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Justus Holden-Betts’ dad, Bob Holden-Betts, waited at one of the final turns to watch his daughter run her first cross country meet. Bob said his daughter had “no idea what to expect” and ran most of the race alongside a friend before Holden-Betts left her friend behind.

West Genesee High School’s Carly Benson — the 2014 and 2015 national champion mile runner — was the first runner to exit the woods. But in the distance, Bob caught a glimpse of Holden-Betts running toward the finish. Holden-Betts finished fourth in her section, a minute faster than any other freshman.

After setting eight high school records, Holden-Betts had a strong freshman cross country season at Syracuse, highlighted by her 60th-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Championships. This year, in her first outdoor track season after last year’s outdoor track season was cancelled, Holden-Betts has competed in the steeplechase four times, with a 10:32.27 personal best in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The only race Holden-Betts didn’t set a new personal best was at the Ocean State Invitational, where she still finished first by eight seconds.

“We identified her as a local talent that maybe was a little bit underdeveloped in high school,” said Raynee Revard, the Syracuse distance runner assistant coach. “Her versatility as an athlete really stood out on paper.”

At Baldwinsville High School, Holden-Betts was the only runner from her high school to qualify for the state championships. The event she competed best in was the 2,000-meter steeplechase, but since it wasn’t always offered, she turned to other events most distance runners wouldn’t consider competing in.

She finished her high school career with records in races ranging from the 600- to 3,000-meter. In her senior season, she qualified for the state championships in the 400-meter hurdles.

Holden-Betts ran with Syraucse’s cross country team when she arrived as a freshman, finishing fourth among SU runners at the 2019 NCAA Northeast Region Cross Country Championships. The college steeplechase is 3,000 meters compared to 2,000 at the high school level. Despite the change in distance, Holden-Betts has improved upon her time in almost every race.

Holden-Betts debuted at the Raleigh Relays, head coach Brien Bell didn’t give Holden-Betts a time to shoot for. She finished 20th, ahead of several older and more experienced athletes. Since her first race, Holden-Betts became adept at “measuring up to the race,” Bell said.

This season, Bell instructed Holden-Betts to stay near the back of the pack and conserve her energy. Once Holden-Betts opponents begin to lose energy, she starts to climb the pack, Bell said. Much of Holden-Betts’ improvement this season has been due to focusing on her own racing rather than how she’s doing in relation to her competitors, Revard said.

On May 1, she set her personal best of 10:32.27, a six-second improvement on her first time of the year. But Holden-Betts will need to set another personal best this weekend at the ACC Outdoor Championships in order to qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships.

She currently ranks 56th in the east region, but only the top 48 runners are selected for the NCAA Regional Championships. Still, Bell said Holden-Betts’ ability to improve after almost every race separates her from most runners.

“You don’t set (a personal record) every time out, that’s just not the nature of the sport,” Bell said. “[But] she has managed to do so in her first year here.”

Published on May 11, 2021 at 11:22 pm

Contact Connor: cpignate@syr.edu