Roslyn native finishes 4th in national title race

Bill San Antonio

Villanova senior Emily Lipari came within a second of winning a national championship in the 1,500 meters on Saturday, registering a 4.19:60 time in her specialty event with the Wildcats.

The Roslyn native placed behind Arizona State’s Shebly Houlihan (4:18.10), Florida’s Cory McGee (4:19.19) and Florida State’s Linden Hall (4:19.33).

Lipari raced alongside the front of the pack for most of the early going and later fell behind before making a late push with 150 meters left.

“It would have been nice to walk away with the win as well but I can’t be too disappointed with what happened this year,” said Lipari, who last week was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s mid-Atlantic athlete of the year.

“There was a lot of pushing and shoving but at this level that’s kind of what you have to expect,” Lipari said. “Unfortunately I god boxed in and by the time I released myself and could go it was too late.” 

Lipari and teammate Angel Piccirillo, who finished 12th, were each automatic qualifiers in the national title heat after their top-five semifinal performances on Thursday.

The national title heat wraps a senior outdoor track season for Lipari in which she was a Big East champion in the 800 meters and was part of a conference championship-winning 4×800 relay team.

On Monday, Lipari was named a First Team All-American by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, the 10th such honor in her Villanova career.

“I don’t know for sure what will be next. I will be going home and see what opportunities will be there for me,” Lipari said. “I am ready for a Long Island summer. Going to the [USA Championships] is probably a thought. I don’t have a time for that yet and we might or might not try to do something there. We have put a lot of emphasis on this meet so I had really been focusing on that.”

Lipari this past winter became the third Villanova runner to win a national championship in the indoor mile. She also won a national championship in the distance medley relay in 2011.

While at Roslyn High School, Lipari was the 2007 and 2008 New York Athlete of the Year in cross country, winning national championships in the mile at the Nike Outdoor Nationals as a freshman, twice at the Nike Indoor Nationals and once at the New Balance National. 

In her senior year in 2010, she won a championship in the mile at the Boston Indoor Games and an outdoor championship in the 3,000 meters at the Penn Relays.

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