Call them the comeback kids.
Participating in Saturday’s Shippensburg University Track and Field Invitational, both Trinity’s Shane Seymore and Carlisle’s Ashley Corum found themselves trailing down the stretch.
Seymore, the anchor of the Shamrocks’ 3,200 relay team, entered his part of the race trailing Caleb Hostetler of Christopher Dock by 30 meters. Corum fell behind in the triple jump when Altoona’s Bethany Lender leapt 37-1.25 on her final jump.
How did the pair react?
Let’s just say that neither let the pressure get to them.
Seymore burned around the length of the track twice, running fast enough to surpass Hostetler and earn his team a first-place finish time of 8:19.59, a full six seconds faster than Christopher Dock’s time of 8:25.60.
People are also reading…
Corum, staring second place right in the face on her last jump, went above and beyond expectations, uncorking a leap of 39-0.25 to reclaim victory, not to mention put herself on the national map.
The two kids without quit have been named The Sentinel’s Athletes of the Week.
“I didn’t want to kill myself to catch him,” Seymore said of Hostetler, “but I knew I could catch him.”
Saturday’s Invitational capped off a very nice week for Seymore and his Trinity team.
On Tuesday, the Shamrocks cruised past rival Camp Hill 99-51 before squeaking out a 76-74 win over then undefeated Susquenita on Thursday.
“We knew that Susquenita would be our hardest competition,” Seymore said. “I don’t want to say we clinched the division, but it was definitely a big win for us.”
Seymore won the 800 and helped his team win the last event of the night, the 1,600 relay.
“His strength is his leadership,” Trinity coach Sam Turpin said. “Against Susquenita, he had the kids pumped when they needed to be pumped.”
All it took to get the team fired up was a little self-support.
“We had a lot of team camaraderie on that particular day,” Seymore said. “The distance guys were watching the shot put, the sprinters were watching the jumpers, things you wouldn’t normally see. Everyone cheered each other on and got riled up.”
Three days after the emotional team victory against the Blackhawks, Seymore won the 800, an event that he currently holds the school record for, at the Ship Invitational.
“For all of his accomplishments, Shane’s a humble guy,” Turpin said of his senior leader. “He sets goals and goes after them. He’s a leader not just by words, but a leader by example also.”
Corum had a goal for this season, reach 38 feet in the triple jump. Needless to say, when she unleashed a leap that surpassed 39 feet, making her the top female triple jumper in Pennsylvania (and ninth in the nation), it turned more than a couple heads.
“She’s been jumping in the mid to high 36s pretty consistently,” Carlisle jumping coach Mike Woodward said of Corum, whose previous best triple jump was 37-6. “Her and I set yearly goals, and her goal this year was 38 feet. I guess we’ll have to recalibrate her goals a little bit.”
The best part about the whole thing is that Corum is just a sophomore. If she can continue her hard work, her coaches believe her potential is limitless.
“As a sophomore, her learning curve is faster than others,” Woodward said. “Physically, the sky is the limit with her. She is an exceptional athlete with a lot of talent.”
Corum admits that even she was a little shocked with her jump.
“The girl was beating me and all I could think was ‘it’s this or nothing,’ I had to give it all I had,” Corum said. “When I jumped it, I didn’t think it was that far, and when they announced it was 39, I was kind of surprised.”
Corum said her new goal for the triple jump is 40 feet, a leap that could warrant a lot of attention from the college scene.
“There’s a lot of good talent across the state this year, and Ashley’s set the bar,” Woodward said. “With the internet, the information is out there and Ashley has certainly gotten her name out there. Now she’s the hunted one, but I think she’s capable of handling it, she just refuses to lose.”
FAST FIVE
Ashley Corum (Carlisle Track and Field)
1. How much coordination does it take to do a tricky event like the triple jump?
AC: It takes a while to get it. I didn’t get it last year, but this year, it just clicked for me.
2. What are your goals for this season?
AC: I want to jump 40 feet in the triple jump and 18-6 to 19 feet in the long jump. If I don’t make it to states this year, I’ll be mad.
3. Who’s the toughest person you’ve competed against?
AC: Marissa McDonald of CD East in the long jump. She beat me by four inches the last time we competed, she’s the contender I have to beat. I’m sure we’ll see each other again.
4. Other sports?
AC: I also play basketball. Usually, I’m in AAU season right now, but this year, I’m concentrating on track.
5. Which sport do you like more, basketball or track?
AC: Basketball is my No. 1 love and track is what I ended up doing in my offseason, I just stuck with it. I’m trying to get a scholarship for basketball and track, they’re both looking good at this moment, it just depends on who is willing to give me a full ride.
FAST FIVE
Shane Seymore (Trinity Track and Field)
1. Do you have any goals for the rest of the season?
SS: I want to hit 1:53 or 1:54 in the 800. I’ve been stuck around 1:56 for the past few years.
2. You’re going to Shippensburg University next year, what made you choose that school?
SS: Ship has a really good package, it’s a good business school with one of the best track teams in the area. I’m excited that I get to go train with one of the best coaches in the country and a former Olympic athlete, Steve Spence.
3. What do you think it will be like running on Shippensburg’s track next year?
SS: I think it will be a good, awkward feeling. It’ll be weird, because I’ll be going there to use it as a practice field, not participate in a state meet.
4. Do you play any other sports?
SS: I do cross country in the fall and indoor track in the winter. I like cross country a little bit more because of the team unity. Everyone on the team does the exact same thing and can communicate a lot easier.
5. What do you do when you’re not running?
SS: I play golf, my dad owns a golf course in Gettysburg.
