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Venters Named to Team USA for Pan Am Games in Santiago
10/6/2023 1:30 PM | Cross Country, Track & Field
Former Utah cross country and track & field All-American Emily Venters named to Team USA for Pan Am Games.
INDIANAPOLIS – Former Utah cross country and track & field All-American Emily Venters was recently named to Team USA and will compete in the 10,000m race in the 19th running of the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, as announced by USA Track & Field from Oct. 30 – Nov. 4 inside Julio Martinez National Stadium.
This is the second time that Venters will have the honor to represent Team USA in her career. She first represented the United States as a member of the junior women's team in the 2018 Great Edinburgh XCountry International Challenge. The Lawrence, Kan., native placed 10th-overall for in her first-ever international race with a time of 14:34 on the 4k course at Holyrood Park as the fourth scorer for Team USA.
The 2023 edition of the Pan Am Games will feature more than 6,000 athletes spanning 41 nations between North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean competing in 38 different sports with a spot in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on the line for many. A total 77 athletes will represent Team USA (37 women and 40 men).
Venters, who recently wrapped up her career with the Utes this past spring, was a four-time All-American in her two seasons with the Women of Utah. Her final season saw her garner several awards that included:
She opened her senior campaign in the fall of 2022 winning her first-ever collegiate race at the Roy Griak Invitational before leading the Utes to a second-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships – which tied the previous season for their best finish ever at the league championships. She then led Utah to its first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA Championships after guiding the Utes to a second-place finish at the NCAA Regionals. The season culminated in her placing 12th at the NCAA Championships to help the Women of Utah also finish 12th as a team for its best finish ever at the National Championships.
The success carried over onto the track with Venters breaking the school indoor record in the 5000m event with a time of 15:20.37 at the Husky Classic and recorded second-fastest time ever in the 3000m (8:58.50). Venters closed out her final indoor season claiming fifth at the NCAA Championships with a mark of 15:59.22 (aa) in the 5000m race.
As successful as Venters was during the cross country and indoor seasons, she shined just as bright or even brighter during the outdoor season. The Kansan opened her outdoor season running the sixth-fastest time by any collegian in the 10k at the Stanford Invitational while breaking the school record with a time of 31:48.35 – which ended up being the fastest time in the NCAA that year (2023). She followed up with the second-fastest 5k time in program history with run of 15:25.30 at the Payton Jordan Invitational. She then went on to become Utah's first ever Pac-12 Champion in track & field when she captured the 10000m title with a time of 32:32.98.
Venters then cemented herself into the Utah history books as one of the best to ever run for the Red & White when she garnered two All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. She first took runner-up honors in the 10000m race (32:20.81) before following up with a third-place finish in the 5000m race two days later and joined teammate Simone Plourde as the only other Utah track athlete to earn three All-America honors in the same season (indoor and outdoor).
For the latest news and information on the Utah cross country and track & field programs, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following on Facebook, X and Instagram.
This is the second time that Venters will have the honor to represent Team USA in her career. She first represented the United States as a member of the junior women's team in the 2018 Great Edinburgh XCountry International Challenge. The Lawrence, Kan., native placed 10th-overall for in her first-ever international race with a time of 14:34 on the 4k course at Holyrood Park as the fourth scorer for Team USA.
The 2023 edition of the Pan Am Games will feature more than 6,000 athletes spanning 41 nations between North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean competing in 38 different sports with a spot in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on the line for many. A total 77 athletes will represent Team USA (37 women and 40 men).
Venters, who recently wrapped up her career with the Utes this past spring, was a four-time All-American in her two seasons with the Women of Utah. Her final season saw her garner several awards that included:
- First-Team All-Pac-12 (XC)
- USTFCCCA XC All-Region (Mountain)
- USTFCCCA XC All-America
- USTFCCCA Indoor Track & Field First-Team All-America (5000m)
- Pac-12 Outdoor Champion (10000m)
- USTFCCCA Outdoor Track & Field First-Team All-America (5000m)
- USTFCCCA Outdoor Track & Field First-Team All-America (10000m)
- 3x Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll (Fall, Winter, Spring)
- Pac-12 XC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- USTFCCCA XC All-Academic
- USTFCCCA Track All-Academic
She opened her senior campaign in the fall of 2022 winning her first-ever collegiate race at the Roy Griak Invitational before leading the Utes to a second-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships – which tied the previous season for their best finish ever at the league championships. She then led Utah to its first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA Championships after guiding the Utes to a second-place finish at the NCAA Regionals. The season culminated in her placing 12th at the NCAA Championships to help the Women of Utah also finish 12th as a team for its best finish ever at the National Championships.
The success carried over onto the track with Venters breaking the school indoor record in the 5000m event with a time of 15:20.37 at the Husky Classic and recorded second-fastest time ever in the 3000m (8:58.50). Venters closed out her final indoor season claiming fifth at the NCAA Championships with a mark of 15:59.22 (aa) in the 5000m race.
As successful as Venters was during the cross country and indoor seasons, she shined just as bright or even brighter during the outdoor season. The Kansan opened her outdoor season running the sixth-fastest time by any collegian in the 10k at the Stanford Invitational while breaking the school record with a time of 31:48.35 – which ended up being the fastest time in the NCAA that year (2023). She followed up with the second-fastest 5k time in program history with run of 15:25.30 at the Payton Jordan Invitational. She then went on to become Utah's first ever Pac-12 Champion in track & field when she captured the 10000m title with a time of 32:32.98.
Venters then cemented herself into the Utah history books as one of the best to ever run for the Red & White when she garnered two All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. She first took runner-up honors in the 10000m race (32:20.81) before following up with a third-place finish in the 5000m race two days later and joined teammate Simone Plourde as the only other Utah track athlete to earn three All-America honors in the same season (indoor and outdoor).
For the latest news and information on the Utah cross country and track & field programs, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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