Pomona’s Emma Stutzman ready to make her final run

BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LAKEWOOD — Pomona senior Emma Stutzman won her nal regular-season race May 6 at Je co Stadium.

One of the most decorated distant runners in Je co claimed the Class 5A girls 1,600-meter title during the Je co League track & eld championships in record-setting fashion. Stutzman broke her own league record by nearly eight seconds.

“I felt really good,” Stutzman said after nishing 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 Je co Stadium.

“I really wanted to just break 5 (minutes),” Stutzman said of her mindset in her nal individual league championship race of her career. “I wanted to build up some con dence and build up that o cial time of breaking 5 minutes.” e Northern Arizona Universitycommit passed on running the 3,200 during the rst day of the league championships on May 3. Stutzman also holds the 5A girls Je co League Meet record in the 3,200 with a time of 10:51.46 that she set in 2021.

“I de nitely 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 Je co 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 rst state title. “Even through cross country that was my goal. It would de nitely mean a lot.”

Stutzman nearly reached the top of the podium in the Fall cross county season nishing second to Valor senior Brooke Wilson.

“I feel like we all have our equal chances,” Stutzman said of the deep distance eld in 5A. “It is really about who wants it more.” ere were two other Je co League Meet records that fell last week.

Golden junior Montrey Strickland’s throw of 53-feet, 8.5 inches in the 4A boys shot put broke the pervious record of 53-4.5 set by D’Evelyn’s T.J. Hogle in 2004.

Valor’s boys 4x800 relay team — Enzo Swan, Drew Costelow, Kaeden Dendorfer, and Dane Eike — set a new 5A record with a time of 7:48.80. e old record was more than 20 years old. Chat eld held the record since 2001.