The Ballard women's track meet competed in the Van Meter Meet on Thursday.  The distance medley team of Lande, Bowman, Tollefson, and Richardson clinched two gold medals with a time of 4:37. Tollefson showcased her fastest 400 of the season with a 1:03 split, indicating a strong recovery from injury. Larson also secured a first-place finish in her debut appearance in the 3000-meter event, clocking in at 11:07.

Nora Loveland had a standout performance, taking 2nd place in the long jump with a career-best of 15-07. She also placed 3rd in the 100 hurdles with a time of 17:09 and 5th in the 200 meters with another career PR of 28.88. Additionally, she anchored the 5th place shuttle hurdle relay, showcasing her significant contribution to the team's success and potential for further improvement.

Annika Larson added to her victories with a 2nd place finish in the 1500 meters, crossing the line at 5:11. Other notable performances from distance athletes include Ava Vance securing 3rd place in the 3000 meters and Kya Hermann taking 5th in the 1500 with a career-best time of 5:31, cutting 10 seconds off her previous PR.

Raya Miller demonstrated rapid progress by aiding the 4x800 meter team of Miller, Baumgardner, Hermann, and Wilson to a 4th place finish. She followed this up with a 3rd place finish in the 400 meters and contributed to the 4x400 team achieving a season-best time. The 4x400 meter relay comprised Tollefson, Miller, Wilson, and Richardson.

The Bombers are back in action on Wednesday - May 1 when they compete in the Raccoon River Conference Meet at Carlisle.  The meet will start at 4:00 PM.

Comments From Women's Head Coach Scott Barth:

"We were short a few athletes tonight, but we performed well and continued to show growth as a team. We earned 86 points and although we only secured 2 victories on the night, our dept supplied us with lots of other placements in the 2nd and 3rd spots to give us a solid score at the end of the night.

Securing the two golds on the night was the distance medley team of Lande, Bowman, Tollefson and Richardson with a time of 4:37. Tollefson ran her fastest 400 of the season with a 1:03 split and appears to be back on track coming off an injury. Larson added the other first place finish on the night in her initial appearance in the 3000 for the season in a time of 11:07.

Nora loveland had another solid night taking 2nd in the long jump with a career PR of 15-07. She also placed 3rd in the 100 hurdles with a time of 17:09 and 5th in the 200 meters with a career PR 0f 28.88. She also anchored our 5h place shuttle hurdle relay! She has really developed into a major contributor for our team and we know she has more to show in the upcoming weeks.

Annika Larson doubled up her 3000 meter victory with a 2nd place finish in the 1500 with a time of 5:11 Fellow distance athletes Ava Vance placed 3rd in the 3000 and Kya Hermann placed 5th in the 1500 with a career PR of 5:31 which cut 10 seconds off of her previous PR. 

Raya Miller continues to show rapid improvement in helping the 4x800 meter team of Miller, Baumgardner, Hermann and WIlson to a 4th place finish. She followed up with a 3rd place finish in the 400 and helped the 4x400 to a season best time. The 4x400 meter relay was composed of Tollefson, Miller, Wilson and Richardson.

All things considered this was another good meet for us. We are progressing in our times and the pieces are starting to fall together in several events. We look forward to better weather (aka less wind) sometime soon. This will allow us to drop our time substantially and head into the big 3 meets of RRC, SQM and State in good form."

TEAM SCORES

1. Van Meter, 146

2. Ballard, 86

3. Earlham, 70

4. Clarinda, 64

5. Central Decatur, 61

5. West Central Valley, 61

5. CAM, 61

8. Ankeny Christian, 55

9. Creston, 46

10. Martensdale-St. Marys, 45

11. Mount Ayr, 42

Photo Credit: Davidson Photography