Skieresz Captures Bookend Awards

Amy Skieresz, a graduate of Agoura High, became the third woman to be selected Pacific-10 Conference track and field athlete of the year two consecutive years.

Skieresz, a junior at Arizona, won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year and has eight individual national titles in cross-country and track and field.

High jumper Amy Acuff of UCLA won the award in 1995 and 1996, and 1992 and 1996 Olympic champion Gail Devers of UCLA won the award in 1987 and 1988.

The award was determined by a vote of the conference’s track and field coaches.

BASEBALL

Doug Hutton, starting catcher at Westlake High, said he will transfer to Thousand Oaks.

Hutton also is a wrestler and indicated that the main reason for his transfer is because Westlake has dropped its wrestling program.

SOFTBALL

Crystl Bustos hit her first home run for the Orlando Wahoos of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch league Friday night.

Bustos, who attended Canyon High, hit a two-run home run in the first inning of the Wahoos’ 4-1 victory over the Carolina Diamonds.

Junior Jodie Cox, who compiled a 22-3 record and hit nine home runs while leading Quartz Hill to the Southern Section Division II championship, was chosen Golden League player of the year.

FOOTBALL

Brian Smith, an All-Ventura County offensive lineman from Thousand Oaks High, has accepted a scholarship from Hawaii. Smith will visit Hawaii on June 24 and sign a letter of intent.

MOTOR SPORTS

Defending world champion Kris Hall of Canada took the lead on the first lap and won the 12-lap main event in the Expert Runabout 785 class of the International Jet Sports Boating Assn. California Nationals personal watercraft races Saturday at San Buenaventura State Beach in Ventura.

The victory was Hall’s first since he captured the world championship at Lake Havasu City, Ariz. in October.

“I’ve honestly never been this tired after a race in my entire life,” Hall said, adding that he never trains in surf. “The surf was big and sometimes I thought I was going to lose it so I would back off a bit and ease the boat over the breaking wave.”

Sean Valsecchi of South Africa won the 10-lap Expert Ski main event for his first ISJBA victory, and Brett Sizemore of Johnson City, Tennessee, won his second 10-lap Expert Sport main event.

Defending Expert Runabout 1200 class world champion Blair Gillespie, a 15-year-old high school junior from Lake Havasu City, captured his third 12-lap feature victory.

Jeffery Dawson of Maple Valley won the Amateur Freestyle event for the second consecutive week with a score of 44.9 points.

The event concludes today with seven Pro-class races. Practice sessions begin at 9 a.m., followed by qualifying races until noon.

The main events run from 1 p.m to 5 p.m. Admission is free.