The Ballard women's track team had a great run at the Drake Relays on Thursday in Des Moines.  Sophomore Shewaye Johnson won the 3,000 M Run running it in a school record time of 9:44.88.  Johnson finished second in the 1,500 M Run with a time of 4:44.97.  The 4x800 relay team of Kate Husinga, Shewaye Johnson, Caitlin Maher, and Josie Fleischmann finished ninth and broke the school record running in a time of 9:41.68.

Comments From Head Coach Scott Barth:

"It was an exciting and historic day for the Ballard Bombers Girl's track team at the Drake Relays. 

Shewaye Johnson opened up the meet with a new school record and Drake Relays Championship run in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:44.88.  This ranks her as the 7th fastest 3,000 meters ever run by a high school girl in the state of Iowa and is currently the fastest time in the nation.  She left no doubt from the beginning opening up a nearly 100 meter lead after the first 600 meters of the race and cruised to a victory of over 13 seconds.  This time is currently leading class 3A by 55 seconds.

The 4x800 meter relay team of Kate Huisinga, Shewaye Johnson, Caitlin Maher and Josie Fleischmann chipped off another nine seconds of their school record running a time of 9:41.68.  They have now taken off more than 13 seconds off the the old record heading into the season.  All four runners ran their personal record splits in the relay which helped them climb from their #13 seed and into the top 10 at #9.  We are getting more and more confident in our racing of this race and currently sit #2 in class 3A with our time - just two seconds off of #1.  We will make this event a focus of our efforts heading into the conference and state qualifying meets.

Shewaye closed out a tough trifecta running her last race of the day in the 1,500 meter race.  Running on tired legs, she still managed to finish 2nd in a time or 4:44.97, being passed in the last 300 meter by the eventual champion who was running fresh in her first race of the day.  So, still lots to be proud of for Shewaye.  She knows what she can do when the races are more spread out in a state meet and is currently ranked #1 in Class 3A by over 5 seconds.

So, it was a spectacular day at the Drake Relays on the blue oval.  The girls performed really well and showed no shortness of desire to work hard and show even more improvement.  I am excited to see what these girls can do and expect solid growth over the next few weeks heading into the state meet."