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Under Misipeka, the throwers improved leaps and bounds. In her first season, Fresno State's throwers earned two All-American honors, eight NCAA Regional qualifications, two conference titles and nine All-WAC accolades.
Misipeka, a decorated thrower herself, guided Sharon Ayala to a pair of All-American honors in 2009. Ayala won the WAC crown in the weight throw during the indoor season and advanced to the NCAA Indoor Championships, a first for Fresno State since 1999. At the national championships, Ayala set a new Bulldog record of 66-feet, 6-inches (20.26 meters) and took sixth to nab All-American accolades.
During the outdoor season, Ayala continued her throwing success with the hammer throw. Ayala repeatedly smashed the Bulldog record for the hammer throw and marked the third-best throw in the country of 218-3 (66.52m) en route to a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. She also set a new hammer throw stadium record at Utah State's Ralph Maughan Track in Logan, Utah, during the WAC Outdoor Championships, where she picked up her fourth conference crown. In Sharon's second event, the discus, she improved over 15 feet.
Misipeka helped develop sophomore Kayla Xavier into a dominant thrower in multiple events. Under Misipeka's guidance, Xavier qualified three events (shot put, hammer throw and discus toss) for the NCAA Regional, a first for any Fresno State athlete. Xavier also became just the third Bulldog in history to throw the shot put over 50 feet with a mark of 50-5.25 (15.37m).
Another of Misipeka's athletes, Grace Wiesmann, found success in 2009. Wiesmann not only qualified for the NCAA Regional in the hammer throw, but was also named to ESPN The Magazine's Second Team Academic All-District team.
On the men's side, Misipeka worked to develop the throwers, who picked up two NCAA Regional qualifications and one runner-up finish at the conference championships. Tim Greene took second in the hammer throw at the WAC Championships with his final toss bettering his lifetime best from 189-11 (57.89m) to 203-09 (62.11m). Greene's performances at WAC qualified him for the NCAA Regionals in both the hammer and the discus.
In 2008, Misipeka returned to collegiate athletics to coach the Bulldog throwers after training for the Olympic games and working with student-athletes of all ages through her company HYPE.
As a professional athlete, she trained with University of Southern California's throws coach Dan Lange, as she earned a bronze medal in the hammer throw at the World Championships in 1999 and championed various international meets en route to her appearances at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, Misipeka was the flag bearer for America Samoa.
Misipeka competed for South Carolina as a collegiate athlete. During her career with the Gamecocks, Misipeka was a two-time NCAA champion, winning the national title in the hammer throw and the 20-pound weight throw in 1998. She also picked up 11 All-American honors and three SEC titles in the throwing events over her career. Misipeka's hammer throw of 213-3 (65.00m) in 1998 set a school record for South Carolina, a record that still stands today. Of all her honors, Misipeka is most proud of the five Academic All-American honors she earned while at South Carolina. In 2007, Misipeka was inducted into both the University of South Carolina's Hall of Fame and the SEC's Hall of Fame.
After college, Misipeka was a motivational speaker for the Drug Enforcement Agency and was named the South Carolina Woman of the Year in 1999. She continues to inspire others through her motivational speaking.
Misipeka and her husband, Bryant Allen, created HYPE (How You Perceive Excellence), in 2000 to work with young athletes individually. The program works to develop athletes of all disciplines physically, mentally, academically and emotionally.
In 2000, Misipeka began coaching at Northern Arizona, where she coached the throws. In her two years at NAU, she guided four athletes to the NCAA National Championships (two indoor and two outdoor). With hard work and determination, the student-athletes, who were walk-ons and partial-scholarship athletes, made dramatic improvements in their shot put, hammer, discus and weight throw marks under her tutelage.
Misipeka also coached at West Los Angeles College for a season. Over the last 10 years, she has worked as a motivational speaker as working as a strength and conditioning coach for various Los Angeles-area athletic programs.
A graduate of Temecula High School in Temecula Calif., Misipeka was ranked among the top 10 high school basketball recruits from the state. She was heavily recruited by top Division I schools to compete in both basketball and track and field. In the end, Misipeka opted to compete solely in track and field, wanting to rely on herself to reach her goal of competing at the Olympic games.
She earned a bachelor of science in education from South Carolina in 1998. Misipeka and her husband have a son, Bryson, and live in Fresno, Calif.
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