy educational classes in injury management, meet management, sports psychology, testing & measurement and weight training. He has strength and conditioning specialist certification (CSCS) from the National Strength Coaches Association.
Petro was a dual sport student-athlete at Allegheny College (PA) in track and field and football. In track and field, he earned five All-NCAC accolades and was a two-time conference champion, qualifying for the NCAA championships in the hammer as a senior.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology with a minor in dance and movement studies in 2015. In 2017, he earned a Master of Science degree exercise science and health promotion from California University of Pennsylvania.
