Catch her if you can.
Junior Emma Bennett is the fastest runner at the 6A level in state with an outstanding 5K time of 18 minutes exactly. Bennett led her team to victory in the OSAA 6A state championship by individually winning by 17 seconds and helping her team win first overall by 14 points. Even though she makes it look easy, Bennett’s hard work and focus has not gone without commitment.
Growing up with both of her parents as track and field and cross country coaches, Bennett has been running since she can remember. Throughout her running journey her family has always been her biggest role models and provided her with immense support and encouragement. Especially her sister Maggie Bennett who has been running by her side since day one and has always been her biggest cheerleader.
“Getting to have a built-in fan, motivator, and someone who understands exactly what you are trying to achieve has helped me so much since I began running. It’s something personal that we still get to share, Maggie Bennett said.
Whether it was running with her family or running on a team Emma has always had a love for the sport.
During her time on Jesuit’s cross country and track and field teams, Bennett has consistently shown determination and grit.
At the start of her sophomore cross country season, Bennett was challenged with a tendonitis injury in her gluteus medius at the attachment point to her growth plate. This injury unfortunately set her back about 2 and a half months, but she kept a positive mindset and was able to bounce back in her sophomore season of track achieving some incredible accomplishments like placing first in state in the 6A state championship 1500 meter race and humbly leading the team to victory.
Additionally, Bennett was diagnosed with a concussion at the start of her junior season of cross country, which hindered her state training.
“Not being able to run or even train for a period of time made me truly reevaluate why I run. It prompted me to question if I only run because ‘I’m good at it’ or generally place well but now I can definitely say now that the reason I do it is because of my team, to push myself and most importantly because I truly love it.”
She continued to train as much as she could by going on walks, doing other low impact exercises and physical therapy.
Through it all Bennett continued to show up to support her teammates at all times.
“I would say that Emma is the most humble hard worker. She shows up every single day with an insane work ethic, and her motivation truly carries the team. You would never know she was the individual state champion if you just talked to her because of how modest she is with her success. Even after winning the individual state title, she always chooses to focus on the team and how the team did. She’s the glue to our team and she’s the most encouraging teammate I could ever ask for. No matter what, she is the first person to congratulate any single one of us and give us the biggest hug,” teammate Amalie Beil said.
She started her first race back from her concussion with running a 18:22 5k and only improved from there. She achieved a season PR of 17:41 and was able to bring this energy to every race she competed in.
Despite all of these unfortunate circumstances, Bennett has never fallen short of excellence on and off the course. She is constantly proving what Jesuit is all about by doing well at what she does.
Since winning state, Bennett has never become complacent. She immediately continued training for her next challenges, regionals and at the higher level, Nationals.
Bennett continues to give everything she does 110%. Whether it be her dedication to her sport, her schoolwork, or her friends, she gives it her all. Bennett is constantly outdoing herself and it will be exciting to see what she does next.
