The Seymour girls’ cross-country team used the 1-2 finish of Vivienne Siefker and Hayley Harpe to easily win the Seymour Invitational Thursday afternoon at Freeman Field.
The Seymour girls had 22 points, Jennings County had 55 and Brownstown Central placed third with 88 points.
The top two teams in the boys standings were reversed with Jennings County scoring 19, Seymour 44 and the Braves were again third with 83.
Siefker, a sophomore, won the girls race with a time of 21:03.78 with Harpe timed at 21:04.06.
Siefker said, “It felt so good win. I saw her up there and I was thinking I was done but then I don’t know what hit me but I said ‘you know, I’m going to just give it all I have.’
“The top four Seymour runners always practice together. We have had hard workouts. We knew we were going to try and stay together pacing each-other. We didn’t know how it was going to end up with who placing where.”
Siefker said the heat affected the runners. “We had to do the back area twice and it was awful.”
Harpe said she was happy with her race. “Going out we all said we’re not going to go very fast this first mile, we’re going to almost stride at the beginning and we get to the mile and there is a girl timing and she goes 6:35, so we totally sprinted that so we were feeling it a little bit.
“The woods was really nice because it was shaded, but then when we got to the back part it was so hot. It was neck-and-neck at the end. That will make us better. We’re going to keep working together.”
SHS girls coach Spencer Sunbury said he was pleased to see his girls place 1-2 and finish with three of the top four places as Samantha Jacobi was fourth in 21:26.
“It was a good start. I told them I wanted to be controlled at the start, not to get carried away at the start. They went out and got their bodies adjusted and they started working, they started pushing through it.
“Samantha was 21:26 and that was better than I was hoping for.
“We were hoping to see those girls run together as much as they could, and kind of stick it out the last mile or so. It’s that way in practice, them running together. It pushes both of them. They know pushing each other is only going to make us better.
Paige McKain topped the Brownstown girls by placing seventh in 22:37.
Coach Maria Conklin said, “I’m definitely pleased. We have more girls out this year, so I’m definitely pleased with my numbers. We have 12 and nine ran tonight. Eight out of the 12 girls have never ran before, so we’re kind of starting from scratch.
“My No. 1, Paige McKain, ran a really great race. She’s a senior transfer (from Hamilton Southeastern). She ran a nice, controlled first part of the race. She was just going out and having fun. I was really pleased with that.”
It was a hot and humid night for all the runners. Conklin said, “They’ve been working hard in practice and we’re going to improve a lot this season.”
Jude Bane led the Seymour boys by placing second in 17:27.
Coach Randy Fife said, “It was a good start for us. We know early in the year we’re going to be a little short on depth. We’ve got some things we need to do to bring some of the younger runners along. Over time I think we’ll get there.
“I thought the effort was great. We’re going to continue to work hard and get better.”
Sophomore Garrett Driver led the Brownstown boys with a time of 19:43.
The next two Brownstown spots were filed by twin freshmen Shane and Chance Ratliff at 19:48 and 20:13.
Coach Derrick Koch said, “I came in not knowing where we are with the team because I have three young guys that haven’t run before, two freshmen and a sophomore.
“I knew we were going to be strong, but I didn’t know exactly how strong. They ran really well. They exceeded my expectations. I was pleased with the effort of the whole team.”
Seymour and Brownstown will run at Bedford North Lawrence Monday.