2017-18 Men's Track & Field Roster
Biography
PSAC Competition:
4-Time PSAC Placewinner
2015 Indoor – 3K (7th), 5K (6th)
2015 Outdoor – 10K (4th)
2016 Indoor – 3K (8th)
2016 Indoors: Placed eighth in the 3K at his second PSAC Indoor Championships…narrowly missed a second place-winning performance by finishing ninth in the 5K at the PSAC Indoor Championships…set 3K season best and indoor PR at Hemery Valentine Invitational (Boston) and 5K season best at National Invitational (Penn State)…ran the mile and a 1K at the Gulden Invitational (Bucknell).
2015 Cross Country: Earned All-PSAC and USTFCCCA All-Region honors as an integral scoring runner for the Raiders…placed fourth at the PSAC Championships as SU’s No. 1 runner…placed fifth at the Atlantic Region Championships as SU’s No. 2 runner…placed 52nd at the NCAA Championships as SU’s No. 3 runner…served as one of the team’s Top 3 runners in his last five races of the season…competed seven times overall…finished fourth in the Brown race at the Paul Short Invitational as SU’s No. 2 runner…posted a Top 15 finish in all six races leading into the national championships…named a USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree following the season.
2015 Outdoors: Notched a fourth-place finish in the 10K at the PSAC Outdoor Championships to cap off an impressive freshman campaign…notched PR at conference meet…narrowly missed a second place-winning performance by finishing ninth in the 5K at the PSAC Outdoor Championships…ran outdoor 5K best at Bison Outdoor Classic…competed in the 3K at the Paul Kaiser Classic.
2015 Indoors: Made an immediate impact in distance events, placing sixth in the 5K and seventh in the 3K at the PSAC Indoor Championships…ran personal bests in both events at the conference championships…also competed in 800 meters and mile during the indoor season.
2014 Cross Country: Competed in first six races of the season in debut campaign with the Raiders, including the PSAC Championships…placed 30th at the PSAC Championships as team’s No. 8 runner…posted Top 10 finishes at Mack Cooper Invitational (Slippery Rock) and ECAC Championships (Mansfield)…finished as team’s No. 2 runner at Mack Cooper Invitational, placing fourth overall…impressed with a 42nd-place finish in the Open race at the Paul Short Invitational.
Quakertown Community High School: Balla totaled 11 varsity letters with the Panthers under a group of coaches that included Ryan Stetler, former SU regular Sean Stetler, and Jim Parsons. He earned All-Suburban One League First Team honors for cross country and All-Suburban One League Second Team stripes for outdoor track & field. Balla recorded a 5K cross country personal best of 15:47 and an outdoor 3,200-meter best of 9:24. He also graduated among the Top 7 percent of his class with a 3.95 un-weighted grade-point average.
About Balla: Full name is Alexander Christopher Balla…is the son of Zoltan and Gabriella Balla…double-majoring in marketing and management, concentrating in entrepreneurship and corporations for the latter, and seeking a minor in art…has a sister, Kristina.
