Vivienne Siefker, seated middle and a senior at Seymour High School, was joined by her parents Stephanie and Monty Siefker, and in back, assistant SHS athletic director Dave Urbanski, and SHS girls track and cross country coach Spencer Sunbury when she signed to run track and cross country at Marian College beginning this fall.
Arv Koontz | The Tribune
Seymour senior Vivienne Siefker has enjoyed distance running for as long as she can remember.
On Wednesday she announced she wants to continue her running career as she signed a letter of intent to run cross country and track at Marian University in Indianapolis.
She said she had a pleasant experience when she visited the track team at Marian.
“The whole team was welcoming, and I thought if I was around a team more I would want a team I could click with, and every single person I met with was open and whether it be a senior or a freshman, they all just over welcoming.
“The coaches were all ready to give me a schedule and they have a whole program set up and developed, so I was excited for that.”
She plans to major in exercise science, and said she likes the Marian track.
“Their track is really nice,” Siefker said. “Their campus is pretty small and I kind of wanted something that wasn’t too big and not too small, but just right.”
This spring she runs the 1600, 3200, and 4×800 relay for the Owls. She advanced to the state cross country meet last fall and was on the 4×800 relay team that went to state her sophomore year.
She is hoping to advance to state in at least the 3200.
“I was only three seconds off my PR a few nights ago so hopefully I can get that back (in the Seymour Sectional on May 14.),” she said.
Siefker runs year-around to stay in shape.
“I have always liked running. It is something I’ve been good at,” she said. “I’m going to miss my (Seymour) ‘family.’ It’s a group that I’ve gained people and I’ve lost people, but even when they on to college I still keep in touch.”
Spencer Sunbury, who has been her coach in both sports, said he feels like she can have a lot of success at Marian.
“She’s a good kid, a hard worker,” he said. “She has a good head on her shoulders, just an all-around great person that has been enjoyable to coach and work with.
“She is someone I generally got excited for with her success, and felt bad for her disappointments because she was a big part of our program. “
Sunbury said he has enjoyed coaching Siefker as she has received numerous special awards in track and cross country while running for the Lady Owls.
“She’s one of those kids that makes it fun to come out and coach every day, especially when she has the confidence in herself, and she goes out and pushes herself the way she can, and can see the outcomes that come in her favor.
“It’s been fun working with her. We’re going to miss her,” Sunbury said. “Any time you lose a kid that comes out and works that hard for you and is that positive of an influence on your program it’s hard to see them move on, but at the same time I’m excited to see how she does at the next level.”
“That is usually a point where they kind of go through a big change physically, mentally, and emotionally as an athlete. A lot of times you see a big jump in the results. So I’m anxious to see how she does when she gets up there in a more intense setting, in a bigger program.”
Sunbury said Siefker has to continue to believe in herself, “the confidence to push herself and stretch herself to the limit. It will be exciting to see if she can fully develop those things where she goes and how she turns out.”
One of her teammates at Marian will be Brooke Trinkle, a 2023 SHS graduate who is running cross country and track there this school year.