STORY CITY — The Ballard Bombers made their presence known Thursday night at the Roland-Story Norsemen Relays, turning in a series of standout performances across the board.

Leading the charge in the field events was Chase Ihle, who soared to a second-place finish in the long jump with a mark of 21'11", just two inches shy of the top spot and above the previous meet record. Bryce Miller backed him up with a strong fifth-place effort at 19'8.5".

In the high jump, Kanen DeYoung cleared 5'10" to secure third place, going toe-to-toe with Clear Lake's top jumpers in a tight competition.

On the track, Ballard's shuttle hurdle relay squad—comprised of Ihle, Kiir Wol, Curtis Hinzman, and Stetson Kane—stormed to first place with a time of 1:01.81, outpacing a deep and talented field with sharp execution and strong exchanges.

Sprint standout Jace Ortner took third in the 100-meter dash (11.57), just ahead of teammate Liam Hurst, who crossed the line fourth (11.59). In the sprint medley, Evan Entrekin and Jalen Shaw helped the Bombers to a fifth-place finish, clocking in at 1:39.29.

In the throws, Carter Sparks continued to impress, finishing 10th in the shot put (40'10") and 8th in the discus (116'5"). Tyson Pingel also added valuable depth with a 10th-place discus finish (113'11.5").

Distance runner Austin Vance delivered a gritty performance in the 3200-meter run, earning third place with a time of 10:36.93.

The Bombers finished fifth in the team standings with 85 points, narrowly behind Roland-Story (86). The top five teams were:

1. Clear Lake – 120

2. Denver – 112

3. Nevada – 89

4. Roland-Story – 86

5. Ballard – 85

Up Next: The Bombers compete at the Raccoon River Conference Meet, hosted by Gilbert on Wednesday, May 7 at 4 PM.

PHOTO CREDIT: Davidson Photography