Rachele Stohl (Kloke)’s athletic journey is a story of exceptional talent and hard work. A standout at Stanwood High School (SHS) from 2003 to 2007, Rachele lettered in four sports—basketball, track, cross country, and golf— earning 11 out of the 12 possible varsity letters.
In track and field, Rachele’s high school accolades are remarkable. She was the State Champion in the Triple Jump and Decathlon in 2007 and tied for the state championship in the Long Jump. She still holds the SHS records for the Triple and Long Jumps. Her talent and determination earned her titles like Most Improved Athlete in 2004 and Most Inspirational Athlete in 2007.
Rachele’s prowess extended to the basketball court, where she set records as the highest scorer for a game (35 points), season (465 points), and career (1,273 points) at SHS. Her records and impressive scoring average of 23 points per game remain unmatched. Her accolades include being named to the Seattle Times All-Star First Team in 2007, SHS Girl Athlete of the Year, and All-Area Girls Basketball Player of the Year twice (2005, 2007).
Rachele continued her basketball career at the University of Idaho, where she was a full-scholarship player. She joined the prestigious 1,000 Point Club and was selected to the WAC Second Team during the 2009-2010 season. An Avista Scholar Athlete, Rachele made the WAC Academic All-Conference squad three times, highlighting her commitment to both athletics and academics.
After college, Rachele signed a contract to play professionally for the Bunbury Southwest Slammers in Australia.
Read on to hear more about Rachels athletic career and much more!
SCSC: Tell me about your time playing at Stanwood High School.
STOHL: Stanwood athletics gave me so much opportunity to compete at the 4A varsity level and I am grateful for those teammates and coaches over those 4 years and their impact on me. I loved being a multisport athlete and training for each sport and really felt supported by the athletic program to get access to their facilities to train year round. It will also always be a happy memory for me that my dad was able to coach me for 3 years while in high school.
SCSC: Being a four-sport athlete, what made you gravitate more toward basketball moving into college?
STOHL: In my mind there is nothing like the joy I got from playing basketball. It is a skill sport that takes a lot of time and effort to be good enough to play well. I loved everything the challenge of the game brought with it and working with a team towards the same goal. My dream was always to get the opportunity to play division one basketball, and it was easy to dedicate myself to something that I loved doing.
SCSC: Tell me about your time playing for University of Idaho?
STOHL: Playing for U of I taught me so much about myself and helped me grow and develop my game to be a 3-year starter as well as scholar athlete. I really value how hard I was pushed as an athlete at the division one level and resiliency I learned through the ups and downs of college basketball with the countless hours conditioning and training pre and post season. I really felt when graduating that I had been a part of rebuilding a successful girls basketball program and graduated knowing the program was better than when I first arrived.
SCSC: How did playing over in Australia differ from playing in the US?
STOHL: While division 1 has a lot of expectations of success on us as players it is different playing basketball in a foreign country and adapting to how they run their systems of offense and defense with how they define success. It was a very fun challenge to start to work towards meeting those expectations before being injured.
SCSC: What is one highlight you have from your time playing in Australia?
STOHL: While it was short before I was injured, I loved the opportunity of getting the chance to do something I loved as a job and adapting it to a totally different style of play and environment from what I experienced in the US. My highlight, however, was getting to go to the schools and train kids almost like a PE teacher to promote our program and get fans in the stands. The kids made that experience one of a kind.
SCSC: Who did you look up to during your athletic career, was there anyone who inspired you?
STOHL: My mom’s work ethic has always inspired me, and I have always loved working towards goals my dad had accomplished athletically. However, I would say ultimately that I had always looked up to my older brother and how he found success with basketball. While he had a heart condition that didn’t allow him to play past high school, I felt lucky that I was his sister and could reach that goal for both of us.
SCSC: What would you consider your greatest achievement of your athletic career?
STOHL: As a multisport athlete I feel my greatest achievement in high school was placing first at state in triple jump and second in long jump my senior year. However, when thinking of basketball I truly loved being so consistent in college basketball with meeting my goals of shooting 40% from the field and averaging just under 30 minutes a game over the 4 years.
SCSC: What is one piece of advice you have for young athletes today?
STOHL: You are capable of more than you give yourself credit for so surround yourself with people who are willing to work towards hard goals and stay consistent because one day you can achieve what you once thought impossible.
SCSC: t does life look like for you now?
STOHL: Mom of a newborn, toddler, and preschooler so very, very busy and lucky. I am also married to Jared Stohl, who also played college basketball and overseas, so we are loving our family we have built and teaching the life lessons we learned from playing sports our whole lives to our kids.
SCSC: What does receiving this induction mean to you?
STOHL: I value the recognition of being inducted as I know how hard I worked in my athletic career and how many others invested in me to achieve my accomplishments, so it means a lot to me to have that time and effort of myself and others through me be honored.
You can honor Rachele and the 7 other inductees at the Hall of Fame Banquet on September 25th at Angel Of The Winds Arena. Visit the link below to purchase tickets. Deadline to purchase tickets is September 18th.
https://event.auctria.com/2a15a66c-943b-4147-8660-8d47e7d5f13f/