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Amanda Vestri maintained her position in the top five midway through the 10,000m event at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. But she gradually faded back a few laps later, finishing 10th (32:52.74) in her second NCAA track appearance.

“I wouldn’t say I was satisfied with my performance there, but I think it was good to get the experience,” Vestri said of the 2021 championships. “I’m definitely looking to improve upon that performance this year.”

This season, Vestri set a new school record (15:42.58) in the women’s 5000m at the Sharon Colyear Danville season opener, one of two program records she’s set this season. Since joining the Orange from Iowa State in 2019, Vestri has earned multiple accolades, becoming one of Syracuse’s top runners in both cross country and track. She was a second-team All-American in track for 2021 and won the Atlantic Coast Conference 5000m indoor championship the same year. She’s also earned several All-ACC honors.

“It wasn’t at the top of her bandwidth,” said Brien Bell, Syracuse cross country and track and field head coach, about Vestri’s performance at the 2021 championships. “She probably could get anywhere between seventh and 12th if she ran pretty decent. She expects her bandwidth to be higher this year.”

Throughout her career, Vestri has consistently set high goals for herself, etching personal record after personal record. In her final run for Webster Thomas High School (N.Y.) at the state championships, Vestri finished the women’s 3000m in 9:35.73, a 13-second improvement from her then-personal record. She placed fourth, achieving the fifth-best time nationally in the event at that time.

“Amanda told me, ‘Coach I want to be the best to ever come out of our section and I want to break the all-time Section 5 record in the 3000-meter run,’” Vestri’s high school coach Paul Dick told MileSplit. Vestri would later successfully break the 32-year Section Five record in the women’s 3000m by just .83 seconds.

Vestri’s ultimate goal is to represent Team USA at the Olympics. She’s already competed at the U.S. Track and Field Junior Championships, qualifying for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) U20 World Championships. To ensure Vestri made the U.S. U20 World Championship team, her former Iowa State teammate Cailie Logue intentionally scratched her first-place score on the 5000m, while Vestri placed third, so that both could make the team.

“(Logue) helped me achieve something that was a really big goal of mine,” Vestri said. “I definitely thank her for helping me be a better runner along the way.”

Vestri finished her first international event 13th overall. She said competing at the IAAF U20 World Championships was an eye-opening experience for her.

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After transferring to Syracuse, Vestri immediately became one of the highest ranked athletes on the roster. Her versatility as a distance runner in both cross country and track makes Vestri unique, saying cross country can help her establish more mental toughness than track and field.

“It’s really hard and you have to be very mentally tough to do it (cross country),” Vestri said. “I definitely think it’s beneficial in all aspects.”

Apart from her cross country success, Vestri performed well in her first track season for the Orange. She dominated in the 5000m at the Virginia Tech Invitational, ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 10,000 m at the Virginia Challenge. The latter is where she set her current personal best (32:43.15). Later, Vestri became one of four Syracuse runners to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, wrapping up the season with two All-ACC honors and second team All-American honors.

“The best moment was when she said she was coming (to Syracuse),” Bell said. “She’s an independent and competitive woman who likes to beat people.”

But in November 2021, she suffered an injury after the Northeast Region Cross Country Championships. Vestri endured a long recovery period and didn’t compete again until this past December.

In her return, Vestri set a new school record at the Boston University Sharon Colyear Danville meet. She crossed the line at 15:42.48 in the 5000m, breaking Paige Stoner’s 2018 record. At the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational this year, Vestri broke another school record in the 3000m, finishing in 9:04.36.

“I wasn’t focused on the school record at all, I just focused on running a good time and I was just looking to be competitive in these races,” Vestri said.

In Vestri’s three track appearances prior to the 2023 championships, she set her personal records in the 3000m, 5000m and the mile in consecutive attempts.

Vestri said she worked with Bell to become smarter, avoid overtraining and be more conscious about which training philosophy fits her body.

“We talk about what she experienced and what I observed, and try to find the middle ground.” Bell said. “She’s always been really competitive. She’s just wired in that good, special way.”

Published on February 28, 2023 at 10:55 pm