The Ballard men's cross country team showed resilience and depth Thursday evening, placing second overall at the Roland-Story Invitational at River Bend Golf Course. The Class 3A No. 19-ranked Bombers scored 119 points, trailing only No. 11 Bondurant-Farrar, who won the meet with 41. Nevada (126) and Clear Lake (130) rounded out the top four.

Senior Max Davidson paced the Bombers with a strong 6th-place finish in 17:02.55, while sophomore Austin Vance (16th, 17:29) and junior Graden Hermann (21st, 17:40) provided key support in the top 25. Junior Parker Domino, competing for the first time since missing the Heartland meet, turned in a breakthrough performance by cracking the 18-minute barrier for the first time in his career, finishing 30th in 17:59. Junior Isaac Swisher (46th, 18:59) closed out the scoring, with junior Jude Jones (58th, 19:46) and freshman Ethan Johnson (61st, 19:47) completing the varsity lineup.

Head coach Scott Barth was pleased to see his team bounce back after what he called a "subpar performance" the week before.

"The boys made some progress tonight as we were able to rebound and reclaim some ground we lost at Heartland," Barth said. "Even though we are still working through some health issues with our top three runners, they looked better tonight. Getting that second spot behind a very solid Bondurant team while not 100% is a sign that we will be okay."

Barth also highlighted the growth of athletes across the roster, including Daughtry Franks, who ran a career-best time in the JV race to earn a varsity spot at next week's Perry Invitational.

"We know this is something we can overcome, and once we get healthy, we can cut our times tremendously," Barth added. "We will continue to be patient and the pieces will fall together as we approach championship season."

The Bombers will next face a loaded field at the Perry Invitational on Thursday, October 2, featuring several ranked teams across multiple classes.

Up Next: Thursday, October 2 at the Perry Invitational, 4:00 PM.

Photo Credit: Davidson Photography