Emily Lipari: Roslyn’s Track Superstar

Emily Lipari’s running career is far from over. The Roslyn native recently finished fourth at the 2023 USATF Cross Country Championships 10K (32:31.7), earning a Team USA berth at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia.

In 2022, Lipari debuted in the 10,000 meters at The TEN in March, clocking a fast 31:24.82. In April, she finished third at the B.A.A. Invitational Mile and later in the month, Lipari won her third USA title at the Grand Blue Mile, clocking 4:33 (4:32.3). In July, the two-time race champion finished runner-up at the Fleet Feet Liberty Mile (4:28), just edged by Nikki Hiltz.
Now Roslyn’s track superstar is going to take a break from her running heroics.
On Thursday, Sept. 28, Lipari will be inducted into the Nassau County High School Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Crest Hollow County Club. For more information and tickets, go to www.sectionviii.org.
The Hall of Fame, according to officials, is organized “as a means of recognizing, preserving, and promoting the heritage of interscholastic sports in Nassau County. Many individuals have made extraordinary contributions and have had superb accomplishments in high school sports. The Nassau County High School Athletics Hall of Fame honors the contributions and accomplishments of these individuals who are worthy of countywide recognition.”

That most definitely fits Emily Lipari.
The Hall of Fame will recognize the runner who “dominated New York State and Long Island distance running at Roslyn. Won multiple county, state, and national titles. Set a slew of school, county, and state records. A once-in-a-lifetime athlete. Ran for Villanova where she was 11-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion.”
Lipari’s older brother, Tom, was a track star at both Roslyn High School and Marist University. Tom’s success inspired his younger sister. As a preschooler, the young Lipari was already playing soccer. However, track was the sport where she would make her mark.
“As I got older I continued with soccer,” Lipari told The Roslyn News in a 2017 interview. “I was on a travel team in high school and we won several state championships. I actually always thought that I was going to college for soccer, but when I got to the eighth grade my parents suggested that I start running in the off-season as well,” she said. “As I started running, my passion for it just grew and I realized that I loved being in control of my own destiny. When you’re on a soccer team, win or lose, you don’t really have much control over it because you’re with 11 or 12 other people. But I love to win—I’m a very competitive person—and when you’re on the track, your destiny is controlled completely by you. If you have a good or bad day, it’s all on you, and I really just loved it.”
Lipari graduated from Roslyn High School in 2010. From there, it was on to Villanova University in Philadelphia, home to a legendary track program.
At Villanova, Lipari was considered one of the top middle-distance and cross-country runners in the history of their track program. In 2014, she won the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championship Mile in 4:38.82
After graduation, Lipari signed a contract with Adidas and has since professionally engaged in athletic competition, focusing on contests such as the 1,500-meter and one-mile races.
It’s hard to keep up with all the honors Lipari has garnered during her career. In 2014, she was named the Women’s Track Athlete of the Year in the Mid-Atlantic Region, an honor accorded by the United States Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association. Lipari received the honor once during her career in all three seasons at Villanova, including winning the award for the 2013 cross country season and for the 2012-13 indoor track & field campaign.
In 2013, Lipari won seven consecutive individual races dating back to her victory in the Mile at the indoor national championships. Lipari won the 800 meters at the Big East Championships and was the top-ranked national qualifier for the 1500 meters after setting a meet record in the event at the 2013 NCAA East Preliminary. She also delivered the Wildcats to a sweep of the distance relay events at the Penn Relays in a historic performance at the famed meet.
Most recently, Lipari, in 2017, won three top mile races with her strong closing kick: Medtronic TC 1 Mile (4:35), GNC Live Well Liberty Mile (4:35) and HOKA ONE ONE Long Island Mile (4:28.84, her first track sub-4:30). The former two victories secured the BBTM Grand Prix Tour 2017 women’s title.
Lipari opened her 2018 outdoor racing season by winning her first USA title at the Grand Blue Mile, edging 2016 Rio Olympian Brenda Martinez, 4:32.87 to 4:33.07. Two weeks later, she defended her Medtronic TC 1 Mile crown in 4:40. In August of that year, there were wins at the West Chester Mile and inaugural Guardian Mile, running 4:28.62 (track) and 4:34 (road), respectively. With 26 points, Lipari also defended her BBTM Grand Prix Tour crown.
In 2019, Emily again won the Fleet Feet Liberty Mile in 4:34, her second title at the BBTM Grand Prix Tour event. In October, she shattered the course record with her 4:33 clocking at The Navy Mile, the BBTM GP Tour 2019 finale, and also finished Tour 2019 women’s runner-up.
In 2020, the Villanova grad won her second USA 1 Mile Road Championship, breaking the tape in 4:29.3 at the Blue Oval Showcase in Des Moines, IA.
Today, the track star divides her time between residences in Hawaii and San Diego, where she lives with her husband, Tim, a Roslyn-area native who is currently a submarine officer with the United States Navy. Her mind, however, remains on her hometown, with family, friends, and coaches.
“The further I get from Long Island, the more I actually miss it,” Lipari said in the 2017 interview. “I had a really close relationship with my two Roslyn High School coaches, and I think the reason why I have a blossoming career right now is because they were great, intelligent coaches. My coaches really helped me to grow up to be a really great athlete and I’ve always been very thankful for all the advice and help they’ve given me. When I think about it, I really miss home a lot. I live a very nomadic lifestyle, and I’m never in any place for longer than two months, so whenever I get to go home I always try to spend an extended amount of time at Roslyn High School and relive all of the wonderful memories that I have there.”
And this athlete just keeps making memories, the latest being her induction to the Nassau County Hall of Fame.
Congrats!