Benedictine College, 2019–2023. Eli Owings played football, loud outgoing Kansas kid. Emma Follett was one of the football managers, the one who always had snack in her bag for her friends on the team, never missed a Saturday game, no matter how late Friday night ran. They were around each other constantly for four years and somehow stayed in the friend zone the whole time, mostly because both of them were too stubborn to make the first move.

Senior year spring semester 2023, the football team was done, and things were brightening up around campus. Emma took her roomates dog on a daily walk where she made Eli’s house the stopping point and an excuse “just getting Stella water”, it was definitely to see someone in particular that lived there. They were around each other most weekends with their friend group or just getting together at the bar with friends.

Summer hit, and they graduated. Eli moved in with one of his friends in Lexington Kansas and taught Health class and coached, she went back to the family business in Gillett Wisconsin. They texted throughout the entire summer staying in contact. October homecoming rolled around; they both drove back to Atchison Kansas, got a couple too many drinks at the good old Muellers, and realized the pretending was getting old.

Four days later Eli sent the text that ended it all:

“Want to be my date to a wedding in two weeks?”

It was one of his high-school buddies getting married in Wichita. Eli was a groomsman. Emma had never met the groom. She texted back in about four seconds: “I love weddings, deal!”

They split the plane ticket. She spent four days at the Owings house hanging out with his parents and siblings, while Eli was off doing groomsmen stuff. By Sunday drop-off at MCI, the goodbye felt heavier than either of them expected. She said, “Guess I’ll see you in Wisconsin,” Eli said “I’m in!”

December 28th he flew into Green Bay. Met the entire Follett crew at once and all the crazy children that now adore him. Spent the weekend at Primal Eats watching Emma pour beers and working the dining room. New Year’s Eve they all went out shooting pheasants with Emma’s cousins at the farm and ended the night going out in Green Bay.

After that it was a steady rotation of long weekends: her traveling to Kansas City to watch him coach football, him traveling to Wisconsin for Friday night fish fries and whatever needed fixing at the restaurant. Summer 2024 he spent up in Wisconsin. Worked the bar, worked the Iola car show and every odd job that got threw at him.

June 2025 he made it official, moved up north with Emma’s brother Simon and took the Sales Manager position at Primal Eats.

October 12, 2025, Cave Point in Door County, on a crisp fall day. He convinced her to go look at the fall colors. When she turned around from the water he was on a knee. Shocked from the sight of the ring Emma started falling off the cliff. No fear Eli was there to hold on to. He had a simple question “will you marry me?” She said yes before he finished asking.

A month later, November 2025, they broke ground on a place of their own, in the woods outside Gillett.

That’s it. Just two people who took their time, planned it out and decided the rest of their lives sounded much better together than apart.

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