July 16, 2025
Photo Galleries | Daily Chronicle
Photo Galleries

Girls track and field: Indian Creek's Brooke Probst shakes nerves, medals as freshman at state meet

CHARLESTON – Brooke Probst got exactly what she wanted out of her first state meet at O’Brien Field at Eastern Illinois University on Saturday. The freshman earned her first IHSA state medal in the high jump, although she owns her share of hardware from the middle school level, having won the Illinois Elementary School Association state high jump before. Saturday felt a little different. Probst found herself nervous. “It was a lot more nerve-wracking than I thought,” Probst said. “I was actually kind of stressed about it. For middle school, I wasn’t ever really stressed necessarily until I got to a certain height, but I was stressed all [Saturday] morning. It’s going to make it better for the next few years to know what it’s like and know what it’s about.”

By KALEB CARTER

She cleared 5-foot-1 and 5-2 on her second try at both heights, then soared over 5-3 on her first attempt . “Sometimes it seems like she uses that first jump as her warmup,” Indian Creek track and field coach Matt Smith said. “Especially in the prelims, because that first jump was kind of always iffy and then the second one, you can see the explosion.” (Kaleb Carter)

She cleared 5-foot-1 and 5-2 on her second try at both heights, then soared over 5-3 on her first attempt . “Sometimes it seems like she uses that first jump as her warmup,” Indian Creek track and field coach Matt Smith said. “Especially in the prelims, because that first jump was kind of always iffy and then the second one, you can see the explosion.” (Kaleb Carter)

Probst found herself almost clearing 5-4, but made one vital mistake, a simple mental lapse that catches the best jumpers. “My second attempt I thought I had cleared it, but I forgot to kick my heels at the end and that knocked [the bar] over,” Probst said. (Kaleb Carter)

The wind, announced over the loudspeaker as frequently faster than 5 meters a second, did not bother Probst, even if it flustered the field workers tasked with repeatedly placing the bar back up when the wind blew it off. “I know what to expect with wind. I jump a lot with wind. Sometimes I do better with the wind,” Probst said. “If it’s at my back, I do better, but if it’s toward me, it’s a little harder. But you just have to adjust your steps, adjust your curves and everything and work through it.” (Kaleb Carter)

Four seniors and a junior placed in front of Probst, clearing the path for her to climb the ladder next year to further state prominence. Another freshman and sophomore each posted a height of 5-2 Saturday in the Class 1A event. “She’s lumped into a really, really good class of jumpers,” Smith said. “So as long as she keeps working and putting forth the effort, especially in the offseason – I know she jumps in the offseason, too – so I think as long as she keeps working, she’ll be down here, competing every year.” Most importantly for Probst right now, she’s can check off a quarter of the goal sheet she has for the state meet that she gave to Smith at the beginning of the season. “I made a list at the beginning of the year that I gave to [Smith], and one of them was to make it to state all four years and to medal all four years. I medaled the first year, so that’s what I’m excited about, is that I medaled.” (Kaleb Carter)