Skopec’s journey: From average to elite

IOWA CITY - The journey from average to elite is difficult, but attainable.

Emmie Skopec is proof.

A senior at Iowa City West, Skopec has gradually developed into one of the best female cross country runners in the state.

'I'm at the point now where I don't think anybody can put me away easily,” she said Tuesday. 'I never thought I would reach this point.”

Most of the top girls burst onto the scene as freshmen. Not Skopec.

At her first high school meet, in August 2011, she ran the fresh-soph race at the Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational. She finished 76th.

Skopec will return to Prairie on Thursday for the Mississippi Valley Conference meet in a completely different role.

She's the favorite.

'I'm really fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach a lot of superstars,” said West Coach Mike Parker, whose Women of Troy are the team to beat in the girls race. 'A lot of them were really good right away. Emmie's path has been quite a journey.”

Skopec comes from a running family. Her father, Greg, was a standout at Cedar Rapids Kennedy and UNI, and has run a marathon in less than 3 hours in five different decades. Her mother, Kathy, still runs though she is currently slowed by a torn meniscus.

Her sisters, Gabby and Jessie, are sophomores and compete for West.

'My dad took me to a lot of road races when I was younger,” Skopec said. 'They were usually 400 meters long. I'd show up in Crocs and jean shorts and usually I'd win. That was kind of fun. I was a pretty good sprinter.”

Distance running, that took a while to master.

'The first day of seventh-grade cross country, I asked Dad if I could quit,” she said. 'He wouldn't let me. I'm glad he didn't.”

Skopec stuck with it through middle school. Then came her high school debut, at Prairie. It wasn't what she wanted.

'I was disappointed,” she said. 'But after watching the varsity run, I realized that I wanted to be a part of a varsity team that made it to state. Maybe I could sneak in and be the No. 7 runner by the time I was a senior.”

Again, Greg saw what she didn't.

'He told me that he thought I would be a varsity runner the following year (as a sophomore),” she said. 'I laughed at him.”

But father knew best. Even though 'the payoff was so far away she couldn't even see it,” according to Parker, Skopec began the journey, becoming a year-round runner.

'You gave her a workout, and she'd go do it,” Parker said.

The results began to show during her freshman track season. At the beginning of the spring, she ran the 800 in 2:55. By the end, 2:26.

The following fall, Skopec earned a spot on the varsity cross country squad. She ran in the top five as a sophomore, then No. 2 to Ashlynn Yokom last year.

'I learned so much from Ashlynn,” Skopec said. 'She was one of the most supportive teammates I've ever had. Some top runners, if somebody was close behind them, they would try to bury you and put you in your place. Ashlynn would wave me up to her.

'She'd say, ‘Don't be afraid to run up with me. Don't be afraid to run with anybody.'”

Today, Skopec is confident. And she's healthy. After last year's state meet, Skopec learned that she was iron-deficient, and began taking supplements.

'I'm running faster than I ever have, and I don't get tired like I used to,” she said.

Skopec, whose resume includes an individual title at the Rim Rock Classic on Sept. 27 at Lawrence, Kan., is rated No. 6 among 4A girls. She figures to be challenged Thursday by freshman teammate Bailey Nock, as well as Iowa City High's Mary Arch and Linn-Mar's Amber Decker, who she called 'somebody I've always looked up to, even though she's a year younger than me.”

Competition begins at 3:30 Thursday afternoon. Varsity girls run at 5:30, boys at 6.

CROSS COUNTRY: MISSISSIPPI VALLEY CONFERENCE SUPER MEET

Thursday at Cedar Rapids Prairie

Schedule: 3:30 - Fresh-soph girls; 4:00 - Fresh-soph boys; 4:30 - JV girls; 5:00 - JV boys; 5:30 - Varsity girls; 6:00 - Varsity boys.

Ranked girls teams - (4A-5) Iowa City West, (4A-9) Linn-Mar, (4A-14) Iowa City High, (4A-15) Dubuque Hempstead, (3A-15) Dubuque Wahlert.

Top girls individuals - (4A-6) Emmie Skopec, Iowa City West (4A-9) Bailey Nock, Iowa City West; (4A-12) Mary Arch, Iowa City High, (4A-17) Amber Decker, Linn-Mar.

Ranked boys teams - (4A-2) Cedar Falls, (4A-4) Cedar Rapids Prairie, (4A-6) Linn-Mar, (4A-7) Iowa City West, (4A-8) Dubuque Hempstead, (4A-14) Iowa City High, (4A-15) Dubuque Senior, (3A-8) Dubuque Wahlert.

Top boys individuals - (4A-3) Tysen VanDraska, Cedar Rapids Prairie; (4A-4) Daniel Murphy, Linn-Mar; (4A-9) Akash Borde, Iowa City West; (4A-10) Jake Moore, Cedar Rapids Prairie; (4A-12) Ryan Murphy, Linn-Mar; (4A-13) Sam Schillinger, Cedar Falls; (4A-14) Joe Meehan, Dubuque Hempstead.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@sourcemedia.net