IHSAA track: Harrison's Jaylie Lohmeyer sets regional record, eyes state finals

LAFAYETTE — Jaylie Lohmeyer exceeded her own expectations, Tressa Senesac doubled up on extending her high school athletic career, Alli Holder was all smiles and Jade Wiese performed the jump of her life.

All four will compete in the Indiana High School Athletic Association's track and field state finals meet June 3 at Indiana University.

In a Lafayette Jeff Regional full of state standard performances, Lohmeyer came away as the lone local regional champion at Scheumann Stadium Tuesday night.

She thought that might be a possibility, but didn't think she'd have to push beyond her own limits to get there.

Embarked in a battle with Carmel's Olivia Cebalo for the 400 meter title, Lohmeyer edged her counterpart at the finish line in 55.52 seconds, just .09 ahead of Cebalo, to break the 4-year-old regional record of 56.21 set by West Lafayette's Lauren Thomas.

"That freshman (Cebalo) is unbelievable," Lohmeyer said. "I was so excited to run against her because I knew she was going to be up with me. I am so thankful she was here because I wouldn't have run the time I ran.

"My goal was to break 56.7 and I blew that away."

While it took a regional record mark for Lohmeyer to win the 400, it also took a regional record time to beat Benton Central's Senesac in the 100-meter high hurdles.

Hamilton Southeastern's Ally Elsbury pulled away from Senesac in the final four hurdles to win in 14.61 seconds. Senesac finished second in 14.77 seconds and also was edged out in the 300 hurdles by Noblesville's Kiana Siefert, finishing second in 44.58 seconds.

"We were kind of together until the sixth hurdle," Senesac said of the 100-meter hurdles race. "I am really glad I got to race her because it is good to have that competition to push me because I don't get a lot of that throughout the year."

Holder cleared the state standard of 5 feet, 4 inches in the high jump, matching her sectional winning mark, to become just the second athlete from her school to qualify for a state finals, joining discus thrower Madi Schultz in 2018.

Holder's mark placed her fourth in the regional.

"Last week it was more about getting third (place) and I wasn't sure what I had to do to get third and get out," Holder said. "I was fortunate enough to clear 5-4 last week to get out. My mindset today was more about clearing 5-4 and going from there."

Wiese entered the regional with the 11th best long jump based on sectional performances and competing in event where the top eight hit the state standard of 17-8 3/4 a week ago.

The Lafayette Jeff sophomore beat her regional mark of 16-10 1/2 by more than 11 inches.

Wiese's mark of 17-9 3/4 placed her sixth, but her state standard distance automatically qualified her for the state meet.

Holder and Wiese will be making their first state finals appearances with opportunities to return next season.

West Lafayette sophomore Henny Schminke will compete in two events at the state meet after receiving a call back in the 800 meters, where she placed fourth in 2:17.03 Tuesday. She also is a member of West Side's 3,200 relay team that placed fifth in 9:41.60 and received a call back.

Harrison senior Caitlin Williams placed fifth in the 800 in 2:17.44 and received a call back to compete in the state meet, as did Raider classmate Jada-Marie Davis in the 300 hurdles after placing fifth in 45.79 seconds.

For Senesac and Lohmeyer, next week's state meet will be their final high school athletic event. Senesac is a two-time state qualifier looking to perform better than a year ago, where she placed 20th in the 100-meter hurdles.

MORE: Last year's state meet struggle pushes Benton Central's Tressa Senesac

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"A lot of people don't get to have an extra week of practice and I am kind of excited for it," said Senesac, who also has played in the state finals in basketball. "I am not ready to be done yet. I want to go out on a big stage like that in front of a lot of people."

Lohmeyer reached state in all three of her track seasons (2020's spring sports season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic).

Lohmeyer finished fifth in the 400 at last year's state meet and anchored Harrison's fifth-place 1,600 relay. As a freshman in 2019, Lohmeyer finished 19th in the 400.

"My goals this year were to break our school record and run fast," Lohmeyer said. "I've already done that. I am happy. I just have to run my best at state.

"My freshman year, I went to state not even really knowing what it was. I was just happy to be there. Junior year, I aimed to place high and I placed higher than I thought. Hopefully I can do it again this year."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking. 

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Harrison's Jaylie Lohmeyer sets regional record, eyes state finals