Leading the Seymour girls cross-country team to its first state meet appearance in 2014 as a freshman, Emma Brock set high expectations for her sophomore campaign.
Brock started off the season with back-to-back first-place finishes at the Seymour and Bedford North Lawrence invitationals.
She then followed up at the next meet, the Brown County Invitational, with a career-best time of 18:49.
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On Sept. 29, Brock notched another top finish at the Batesville Invitational.
On their home course, at the Freeman Field Sports Complex, Brock finished third to pick up All-Hoosier Hills Conference honors.
While freshman teammate Ashton Chase led the Owls in the postseason, Brock modeled consistency as Seymour advanced to its second state meet.
Brock helped the Owls finish 13th at state with 342 points, moving up six spots from their inaugural championship attempt.
At state, Brock placed 66th in 19:17.
With all of her accomplishments this season, The Tribune has named Brock the 2015 cross-country athlete of the year.
“The biggest change for me is that I had more experience running with high-schoolers,” Brock said.
“My freshman year, I came in just knowing how to run in the middle school. I just kind of did it (freshman year) just to have fun and talk to my friends. This year, I was much more into the running.”
Owls coach Spencer Sunbury said Brock ran her races smarter this year and helped lead the “pack mentality” Seymour instilled.
“Her race approach was better,” he said. “I think she was a little more consistent. She understood that high school races were different than middle school races. She ran a much smarter, stronger race. Last year, I think she just went with the runners. This year, she focused on her own type of race.”
With a strong group of freshman runners moving up to the high school program and a handful of returning runners with experience, Brock was challenged by her teammates.
Brock said Chase and her other teammates helped push her to become a stronger runner.
“I liked having someone there to push me harder,” Brock said. “Last year, I didn’t really have anyone. I didn’t know how far I could go or how hard to push myself. This year, I definitely got that.
“I felt confident with all of the work we did over the summer. Last year, I tried (at state) but didn’t have as much experience. Now that I have more experience with the training, I push myself harder.”
Sunbury said having more competition on the team helped Brock in practices.
“Ashton definitely pushed her throughout the season,” Sunbury said. “Emma was a lot more involved (at practices). This year, she put more thought into her workouts. She had more of an interest in her training. She wanted to specifically make parts of her racing better.
“I think she enjoyed having those girls around. They calmed her down before the race. They seemed to really enjoy running in a pack this season. They leaned on each other. She was quite often the one who set the pace.”
This year’s team was the strongest in school history.
“I feel like it was a much stronger group of runners,” Brock said. “We all helped each other and pushed each other. It helped get us back to state.”
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Joining Emma Brock on the 2015 All-County girls cross-country team:
Alexis Koch // Brownstown Central // Senior
Accomplishments: All-Mid Southern Conference, Brown County Regional qualifier, season-best time of 21:59
Kaelyn Johnson // Brownstown Central // Freshman
Accomplishments: All-MSC, Brown County Regional qualifier, season-best time of 21:56
Breanna Barger // Crothersville // Junior
Accomplishments: Brown County Semistate qualifier, All-Southern Athletic Conference, helped win school’s first SAC title, 2015 Tigers most valuable runner
Tristan Maschino // Crothersville // Junior
Accomplishments: Brown County Semistate qualifier, helped win school’s first SAC title
Ashton Chase // Seymour // Freshman
Accomplishments: All-Hoosier Hills Conference, season-best time of 18:49, led team in postseason races, 2015 Owls co-most valuable runner, helped team earn state berth, finished 42nd at state
Megan Winter // Seymour // Senior
Accomplishments: All-HHC, season-best time of 19:26, helped team earn state berth, finished 130th at state
Claire Loebker // Seymour // Sophomore
Accomplishments: All-HHC, season-best time of 19:27, 2015 Owls coaches award, helped team earn state berth, finished 117th at state
Oriana Morales // Seymour // Sophomore
Accomplishments: All-HHC honorable mention, season-best time of 19:46, helped team earn state berth, finished 137th at state
Abby Voss // Seymour // Sophomore
Accomplishments: Season-best time of 20:08, helped team earn state berth, finished 185th at state
Honorable Mention
Destiny Satterthwaite // Brownstown Central // Freshman
Piper Hensley // Crothersville // Freshman
Jadelyn Dean // Medora // Senior
Maya Hauersperger // Seymour // Senior
Andrea Foster // Trinity Lutheran // Senior
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2015 Girls Cross-Country Athlete of the Year
Emma Brock // Seymour // Sophomore
- Season-best time of 18:49
- All-Hoosier Hills Conference
- Individual champion: Seymour Invitational, Bedford North Lawrence Invitational, Batesville Invitational
- Helped Seymour earn second-straight berth to state meet
- Placed 66th at state
- 2015 Owls co-most valuable runner
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