The Ballard women's track meet competed at the Tiger Relays on Monday evening. The hurdlers showcased exceptional performance, clinching 2 individual gold medals in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles. Nora Loveland, despite a recent injury, triumphed in the 100 hurdles with a career-best time of 17.45. Anya Jorgensen closely followed Loveland, securing 4th place with her personal record of 17.91. In the 400-meter hurdles, Brynn Wilson dominated with a career-best time of 1:15.30. Coach Phillips' outstanding guidance has been instrumental in the hurdlers' success, a testament to their hard work paying off. We are actively scouting for a fourth member for the shuttle relay and making significant progress. With Nora and Anya as lead-off and anchors, our relay team is exceptionally strong.
The 4x800 meter relay team, comprising Ava Richardson, Raya Miller, Brynn Wilson, and Annika Larson, secured 1st place with an impressive time of 10:35, leaving the competition behind by over 30 seconds. Annika Larson continued her winning streak by clinching the 1500 meters with a time of 5:16 after her victory in the 4x800.
Freshman Kya Hermann showcased remarkable talent, finishing 6th in the 3000 meters and 4th in the 1500 meters in her debut varsity year. Nora Loveland's versatility shone as she secured 5th place in the long jump with a career-best of 14-05.50, despite limited practice due to her recent injury recovery.
The Bombers are back in action on Saturday - April 13 when they compete in the Jim Duncan Relays in Des Moines. The meet will start at 9:00 AM.
Comments From Women's Head Coach Scott Barth:
"It was a beautiful night to run and the girls ran hard and gave a good effort overall. We were short several key runners due to a variety of reasons, but we managed well and showed improvement in quite a few events.
The hurdlers really stepped up their game tonight and brought home 2 individual golds in the 100 meter and 400 meter hurdles. Nora Loveland came off of a minor injury to win the 100 hurdles with her career PR of 17.45. Anya Jorgensen was close behind Loveland in placing 4th with her career personl record of 17.91. Brynn Wilson followed up in winning the 400 meter hurdles with her career PR of 1:15.30. Coach Phillips is doing a phenomenal job with the hurdlers and their hard work is paying off. We again are working on finding a 4th leg of the shuttle and getting closer. We hope to have that up and running here soon as having Nora and Anya as the lead off and anchors gives us a very solid base to the relay.
Also taking 1st on the night was the 4x800 meter team of Ava Richardson, Raya Miller, Brynn Wilson and Annika Larson with a time of 10:35. This easily outdistanced second place by over 30 seconds. Annika Larson followed up on her victory in the 4x800 with an individual victory in the 1500 meters with a time of 5:16.
Also placing in 2 events for the distance girls tonight was freshman Kya Hermann who placed 6th place in the 3000 meters and 4th in the 1500 meters. That is a solid effort for a first year varsity runner. Nora Loveland began her day placing 5th in the long jump with a career PR of 14-05.50 with very little practice in the event as she was coming off of injury.
So, overall we ran a pretty solid meet today. The last week of training was not easy, but we powered through and came out of the other side stronger as a result. We now look to have several days of nice weather to really get some training in and give us a needed boost heading into the middle and end of the month."
TEAM SCORES
1. Carroll, 91.5
2. Denison-Schleswig, 90
3. South Central Calhoun, 81
4. Woodward-Granger, 68
5. IKM-Manning, 61
6. Ballard, 53
7. Audubon, 48
8. Perry, 42
9. Kuemper, 27
10. Greene County, 24.5
Photo Credit: Davidson Photography