The Ballard women's track team placed fourth in the Ogden Relays.  The 4x800 team of Kate Husinga, Shewaye Johnson, Caitlin Maher, and Josie Fleischmann took first place in a school record time of 9:50.24.  Shewaye Johnson won the 1,500 M run and Ava Vance finished second in the 3,000 M run.  The shuttle hurdle relay team of Rori Olson, Alexis Kluender, Ali Buban, and Ally Baker won in a time of 1:18.41.  The 4x400 meter relay team (Kate Huisinga, Kate Miller, Caitlin Maher, and Josie Fleschmann) ran a season best time of 4:28 and finished in first place.

Comments From Head Coach Scott Barth:

"We ran shorthanded tonight due to several girls who also participate in soccer playing in their match vs Carroll tonight.  This forced us to rethink some of our events and not compete in every event, but we definitely had some great performances tonight.  The high point of the night came from the 4x800 team of Kate Husinga, Shewaye Johnson, Caitlin Maher, and Josie Fleischmann took first place in a school record time of 9:50.24.  The previous record was set in 2004 with a time of 9:54.62.  We stacked the relay for the first time this season and cut 30 seconds from our previous time. 

Shewaye Johnson continued showing her place as one of the premier distance runners in the state running a personal record in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:41.62, which is just 1.5 seconds off of the school record set by current University of Minnesota runner Abby Kohut-Jackson.  This cut approximately six seconds off her season best time and currently ranks as the #1 time in the state in any class and meets the 'blue standard' qualifying her automatically for the Drake Relays.  She previously set the school record in the 3,000 meters which also met the automatic 'blue standard' and qualified her automatically for the Drake Relays.  She paced her race perfectly and her splits went as planned.

Also taking first on the night were the shuttle hurdle relay team of Rori Olson, Alexis Kluender, Ali Buban, and Ally Baker.  The 4x400 meter relay team of Kate Huisinga, Kate Miller, Caitlin Maher, and Josie Fleschmann ran a season best time of 4:28 in their 1st place finish. 

Freshman Ava Vance took home two silvers on the night with a PR of 11:28 in the 3,000 meters and a 2:46 in the 800 meters.  She continues to improve and it was nice seeing her push her pace from the start.  She is a very promising runner and has a bright future ahead of her.

Other highlights on the night were Ali Baker taking the bronze in the hurdles with a PR Of 18.04.  Kate Miller showed great improvement in the long jump with a PR jump of 15'6 " and Carley Wilson followed suit with her PR in the discus with a throw of 87'10".

We continue to develop as a team and are making progress heading into the midpoint of the season.  It looks like we will have three events participating in the Drake Relays this season with Shewaye Johnson in the 1,500 and 3,000 meters.  She will be joined by Kate Huisinga, Caitlin Maher, and Josie Fleischmann on the 4x800 meter relay.  This is a great opportunity and accomplishment for us and we will try and represent Ballard very well. "

OGDEN INVITE SCORES

1. ADM, 163

2. Gilbert, 97

3. Boone, 93

4. Ballard, 79

5. Madrid, 77

6. Ogden, 45

7. Woodward-Granger, 31

8. Dallas Center-Grimes JV, 2

The Bombers are back in action on Thursday - April 22 when they travel to Roland-Story.  The meet will start at 4:30 PM.