Colorado University Athletics
Mark Scrutton, Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame
May 11, 2015 | Neill Woelk
Mark Scrutton, Cross Country/Track
- 1982 NCAA Cross Country Individual Champion
- 1983 NCAA Two Mile Champion
- Record 17 Big Eight Conference Titles
- Nine Time All-American
One of the first dominant long distance runners in program history, setting the stage for many to follow, he spent four seasons at CU (1979-80 through 1982-83), earning a total of 12 letters in cross country, indoor and outdoor track combined ... He was a two-time NCAA Champion, winning the NCAA Cross Country title in 1982 in 30:12.6, helping CU finish seventh at the meet, and the NCAA two-mile run in 1983 ... He won a record 17 Big Eight Conference individual titles, 14 on the track and three in cross country (he broke the previous league mark of 14, which had been held by Jim Ryun, the legendary Kansas runner) ... Scrutton won four indoor Big 8 3-mile titles (1980-83), four outdoor Big 8 3-mile titles (1980-83), three 10,000-meter run titles (1980-83) and three indoor 2-mile titles (1981-83).
He was the only male Buff to win the outdoor conference 5k and 10k titles in the same year, and did so in three of four years, until 2011 when Joe Bosshard won both championships ... Scrutton was a nine-time All-American, earning honors three times on the cross country course (1980-82) and six on the track ... In his senior year he won three Big 8 titles and two NCAA titles ... In December 1982, he set an 8,000-meter world record of 22:25.8 at the Newport Beach Back Bay ... He won the most Big 8 titles in conference history (17) and was named CU's Male Athlete of the Year in 1983 ... While at CU he set three Big 8 records and two CU records (records no longer stand) ... He was the 1983 BolderBOULDER champion, the only Buffalo male to ever win the hometown 10K; he had placed second in the 1981 BB behind the legendary Frank Shorter (both times wearing his CU uniform) ... Selected as the 1984 Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Amateur Athlete of the Year ... Officially had his jersey honored by the school in 1999.
