Emma Bates became the first Bronco in Boise State women’s outdoor track and field history to win a national championship Thursday night at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. Bates, an exercise science major, won the 10,000-meter race with a time of 32:32.35.
Bates’ time is the second-fastest time in the history of the NCAA outdoor track and field national championship meet.
Bates will attempt to win another national title when she competes in the 5,000-meter on Saturday.
Bates is the first national champion for Boise State since Kurt Felix won the decathlon in 2012. Including both indoor and outdoor seasons, Bates joins Eleni Kafourou (indoor long jump – 2009) as the only two Broncos to ever win national titles for the Boise State women’s track and field team. As a whole, Bates’ national title is the seventh in Boise State men’s and women’s track and field history.
With the win, Bates now has eight total All-American honors including cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field. Undoubtedly, the 10,000m national title combined with the school record in All-American honors makes Bates the most decorated track and field athlete in Boise State history.
In Mountain West history, Bates is the first women’s 10,000 national champion since 2000 when Tara Rohatinsky from Brigham Young University won. Her time is also the second-fastest 10,000-meter time in Mountain West history, falling just short of her own record of 32:20.83 that she set earlier this year.
You can watch Bates in the last 300 meters of the 10,000-meter national championship race below.
