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OREM — The first NCAA Division I national championship at Utah Valley University has been vacated.
Multiple reports Monday indicated that former UVU distance star Everlyn Kemboi had her 10,000-meter national title from the 2023 NCAA outdoor track and field championships vacated by the association's committee on infractions.
The Metkei, Kenya, native who transferred to Utah Valley after starting her career at Arizona and El Paso Community College won the school's first individual national championship with a time of 32 minutes, 39.08 seconds June 9, 2023 at the University of Texas-Austin's Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Kemboi's runner-up finish in the 5,000-meter run has also been removed from the association record books, as first reported by The Stride Report.
The decision first drew attention Dec. 19, when former Utah distance athlete Emily Venters revealed in a statement on Instagram that an appeal she filed with the NCAA asking to move up her 10K runner-up finish in June 2023 due to the disqualification of an athlete had been denied.
Venters, the Utes' program record-holder in the 10,000 and 5,000 meters in outdoor track and field, finished second to Kemboi in 32 minutes, 47.70 seconds in June of her senior season in 2023. She also finished third in the 5,000 meters in 15:42.40.
Both times were the fastest by a Utah track athlete at an NCAA championship event. But Venters said her and her family were told by NCAA officials that the athlete who finished first in the 10K and second in the 5K — she did not identify Kemboi by name in her statement — had tested positive for a banned substance and had her results revoked.
"Today's decision from the NCAA is beyond disappointing," Venters said in a statement posted to Instagram under: "This is something I never wanted to have to post, but staying quiet would mean accepting something that isn't right."
"With the support of my dad and Utah's athletic department, we fought for what we believed was right, to have the results corrected," she added. "Today, the NCAA denied that request. What hurts most is that I will never get that moment back. I will never get to experience being named a national champion, standing on the top step of that podium, hearing my name called. That moment was taken from me by someone who chose to cheat, and now by a system that refuses to fix it."
She called the decision "an emotional loss" and one that has "real consequences for my future" including financially for the now-professional runner sponsored by Nike and Xendurance. She also joined Utah-based Run Elite Program last June for training and support.
"But this is bigger than me," Venters added. "This sets a dangerous standard for the next generation of NCAA athletes. It tells them that cheating can happen, that athletes can test positive, and yet the right thing still will not be done. It sends the message that clean athletes who do things the right way may never be protected or rewarded. That is not the sport we love.
"If the NCAA is willing to let this stand, then it needs to take a hard look int he mirror. Accountability matters. Clean athletes deserve better. I am speaking out because this should not be swept under the rug. This is not just my story. It is about the future of our sport, and unless things change, the message being sent is that cheating is tolerated. That is a standard we should never accept."
Officials from Utah Valley University have not commented on the situation. But an addition to the school's press release from June 2023 indicates that Kemboi's national championship "was later vacated by the committee on infractions."
A former three-time All-American and five-time Western Athletic Conference champion, Kemboi has since turned pro and appeared in 18 professional track and road races that include top events like the Portland Track Festival and the Fairmouth Road Race, according to The Stride Report.
