Stephanie Barnes Bertoli was a pioneer in girls pole vault in the state of Wisconsin.  When she began as a sophomore, girls pole vault was not a recognized event by the WIAA.  It wasn't until her junior and senior seasons that she was able to represent her high school at the State Meet. She was also a level 9 gymnast and a WIAA state champion on the uneven bars as a freshman.  At UW-Eau Claire, Bertoli suffered a broken back from a fall during a pole vault competition her freshman year.  After redshirting a season to recover, she went on to set the school indoor (12-9) and outdoor (12-11) records in the pole vault in addition to a conference record (12-8) her junior season.  Bertoli won three conference pole vault titles with three runner-up finishes, a third and a fifth.  She was a six-time NCAA All-American, adding a third, two fourths and an eighth to her two national titles.  She was a member of the 2007 Blugold team that finished third in at the NCAA indoor nationals.
Bertoli competed one year on the Blugold gymnastics team where she lettered and received the team's Most Tenacious Award. Â She did not compete additional years in gymnastics due to the lengthy overlap with the collegiate indoor track season.
She accumulated a number of awards as a Blugold track athlete including team Most Dedicated (2006), team Field MVP (2005) and WIAC Indoor Scholar-Athlete for track (2007).  She was a two-time Blugold Super Six Recipient and was recognized in 2007 as an NCAA Woman of the Year Honoree in Indianapolis, IN.
After graduating with a degree in Exercise Science in 2007, Bertoli spent seven years coaching track and field, as well as a few seasons of gymnastics, including at UWEC, Illinois State University and Wartburg College.
While at Illinois State University, she met her husband who was coaching within the same conference at the University of Northern Iowa. Â When they had their first daughter in 2015, it became evident that she was being called to the domestic front. Â She soon left the workforce to be a stay-at-home mom and home educator for their three children. Â She is currently self-employed as a fitness instructor in women's health.
Her coaching career has included a number of school record holders, national qualifiers and numerous conference champions.  She has her Master of Science in Sport Management from Illinois State University. She is a certified USTFCCCA Track and Field Technical Coach, a Certified Pre/Postnatal Fitness Specialist, as well as a certified Core Confidence Specialist.  In 2021, she was a TEDx speaker for the Indiana State University Women's Event, addressing the topic of pelvic floor health in the United States.
