Seymour’s Devon Jackson competes in a relay for the team in the sectional competition earlier this year at Brownstown Central High School.
Dakota Locker | The Tribune
Brownstown’s Isiaah Engle competes during the 110-meter hurdles in sectionals earlier this year. Engle won the 300-meter hurdle competition.
Jeff Lubker | For The Tribune
Seymour’s Jaylan Johnson competes in the 400-meter dash for the Owls earlier this year. Johnson was the sectional champion in this event, along with winning the long jump and being apart of the winning 4x400-meter relay team.
Dakota Locker | The Tribune
Seymour’s Kyle Hileman competes during sectionals earlier this season.
Dakota Locker | The Tribune
Seymour’s Kylan Ellerbe competes for the Owls in a race earlier this season.
Dakota Locker | The Tribune
Seymour’s Ty Tormoehlen competes in a relay for the Owls a few weeks back in Sectionals.
Dakota Locker | The Tribune
On left, Brownstown Central’s Jack Pace hands it off to Isiaah Engle, and on right, Seymour’s Mason Nugent hands it off to Jesse Mellencamp in the 4x100 relay last year in Bloomington at regionals.
Tribune File Photo
All the best runners, throwers, and jumpers throughout the state of Indiana will be on display Saturday for the 2023-24 Indiana High School Athletic Association’s boys track and field state finals. The competition takes place at Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex in Bloomington at Indiana University.
Seven Jackson County athletes will compete in the big event. Jaylan Johnson, Kyle Hileman, Mason Nugent, Devon Jackson, Kylan Ellerbe, Ty Tormoehlen, and Jesse Mellencamp will compete for the Seymour Owls. While Isiaah Engle will be the lone competitor for Brownstown Central.
Mellencamp, Jackson, and Hileman all spoke about the state competition for the Owls.
“It’s a big privilege. Being from a smaller town, we made it, and we worked hard all season and made it here,” Mellencamp said. “I’m pretty proud of it.”
“Honestly, it feels pretty good,” Jackson said. “I’m competing in two relays, so trusting my teammates will be critical. It feels good bringing more people to state this season than last year.”
“It means a lot, mainly because it’s my senior year,” Hileman said. “This is my last season with this school. I would love to go out there and set a PR and school record.”
Nugent, Hileman, Mellencamp and Jackson will compete in the 4×100-meter relay while Ellerbe, Jackson, Tormoehlen and Johnson will compete in the 4×400-meter relay. Johnson will also compete in the 400-meter dash.
Engle also is pumped to compete in the state meet during his senior season for Brownstown.
“First off, thank you to all my teammates and coaches over the past four years,” he said. “They helped push me toward my goals and never failed to give me the motivation I needed to become the best athlete I could be. It’s exciting to compete with some of the best hurdlers in the state. It will be a great atmosphere and I’m ready to see how I will compete against the best of the best.”
Engle is fresh off his school record-breaking performance in the Bloomington Regional, clocking a 40.14 in the 300-meter hurdles. The senior spoke about holding the record that he’s worked for the past four years for.
“As freshman, Camryn Thompson, and I both made up our minds that we were getting the school record and helping each other get better every day until we got it done,” Engle said. “It’s really awesome that we both got our goal, that we’ve had our minds set on for the last four years.”
Seymour’s 4×100 team is trying to set their own school record. Hileman, Jackson, and Mellencamp all mentioned it as one of their goals in the state meet.
All four athletes spoke about some other goals for Saturday.
“My goals are to go out there and try to bump the school record down a little bit more,” Engle said. “Hopefully, I’ll have a chance of making it on the podium.”
“PR and a school record would be amazing,” Mellencamp said.
“School records and PR,” Jackson said. “Just knowing we’re the best in school history would mean a lot to us.”
Hileman spoke about the record but added it means more than that to him.
“School record, which we are very close too,” he said. “Having a good final time with these guys, the last time I will have with them. It will be special for sure.”
Seymour will open the competition at 6:45 p.m., with the 4×100 team competing. Johnson then competes at 7:05 p.m. Engle is then scheduled to compete at 7:20 p.m.
The 4×400-meter relay is the final event of the night, scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m.
Admission for this event is $15 and must be purchased digitally at this link: https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=79839.