Brownstown Central’s Chance Ratliff set the bar for any future participants in the Seymour Invite on Thursday evening. Ratliff set a meet record, clocking a time of 16:14.48.

He was followed by his brother Shane who finished in second place with a 16:23.85. Both seniors have been competing for first and second place in a lot of races against one another for quite some time.

Chance spoke about his record-breaking performance afterwards.

“Today was really good compared to my race last Saturday,” Ratliff said. “I just wasn’t performing like I should have. Today I felt really good and really strong, battled with my brother and ended up making a good race out of it.”

“So, I’m very happy with that,” he added.

The senior is looking to continue improving throughout the season.

“I’m just looking to get better,” he said. “From Borden to today, I dropped a lot of seconds off. I’m just looking to do that each meet.”

The Braves finished in second place on the boys’ side, edging out Seymour by a point. Brownstown’s Eli Crockett ended his race in seventh place. Damien Owens finished in 19th; Logan Chavarria ended the race in 29th. Chase Blann finished 48th, while Kaden Lingenfelter ended in 60th.

Braves Head Coach Bailey McIntire is content after the first two meets of the new season.

“Obviously our one and two are going strong and looking solid,” McIntire said. “I’m confident, they are moving through this season nicely. Their effort was about as good as we can ask for,” he added. “Three, four and five are looking good too, we just have to close that gap. They’re working hard and looking good though.”

Seymour was led by Ty Tormoehlen’s eighth-place finish, clocking a time of 18:03.44. The Owls filled the sheet after Tormoehlen.

Wes Proffer finished 10th, Caleb Jablonski in 12th, J.J. Meyers in 14th and Ryder Thompson finished 15th to round out the scoring finishes. Jacob Caudill ended in 16th, while Will Proffer finished 24th for the team. Their depth is something Head Coach Randy Fife believes will be a strength for the team in the 2024 season.

“It should be our depth, hopefully we can rise up a little bit in the rankings,” Fife said. “Our depth will be something we can count on in meets.”

Tormoehlen also is a fan of the depth of the Owls and believes the team ran a good race overall.

“I think we have a lot of depth with some very good runners,” Tormoehlen said. “We have a lot of runners in that middle range, and I like that about our team.”

“I thought we ran well tonight,” he added. “It was a little hotter outside than it has been in the mornings. But I thought we completed well and ran a good race overall.”

Fife could not complain after the performance on Thursday evening.

“The first meet of the season is always a mixed bag. Some of the kids performed well, I was really impressed with some of the new kids on our team,” Fife said. “We had some kids who hadn’t run before or freshmen who stepped up and competed well.”

“I think this meeting will be one that makes us want to get back into the daily grind,” he added. “We will be working hard and figuring out how to compete for the full 3.1 miles.”

The energy was high from all the competing teams on Thursday. Coach McIntire is impressed with the energy from the Braves, mentioning it was his favorite thing about coaching this group.

“They bring great energy, showed up during the summer and always hanging out with each other,” McIntire said. “Their teammates and their friends, and I feel like that’s a lot more fun to coach. I just feel like they’re bringing a lot of energy this year.”

The Lady Owls secured a second-place finish, led by lone senior Gracie Adams. Adams clocked a time of 21:37.07. She spoke about her performance.

“I’m very happy with how our team placed. We have worked hard all summer and tonight proved just that,” Adams said. “With one of our top runners out, everyone pulled their weight to achieve second place. We have a young team and now that the first jitters are out of the way, I have a good feeling about our season.”

The senior had a lot on her mind, dealing with the loss of her Papaw Perry, who recently passed away.

Adams had ‘For My’ on the left shoe and ‘Papaw Perry’ on the right shoe.

“I’m happy with my second-place finish,” she said. “This week I’ve been focused on my mental game, and I went out and ran the race well. I’ve decided to dedicate my senior season to my Papaw Perry who passed away on Sunday.”

Adams has improved throughout the summer by cutting her time down.

“I’ve worked hard on the off-season and increased my mileage on my long runs,” Adams said. “I feel stronger and more confident than ever before.”

Izabellah Long was the next finisher, ending in sixth with a time of 22:01.23. Emma Doriot finished 13th, Aidda Schepman placed 18th, while Lauren Dowell and Kelly Beavers finished 23rd and 24th. Betsy Bruce finished in 30th for Seymour.

Adams will not be wasting any time during her senior season.

