Emily Venters, an All-American at Utah who has twice represented the United States in international running events and is competing in her final year for the Utes, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss having the opportunity to return Oct. 14 to the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison to compete in a women's 6-kilometer race that includes 24 NCAA Division 1 ranked programs in the field. Venters, 23, revisits her victory Sept. 23 in 20:33.2 in the 6-kilometer race at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota, not only the first individual win of her collegiate career, but also the first in Utah program history at the prestigious meet, helping the No. 12 Utes capture the team title for the first time by prevailing against No. 19 Cal Baptist by an 85-95 margin. She shares how special it was to have former Colorado teammates Sage Hurta and Joe Klecker in attendance, along with her family members, as well as having Utah teammate and fellow sixth-year competitor Keelah Barger finish fourth in 20:46.5. Venters explains the disappointment of not being able to compete in the NCAA Division 1 West Regionals in the 10,000 meters in May after enduring a calf injury, and how it created the motivation for her to return this fall to take advantage of her extra eligibility gained as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. She speaks about how meaningful it is to have persevered through multiple injuries during her career, including contemplating medical retirement while attending Colorado, and how significant being able to conclude her career at Utah has been, especially working with coack Kyle Kepler. Venters also reflects on her 2018 experiences at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course representing Boise State, placing ninth at Nuttycombe in 19:58.2 in one of the deepest races in meet history, along with earning All-America honors in Madison by finishing 39th at the NCAA Division 1 final in 20:35.8. She analyzes how valuable it will be to compete against Pac-12 rivals Colorado, Stanford, Washington, Oregon and Oregon State ahead of the Oct. 28 conference championship meet in Riverside, Calif. Venters also expresses her motivation to return to the NCAA Division 1 final Nov. 19 at Oklahoma State in Stillwater and compete for All-America honors once again, along with excelling on the track next year, with the ambition to run as a post-collegiate athlete after completing her post-baccalaureate degree in the spring.

WATCH RUNNERSPACE LIVE WEBCAST OF NUTTYCOMBE WISCONSIN CROSS COUNTRY INVITATIONAL ON OCTOBER 14