SLIPPERY ROCK — It would have been easy for Jessica Bennett to simply do what many runners in her place would do.

Bennett, a Slippery Rock High senior, qualified for the PIAA Class AA Track and Field Championships this weekend as a member of the Rockets’ 3,200-meter relay team.

But she also qualified in the 3,200-meter run — an event that is run at the state meet approximately 90 minutes before the 3,200 relay.

Bennett had a shot to finish in the top eight and medal in the event, but chose to skip it to focus on the relay and her three teammates: Anna Cessar, Olivia Green and Sarah Kadlubek.

“It was a tough decision for me,” Bennett admitted. “I’ve made it (to the state meet) the last two years in the 3,200, and I really wanted to get my (personal record) this year. But I wanted to focus on the relay.”

That’s because Bennett believes the relay can do some big things this weekend at Shippensburg University.

The relay team cut 10 seconds off its season-best time at the District 10 championships Saturday to finish first and punch a ticket to the state meet.

While the decision to scratch her individual race was tough, it was a no-brainer for Bennett.

“I was in tears when she told me,” Green said. “It would have been her last mile race ever. I was completely baffled she would do that. I knew she would do well, but that shows you what kind of a leader she is.

“She told us not to feel bad, but we kind of do,” Green added. “We told her we would get that medal for her.”

If they do, Green will be a big reason why.

While the other three run different legs of the race depending on the day and the competition, Green is the one constant as the anchor.

Saturday, she held off Morgan Richards of Hickory in the final leg to secure the district title and a time of 9 minutes, 44.56 seconds, which is the eighth fastest in the state in Class AA.

“Well, it was definitely mind-blowing that I was able to hold her off like that,” Green said. “When I saw the finish line in front of me and no one else, I just kicked it up a gear. It was an amazing feeling.”

Green, a junior, was an unlikely addition to the relay, as were her teammates Kadlubek, a sophomore, and Cessar, a senior.

Green transferred to Slippery Rock last year from Portersville Christian School and had never run track before.

“It looked like it would be something fun to do,” she said. “But I never expected this.”

Green started out as a sprinter, but Slippery Rock coach Tony Consbruck put her on the relay team, cobbling together runners from different disciplines.

It has worked.

Cessar was a hurdler. Kadlubek also was a sprinter. Bennett was the only one with experience as a distance runner when the relay team formed.

Last season, the team finished third in the district meet, narrowly missing a trip to Shippensburg. It motivated them to make it this year.

“We didn’t really know what we were doing last year,” Cessar said. “Now we do.”

Cessar said she feels like she runs faster in her 800-meter leg of the relay because of her teammates.

“I just want to do well for them,” Cessar said. “There’s just something about having that baton in your hand that makes you run harder, I think.”

The team hopes to run faster this weekend, too.

They don’t want Bennett’s sacrifice to be in vain.

“They definitely told me how much it meant to them for me to do that,” Bennett said. “I love those girls.”