Agoura has another great distance runner

Laura Jakosky

Deena Drossin ran in the Olympics in Sydney, and Amy Skieresz was a college champion running for the University of Arizona. Both ran at Agoura High School under Coach Bill Duley.

Laura Jakosky is the current Agoura High distance runner who has made headlines. Through hard work since her freshman year, Jakosky has earned her place on the Chargers list of great cross country and track athletes.

The specter of the former Agoura star runners has been an inspiration to Jakosky.

Coach Duley keeps a notebook full of the times that all of his great runners had, be it on various courses that Jakosky and her teammates run at some point during the season, or simply training times that the likes of Drossin and Skieresz ran during practice sessions.

"I can compare my times to theirs," Jakosky said. "And I can kind of gauge myself against them, and that really helps."

Jakosky also has very real competition in the tough Marmonte League, having entered high school the same year as Thousand Oaks’ Kelley Hess, Newbury Park’s Jennifer Turk, and maybe her toughest league competitor, Jaclyn Pedersen of Royal High School.

"We all came in as freshman together," Jakosky said, "so you could always look forward to it being a very competitive race. There’s going to be someone out there that’s going to push you."

In practices this year, Jakosky runs not only with Shannon Duley, a junior who should be one of the best runners around next year when she becomes 100 percent healthy, but also with three promising freshmen.

Jakosky sees the potential in the young runners, and sees a little of herself as well.

"I wish I had another year with these girls, because you could just see, every race they improve," she said. "It’s also neat because that’s where I was when I came in as a freshman. I didn’t know what I was doing or what I was getting into to."

Jakosky doesn’t know yet what school she’ll run for in college. She’s waiting until her final high school cross country season is finished to make that commitment.

"It’s really important to me to have a really good season," she said. "At the end of the cross country season, I’ll narrow it down to about five colleges and start taking my recruiting trips."

Duley said that Jakosky is already a Division I caliber runner but thinks that she’s capable of getting even better before the 2000 campaign ends.

"If she improves by 20 or 30 seconds this year on the championship courses, then she’s really a big player in the recruiting process," Duley said. "But Laura will be able to run at a Division I school for sure."

Although Jakosky is a gifted runner, Duley’s assistant coach Missy Andrews notes that the Charger athlete hasn’t accomplished all that she has on ability alone.

"Laura has a lot of drive," Andrews said. "She wants to succeed in the sport. And her results are from not only her talent, but from her willingness to work really hard."

Jakosky credits her coaches and her family for their support, and suggests that it was the summer of 1998 when she herself made a move that positively affected her career as a runner.

"The summer between my sophomore and junior year I started running twice a day," she said. "Now I’ve been consistently doing 68-70 miles (per week).

"Coach Duley puts you on a four-year plan and if you listen to him, he will completely develop you and help you."

Of her mom, Linda and dad, Donn, Jakosky said, "My dad remembers every time I ever ran. I can’t say enough about their support, I’m really grateful."

And Kyle, Jakosky’s bother, who graduated from Agoura in 1998, is also a big fan. "He’s one of the more understated people, but I know how much he cares," she said.

With the Ventura county championships today at Lake Casitas (2 p.m.) in Ojai and then the league championships hosted by Agoura next Thursday, Jakosky aims to get ready for the CIF prelims (Nov. 11), the CIF finals (Nov. 18), and the state championships, scheduled for Sat., Nov. 27, in Fresno.

She knows she’ll be running in the footsteps of Agoura High School legends, including Drossin and Skieresz.

"I guess it pushes me," Jakosky said. "I want to be the best that I can, and to go as far as I can. Deena made it to the Olympics and Amy Skieresz has won seven NCAA championships.

"It’s not so much pressure, but it’s a lot of pride. I want to carry on the tradition."