John Bennett

Height:
6-1
Weight:
null
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Livermore, CA
High School:
Granada HS

TFRRS Profile
In 2023, became the second Cal Poly athlete ever to receive College Sports Communicators First Team Academic All-America honors
2019 Big West XC Freshman of the Year

2022-23 -- Cross Country: Earned All-Big West honors at the Big West XC Championships for the second time in his career, placing 10th to help the Cal Poly men capture their 18th Big West title ... won the Pacific Collegiate Invitational ... posted a personal-best 10K time (29:16.5) at NCAA West Regionals, securing 36th to help the Mustangs earn their highest finish (eighth) at regionals since 2013 ... ran a personal-best 8K time (23:55.4) at the XC23 Invitational ... received Big West All-Academic honors Indoor: Competed indoors for the first time, running in a pair of meets ... posted personal bests in the 3,000 (8:07.04) and 5,000 (13:58.92). Outdoor: Captured second in the 10,000 (30:32.49) at the Big West Championships, earning All-Big West honors in track & field for the first time ... also placed a career-best fifth in the 5,000 ... won the 1,500 title at the Conover Classic with a personal best (3:46.90) ... academically, named to Big West All-Academic Team and College Sports Communicators Academic All-America First Team.

2021-22 -- Cross Country: Competed in three meets, finishing 26th in Bronco Invitational ... also placed 41st in Big West Conference Championships and 110th in Dellinger Invitational … received Big West Conference Fall All-Academic Team honors. Track & Field: Placed sixth in the 5,000 and 10,000 at the Big West Conference Championships … posted a PR of 14:11.75 in the 5,000 at the Bryan Clay Invitational … ran a PR of 29:32.04 in the 10,000 at the Stanford Invitational … named to the 2021-22 CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Track & Field/Cross Country First Team … earned Big West Conference All-Academic honors.

2020-21 -- Cross Country: Season was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic. Track & Field: Placed sixth in 5,000 at Big West Conference Championships with a time of 14:28.88 ... also was sixth in 10,000 with season-best time of 32:19.18 ... personal-best time in 5,000 of 14:26.75 in Cal Poly Four-Way Meet for second place ... also was second in 3,000 at Cal Poly Blue-Green Rivalry Meet with time of 8:18.48 ... placed sixth in 1,500 at Fresno State Invitational with personal best of 3:51.62 ... earned Big West Conference All-Academic honors.

2019-20 -- Cross Country: Won the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year Award ... his accolade came after earning seventh place at the Big West Finals, running 24:54.0 around UC Riverside’s Ag/Ops Course to help the Mustangs claim the conference title ... placed 70th at NCAA West Regionals thanks to a 10K performance of 31:15.9 ... season was also highlighted by a third-place individual 8K finish (via 24:41.9) at the UC Santa Barbara Lagoon Open on Aug. 31, helping Cal Poly win the Blue-Green Rivalry clash 28-29, along with a sixth-place finish (in 24:27.8) at the Riverside Invitational held Sept. 14 ... also made the Big West All-Academic Team. Track & Field: Season canceled due to COVID-19 ... earned Conference Commissioner’s Highest Honors academically.

2018-19 -- Cross Country: While redshirting, competed on an unattached-scoring basis at a pair of regular-season meets: came in 58th place overall at Cal State Fullerton’s Covert Classic contested in Brea on Sept. 1, with an 8k time of 26:08.3, before adding a 54th-place performance of 25:34.0 at the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 29. Track & Field: Scored in two events at the Big West Championship Meet as a true freshman ... on Day 1 at UCSB on May 10, took fifth place in the 10,000 meters with a personal-best time of 30:55.09; came back to Pauley Track the next evening to finish eighth at the Conference Finals in the 5,000m, via 14:49.85, his second season-best performance of the weekend ... ran the 1,500m once, debuting at 3:56.58 at the 37th annual Cal Poly #ShareSLO Invitational on March 23 ... also recorded a third-place 3,000m debut of 8:22.87 at the Gaucho dual on April 27 ... in addition, earned 2019 Big West Commissioner’s Highest Honors academically.

Prep -- As a senior for Granada High School in Livermore, ran the third-fastest 3,200-meter time throughout the entire state of California in 2018 — 8:57.33 — at the Arcadia Invitational (good for 12th place at the nationally-attended meet) ... went on to take 18th place at the 2018 CIF State Championships, clocking a performance of 9:14.31 ... in the 1,600m, posted a PR of 4:14.50 at the 2017 North Coast Section Tri-Valley Championships, where he came in second ... added a 4:14.89 for runner-up status at the 2018 East Bay Athletic League Finals ... in cross country season for the Matadors (coached by Noel Mattern), ran the 5k in 15:39.0 at the 2017 Clovis Invitational, taking 35th place ... also during his senior season, earned 27th place at the CIF Division 2 State Championship with a time of 15:57.6, after recording a second-place (2.98-mile) showing of 15:15.6 at the EBAL Championships ... academically, was selected for the Granada Boosters Student-Athlete Olympian Award along with a Rotary Student of the Month accolade in April 2018 and a Top Scholar certificate.

Personal -- Earned bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2022 and currently working on master's ... mom is a Cal Poly alumna — as is cousin Rebecca Paddack, also a distance competitor for the Mustangs from 2008-12, an NCAA Championship First Round 5,000 qualifier ... also visited San Jose State and UC San Diego; chose Cal Poly “because of the excellent program and ‘Learn by Doing’ motto.”