Pac-12 All-Century Cross Country team revealed

Steve Prefontaine, Amy Skieresz and Mark Wetmore earn All-Century honors

SAN FRANCISCO (November 3, 2015) –Pac-12 Networks revealed the Pac-12 All-Century Cross Country team comprised of 12 female and male runners, on ‘Pac-12 Sports Report’ Monday night.

Twenty-four runners were selected from a field of 62 nominees chosen by each Pac-12 institution. Notable voting participants include Pac-12 Networks analysts Thomas Feuer and Dwight Stones; Former track & field/cross country beat writer for The Eugene Register Guard Curtis Anderson; and Northwest Runner writer Paul Merca.

Stanford leads all schools with six players selected, followed by Oregon (5), Arizona (4), Washington State (3), UCLA (2), Washington (2), Arizona State (1) and Oregon State (1). Oregon led the men's team with four runners, followed by Washington State (3), Arizona (2), Oregon State (1), Stanford (1) and UCLA (1). Stanford led the women's team with five runners, followed by Arizona (2), Washington (2), Arizona State (1), UCLA (1) and Oregon (1).

Steve Prefontaine and Amy Skieresz earned Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Century honors respectively, with current Buffs coach Mark Wetmore being named the Pac-12 Cross Country Coach of the Century.

Prefontaine won seven NCAA titles: three in cross country (1970, '71, '73) and four in the three-mile in track (1970-73). He was the first collegian to accomplish the feat in track and the second ever in cross country. In Pac-8 Conference track competition, he won 3-mile titles in 1970-73, and also the mile title in 1971. At the close of his collegiate career he had set nine collegiate track records. He also held eight collegiate records while at Oregon, with his three-mile (12:53.4) and six-mile (27:09.4) still standing. During his career, he broke his own or other American records 14 different times, broke the four-minute barrier nine times, ran 25 two-mile races under 8:40 and 10 5K races faster than 13:30.

Skieresz won six individual national titles in track and field and one in cross country. She was a three-time runner up at the NCAA Cross Country Championships and won the 1996 individual title. Skieresz also earned the Pac-10 Cross Country individual title all four years of competition. Skieresz completed the 5000m-10000m twice, winning the events at both the 1997 and 1998 NCAA Championships. She also won back-to-back indoor 5000-meter titles. She earned two Honda Awards in the same year for her dominance in both cross country and track and field during the 1996-97 season. She added a third Honda Award as a senior. Skieresz currently holds the school record in the 5000- and 10000-meters.

Current Buffs head coach Wetmore has five NCAA men’s cross country titles (2001, 2004, 2006, 2013 and 2014) and two NCAA women’s cross country titles (2000, 2004). Wetmore’s squads have won seven national cross country titles since 2000. He is the only Division I cross country coach to win all four NCAA titles – men’s and women’s team and men’s and women’s individual – at the same school. Wetmore has been named the NCAA Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year twice (’00 and ’04) and the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year three times (‘06, ‘13 and ‘14). He is a 26-time conference coach of the year and in 2014, USA Track and Field named him the USA Co-Coach of the Year.

Please see below for the comprehensive cross country all-century roster.

MEN’S TEAM

Steve Prefontaine (Oregon, 1969-71, 1973)

Henry Rono (Washington State, 1976-79)

Gerry Lindgren (Washington State, 1966-69)

Edward Cheserek (Oregon, 2013-Present)

Galen Rupp (Oregon, 2005-08)

Meb Keflezighi (UCLA, 1994-98)

Alberto Salazar (Oregon, 1976-79)

Josephat Kapkory (Washington State, 1990-93)

Lawi Lalang (Arizona, 2011-12)

Ryan Hall (Stanford, 2001-04)

Martin Keino (Arizona, 1991-94)

Dale Story (Oregon State, 1959-61)

WOMEN’S TEAM

Amy Skieresz (Arizona, 1995-98)

Tara Chaplin (Arizona, 1998-01)

Lauren Fleshman (Stanford, 1999-02)

Jordan Hasay (Oregon, 2009-12)

Regina Jacobs (Stanford, 1982-85)

Arianna Lambie (Stanford, 2003, 05-07)

Francie Larrieu Smith (UCLA, 1973)

Alicia Craig (Stanford, 2001-04)

Sara Bei (Stanford, 2001-04)

Amy Hastings (Arizona State, 2003-05)

Regina Joyce (Washington, 1979-82)

Kendra Schaaf (Washington, 2008-09)

Pac-12 Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Century

Steve Prefontaine (Oregon, 1969-71, 1973)

Pac-12 Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Century

Amy Skieresz (Arizona, 1995-98)

Pac-12 Cross Country Coach of the Century

Mark Wetmore (Colorado, 1995-Present)