Three members of the Seymour boys track and field team had top 3 finishes on Thursday night during the Hoosier Hills Conference meet at Columbus East High School.

Those Owls were Bryson Darlage in the long jump at 21-1, Jaylan Johnson in the 400 at 53.42 and Jude Bane in both the 1600 (4:35.27) and 3200 (10:09.56).

“It is a tough conference and a top three finish this year in individual events is impressive,” head coach Randy Fife said. “We just didn’t get enough of those. We just don’t have the depth we need to compete with the top of our conference right now. We gotta keep getting better, keep working at it.”

The Owls placed sixth overall in the meet with 38.5 team points. Floyd Central won the meet with a team score of 170.5

For Darlage, his long jump was a career best. His previous was 20-10.25.

“I was happy today,” Darlage said. “I was chasing that for two years now, so I was pleased with that. I was able to stay consistent with it, getting 21 (feet) and then going up from there.”

Darlage said getting the right amount of height off the box during his jump is the toughest thing to get down. His approach on Thursday worked out for the best.

“Today, I was more focused on, instead of letting my momentum carry me, getting more height that way they can work together to get a better jump,” he said. “So, height is probably the biggest thing.”

Darlage got to regionals in the long jump last year, and this year he hopes to get one step further.

“Goal is state very year. I always like to set the bar high,” Darlage said. “It makes you feel good (on placing top three in the HHC), but I always focus on the next. The competition is only gonna get higher from here, so I got to make sure that I’m at my A game every meet.”

Other Owls who scored points for Seymour, meaning placing top eight in their respective event, were Nikky Wheeler going sixth in the 300 hurdles at 43.34, Owen Kruse going eighth in shot put (40-8.5) and also eighth in discus with a 112-2. Donovyn Thomas was fourth in the high jump at 5-10 and Darlage was eighth at 5-8.

Johnson was eighth in the long jump at 19-1, Michael Proffer was sixth in the 800 at 2:09.10 and Collin Hankins was sixth in pole vault at 9-6.

Carter Murphy, Proffer, Kylan Ellerbe and Ty Tormoehlen were fourth in the 4×800 at 8:49.49. Logan Butler, Alex Schlatterer, Wheeler and Josh Rennekamp were seventh in the 4×100 in 45.80. Proffer, Rennekamp, Ellerbe and Johnson placed fourth in the 4×400 relay in 3:41.02.

“I thought we had some good performances,” Fife said. “Nikky ran a good race in the 300 hurdles. Jude PR’ed in the 16 (mile) and Bryson in the long jump, so there are areas where we’re getting better.”

Last year, Seymour won the sectional at Jennings County, barely edging out the Panthers. Even though the Owls are a younger team this year, they still have hopes to compete for the trophy next Thursday at Bedford North Lawrence High School.

“We’re not giving up hope for that yet,” Fife said. “We’re gonna work through next week, tweak the lineup a hair and see what happens.”