June 5, 2023 at 7:09 p.m.
Bilbrey 13th at state
JCHS senior fell just short of making finals
Bilbrey 13th at state
BLOOMINGTON — Walking out of the circle, Gabi Bilbrey’s hands were clasped on the sides of her head, elbows sticking out, a pained look on her face.
She had known where she stood heading into her final attempt of the preliminaries.
And she knew her throw was not enough.
The Jay County High School senior closed her career Saturday as she finished 13th in the discus during the IHSAA Girls Track and Field State Finals at Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex on the campus of Indiana University.
Bilbrey described her feelings in one word: defeated.
“My average throws at practice would be top 10 right now,” she said as those top competitors warmed up for the finals, “enough to medal at state. … I let my head get into it too much.”
Her best toss of the preliminaries — 122 feet, 5 inches — left her short of the finals, for which the top 10 athletes of the 27-athlete field qualify. (The top nine earn state medals.) Ava Weisheit of Gibson Southern was 10th after the preliminaries at 123 feet, 11 inches.
“We were hoping to get to finals, but it was a great season,” said JCHS coach Joe Imel. “These events are just touchy. You get a couple things in the wrong place and it’s not going to go as far as you want it to. That just unfortunately happened to us today.”
Hannah Alexander of Noblesville won the state championship at 158 feet, 8 inches, taking the top spot by 1 foot, 1 inch, over defending champion Hadley Lucas of Bloomington North.
Allen County Athletic Conference rival Lauren Reiff of Bluffton finished fifth at 137 feet, 3 inches, and Brooklyn Taylor of Whiteland was ninth at 124 feet, 5 inches.
Bilbrey, who entered the meet seeded 11th, was sitting in 10th place at the end of the first and second rounds of her preliminary flight. But when Gibson Southern’s Ava Weisheit opened the third round with her best throw — 123 feet, 11 inches — it bumped Bilbrey down to 11th. That left her in the pressure position of needing to surpass at least one competitor — with two of the top six seeds trailing her and yet to throw, she knew she might need to push even further up the list — to get back into the top 10.
But while Bilbrey’s third attempt was solid — 121 feet, 8 inches — it didn’t improve on her previous mark and left her out of the finals. (Sixth-seeded Taylor and fifth-seeded Emarie Jackson of Greensburg would subsequently surpass Bilbrey on consecutive throws, dropping her down to 13th place.)
“Obviously she threw very consistently, which is what we’ve strived for all year,” said Jay County throwing coach Brian Miles. “Sometimes they just don’t fly how you want them to fly.”
Bilbrey was around the 120-foot mark throughout the preliminaries, getting a bit too much air underneath her first attempt that traveled 118 feet, 2 inches. After stopping midway through her spin on her second attempt, she regrouped and had her best throw of the day at 122 feet, 5 inches.
“Toward the end, it was just more nerves than anything,” said Miles. “It’s just a nerves thing. … It’s hard to practice for a big meet like this. All in all, I’m extremely proud of how she did. Obviously we would have liked to make finals and podium, but I’m happy with where she ended up at.”
The meet brought an end to Bilbrey’s high school career — she plans to compete for Marian University of Indianapolis next season — that saw her become the best discus athlete in school history. She broke the 41-year-old school record held by Carla Miller with a toss of 132 feet, 8 inches, during the second meet of the season April 6 against Bellmont. She extended that record May 16, breaking the sectional standard as well with a throw of 140 feet, 6 inches, to repeat as the sectional champion at Delta.
She won the program’s first regional championship in the discus in a dozen years. And she edged Reiff for the ACAC title.
“It’s been great,” said Bilbrey, who grew up with a love for soccer but last year chose to pursue track and field at the collegiate level. “I’ve just fallen in love more and more with the sport. … Just the atmosphere that discus is — it’s just you and the discus — it’s something I want to do for a long time. …
“I just love it. It’s peaceful.”
She had known where she stood heading into her final attempt of the preliminaries.
And she knew her throw was not enough.
The Jay County High School senior closed her career Saturday as she finished 13th in the discus during the IHSAA Girls Track and Field State Finals at Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex on the campus of Indiana University.
Bilbrey described her feelings in one word: defeated.
“My average throws at practice would be top 10 right now,” she said as those top competitors warmed up for the finals, “enough to medal at state. … I let my head get into it too much.”
Her best toss of the preliminaries — 122 feet, 5 inches — left her short of the finals, for which the top 10 athletes of the 27-athlete field qualify. (The top nine earn state medals.) Ava Weisheit of Gibson Southern was 10th after the preliminaries at 123 feet, 11 inches.
“We were hoping to get to finals, but it was a great season,” said JCHS coach Joe Imel. “These events are just touchy. You get a couple things in the wrong place and it’s not going to go as far as you want it to. That just unfortunately happened to us today.”
Hannah Alexander of Noblesville won the state championship at 158 feet, 8 inches, taking the top spot by 1 foot, 1 inch, over defending champion Hadley Lucas of Bloomington North.
Allen County Athletic Conference rival Lauren Reiff of Bluffton finished fifth at 137 feet, 3 inches, and Brooklyn Taylor of Whiteland was ninth at 124 feet, 5 inches.
Bilbrey, who entered the meet seeded 11th, was sitting in 10th place at the end of the first and second rounds of her preliminary flight. But when Gibson Southern’s Ava Weisheit opened the third round with her best throw — 123 feet, 11 inches — it bumped Bilbrey down to 11th. That left her in the pressure position of needing to surpass at least one competitor — with two of the top six seeds trailing her and yet to throw, she knew she might need to push even further up the list — to get back into the top 10.
But while Bilbrey’s third attempt was solid — 121 feet, 8 inches — it didn’t improve on her previous mark and left her out of the finals. (Sixth-seeded Taylor and fifth-seeded Emarie Jackson of Greensburg would subsequently surpass Bilbrey on consecutive throws, dropping her down to 13th place.)
“Obviously she threw very consistently, which is what we’ve strived for all year,” said Jay County throwing coach Brian Miles. “Sometimes they just don’t fly how you want them to fly.”
Bilbrey was around the 120-foot mark throughout the preliminaries, getting a bit too much air underneath her first attempt that traveled 118 feet, 2 inches. After stopping midway through her spin on her second attempt, she regrouped and had her best throw of the day at 122 feet, 5 inches.
“Toward the end, it was just more nerves than anything,” said Miles. “It’s just a nerves thing. … It’s hard to practice for a big meet like this. All in all, I’m extremely proud of how she did. Obviously we would have liked to make finals and podium, but I’m happy with where she ended up at.”
The meet brought an end to Bilbrey’s high school career — she plans to compete for Marian University of Indianapolis next season — that saw her become the best discus athlete in school history. She broke the 41-year-old school record held by Carla Miller with a toss of 132 feet, 8 inches, during the second meet of the season April 6 against Bellmont. She extended that record May 16, breaking the sectional standard as well with a throw of 140 feet, 6 inches, to repeat as the sectional champion at Delta.
She won the program’s first regional championship in the discus in a dozen years. And she edged Reiff for the ACAC title.
“It’s been great,” said Bilbrey, who grew up with a love for soccer but last year chose to pursue track and field at the collegiate level. “I’ve just fallen in love more and more with the sport. … Just the atmosphere that discus is — it’s just you and the discus — it’s something I want to do for a long time. …
“I just love it. It’s peaceful.”
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