The Ballard women's cross country team continued its strong season with a third-place finish at the Raccoon River Conference Meet, hosted by Bondurant-Farrar.  The Bombers finished with 85 points, trailing only Gilbert (64) and Winterset (66) in one of the most competitive 3A conference races in the state.

Freshman Avilee Miller led the way for Ballard, finishing 5th overall in a career-best time of 19:35.40.  Fellow freshman Honor Jorgensen wasn't far behind, placing 11th in 20:13.20.  Both earned First Team All-Conference honors in their debut season.

Raya Miller claimed 16th place in 20:54.65, earning Second Team All-Conference honors.  Behind her, the trio of Nora Showman (25th, 21:31.30), Grace Grundmeyer (28th, 21:35.51), and Kaitlyn Dunn (30th, 21:37.93) worked together throughout the race to close out the team scoring.  Grundmeyer's time marked a new career PR, and Dunn returned to competition after missing two meets due to injury.

Head Coach Scott Barth praised the team's effort and grit in a deep field that featured six ranked teams out of the eight competing.  "Once again the RRC proved to be one of the best 3A conferences in the state," Barth said.  "We weren't quite able to put together a totally healthy lineup, but we still competed hard.  Avilee and Honor both ran outstanding races to earn first team honors, and Raya had a solid run to earn second team.  The trio of Nora, Grace, and Kaitlyn ran side by side and put together great efforts for us."

Barth also noted that Brooklyn Shoen battled through an injury but was unable to finish at her usual level.  "We look forward to getting her further on the path to health in the next nine days," Barth added.  "If we can do that, it will raise our upside even higher and give us an even better chance to punch our ticket to state."

Up next for the Bombers is the State Qualifying Meet on Wednesday, October 22, with the location to be determined.