Space Coast senior Skye Zeller didn't always have her sights set on having such a successful running career. When she first started running track in middle school, running was no more than a secondary sport to her.
"I started running track in seventh grade just to fill the gap until the next basketball season," Zeller said. "It wasn't until tenth grade that I became serious about running and stopped playing basketball to run year round. My dad saw a lot of potential in me and began devoting his time and energy to helping me become the runner I am today."
As one would expect, as the time she spent on running increased, her times decreased. Instead of her 53rd-place finish as a freshman, she placed 12th at cross country states.
In the 800, her signature track event, she started making waves on the state level. In 2014, as a sophomore, she was fifth at the state meet. Last year, she was second to Bolles' Caitlyn Collier, missing out on the title by a mere hundredth of a second (2:14.04 to 2:14.05).
"Caitlyn is an amazing runner and that was a great race, but of course I hope to come back this season and get the state title in the 800m," she said. "Some of my other expectations for next year are to improve my 1600 and 400 times, as well as help our 4x800 relay set a new school record."
Entering her senior year, the former basketball player knew she wanted to continue her running career in college, and with a PR of 2:11.55 from Golden South, along with racing nearly everything from the 200M to an XC 5K, she had the credentials to back her up.
All she had to do to find the right school, it turned out, was look up the coast. Although she also visited the University of Southern Mississippi and Elon, Zeller found a new home with the UNF Ospreys.
"I love the campus and the surrounding areas. The coaches and the team were amazing and everything just felt right," Zeller said. "Having the beach ten minutes away is definitely a plus as well."
While under the guidance of UNF head coach Jeff Pigg, and running as a D-1 athlete, Zelller hopes to continue dropping those times even further than she hopes to this track season.
"My goals while at UNF are to grow as a student and an athlete. I feel UNF offers great opportunities for both. What Coach Pigg has going at UNF is something special and I look forward to making huge gains as a middle distance runner," she said. "It's going to be awesome to train and race with teammates that will push me to be my best."
