As the first race of the 2022 cross-country season was about to get underway, it was the calmest junior Vivienne Siefker has ever felt at the start line.

The strategy was simple: don’t go out too crazy, settle into your race and let your training do the rest.

Siefker did just that, leading the pack through the first couple meters at a steady pace. As the course at Freeman Field narrowed in the woods, Siefker and her running mate — senior Kinsley Folsom — separated themselves from the pack.

As Siefker came down the home stretch, she took an easy victory at the Seymour Invitational with a time of 20:28.35.

“It felt really good,” she said. “This was honestly one of the more chill races I’ve ever been in. The start was calm. We wanted to start off really slow and get into it and get our nerves shaken out. It was really nice.”

Folsom placed second overall with a time of 21:37.45.

“In the woods, it gets a little cramped, so me and Kinsley just started taking it together,” Siefker said.

The junior was expecting to run around 21 minutes, so she was pleased that her time was below that.

“I was expecting 21 just because we weren’t trying go out too fast, but I’m really happy with my time,” she said.

Jeffersonville’s Arielle Phillips placed third overall, but after that, the next four spots all belonged to the Owls. Seymour finished with a perfect score of 15 to win the meet.

Lyndsey Greenawalt was fourth place in 22:11.31, AnnMarie Shuler was fifth in 22:28.87, Kelly Beavers was sixth in 22:34.59 and Gracie Adams was seventh in 23:05.33. Greenawalt, Shuler and Beavers are all freshmen this season.

“I didn’t know where everybody would stand placing wise. It really looked cool seeing everybody in their spots and seeing their times,” Siefker said. “I feel really good, and I’m really proud of them.”

Other finishers for the Owls were Grace Lewis (24:46.85), Lauren Dowell (25:57.37), Genesis Zarate Bello (28:23.69), Kaelin Grube (28:48.15), Caitlin Thomasma (29:19.89), Emma Braman (29:37.43), Lucy Williams (29:38.97) and Jenifer Hankins (30:08.90).

The Brownstown Central girls team placed fourth overall in the meet with a team score of 97. The Braves placed behind Seymour, Jennings County and Bedford North Lawrence.

Earning a medal with a top-15 finish for the Braves was freshman Trinity Cody, who placed 13th with a time of 23:48.24. The second top spot for Brownstown was another freshman, Cambell Shasteen, going 20th overall in 24:49.67.

Tori Lokey was 29th in 27:06.97, Madison Stuckwisch was 30th with a PR time of 27:39.57 and Maddy Schepman was 34th in 28:50.99.

Other finishers for the Braves were Chelsie Combs (29:27.34), Riley Pumphrey (29:34.53), Maddie Singleton (29:39.54), Claire Schepman (30:24.78), Rozellyn Abell (32:23.78), Camryn Thompson (33:38.90), Avery Harrison (33:42.47), Brynn Burton (35:02.60) and Lexi Wheeles (37:19.26).

As for the boys race, Jennings County was the team winner with 33 team points. Seymour was second with 48 points and Brownstown was third with 79 points.

Seymour’s Jude Bane was neck-and-neck with Jennings County’s Kraedyn Young for most of the race, but Young pulled away down the final stretch to place first. Bane took second overall in 17:05.70.

Brownstown’s Shane Ratliff got fifth place overall in 18:06.77, and his brother Chance Ratliff got sixth in 18:07.46. Shane’s time was a personal best.

“It honestly feels incredible,” Shane said. “My PR last year was an 18:19. Coming into the race, I was expecting to run high 18s, maybe low 19s, but to come in and run an 18:06, it was a really good accomplishment.”

Shane said he got off to a good start and tried to run even splits throughout the race. It was also fun for Shane to come out on top in that brotherly competition.

“It feels good,” Shane said about edging Chance. “To be completely honest, I didn’t think I’d hold him off for that long, but I did. We ran side-by-side, we helped pace each other.”

Brownstown Central’s Chance and Shane Ratliff run side-by-side during the Seymour Invitational at Freeman Field on Thursday. Shane edged Chance out for a fifth-place finish in 18:06.77. Chance was seventh in 18:07.46.

Dylan Wallace | The Tribune

Last summer, Shane ran 25-30 miles per week, but at the end of this summer, he hit 40 miles per week.

“My increase of miles definitely helped me reach where I am,” he said.

He hopes to get down to 17:30s throughout the season.

Other top 15 finishers were Seymour’s Micah Jablonski, 9th place in 18:58.60, Carter Murphy, 11th place in 19:04.43, and Wes Proffer, 12th place in 19:05.12.

Remaining finishers for the Owls were Will Proffer (19:44.29), Ty Tormoehlen (19:45.80), Landon Rivera (20:06.33), Kylan Ellerbe (20:18.93), Lucas Jablonski (20:20.89), JJ Myers (20:22.21), Sam Rockey (20:54.26) and Gavin Baugh (22:47.57).

For the Braves, their other finishers included Bradley Edwards (19:24.26), Garrett Driver (20:35.66), Dylan Wischmeier (22:04.99), Evan Sibrel (22:34.23), Damien Owens (23:23.99) and Braedyn Stidams (25:19.23).

It was a good start to the season for both the Seymour and Brownstown boys and girls teams.

Up next, the Braves will be competing in the BNL Invitational in Bedford on Monday at 3:45 p.m., while Seymour will be off until next Saturday, Aug. 27, when they compete in the Franklin Invitational at 8:30 a.m.