Ballard High School's girls track and field team posted the best state-meet finish in program history, placing 5th overall at the WIAA Track & Field State Meet held Thursday, May 28 through Saturday, May 30 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

Two individual state champions powered the result.

Senior Cassidy Armstrong won the 3,200-meter run in 10:13.69. Sophomore Ciana Johnson defended her 800-meter title with a 2:08.71, her second consecutive state championship in the event. Johnson's time came within one-tenth of a second of tying the state meet record, a mark she had matched at last year's meet.

Johnson's 800m gold came roughly 30 minutes after she ran a leg on the 4x200-meter relay. She also placed third in the 400 meters (55.76). Principal Abby Hunt called Armstrong and Johnson "national level runners" in the school's announcement.

The 5th-place team finish topped Ballard's previous best of 6th, according to the school. Coach Neal Howard's squad also got relay contributions from Vivian Goldberg, Charlotte Roble, Chloe Steinburg, and Edie Welch. The 4x200-meter relay team of Goldberg, Roble, Steinburg, and Johnson finished 4th in their preliminary heat (1:42.80).

On the boys' side, Dempsey Whetsel tied for 4th in the pole vault with a personal-best clearance of 14 feet, 6 inches.

Armstrong's state title caps her senior season. Johnson, a sophomore, has two more seasons of eligibility remaining.