Seymour senior Brooke Trinkle, center, was joined by her mother, Mackenzie, and father, Michael, last week as she signed her national letter of intent to run track and field at Marian University.
Submitted photo
Seymour senior Brooke Trinkle, seated, was joined by, standing from left,, girls soccer head coach Greg Musser, girls basketball head coach Jason Longmeier and girls cross-country/track and field head coach Spencer Sunbury last week as she signed her national letter of intent to run track and field at Marian University.
Submitted photo
Seymour’s Brooke Trinkle, center, runs in the 800 during the track regional last May at Bloomington High School North.
Tribune file photo
Seymour’s Brooke Trinkle, right, comes out of the turn on the first lap of 1600 during the track and field sectional last May at Seymour High School.
Tribune file photo
Brooke Trinkle is a three-sport athlete at Seymour High School, and as she’s halfway through her senior year with the Owls, she has already produced a number of special moments in all three respective sports.
Whether it was helping the girls basketball team win its first sectional game in 10 years one year ago or scoring goals for the girls soccer team in the fall or winning races in the spring on the track and field team, Trinkle has done a lot.
The heralded athlete with interest from colleges had a decision to make: Which sport does she want to play, if any, at the next level?
Trinkle decided she wanted to run track and field, and last week at Seymour High School, she officially signed her national letter of intent to run at Marian University next year.
“I enjoyed track more, and with track, it’s an individual sport, so I think you can show your true talent, and there’s a lot of opportunity,” she said.
Trinkle first came into contact with Marian’s program last year when she was competing in the IHSAA Girls Track and Field State Finals in Bloomington.
They invited her to visit last summer, and then a few months ago, Trinkle took an official visit.
“I went there a couple months ago for an official visit,” she said. “I absolutely loved it. I got to stay with the girls, and they were all so sweet and so welcoming, and I just thought it felt like home to me.”
Trinkle liked that it was a small campus and it’s close to home so she can still be near family.
“It was very relieving,” she said. “After I went, I loved it and told my parents it was the place for me and it felt like home. It’s just super relieving going into my senior year having that weight off my shoulders.”
Trinkle is currently in the midst of her senior basketball season, where the Owls have a few games left in the regular season and have a date with New Albany next week in the first round of the sectional.
After the season ends, she’ll start prepping for track season this spring, where Trinkle has been to the state meet the last two years. Her sophomore season, she qualified for state in the 1600, and last year as a junior, Trinkle again qualified in the 1600 and also in the 4×800 relay.
“Going to state two years in a row and seeing all these colleges see how much potential I have, I just felt like I should try it,” she said.
Trinkle has goals this spring to get back to the state meet for a third consecutive year. Her freshman year didn’t have a track season due to COVID-19.
She said she also wants to break 5:10 in the mile this upcoming season. Her PR is 5:12.82.
While at Marian, Trinkle plans to study business. She said it was always between nursing or business, but because her brother currently studies business in college, she was influenced by him to pursue that path.
Last week when she signed her NLI, Trinkle was surrounded by friends, family and coaches who have been by her side throughout her career.
“It’s just really awesome seeing all my friends be there for me,” she said. “They’ve been there since Day 1, it feels like. It means a lot to me.”
“I think it has been really special to me,” Trinkle continued about playing three sports at Seymour. “I get to go from one sport to the other all the time, and I have awesome friends in all three sports. To see them push me and support me, it just means a lot to me. I have amazing coaches that help me every day, not just in the sport but helping guide me through life. It means a lot to me.”