One last time at Cronin Field: Jesuit star Chloe Foerster says goodbye to her home track with Elite Mile, 4x400 victories at Twilight Relays

“It’s just such a great feeling to have this opportunity to compete here one last time.”

By René Ferrán | Photos by Taylor Balkom 

It was hard to tell whether the drops streaking down Chloe Foerster’s cheek were from the hard rain drenching the Cronin Field track.

The Jesuit senior soon acknowledged they were tears that flowed after her final race on her home track at Friday’s Jesuit Twilight Relays.

“I was getting emotional out there with my teammates when we were on the podium,” Foerster said after anchoring the Crusaders’ 1,600-meter relay team to victory in a season-best 3 minutes, 55.84 seconds.

“It’s just unbelievable, and it’s just so surreal being back for my second Twilight ever, but also my senior year, getting to perform to the best of our abilities, and winning is not something that we even thought was a possibility for us tonight. It’s just such a great feeling to have this opportunity to compete here one last time.”

Foerster’s 55.2 final leg, in which she erased a 0.36-second gap on South Kitsap’s Ella Hopper, capped a meet she’d kicked off by winning the Elite Mile in dramatic fashion.

Foerster set a blistering pace for the first three laps, fell behind when Franklin’s Kaiya Robertson caught her rounding the curve onto the backstretch, then roared past her down the homestretch to win in 4:43.81.

“I really wasn’t so sure I could catch her,” Foerster said. “I was pretty nervous. She was gaining a lot of space on me on the backstretch, and I was really hurting then. That quick pace change is something I’m not super used to. 

“But when I turned the corner, I knew I just had to give all I’ve got. I definitely love chasing people. I’m really competitive that way, and it’s harder for me to push myself in these longer races. This is a huge meet, and the only one that my friends might see me racing, so I was really happy to find it in me somehow.”

Some of those friends had exited the stadium to escape the rain by the time the 4x400 started. 

The Crusaders found themselves in third place after the first two legs, but freshman Emma Bennett surged down the homestretch to halve the deficit to about 10 meters, giving Foerster a chance to chase down another opponent.

“Emma has been a pretty great addition to the team,” Foerster said. “This is only the third 4x4 ever for her, and she just loves it, and she’s just getting better each time, learning about how to get out and finish strong. I’m super grateful she ran the third leg. She definitely caught up a lot and gave us a good shot that last lap.”

Girls Elite Mile Podium

1, Chloe Foerster, Sr., Jesuit, 4:43.81.

2, Kaiya Robertson, Sr., Franklin, 4:44.18.

3, Eliza White, So., Curtis, 4:48.56.

4, Charlotte Richman, Sr., Ida B. Wells, 4:49.22.

5, Magdalene Williams, Sr., Summit, 4:49.46.

6, Sophia Nordenholz, Sr., Albany (Calif.), 4:49.65.

7, Emma Bennett, Fr., Jesuit, 4:52.37.

8, Ella Borsheim, Sr., Bellarmine Prep, 4:53.15. 

Girls 4x400 Relay Podium

1, Jesuit (Catie Dice, Madison Hawkins, Emma Bennett, Chloe Foerster), 3:55.84.

2, South Kitsap (Savannah Kambich, Marissa Crane, Elise Hopper, Ella Hopper), 3:56.73.

3, Oregon City (Samara Lugo, Grace Leasure, Harley Daniel, Sophia Beckmon), 3:59.75.

4, West Linn (Hayden Williams-Downing, Kaia Schmidt, Emersen Ruppe, Olivia Iverson), 4:03.08.

5, Lincoln (Riley Cash, Ellie Cook, Kylee Nelson, Eva Novy-Hildesley), 4:04.60.

6, Westview (Xian Hartenstein, Anne-Chantale Gendron-Herndon, Sonja Jones, Ava Gross), 4:06.26.

7, Summit (Claire McDonald, Teaghan Knox, Magdalene Williams, Ruby Bishop), 4:06.53.

8, Mountainside (Caroline Vedomske, Lilly Krisky, Hanna McAuliffe, Anna Miller), 4:07.14.

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Best photos from 2022 Jesuit Twilight Relays

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