Bombers Compete In Fort Dodge Invite

Ballard Scores 807 Team Points

October 6, 2023

The men's cross country team competed in the Fort Dodge Invitational on Thursday. The Bombers finished 26th with 807 team points.

Bradley Sage finished 114th for the Bombers with a time of 17:35. Jameson Witt ran in a time of 18:46 and finished 165th.

The Bombers are back in action on Tuesday - October 10 when they host the Raccoon River Conference Meet. The middle school, junior varsity, and varsity will race and the action starts at 4:00 PM.

Comments From Head Coach Scott Barth:

"The boys also had a solid night running against 16 ranked schools. Most of the teams at this meet at 4A schools and elite teams from other classes that want the challenge. So, I was proud of our guys to stay focused on their races and pretty well. Bradley Sage once again topped the roster with a time of 17:35. He is making a push towards the SQM and in hopes for a spot at the state meet. His focus throughout the season has been excellent and he is a prime example of hard work creating improvement over the course of a career. Jameson Witt continued to run with more confidence in his first season of running CC with a time of 18:46. He was followed by freshman Graden Hermann, who was returning from injury with a good comeback time of 18:51. We finished out our varsity runners with Braden Kubichek running well in 19:59, and 3 freshmen in Alex Weeks, Isaac Swisher and Kolbe Odden in times or 10:07, 20:14 and 20:21 respectively.

This is not a type of meet that looks great in terms of our placing as a team due to the tough competition. However, we are making progress on many fronts. We were without one of our top runners in Max Davidson which potentially helps us in the team score department. I do want to give a specific shout out to freshmen Kolbe Odden and Seth Hilleman who accepted the challenge of running the varsity race and getting career PR's in the process. Overall, our freshman group has the potential to be really good over the course of their careers. The key for the development of our boys team and their ability to compete at high levels is that consistency factor that I mentioned above with our girls. We have some really great practices but don't always have the consistency of effort and culture quite yet. The potential is definitely there however and we will work to make growth."

FORT DODGE INVITATIONAL MEN'S TEAM SCORES (Top 10)

1. Dowling Catholic, 71

2. Ankeny, 127

3. Johnston, 144

4. Waukee Northwest, 171

4. Norwalk, 171

6. Dallas Center-Grimes, 190

7. Urbandale, 223

8. Ankeny Centennial, 245

9. Valley, 255

10. Waukee, 272

26. Ballard, 807