The Bruins took a full squad to the KTCCCA Indoor Track & Field State Championship on Saturday.  This meet provides a great opportunity to close out the indoor portion of the season with some high-level competition as we transition to the outdoor portion of the season.  We had several personal bests and high-level performances throughout the 12-hour day.  The AAA, large school, meet was paired with the AA, medium school, meet, which proved to make for a long day of competition.  Additionally, a severe windstorm passed through Jefferson County on Friday and left several of our runners without electricity the night before the meet.  

Girls’ Recap

The girls’ team started and finished the meet with strong performances in the 4x800m and 4x400m relays.  The 4x800m relay team of Jazmin Bunch, Mckinley Richardson, Liza Pollio, and Megan Trapp ran an incredibly tough race and finished 5th place.  The girls’ 4x400m relay team of Ta’Shya Cramer, Kate Shuler, Bailey Moreland, and Kate Harrison placed 2nd in the meet and finished their indoor season with the 3rd fastest time in the state this year.  Shuler and Harrison are returning members from the girls’ 4x400m relay team that finished 8th at the KHSAA outdoor state meet last season.  Shuler, Moreland, and Harrison are also standout field hockey players for the Bruins.

Individually, the girls’ squad had many personal bests and tough races throughout the day.  Senior Nevaeh Johnson finished 21st out of nearly 70 runners in the 60m dash.  Bailey Moreland and Hayden Staebler both competed well in the 60m and 60mH, respectively.  Jazmin Bunch and Megan Trapp both ran great races in the seldom ran 1500m run.  Ta’Shya Cramer ran a tough 400m race and finished in 8th place.  McKinley Richardson and Liza Pollio both followed up their great 4x800m relay legs with great times in the open 800m run.  Kate Harrison and Audrey Iglehart both competed in the 200m dash for the first time this season and ran personal best times.  Our lone field event competitor on the girls’ side was Alli Finewood in the long jump, where she competed for the first time in her career.  

Overall, the girls’ team finished 15th out of over 30 teams.  They will be in action with our home opener on March 16th.

Boys’ Recap

The boys’ team entered this meet with high expectations and performed well.  The highlight of the meet was Kam Horton’s victory in the 60mH.  His personal best & school record time of 8.05s was good enough for #34 in the nation.  Horton immediately followed up his win with a second-place finish in the 60m dash, with a personal best time of 6.95s.  Horton will be traveling to New York City next weekend to compete in the Nike Indoor Nationals meet with the Louisville Track Club, Coach Greenlee’s club track & field team.

The boys’ 4x800m relay team of Isaac Clark, Gabe Cease, Josh Siegwald, and Joseph Oeswein finished in 7th place with a time that is good enough to be the 10th fastest performance in the state this indoor season.  Ben Shuler ran a personal best in the 60m dash in his second ever run over the distance.  The former Bruin baseball player is really solidifying himself as one of our top sprinters.  Clark and Siegwald followed their legs of the 4x800m relay with strong performances in the 1500m run.  Alex Payton and Xavier Patterson both ran well in the 400m dash, with Patterson running a time that is faster than his outdoor PR.  For reference, indoor times are typically slower due to the smaller track size, so PRs indoors are great indicators for faster times outdoors.  Cease and Oeswein both competed in the open 800m with great performances as well.  Ballard Football standouts Maurice Stephens and Journey Wyche both competed in the 200m dash and ran incredibly fast for their first races over the distance this season.  Stephens finished just outside of the scoring position in 9th place.  The boys’ 4x400m relay of Horton, Lennox Jackson, Cease, and Payton ran hard to close out the meet.  Jackson also placed 4th in the long jump.  

Overall, the boys’ team finished 5th out of almost 40 teams.  They will be in action with our home opener on March 16th.  

Indoor Season Recap

The indoor “season” in Kentucky has really grown over the past three years with the construction of the Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center.  The world-class facility has really opened up opportunities for athletes in the city to showcase their talents.  The top performer for Ballard this indoor season was Kameron Horton, who throughout the indoor season first broke his brothers’ record in the 60mH and then broke his own record.  He finishes the regular season ranked #34 in the nation in the 60mH and is the top hurdler/sprinter combo runner in the state of Kentucky.  Horton will finish the indoor season with a journey to New York City’s historic Armory venue, which is hosting the Nike Indoor Nationals track meet.