Central’s Ryan Seabaugh commits to Southern Illinois

Ryan Seabaugh enters his final track & field season with his future set.

The Cape Central senior announced his commitment to run with the Salukis of Southern Illinois on Tuesday.

“I immediately loved the coach and the vision he had for the team and the team itself,” said Seabaugh, who visited the campus over the winter. “I could see us doing great things in the future.”

Seabaugh knows his workload will need to continue in order to make the jump from high school to college. He is already trending that way, after going from running 20 miles per week as a sophomore to running 40-50 miles weekly this year.

“We all chatted about times and they are fast but I should adapt and hopefully fit right in,” Seabaugh said. “I could see myself doing 60-70 in my first year of college but I’m ready for it.”

Seabaugh recently ran in the CYUP Misfits Invite in Chicago, where he finished 17th in the mile with a time of 4:27.40.

“It was pretty fun,” Seabaugh said. “I never ran indoor track before, but I know I have to in college, so I was getting ready for it early.”

Seabaugh will run the 800-meter, mile, and two-mile events this season and looks to compete with two Hillsboro runners who will join him at SIU next year.

“I have been thinking about being a state champ in the 1600-meter since last year after finishing 8th at state and losing to six seniors, and the only person finishing ahead of me that’s returning is my future teammate,” Seabaugh said. “I want to qualify and finish All-State in all three distance events but ultimately win the 1600M. that’s what I’ve been working for all summer and winter.”

Seabaugh plans to major in sports admission at SIU.

“So if one day my running career ends,” he said. “I can still help coach and be around the sport forever.”