Track start Stutzman claims Gatorade title

BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

If there’s a piece of advice Emma Stutzman would give her younger self on the track, she would say to show up prepared, be patient and let your hard work speak for itself. e younger Stutzman hoped, but never imagined, she would be named the best female track runner in the state.

After stamping a historic high school career at Pomona High School, Stutzman was named the Gatorade Colorado Girls Track & Field Player of the Year for 2022-23. at’s a rst in the Arvada school’s history.

“It wasn’t necessarily one of my goals to get the (Gatorade) award,” Stutzman said. “It was more of just like a cherry-on-top kind of thing. It de nitely wasn’t something I really even knew that much about.” e award comes a month after Stutzman earned a long-anticipated rst state title, nishing the Class 5A girls 3,200-meter run in a time of 10 minutes, 12.68 seconds in May.

A day later, her winning time of 4:39.94 in the 1600 shattered the previous Colorado prep sports record, and ranked No. 3 nationally among girls prep competitors in 2023, earn- mark in the two-mile run (9:55.75) this spring at the Brooks PR Invitational in Washington state and the No. 5 national mark in the 3200 (9:56.34) at the Arcadia Invitational in California.

Stutzman joins recent Gatorade Colorado Girls Track & Field Players of the Year Agur Dwol (2021-22, Mullen High School), Riley Stewart (2020-21, Cherry Creek High coming a week before graduating and saying goodbye to high school.

According to Je co Athletics’ Dennis Pleuss, Stutzman had placed in the top four 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.

“It was just so exciting to nally be on the top of that podium and nally be able to go into a state meet and come out of it knowing I did everything I wanted to do,” she said. “It was de nitely nice to cap o my Pomona season (and career) with that win.”

Now all focus shifts toward college. Stutzman is heading to Northern Ari- zona University in Flagsta on a full scholarship to take her talents to the next level

For one, she “hates running in the cold,” so it will be nice to escape to the desert when she wants to. But at the same time, Flagsta “isn’t too di erent from Colorado” climate-wise, meaning it won’t be a huge

But still, Stutzman isn’t tempering her expectations for herself, despite making the college leap.

“I de nitely want to try to see how far I can go, with not just running for myself (but for my team),” she said. “I’m really excited to see what I can do, being a part of a team like that, and then just going as far as my mind and my body will take me. I de nitely want to be an NCAA All-American.” ough she’ll miss her home, her teammates, the camaraderie of an ordinary practice, team camps, running at Je co Stadium, and countless others, Stutzman said she’s excited about the challenge of the next level.

“I had a great team at Pomona. I absolutely love every single one of them,” Stutzman said.

As one of the school’s best to ever do it in any sport, Stutzman is leaving as an all-time legend.