Bombers Host Mike Carr Invitational Meet

Ballard Scores 281 Team Points

September 14, 2023

The men's cross country team hosted the Mike Carr Invitational Meet on Monday. The Bombers finished 9th in Class A with 281 team points. Pella won the meet finishing with 41 team points.

Bradley Sage finished 30th for the Bombers. He ran in a time of 17:53.6. Max Davidson placed 55th with a time of 19:21.6. Teammates Jameson Witt and Graden Hermann finished back to back at 60th and 61st with times of 19:43.4 and 19:46.8.

Comments From Head Coach Scott Barth:

"It was another elite meet that we hosted last night with a total of 19 ranked teams entered in the event. We pride ourselves in running a good meet filled with some of the best programs in the state and tonight did not disappoint.

The boys, much like the girls, ran against an elite field and took some lumps as a result. I would say our race today was a bit subpar when compared to our first 2 meets of the year, which was somewhat expected with running in this deep and talented field. The boys competition featured 10 ranked teams from across the classes. Bradley Sage led the boys with a solid 40th place finish with a time of 17:53. This is an improvement of 1 minute and 5 seconds from his 2022 time on the same course. He is hitting his stride in his senior year and a good leader on the team. Max Davidson, Jameson Witt and Graden Hermann finished in a tight pack for the Bombers for our 2nd, 3rd and 4th place team finishers. Braden Kubichek, Alex Weeks and Kaleb Dee finished in another close place to close out the Bomber varsity for the day. As with Grace in the girls competition, I do want to give a shout out to freshman Isaac Swisher on the boys side who continues to improve and has earned a varsity spot in our next team race. He works so hard, follows the workout expectations and is reaping the results of his hard work.

Like I said above, we were running in a tough field which makes it hard on a less experienced team like our boys. I would say that Bradley has emerged as the leader for our boys due to his consistency in both training and mental readiness to compete at high levels. We have had some minor injuries with Max and Graden particularly which is slowing down their progress. Jameson, Alex, and Isaac are all athletes new to the sport and are still in the process of learning what it takes to improve. As with most sports, to improve in cross country you need that willingness to push into that zone of discomfort in both practices and in meets. We just don't have that consistency to push into that zone currently and that caught up with us today against some of the state's elite. I still think that we definitely have a top 4 that could be really, really good by season's end and that, like the girls, we do have a young group of hard working guys that realize consistency of effort is the key. No cutting corners and no backing down to a hard workout. There are definitely glimmers of hope that I see on this team, now is the time to focus 100% on what it is going to take to improve and to go after it."

The Bombers are back in action on Saturday - September 16 when they compete in the Heartland Classic in Pella. The meet will feature the varsity and will start at 11:20 AM.

MIKE CARR INVITATIONAL MEN'S TEAM SCORES

1. Pella, 41

2. Gilbert, 44

3. Carlisle, 104

4. Glenwood, 105

5. Winterset, 113

6. ADM, 148

7. North Polk, 176

8. Bondurant-Farrar, 273

9. Ballard, 281

10. Indianola, 309

11. Webster City, 318