Emma Bennett of Jesuit wondered whether she’d be able to run this spring … now, she’s a double state champion

By René Ferrán 

EUGENE — The doubts gnawed at Emma Bennett. 

Will I be able to run this season?

And if I do, how well will I run?

As the Jesuit sophomore dealt last fall with tendinitis in the gluteal region where it attached to the growth plate, she was forced to miss almost the entire cross country season, returning just in time to help the Crusaders win the Class 6A title.

“There were some moments where I did not know, not even just cross country, but definitely how track was going to go, when I’d even be able to start running,” Bennett recalled Saturday afternoon at Hayward Field, after she completed her distance double by winning the 800 meters at the OSAA track and field state championships.

“It was a long injury. I had to figure out how to train without aggravating it more. But I had the best support system I could have asked for — not only my coaches and teammates, but my friends and family. Even when I might not have had as much confidence, they had total faith in me.”

Bennett opened her day by winning the 1,500, taking down 3,000 champion Lauren Ayers of Tualatin with a withering final lap to cross the finish line in 4 minutes, 27.43 seconds.

“I knew going in that she has a crazy kick,” Bennett said. “So, I wanted to be in position where I could start opening up a bit earlier than one lap to go.”

In the 800 final, Bennett ran with teammates Amalie Bell, a junior, and freshman Jane Mattson — two critical members of the support system who helped her come back from her injury. 

Again, it was Bennett’s kick that led to victory. She was the only finalist to run a negative split, improving from a 65.76 first lap to a 64.86 to close out a three-second victory over Bell in 2:10.62. 

“We work together so hard, in and out of practice,” Bennett said. “We’re all best friends. It makes me so emotional, just having such a group of women to run with every day throughout the entire season. I know not a lot of teams have that.

“It means so much to me. It feels so good, because obviously, I had a hard cross country season. The last few months, I’ve been consistently building it up, and being able to run with such competitive fields makes it so much easier.”