UVU’s Everlyn Kemboi, Utah’s Emily Venters double dip, finishing 2-3 in NCAA 5K
Just 48 hours after finishing first and second in the 10,000-meter run, Utah Valley’s Everlyn Kemboi and Utah’s Emily Venters placed second and third, respectively, in the 5,000-meter run on the final day of the NCAA track and field championships on Saturday.
The double was even more impressive given the 87-degree, 67% humidity conditions in Austin, Texas.
Parker Valby, who did not compete in Thursday’s 10,000-meter final, ran away with the race, finishing in 15:30.57 — exactly nine seconds ahead of Kemboi, who clocked 15:39.57.
Venters was next, in 15:42.40. Venters’ teammate, Simone Plourde, was seventh in 15:50.10.
Valby’s path to the championship was made easier by the absence of North Carolina State’s Katelyn Tuohy, the national leader and collegiate record holder.
After a shocking seventh-place finish in the 1,500, she withdrew from the 5,000
It was a good night for Utah collegians on the track. Competing in a loaded 800-meter final — which included three of the seven fastest runners in history — BYU’s Claire Seymour finished third with a time of 2:00.55.
Teammate Meghan Hunter, who surprised everyone with a 2:01.55, fifth-place performance in the semifinals, finished seventh in 2:04.05.
Both Seymour and Hunter produced the second-fastest times of their careers.
Pre-race favorite Michaela Rose, an LSU sophomore, won with a time of 1:59.83. Oklahoma State’s Gabija Galvydyte was second in 2:00.47. Stanford’s Roisin Willis, the NCAA indoor champion, was fourth in 2:00.91.
Seymour, running her last collegiate race, was in third place most of the way, behind Rose and Willis.
She overtook Willis in the final 25 meters, but Galvydyte edged ahead of Seymour for second.
“I felt great,” Seymour said. “It was a little windy on the backstretch. The hard thing about the 800 meters is that it’s deep. There’s so many talented and incredible women out in that field. Honestly, it’s an honor to race with them.”
Seymour joins Whittni Orton, Shea Martinez and Maria Betioli as the only BYU women to collect seven or more career track and field All-American honors.
The top eight finishers in the NCAA championships are designated First Team All-Americans.
Earlier in the meet, BYU’s Lexy Halladay placed fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a personal-record time of 9:41.85.
Notre Dame’s Olivia Markezich ran away with the race, winning with a time of 9:25.03.
BYU’s Cierra Tidwell placed seventh in the high jump by clearing 6-feet, 1⁄2 inch. The event was won by Ball State’s Charity Griffith with a leap of 6-4.
Texas won the team competition going away, scoring 83 points. Runner-up Florida totaled 51 points.
Utah Valley tied for 12th with 18 points, all of them from Kemboi. Utah tied for 15th with 16 points, 14 of them courtesy of Venters. BYU finished in a three-way tie for 17th with 14 points.
