Bombers Cross Country Places Sixth at Winterset
Ballard Scores 146 Team Points
The Ballard Bombers men's cross country team competed at the Lakeview Golf Course in Winterset, finishing 6th overall in a competitive 10-team field. With several strong individual performances, the Bombers battled hard but came up just shy of a top-five finish.
Leading the Bombers was Austin Vance, who posted a solid time of 17:49 to secure 7th place. Vance's performance was the highlight for Ballard, as he stayed near the front of the pack throughout the race. Owen Davidson also contributed to the Bombers' scoring, finishing 19th with a time of 18:49.
Rounding out the top five for Ballard were Isaac Swisher, who crossed the line in 36th place with a time of 20:00, Kolbe Odden in 41st at 20:35, and Aksel Petersen, who finished 43rd with a time of 20:49.
Jude Jones added depth to the team, finishing 50th with a time of 21:18.
In the team standings, Bondurant-Farrar claimed the top spot with 33 points, followed by host Winterset in 2nd with 64 points. Van Meter placed 3rd with 101 points, and Martensdale-St. Marys finished 4th with 138. Nodaway Valley edged out Ballard for 5th with 141 points, while the Bombers placed 6th, scoring 146 points.
Comments From Head Coach Scott Barth:
We were led by freshman Austin Vance who finished 7th in a time of 17:49. He came out of the gate strong last week and did the same today. Next came fellow freshman Owen Davidson who placed 19th with a time of 18:49. Sophomore Isaac Swisher stepped up to the varsity race and ran a solid time of 20:00 which shaved over 30 seconds off of his time from last season at this meet. Fellow sophomores Kolbe Odden and Aksel Peterson stepped into the varsity lineup and closed out scoring with times of 20:35 and 20:49. Sophomore Jude Jones and Freshman Breken Fleischmann closed out varsity, also stepping up to the varsity level with times of 22:18 and 22:36 Also of note, very similar to freshman Nora Showman from the girls team, freshman Cameron Allen came up big again in the JV race and made a push for a varsity spot with a time of 21:29.
All of the guys listed above are to be commended for many reasons. They are top notch in the consistency of their training and effort in practices. Their hard work and positivity are paying off. I really am pleased by the guts and effort that I saw out of these young men.
We will regroup, refocus and reset over the next few days of practice heading into the Ballard meet on Monday. I think this could be classified as a minor 'hiccup' for our girls and we will adjust accordingly. The boys are a bit more of a concern in that we are struggling with keeping everyone healthy and consistent in their training. I will run athletes on Monday that can show me that consistency both physically and mentally. Like I pointed out above, we do have some very hard workers that want to improve and are willing to do whatever it takes to get there. We will focus on those positives and move forward with that."
HUSKY INVITATIONAL MEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. Bondurant-Farrar, 33
2. Winterset, 64
3. Van Meter, 101
4. Martensale-St.Mary, 138
5. Nodaway Valley, 141
6. Ballard, 146
7. Interstate-35, 152
8. Perry, 196
9. Creston, 220
10. Woodward-Granger, 240
HUSKY INVITATIONAL MEN'S INDIVIDUAL TIMES
7 Austin Vance, 17:49
19 Owen Davidson, 18:49
36 Isaac Swisher, 20:00
41 Kolbe Odden, 20:35
43 Aksel Peterson, 20:49
50 Jude Jones, 21:18
