Arizona’s Skieresz Nearly Lapped The Field

Amy Skieresz of Arizona could see her nearest pursuer in both of her 10,000-meter titles at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

That’s because she nearly lapped the entire field both times.

Skieresz had huge margins of victory in those two races – 63.39 seconds in 1997, 62.64 seconds in 1998 – the largest, in fact, recorded in NCAA DI history in any running event, including cross country.

Amazingly, Skieresz didn’t seem to need to win so convincingly, especially considering she was doubling back each time in the 5000 meters. She won both of those 5K races comfortably, as well, and remains the only woman with a pair of outdoor distance doubles at the NCAA DI level.

“I was shocked to win both of them,” Skieresz said of her first double in 1997.

Nobody else was shocked: Skieresz had won the NCAA cross country title in the fall, the NCAA Indoor 5K with a meet record in March and then debuted in the 10K with a 2-minute victory at the Penn Relays in 32:31.65, less than 10 seconds off the collegiate record at the time.

Skieresz seemed unbeatable – and for the most part she was – never coming close to losing an NCAA track race. She explained to Jeff Hollobaugh of Track & Field News after completing the 5K/10K combo for the second time in 1998 that she takes every race seriously.

“I go into every single race, whether it’s a dual meet or the NCAA, thinking that,” said the native of Agoura Hills, California. “I get as nervous as I would for anything. You can’t count anybody out. It could be anybody’s day. You can’t say, ‘Oh well, let’s coast through this race.’ I don’t believe in that. Every time I step to the line, it’s a major race.”

In cross country, Skieresz forged a career like no other man or woman in NCAA DI history, finishing in the top-2 four times, adding runner-up finishes in 1995, 1997 and 1998 to the individual title she claimed in 1996.