By Dylan Wallace | The Tribune

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BLOOMINGTON — Samantha Jacobi used the word petrified to describe how she was feeling prior to the IHSAA girls track and field state finals on Friday, but the senior certainly didn’t run like it.

Jacobi led off for the Owls’ 4×800 team with Hayley Harpe, Vivienne Siefker and Brooke Trinkle, and the quartet ran a personal record time of 9:47.65 to place 16th overall at the Robert C. Haugh Track &Field Complex at Indiana University.

The Owls were seeded 21st coming into the race and outperformed that. Seymour, which placed second at regional last week, also was the fastest team from the Bloomington North regional on Friday, beating both Northview and Bloomington South.

“It has just been so amazing,” said Harpe, the second senior on the relay. “It was super emotional after we both finished. We sort of looked at each other and just broke down. This is our last race ever together, and we really did go out with a bang.”

As nervous as Jacobi was, she ran right around her PR for an 800. Jacobi got boxed in at the start and had to do most of her damage in lane two to pass other teams.

“The fact that I can stay consistent and still have to deal with all the competitiveness and difficulty moving, I couldn’t have asked for more,” Jacobi said.

For Harpe, she ran her personal-best 800 split, really kicking it in on the final 200 meters.

“I felt really good,” Harpe said. “Definitely at the 200 mark, I felt like I had a lot left, and that last kick, I gave it my all.”

Siefker and Trinkle ran third and fourth, respectively, and did their jobs, as well, to help Seymour break its regional time of 9:50.

The relay team had a sleepover the night before and decided to stripe each side of their cheeks with a purple mark for the race. They also put purple strands in their hair, decked out in school spirit.

“We’ve gotten so close with them this year,” Harpe said of Siefker and Trinkle.

For Harpe, her track career ended where her collegiate career will start. Harpe won’t be running, but she’ll be attending Indiana University to study exercise science.

Meanwhile, Jacobi will become Harpe’s rival, going to Purdue University to study kinesiology.

“We’re enemies now, I guess,” Jacobi said.

“Frien-emeies,” Harpe added.

That 4×800 wasn’t the only race Seymour partook in on Friday night. For the second-straight year, Trinkle qualified for state in the 1600-meter run.

Much like the 4×800, Trinkle overachieved. She ran a season-best time of 5:16.39 to place 17th overall when she was seeded 20th before the race.

“Coming into it, I wasn’t as nervous because I had my teammates,” Trinkle said. “I just kept making moves on my last lap and just sprinted out the final 100.”

Trinkle learned her lesson from last year’s state finals, knowing not to let herself get off to a bad start with so many girls at the start line.

“Last year, I definitely got boxed in,” she said. “So this year, in my head, I just wanted to get a really fast start and settle into my pace. I think it really helped a lot.”

She also had a blast running the 4×800 with her three other teammates.

“That was amazing,” Trinkle said. “To PR on our last meet at state, then having our two seniors, it was a really good feeling.”

Trinkle, a junior, will head into the summer turning her focus toward soccer in the fall. As for Siefker, she’ll take some time off before diving back into training for cross-country in the fall. Siefker was the Owls’ top runner last year.

Both Owls hope to be back at this meet again next June.

“For sure,” Trinkle said. “Hopefully back in the mile again.”