Seymour senior finishing up decorated career

March 12, 2019

If you have been looking for Ashton Chase after school, it was probably a good idea to look for her at one of two places.

If it was during the fall or spring, you could probably find her at the track at Bulleit Stadium or running around Seymour. If it was during the winter, you could find her in the gym working on her shot.

She has achieved a lot of success in cross-country, track and field and basketball, but at the top of her list is qualifying for state in cross-country all four years.

“It’s not easy,” Chase said. “I had a great coach (Spencer Sunbury). He pushed me and just getting the work in and getting up earlier to do extra miles or stretching, so he helped me out a lot. I really enjoyed that.”

Her best finish at state was 33rd her sophomore year, and her best time was 18:38.

She said Brown County is her favorite course.

“I ran there 16 times in high school, so it’s kind of like my home course,” Chase said. “It’s just flat all around, and the crowd is all around you. Just hearing them helps you out.”

She won the regional race at Brown County last fall.

“That was really important for me,” Chase said. “That was fun. I hit the finish line, put my hands in the air and said, ‘I did it.’”

Chase said at the start of her races, she tried to go out with the lead pack.

“I wasn’t worrying about my pace. I just kind of raced people,” she said. “I would just find somebody and pick them off each mile and just get out and do what I could to win the race.”

She is looking forward to another big track season and said she will run the 3,200 relay, 1,600, 3,200 and maybe the 400.

“I do like the mile. I’m going to try to go back to state in the mile,” Chase said. “ That’s my strong point.”

She has advanced to state in the mile twice, and her best time is 5:11.

“The record is 5:06, and it’s my goal to get that record held by Zoey Johnson,” Chase said. “(Sunbury) always tells me on the third lap, ‘You’ve got to find it and have a quicker turnover.’ I just try to pace it out with other girls and try to pick them off.”

She also enjoys the 3,200 relay. She helped the Owls set the school record for the relay last season.

“I like being on the first leg trying to get the team excited, so I do like to lead off,” Chase said. “I like to run a 1:10 (split). I think my best 800 split was a 2:20.”

The senior began her basketball career in the Enter His Courts program before moving on to the Boys Clubs and Girls Club. She then played in middle school, followed by high school.

She was a part-time starter for the Owls her freshman year, then moved into the lineup full time at the beginning of her sophomore season and was there the past three seasons.

“I like the right wing,” she said when asked about her favorite spot to shoot a 3-pointer. “I think that’s my sweet spot. I like playing shooting guard, but I like point guard, too. I like to shoot more, so I like shooting 3s. That’s a big part of my game, 3-point shots.”

This season, Chase topped the Owls in scoring at 11.4 points per game with a high game of 27 against Greenwood, and she scored 23 against Rushville.

“I would rather face a zone,” she said. “I have more room, more space to work. I like to drive, too, and get to the free throw line more. I think we were more of a man team (on defense). We liked to pack it in.”

Chase said she enjoyed playing in the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium.

“It was awesome having the crowd, having the band and the community there,” she said. “It was awesome, so I loved my past four years there.”

The Owls won 39 games the past three years.

“I think over the years, we learned a lot about our teammates,” Chase said. “I liked the scouting report, learning the game, watching film. It was kind of like getting ready for the game. Being ready was the most important thing. I think we did really well this year of focusing in and doing our work.”

Chase said she has a couple of career highlight wins.

“One was my sophomore year against Columbus North. They were ranked in the top 10 in 4A, and we beat them (57-48), and I remember shooting 10 3-pointers and making six of them. That was fun,” she said. “And then the Madison game last year, I hit that 3-pointer from the left wing with three seconds left (in a 55-53 win).”

She enjoyed being a team captain this season.

“This was my first year being a captain, being a senior, so I felt my role needed to be bigger and just leading the team and being there and having their backs and just making them be positive,” Chase said. “You want to be physically strong and mentally strong. If you don’t have those two things, you really can’t do anything.”

She has enjoyed being a student at SHS.

“We have a lot of good teachers, counselors,” Chase said. “They have your back, so I did enjoy having them here. I did have a lot of good times here. I’ll remember it forever, and it has been awesome.”

In the fall, Chase will attend Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, where she will run cross-country and track.

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Name: Ashton Chase

High school: Seymour

Parents: Les and Jennie Chase

Sibling: Macey

Sports: Basketball, four years; track and field, four years; cross-country, four years

Athletic highlights: In cross-country, four-time state qualifier, four-time All-Hoosier Hills Conference, HHC individual champion 2016, individual regional champion 2018, four-time Seymour most valuable runner; in track and field, HHC individual champion 1,600-meter run 2016 and 2018, HHC individual champion 3,200-meter run 2016, 3,200-meter relay state qualifier, HHC champion and HHC record in 3,200-meter relay 2018, school record 3,200-meter run 2018 (9:31), sectional champion and state qualifier in 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs 2016 and 2017, individual sectional champion in 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs 2018, team sectional champions; in basketball, HHC champions 2015-16, HHC honorable mention, led team in scoring 2018-19

Plans after high school: Attend Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and run track and cross-country

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