Men's XC Team Competes at Norsemen Invitational

Ballard Scores 192 Team Points

September 27, 2024

The Ballard Men's Cross Country team faced a challenging field at the Norsemen Invitational on September 26, showcasing their grit and determination amidst strong competition.

Leading the way for the Bombers was Austin Vance, who finished in 13th place with an impressive time of 17:37.88. Vance's performance exemplified his dedication and ability to compete against some of the best runners in Class 3A. Following Vance, Graden Hermann put forth a strong effort, finishing in 31st place with a time of 18:07.88.

Other key performances came from Owen Davidson, who finished 47th with a time of 18:50.23, and Isaac Swisher, who crossed the line in 50th place with a time of 18:55.45. Parker Domino and Kolbe Odden rounded out the scoring for the Bombers, finishing in 51st (19:13.82) and 59th (19:47.46) places, respectively.

The Bombers will look to build on this momentum as they prepare for their next meet at the Perry Invitational on October 3 at 4:15 PM.

Comments From Head Coach Scott Barth:

"The boys did not place as high as the girls, but they ran pretty well when you dig into the times. Freshman Austin Vance ran his season and career PR tonight with a 17:37 which placed him 13th to earn a medal. Graden Hermann ran a solid race placing 31st in a time of 18:07. Owen Davidson surged through the race moving up quite a bit to place 47th with a time of 18:50. Isaac Swisher ran a great race with a career PR of 18:55 which placed him in 50th place.. Parker Domino finished out our scoring with a career PR of 19:13 to place 51st. Kolbe Odden closed out our varsity of 6 with a career PR of 19:47 to place 59th. Our regular #1 Max Davidson gave a shot at running tonight after being sick last night but did not finish the race. That raised our team score quite a bit and limited our team finish. There were quite a few quality teams here tonight and if you do not hit on all cylinders, a middle of the pack finish is likely and that is what happened to us.

That being said, other than missing Max in the team score, we did run quite well in both our varsity and JV competitions. We ran 18 guys tonight and 13 of them had season and/or career PR's ( 6 of our 18 girls did the same). Again, it was a flat and fast course, so good times are expected. However, you have to run the race and make it happen and many of the guys were able to do that tonight. We spent the last week trying to mix up our workouts and focus on 'team' running. I think that did show up somewhat tonight. The path for the girls is more obvious at this point. Get healthy and we should be a very solid team and move up in the team standings and state rankings. I am confident that this will happen. This is a hard working, focused and consistent team of athletes. They will do what it takes to get it done.

The guys are less stable and need to make some progress over the next 3 weeks heading into SQM. Realistically we need to get as many guys in the lower 17's as possible and then fill in with others in the low 18's. I think Max and Austin are on track to get to the lower 17's and possibly sneak into the 16's. Graden has had 2 of his most recent meets in the lower 18's, so he seems to be a solid candidate to get into the mid to low 17's. That is a pretty solid start through 3. I see Owen and Isaac as candidates to get into the lower 18's. Parker has been battling some minor injuries and sickness, so he could take a big step forward and Kolbe is cutting his time down consistently. So, the potential there, but our room for error over the next few weeks is small. We have to focus on what it takes to put us in position to do this. That will take consistency and that is what I have preached all season. Now the clock is ticking and we cannot waste our opportunities to improve. Stepping up and taking what is there for us will be the key."

NORSEMEN INVITATIONAL MEN'S TEAM SCORES

1. Bondurant-Farrar, 54

2. Nevada, 72

3. Ogden, 78

4. North Polk, 86

5. Clear Lake, 133

6. Ballard, 192

7. Roland Story, 198

8. Greene County, 203

9. Madrid, 236

10. SE Valley, 271

11. Saydel, 315