“I’m looking forward to making memories and creating stronger bonds with my teammates,” she said. “My personal goals include cutting times, all conference, moving on in the post season and paving my way to becoming a collegiate athlete. I’m cherishing every single moment of this season.”

Owls Head Coach Spencer Sunbury believes the team is on the right track after the first meet of the year.

“They ran a little better than I expected, I was that nerves would get a lot of them. I think it affected a few of the first-year girls,” Sunbury said. “I think it’s a good start, it was a good look to where we stand. I think a lot of girls will be motivated after this meet. Not all of them were happy about their times and that is the best motivation. I was happy with them and proud of them.”

Seymour has a lot of ‘tough runners’ according to Coach Sunbury.

“We got some tough girls, when they believe in themselves. Gracie ran a gutsy race tonight. Lauren Dowell is one that always has gutsy races,” he said. “That’s a big quality that a lot of these girls have, they are just tough. They show it and it will take them a far way.”

The Lady Braves also recorded a top five finish with a fifth-place team score of 97. Kaylee Steward led Brownstown with a fifth place, clocking a 21:56.85 and Lana Wisler ended up in seventh with a time of 22:02.15.

Trinity Cody ended the night in 19th, Chelsie Combs finished in 34th, while Claire Schepman finished 38th and Jessica Pitts placed 48th.

Head Coach Kylee Wischmeier is excited after the first couple of meets.

“Everything has been going well,” Wischmeier said. “These girls have been working hard and training hard. We had some great performances tonight and some PR’s last Saturday. Everybody is doing well up to this point.”

Senior Chelsie Combs believes the team performed better than they did at the Warpath Invitational last Saturday.

“I think we did good compared to last week,” Combs said.

Combs would like to continue improving and set a PR.

“I think it’s because I want to get to my PR which is around 26 minutes,” she said. “I want to get faster and cross country is good for discipline, and I would like to be more disciplined.”

Coach Wischmeier and Combs spoke about their favorite part of being involved with the 2024 girls’ cross-country team.

“I think all the girls are really motivated,” Wischmeier said. “They show up ready to work at practice. They are driven and they want to be there and see the team succeed.”

“I like how everybody is very encouraging and positive no matter what place you get,” Combs said. “Everyone is very nice and very sweet to you.”

The Braves will travel to Salem next Saturday to compete in the Salem Invitational at 9:30 a.m. Seymour will compete at 8:30 a.m. the same day at the Franklin Community High School Invitational.

Seymour Invite — Thursday

Boys team scores: 1, Bedford North Lawrence, 43. 2, Brownstown Central, 58. 3, Seymour, 59. 4, Bloomington Bobcats, 93. 5, Charlestown, 121. 6, Jeffersonville, 146.

Boys individual results: 1, Chance Ratliff, 16:14.48, (BC). 2, Shane Ratliff, 16:23.85, (BC). 7, Eli Crockett, 18:00.27, (BC). 8, Ty Tormoehlen, 18:03.44, (S). 10, Wes Proffer, 18:11.89, (S). 12, Caleb Jablonski, 18:22.92, (S). 14, JJ Meyers, 18:39.79, (S). 15, Ryder Thompson, 18:41.23, (S). 16, Jacob Caudill, 18:47.02, (S). 19, Damien Owens, 18:59.14, (BC). 24, Will Proffer, 19:43.35, (S). 29, Logan Chavarria, 20:10.06, (BC). 48, Chase Blann, 24:02.47, (BC). 60, Kaden Lingenfelter, 32:00.82, (BC).

Girls team scores: 1, Bedford North Lawrence, 40. 2, Seymour, 62. 3, Charlestown, 81. 4, Jennings County, 82. 5, Brownstown Central, 97. 6, Jeffersonville, 158.

Girls Individual Results: 1, Paige Voigtschild, 20.22.82, (BNL). 2, Gracie Adams, 21:37.07, (S). 5, Kaylee Steward, 21:56.85, (BC). 6, Izabellah Long, 22:01.23, (S). 7, Lana Wisler, 22:02.15, (BC). 13, Emma Doriot, 23:08.55, (S). 18, Aidda Schepman, 23:58.75, (S). 19, Trinity Cody, 24:02.17, (BC). 23, Lauren Dowell, 24:35.49, (S). 24, Kelly Beavers, 24:58.63, (S). 30, Betsy Bruce, 26:02.72, (S). 34, Chelsie Combs, 27:45.59, (BC). 38, Claire Schepman, 28:21.33, (BC). 48, Jessica Pitts, 31:38.14, (BC).