BLOOMINGTON — All that ran through Brooke Trinkle’s head on Tuesday was, “I want to get to state again.”

After qualifying in both her sophomore and junior seasons — her freshman year didn’t happen due to COVID-19 — Trinkle didn’t want to end her senior season on a sour note by ending it one meet too soon.

She was amped up for the 1600 run, and for the third straight year, Trinkle accomplished her goal by becoming a state qualifier, placing third with a season-best time of 5:18.20.

“Oh my gosh, it was definitely the biggest goal of mine this year,” Trinkle said. “Going to state my sophomore year and junior year, going into this season, I knew that’s what I wanted to do again.”

Trinkle made it a point of emphasis to get off to a good start on Tuesday. Right from the jump, she ran at the front of the pack along with Bloomington South’s Lily Myers and Northview’s Ellia Hayes.

“In years past, I’ve learned the hard way of getting boxed in. I definitely had to get a fast start l, and I did, so I’m proud of that,” Trinkle said.

Myers and Hayes pulled away on the last lap, but Trinkle ran a strong race to take third and qualify.

Trinkle was no stranger to running this race on this stage, so she felt calm at the start line.

“I was very comfortable,” she said. “I had done this two other times, so I knew what to expect. All day, I was so excited, and it was all I could think about. I just wanted to get out here and run, and I was so determined.”

Trinkle also ran the 4×800 on Tuesday at the regional, where she, Kelly Beavers, AnnMarie Shuler and Vivienne Siefker placed seventh with a time of 10:32.09.

Plenty of other Jackson County athletes were in action, as well, on Tuesday night at Bloomington High School North.

A couple of Brownstown Central athletes broke school records.

The Braves’ 4×100 relay of Hailey Bair, Camryn Thompson, Jocelyn Love and Maddy Schepman placed seventh with a time of 50.94, which broke the BCHS school record.

And then a few events later, Thompson re-broke her school record in the 300 hurdles as she placed fourth overall with a time of 45.98. The Braves are hopeful Thompson’s time is good enough to qualify her for the state meet.

Thompson also placed 12th in the 100 hurdles in 17.52.

Seymour’s Sydney Montgomery was fourth in the 400 in 1:01.81, and Alexis Stuckwisch was 14th in 1:05.85. Kiley Sons was eighth in discus with a personal-best throw of 101-9, and Siefker was ninth in the 3200 in 12:13.47.

Evah Snyder placed 15th in the 100 hurdles in 18.15, Sydnie Kingery was 15th in the 100 in 13.38, Shuler was 15th in the 1600 in 5:54.39, Beavers was 14th in the 800 in 2:37.01 and Kate Connell was 13th in pole vault at 7-6.

Seymour’s 4×100 of Kingery, Kamryn Aynes, Kennedy Burnett and Anna Marks placed 16th in 53.57, and the 4×400 team of Beavers, Ashlyn Henderson, Stuckwisch and Montgomery placed eighth in 4:22.30.

For Brownstown, Bair placed seventh in long jump at 15-11.50, Schepman was 14th in the 200 in 27.99, Liberty Wilkins was 16th in the high jump at 4-10 and the 4×400 team of Sophie Wischmeier, Love, Noe McPherson and Thompson placed 15th in 4:35.35.

Trinity Lutheran’s Emalee Goss placed 11th in high jump at 4-10.

The state finals will be June 3 for the girls, and Trinkle hopes to run a personal-best time for her final meet of her high school track career.

“Going to state three years in a row, I think that’s something to be proud of, and I’m definitely proud,” Trinkle said. “I feel like at state, just being there and all that adrenaline, I hope it pushes me to get a PR, but if not, I’m just super proud that I got there.”