EUGENE – Emily Picard is still in shock at what happened during the four laps around the track of the Class 4A state championship 1,500-meter run on Saturday at Hayward Field.

After the first lap, the Madras senior was in fourth. She was sixth at the race’s midway point, and fifth entering the bell lap. She wanted to cry when she crossed the finish line.

Not tears of sadness, but tears of joy after winning the race and the state title with a time of 4 minutes, 46.56 seconds – a personal record by 10 seconds.

“I came into the race ranked eighth, so I was aiming for fifth or fourth,” Picard said. “And I got first, so I was super excited at the finish line.

“I did not know I had that in me,” Picard added. “I for sure thought I was going to get at max third, so I’m so stoked to get first.”

Everything seemed to click for Picard in the race, especially when it came to timing her kick. Picard finished just ahead of La Grande’s Cecilia Villagomez Edvalson (4:46.85) after surging past four runners in her 70-second final lap.

“One of my coaches always tells me to trust my kick,” Picard said. “So going into that last 400 meters, I was saying, ‘Trust your kick, Emily, just go.’”