EUGENE, Ore.—There was at least one Villanovan in action at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on each of the first seven nights of competition at Hayward Field in a memorable year for Wildcats past and present on the national stage. The last event on Villanova's schedule was on Saturday night and featured 2014 graduate Emily Lipari racing in the championship of the 10000 meters. Lipari posted a time of 32:52.99 in strenuous conditions and finished 17th overall.
Although Lipari has achieved a great deal of success in her professional career both on the track and in road running, Saturday's race marked her first career start at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. She was injured in 2021 when the delayed Trials for the 2020 Olympics were held in Eugene but came back strong a year later. Lipari won the USATF 1 Mile Road championship in Des Moines, Iowa in April 2022 (4:33.0h) and was the silver medalist in the 10000 meters (33:54.61) at the NACAC Championships in the Bahamas later that year.
Lipari recorded a personal best time of 31:19.72 in the 10K earlier this year in California to qualify for the Olympic Trials. During her collegiate career for the Wildcats (2010-14) she was a national champion in the mile, ran on a national champion distance medley relay team and was part of Villanova's national championship cross country team in 2010. She was a 10-time collegiate All-American, a 14-time BIG EAST champion, a 20-time All-BIG EAST performer and a six-time Penn Relays champion for the Wildcats.
