Have you ever been to a Lady Owls’ basketball game? How about a Lady Owls’ soccer match? Or even one of their track meets? If you haven’t, you’re missing out on seeing standout senior Brooke Trinkle. 

Being a senior, there comes those emotional moments. An example is walking through the doors on your last first day, “ I was a bit sad but more excited!” she said. Brooke plans to “attend Marian University,” a private college in the Indianapolis area, “to study business and run track.” She chose Marian for a couple reasons,but  “it just felt like home. It checked everything off my checklist. It’s a small campus. The girls were so kind and welcoming, and it was close to home.” It wasn’t just basketball she did throughout her time at SHS though. She was a part of the pep club and dance marathon, along with running track and playing soccer.

Coach Jason Longmeier, varsity girls basketball coach, has prepared his team for the season. At least, according to Brooke, “We practiced two times a week, went to D1 camp, and basketball shootouts.” It’s not just Coach Longmeier who pushes the girls, however, they also push themselves. Brooke said, “We play in a tough conference and we know that we have to work hard in practice everyday if we want to compete with other teams.” Speaking of Coach Longmeier, he expects a lot from the girls on and off the court, along with being their coach throughout their high school career. “It means a lot to the girls and [me]. We know that he wants us to succeed on and off the court,” she said. She also said that “our shooting average has gone up because we have a lot of players that put in extra time outside of practice to get shots up. We know the shots that we get up in practice are not enough. For us to go above .500 we have to make our practices harder than games. That way the games will come easy.” Brooke plays point guard for the varsity Lady Owls and says her role is “to be a leader.” She said that she “started playing when [she] was three and has loved it ever since.” Just like the football team does, she looks forward to her basketball game against the cross-county rivals, the Brownstown Braves. “Brownstown is the game I look forward to the most because there is always a big crowd to play for!” she stated in answering which game she is most excited for.

Being a standout like she is, she has big goals this season: becoming “an all conference player, [winning] sectionals, and and have a better shooting percentage than last season.” 

Brooke’s three sports balance well with the season. In the spring is when she shines the brightest. In track, she does the “3200m relay, 1600m run, 800m run, and the 1600m relay.” Her freshman year was the year of the pandemic. Brooke said that “not being able to have my track season freshman year was heartbreaking.” The Lady Owls came out strong after the pandemic and they have won the last two sectionals. “Winning doesn’t get old, especially winning sectionals,” she said. The Lady Owls have some outstanding runners. The best time she ran was a “5:12 mile” and she “got first place at regionals [her] sophomore year.” Running a 5:13 mile and not getting at least a top 10 is just flabbergasting. Brooke said she “ran a 5:13 at state and placed 14th out of 27.” Even though state wasn’t a top 10 finish, Brooke continued to work hard, and all of that hard work got her into Marian University.

Even all of her coaches believed in her. Coach Longmeier said that “as a player, she is a joy to coach. She is very coachable and very knowledgeable of the game.  She’s always willing to do whatever it takes to get better.” He was asked to describe Brooke in one word, and he said “fearless.”

Her praises don’t stop with Coach Longmeier. Even Coach Greg Musser, girls’ soccer, had wonderful comments to say about her. “Brooke is a dynamic player on the soccer field.  She could probably play just about any position.  She was an outside back for us, and within our system it allowed her to use her speed and 1v1 skills to trigger a lot of our attacks.  Brooke is the type of player that can take over a game completely and create chances for our team.  Defensively, there were few, if any, players in the state that could take her 1v1.  She has incredible body positioning, and if she did happen to get beat, she has the speed to recover and stop that chance from developing. Brooke is an 80 minute player, meaning she never comes off the field, she played every minute of every game she was suited up for in four years. The way she was able to be a two way player for us will be sorely missed next year. As a captain, she was a tremendous leader by example.  There is never any quit in her during practice or games.  She is always giving 100% of what she has in the gas tank to sacrifice for her team.” His one word to describe her: “Dominant.” 

Name: Brooke Trinkle

Hometown: Seymour, Indiana 

Parents: Michael and Mackenzie Trinkle

GPA: 3.8

Plans after high school: To attend Marian University to study business and run track.

Clubs/activities: Athletic Board, Dance Marathon, Soccer, basketball, and track 

Favorite food: Pasta

Favorite college team: IU basketball

Favorite cartoon growing up: Caillou 

Nickname: Brookie

Favorite Book: Divergent 

Favorite Quote: “Be better today than the day before.”

What was it like attending Seymour High School: My experience at SHS was really good. I made lots of new friends and had amazing teachers throughout the years here!