The Ballard women's track and field team delivered one of its strongest performances of the season Thursday night at the State Qualifying Meet hosted by North Polk, finishing third overall with 101.5 team points while qualifying eight events for next week's state meet at Drake Stadium.

Competing in windy conditions against a deep field, the Bombers showcased their balance, depth, and rising talent with multiple personal records, season bests, a school record, and several dramatic finishes that secured trips to Des Moines.

Ballard's lone event championship came in the final race of the night, as the 4x400-meter relay team of Kaitlyn Dunn, Alea Kinzenbaw, Honor Jorgensen, and Brooklyn Shoen leaned across the finish line in dramatic fashion to claim first place in 4:09.59 and automatically qualify for state.

The Bombers also qualified seven additional events, highlighted by a record-breaking effort in the 4x200-meter relay. Emefa VanLoo, Hailey Conover, Dunn, and Shoen combined to run a school-record and state-qualifying time of 1:47.98, placing third overall.

Ballard's sprint medley relay team of VanLoo, Makiya Culbertson, Dunn, and Kinzenbaw earned a second-place finish with a season-best 1:54.73 to punch its ticket to Drake Stadium.

The 4x800-meter relay squad of Shoen, Jorgensen, Kya Hermann, and Avilee Miller also secured a state berth after finishing second in 10:09.60.

Kahra Lewis delivered one of the top field event performances of the night in the discus, uncorking a personal-record throw of 108-10 to place second and qualify for state. Esther Wilson added a seventh-place finish in the event.

In the hurdles, Culbertson raced to a third-place finish in the 100 hurdles with a state-qualifying time of 15.73.

Shoen continued her outstanding night in the 400 hurdles, clocking a personal-record 1:07.99 to finish third and earn another state qualification.

Distance standout Miller secured her state berth in the 1500 meters, running a tactical race and finishing third in a personal-record 4:55.44.

Ballard also received key contributions across the meet. Kinzenbaw placed fourth in the high jump at 4-10, while Taylor Wuebker earned fifth in the long jump with a personal-record leap of 13-8.5. Sydney Sage finished fifth in the 3000 meters, and Allison Kuhn placed sixth in the 400 meters while also tying for sixth in the high jump.

Conover added a third-place finish in the 200 meters with a personal-record time of 27.53. The 4x100 relay team finished third in a season-best 51.05, while the distance medley relay placed fourth with a season-best 4:24.05.

North Polk won the team title with 167 points, followed by Gilbert with 139. Ballard's 101.5 points placed the Bombers ahead of Winterset, Boone, Perry, DSM Hoover, and Saydel.

With eight state-qualifying performances and momentum building late in the season, the Bombers now turn their attention to the Iowa State Track and Field Championships next week on the Blue Oval at Drake Stadium.

Photo Credit: Danielle Chrisco