On the hands of Crothersville’s Kaylyn Holman were times she wanted to hit in the 1600 and 3200 on Tuesday at the Seymour Sectional.
On her left hand, she also had “live every day like a champion” inscribed near her mile time. Holman knew she had a tall task ahead of her in Seymour’s Brooke Trinkle, but she knew she had what it took to stick with her.
When the gun went off for the mile, Holman surged out to take the lead and run a first fast lap, something she always does. But on the second lap, Trinkle took the lead back.
During the third lap, Trinkle started to create a gap from Holman, but the Crothersville junior refused to give in. She started to kick it into high gear in the final lap, and down the final stretch, Holman closed the gap rather quickly, nearly passing Trinkle in the final 50 meters.
But Trinkle sensed Holman coming and was able to push just enough to maintain her lead, winning with a time of 5:18.66. Holman placed second with a time of 5:19.22, which is a personal record for her that also set the Crothersville school record in the 1600.
“It definitely wasn’t the place I was looking for, but it was a nice PR, which was great,” Holman said.
Holman’s push at the end of the race was a rarity for her. She said she usually never sprints at the end of races, but she found a different gear on Tuesday at Seymour.
“I actually sprinted, which is like a once in a blue moon,” Holman joked. “It like never happens, so that was nice.”
With the second-place finish, Holman will be heading to regional in the 1600, where she hopes to place in the top three once again to qualify for state.
Holman also qualified in the 3200, where she took home first place with a time of 12:06.62.
She won’t be the only one representing the Tigers at regional, though. Junior Kennadi Lakins will also be making the trip to Bloomington North next Tuesday.
Lakins finished tied for third in the high jump with a jump of 4’10”. She started out her day at 4’8” and felt nervous heading in, but she was able to clear that height rather easily.
“It feels really good,” Lakins said. “Coach said I was starting at 4’8”, and I was kind of freaking out, but to jump all of them on the first try was really good. I was really excited about that.”
Lakins credits her time off the track as a reason why she was able to be successful on Tuesday.
“I think I just rested up more,” Lakins said. “I usually go to bed late, so I went to bed earlier. It’s just me being able to chill during the day and take care of my body.”
Despite not qualifying in the long jump, Lakins had a personal record in that event, jumping a 15’9.5”.
“It feels really good,” Lakins said. “I’ve been working hard on my jump events, so it’s been nice to see my hard work pay off.”
Both Holman and Lakins hope to enjoy the experience and try to qualify for state when they compete in regionals next Tuesday.