Adam Everroad and Grace Lewis say there isn’t any place they would rather be after school in the spring than at their respective tracks preparing for their next meet.

Lewis is a member of the Seymour girls team, while Everroad runs for the Trinity Lutheran boys.

Lewis pole vaults, runs the 400 and runs on the 4×400 relay for the Owls, and in her last meet, she did the long jump.

“I haven’t done long jump since sixth grade,” she said. “In the last meet (against Madison), I competed in the long jump for the first time since by sophomore year, but I am really excited to compete in it again. I was able to jump 14-9, which is about a foot and a half better than my previous best.”

“I started working on pole vault during my freshman year, but due to several COVID factors, last year was my first year competing in it. I really love competing in both of these events.”

Everroad said he began running track in eighth grade, and his favorite event is the 800.

“It’s a shorter distance, and I like that,” he said. “I try to run faster in the first lap, then a little slower in the second lap. I like to run the first lap in 1:05. My best 800 time is 2:23. My goal is to get under 2:15.”

Everroad’s first event during a meet is the mile.

“We do a couple warmup laps to get our legs and lungs used to running,” he said. “Then if it’s a bigger meet, I just try to stay with the pack so that I’m not wearing myself out. If it’s a small meet, I try to stay with a guy that I feel in my range. My best mile is 5:28.”

He said last year, he ran second in the 4×400 relay, but this year, he is the anchor.

“I just enjoy doing it with my teammates,” he said. “We’re all friends there, so I just enjoy running it. It is more of a sprint. I don’t get to do too many sprints, so I kind of enjoy doing the one lap because it’s the least amount of stuff that I do in a meet.”

Some meets come down to the 4×400 relay to determine the team winner of the meet.

“I just go out there and give it my best, and I know my teammates are doing their best, so regardless if they’re in the lead or they’re getting beat, I still go out and do my best for my time and for our team,” Everroad said.

Lewis started running with a running club in fourth grade, and she said her first official year of track was in sixth grade.

She said you really have to practice your steps down and mark them correctly to get a good long jump or pole vault.

“The long jump board is only about 6 inches, so it is incredibly important to make sure you have the right amount of steps in order to hit the board straight on,” she said. “You only get three jumps at most meets, and if your foot goes over the board, they consider it a scratch, and you lose that jump.”

For pole vault, Lewis said it’s all about technique.

“It is definitely a very strange feeling at first. You have to go through lots if drills on making sure you get your steps, hips and legs up as fast as possible,” she said. “It is very important to have good technique for pole vault because when you start increasing your steps and moving up higher onto the poles, the momentum pulls you off the ground and you have to make sure you are in the right position so you can land on the mat safely. Like high jump, you get three tries at each height.”

Lewis hit her best pole vault mark of 8 feet during a meet in Shelbyville, and she has cleared 8-6 in practice.

Both are multi-sport athletes. Everroad also played soccer, while Lewis ran cross-country for four years, competed in gymnastics for four years and was a diver on the swim team for three years.

“I enjoyed playing defense (in soccer). I enjoyed the midfield. That got me running back and forth, which helps for the conditioning in track,” Everroad said. “I enjoyed scoring opportunities when I had them and to build up my teammates in soccer and on and off the field.”

Lewis said she has enjoyed attending SHS.

“I like how the teachers take time to get to know their students and what activities they are in. There are countless teachers that make sure to give recognition to their students in whatever clubs, teams or groups they decide to join,” she said. “I also like that a lot of faculty accommodates those of us that are in a lot of extracurricular activities, and who doesn’t love our Seymour pride?”