The official athletics site of Gwynedd Mercy University.

JUNIOR (2021) – Balla garnered an All-Atlantic East Conference (AEC) First Team honor with his sixth-place (6^th, 29:52.4) finish at the AEC Men’s Cross Country Championship. He was also the first Griffin across the finish line in the Griffin Five-Kilometer (5K) Invitational (3rd, 18:06.1 on Sept. 4) and Stockton University’s Osprey Open (45th, 28:42.27 on Sept. 25). Additionally, Balla finished 31st (32:20.5) at the Philadelphia Metro Meet, 128th (29:16.8) at Lehigh University’s Paul Short Invitational White 8K (Oct. 1), and 243rd (31:04.6) at the Inter-Regional Border Battle (Oct. 16), fourth (19:00) at the Gwynedd Mercy University End of the Season 5K (Nov. 6), and 89^th (29.06.9) at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) DIII Metro Regional Championships (Nov. 11, 8K).

SENIOR (2022) – Balla earned his second straight All-AEC Second Team honor with an 11^th-place time of 29:56.0. He was the Griffins’ top finisher in all seven events, including Top-10 runs at the Gwynedd Mercy University Invitational (3^rd, 18:41.8, 5K on Sept. 1) and the PSU Brandywine Invitational (4^th, 19:16.3, 5K on Oct. 22). He recorded Top-50 finishes at Stockton University’s Osprey Memorial Invitational (43^rd, 18:11.28, 5K on Sept. 8) and The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Invitational (36^th, 29:23.60, 8K on Sept. 23). Balla also placed 267^th (31:20.1) at Rowan University’s Border Battle (8K, Oct. 15) and 105^th (30:28) at the NCAA DIII Metro Regional Championship (8K, Nov. 12).