LAKEWOOD — Pomona senior Emma Stutzman won her final regular-season race May 6 at Jeffco Stadium.
One of the most decorated distant runners in Jeffco claimed the Class 5A girls 1,600-meter title during the Jeffco League track & field championships in record-setting fashion. Stutzman broke her own league record by nearly eight seconds.
“I felt really good,” Stutzman said after finishing nearly a full 20 seconds ahead of second place. “I was really focusing on my key points at 300 and 500 meters, along with making sure that last 100 wasn’t anything ditzy.”
Stutzman’s time of 4 minutes, 50.29 seconds shattered her old mark of 4:57.84 that she set two years ago as a sophomore during the league championships at Jeffco Stadium.
“I really wanted to just break 5 (minutes),” Stutzman said of her mindset in her final individual league championship race of her career. “I wanted to build up some confidence and build up that official time of breaking 5 minutes.”
The Northern Arizona University-commit passed on running the 3,200 during the first day of the league championships on May 3. Stutzman holds the 5A girls Jeffco League Meet record in the 3,200 with a time of 10:51.46 that she set in 2021.
“I definitely want to make sure I’m ready for it, but I’m not doing too much where I’m not ready because I’m tired,” Stutzman said of gearing up for the state meeting coming up May 18-20 at Jeffco Stadium. “I’m just making sure I can keep my stamina going into state.”
Stutzman has placed in the top-4 of the 1,600 and 3,200 at the state meet the past two years. As a sophomore she took third in the 1,600 and runner-up in the 3,200. Last year, she took fourth in both the 1,600 and 3,200.
During Stutzman’s four-year run at Pomona, the 5A girls distant competition has been tough with Cherry Creek’s Riley Stewart — who is a freshman at Stanford University — leading the pack with multiple individual state titles.
“It has been my main goal all season,” Stutzman said of winning her first state title. “Even through cross country that was my goal. It would definitely mean a lot.”
Stutzman nearly reached the top of the podium in the Fall cross county season finishing second to Valor senior Brooke Wilson.
“I feel like we all have our equal chances,” Stutzman said of the deep distance field in 5A. “It is really about who wants it more.”