Even though Addie Shelton and Hayley Harpe are on different track and field teams and compete in different events, both have the same goal in mind: To be sectional champions so they can advance to regional competition and hopefully to the state finals.

Harpe is a member of the Seymour girls team, where she runs the 400-meter dash and the 4×400 and 4×800 relays, while Shelton is a member of the Brownstown Central squad, where she throws the shot put and discus.

Both girls will be competing in those events tonight in the Seymour Sectional.

“My best (400) time was at the Shelbyville Invite, where I ran a time of 60.3 seconds against some of the stiffest competition around. The current school record is 60.1, so I am hoping to break that record,” Harpe said. “In order to break the record, I will need an extremely fast start right out of the blocks, maintain that speed on the backstretch, then kick it in on Turn 3 and give it everything I have left.”

Harpe likes to run in Lane 6 because she can see everything that’s going on around her.

“Most people like the inside lanes, but I really like the setup of Lane 6 because I start out ahead of everyone and it pushes me to kick it in faster since they’re gaining ground on me every turn,” Harpe said.

Harpe anchors the Owls’ 4×400 team and leads off in the 4×800.

“I like to lead off the 4×8 and try to get the best lead I can for my team; however, I love to anchor the 4×4 relay and the pressure that comes with that because it is the last race of the night and everyone is gathered around the track to watch,” she said. “My favorite relay is the 4×8 relay, and I have an absolute blast with my teammates when running that event.”

Harpe doesn’t have a preference between individual events and relays.

“I enjoy both individual races and relay races, so it is sort of a tie for which one I like better,” she said. “I enjoy working together as a team on the relays, but I also love the adrenaline rush I get before my individual race.”

Harpe won the 400 and helped the Owls win the 4×800 relay last year when the team won the sectional.

Both Harpe and Shelton switched from volleyball to cross-country in the fall. Harpe switched after her freshman year at SHS, while Shelton switched before her senior year at Brownstown.

Harpe helped the Owls advance to the regional and semistate her junior and senior years.

Shelton played basketball for four years at BCHS and helped the team win sectional her junior and senior years.

She said she enjoyed competing in both shot put and discus this spring. Her favorite?

“I would have said shot at the beginning of the season, but I think discus has kind of grown on me now,” Shelton said. “In shot put, usually my first throw is my best throw. In discus, it just kind of depends if I get that mentality in my head where, ‘Oh, I need to do better,’ or ‘Oh, I need to push this part.’ Then it just kind of depends.”

Shelton said while some throwers glide and other throwers spin in the ring, all of the Brownstown throwers spin.

“It’s a momentum thing, and at the end when you push off with both of your feet, it helps,” she said.

Her best discus throw is 96-6 this season.

“I haven’t hit 100 feet yet. I would like to hit 100. It would be awesome. It all depends on the release and how your chest is at the end,” Shelton said. “Whenever you finish your throw, you want your chest to be up, and you want the discus to come off your index finger. That way, it gets more velocity and more height.”

When artificial turf was put on the football field and the track was redone at Blevins Memorial Stadium, the discus competition was moved across the parking lot at the edge of the football practice field.

“The new ring is very nice,” Shelton said.

“I like throwing the discus. Even though it’s the same sport, you have two different techniques,” she said. “It is more finesse with the discus. It’s not just effort. It’s not throwing your arm out as hard as you can. It’s nice, smooth versus shot put, where you’re trying to push it out there with more power.”

She said her best shot put throw has been 32-4.25, which she did at the Jennings County Relays.

“I was pretty excited about that,” she said. “At Jennings County, I was only 3 inches off my PR in discus.”

Shelton believes the best way to get a good throw is all about how you set yourself up.

“You spin once or twice, and if your balance is off on that first spin, your whole throw is off,” she said. “You’ve got to hit your toe in the middle, and if you don’t hit your toe, your whole throw is off and you’re throwing left or you’re throwing right.”

She said she picks out a tree, a light pole or some target, and when she spins around for her release, she tries to throw toward the target.

“You’ve got to scope ‘What’s in front of me? What’s behind me?’ You have to know that mentally you can do it and then perform physically,” she said.

She has enjoyed her athletic career.

“I have absolutely loved athletics at Brownstown,” Shelton said. “You get the family part of it. You spend more time with your teammates than you do your own family. You always make those connections with your teammates. You’re friends for life after that.”

As for Harpe, she said, “One thing I love about both cross-country and track is running outside during the fall and spring. It is definitely harder to adjust to the weather during track compared to cross country because XC is warm throughout pretty much the whole season; however, track starts off freezing cold and gets to be extremely hot.

“Personally, I would rather run in cooler weather than hot — only if there is no wind because who wants to run in the wind?” she said. “Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed both these sports and know I will continue to run throughout my entire life.”