The Ballard women's track and field team turned in a strong all around performance Wednesday night at the Raccoon River Conference Meet hosted by ADM High School, finishing fifth in the nine team field with 68 points against one of the strongest conferences in Class 3A.

"The RRC Conference meet lived up to its reputation as one of the toughest 3A conferences in the state," Ballard head coach Scott Barth said. "Knowing we had to claw for every point, the team rose to the challenge, moving up the standings to garner a fifth place finish with 68 points."

Ballard was highlighted by a conference championship performance in the girls 4x400 relay as the quartet of Kaitlyn Dunn, Alea Kinzenbaw, Honor Jorgensen, and Brooklyn Shoen crossed the finish line first in 4:06.54. The Bombers edged host ADM by less than a second in one of the most exciting races of the evening.

Barth said the relay's performance was a defining moment for the program.

"The highlight of the night was our first place finish in the 4x400 relay," Barth said. "The all freshman quartet of Dunn, Kinzenbaw, Jorgensen, and Shoen proved they belong among the state's best by shattering the school record that had stood since 1998, etching their names into the history books."

The Bombers also collected several top three finishes throughout the night. The 4x800 relay team of Raya Miller, Honor Jorgensen, Kya Hermann, and Avilee Miller placed third in 10:04.30, narrowly missing runner up honors by less than two seconds.

In the distance medley relay, Ballard earned another third place finish as Emefa VanLoo, Honor Jorgensen, Alea Kinzenbaw, and Brooklyn Shoen combined for a time of 4:26.92.

Freshman Avilee Miller delivered one of the top individual performances of the meet for Ballard, placing third in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:58.36. Teammate Kya Hermann added another scoring performance in the event by finishing ninth.

Sydney Sage added points in the 3000 meter run with a sixth place finish in 11:56.85, while Raya Miller took fifth in the 800 meter run at 2:31.60.

Ballard's sprint group also had a productive evening. Sophomore Emefa VanLoo sprinted to a runner up finish in the 100 meter dash with a time of 13.17. The 4x100 relay team of Kacey Smith, Makiya Culbertson, Kaitlyn Dunn, and VanLoo added a fifth place finish in 51.49.

Culbertson continued her strong night in the hurdles, finishing seventh in the 100 meter hurdles in 16.10. Brooklyn Shoen added another top six finish for the Bombers in the 400 meter hurdles, taking fifth in 1:10.64.

Ballard also received points in the field events. Alea Kinzenbaw cleared 5 feet to place fifth in the high jump, while Kahra Bolton Lewis placed seventh in the discus with a throw of 98 feet, 9 inches.

According to Barth, the Bombers produced nine season bests or personal records during the meet while scoring in numerous events across the lineup.

"Our athletes recorded nine season bests or personal records tonight, including five top three finishes and points in nine other events," Barth said.

With the conference meet complete, Ballard now turns its attention toward the postseason and the upcoming state qualifying meet.

"With the conference meet behind us, we head into the State Qualifying Meet with momentum and confidence," Barth said. "As our performances continue to peak, our focus shifts to strategically positioning our athletes to qualify as many events as possible for the State Meet."

Ballard will compete Thursday, May 14 at the Class 3A State Qualifying Meet hosted by North Polk High School beginning at PM.

"We will see some of the same schools that we saw tonight including Gilbert, North Polk, Winterset and Boone, but also add new schools to the mix with Perry, DSM Hoover and Saydel," Barth said. "We will have the next week to prep for what could be a fun night at the North Polk qualifier."

Photo Credit: Davidson Photography