BEDFORD – It was a bright and early Saturday morning at the 2023 Hoosier Hills Conference cross country meet.
The competition took place at Bedford North Lawrence High School with the boys and girls competing in their final regular season competition.
Seymour’s boys team competed first and finished in third place with a team score of 92. Leading the way for the Owls was Micah Jablonski, who recorded a time of 17:51.41 and a 15th-place finish. Wes Proffer was close behind in 17th, clocking 17:52.90.
Ty Tormoehlen ended the race in 19th with a time of 18:10.45, while Kylan Ellerbe finished in 20th with 18:15.76. Will Proffer finished in 21st with a time of 18:17.42, while Lucas Jablonski ended in 37th with 19:18.17. Sam Baker finished in 38th with a time of 19:20.77.
Owls head coach Randy Fife spoke about the third-place finish.
“Coming into the meeting, I thought we had a shot at third place,” Fife said. “I thought we had a nice day running. We had a few kids who were close to their personal bests. All our scorers were in a pack, and it was a good team effort.”
For the Lady Owls, Vivienne Siefker continues to prove she is one of the best runners in the Hoosier Hills Conference. She finished in second place with a time of 20:13.21, leading Seymour to a fifth-place finish. Gracie Adams finished eighth with a time of 21:20.75. Both girls were rewarded with all-conference honors.
Lauren Dowell finished in 23rd, clocking 23:00.16, while Alexis Stuckwisch finished in 49th with a time of 26:36.83. Brylee Ramsey ended her race with a time of 27:02.26. Jenifer Hankins was not far behind in 54th with a time of 27:31.00, while Lucy Williams ended in 55th with a time of 27:36.24.
Lady Owls head coach Spencer Sunbury spoke about the outcome on Saturday.
“I thought the girls ran well, running that same course two weeks in a row. I thought we were consistent in our times,” Sunbury said. “Bedford is not an easy course. It’s a two-week layoff until sectional. We have set ourselves up for that.”
The Owls will now compete at sectional in Brown County, competing on the Eagle Park course on Oct. 14.
Both coaches spoke about the postseason.
“It’s a new format. They’ve redone the format of the tournament and reduced the number of sectionals around the state,” Fife said. “It will be more of a challenge this year. They will take five teams this year. We will look to get into one of those spots.”
Sunbury said, “It’s kind of an unknown with the format being changed. It throws out the semistate competition and makes sectional competitions bigger.”
Team scores:
Boys: 1, Floyd Central, 17. 2, Jennings County, 63. 3, Seymour, 92. 4, Bedford North Lawrence, 97.5, New Albany, 114. 6, Columbus East, 162. 7, Jeffersonville, 192.
Girls: 1, Floyd Central, 24. 2, Jennings County, 83. 3, Bedford North Lawrence, 86. 4, New Albany, 108. 5, Seymour, 108. 6, Columbus East, 120.
Individual finishes:
Boys: 15, Micah Jablonski, 17:51.41. 17, Wes Proffer, 17:52.90. 19, Ty Tormoehlen, 18:10.45. 20, Kylan Ellerbe, 18:15.76. 21, Will Proffer, 18:17.42. 37, Lucas Jablonski, 19:18.17. 38, Sam Baker, 19:20.77.
Girls: 2, Vivienne Siefker, 20:13.21. 8, Gracie Adams, 21:20.75. 23, Lauren Dowell, 23:00.16. 49, Alexis Stuckwisch, 26:36.83. 52, Brylee Ramsey, 27:02.26. 54, Jenifer Hankins, 27:31.00. 55, Lucy Williams, 27:36.24.