Salute to Seniors: Jake Ballantine sets the pace in running and in the classroom

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Jake Ballantine is tough to beat in running but the Santa Barbara High School senior sprints to the top of the class in academics.

Last fall he won the boys individual Santa Barbara County Cross-Country title by running a career-best 15.33 for three miles.

This spring he cleared 4:30 in the mile during the first track meet but soon the season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But there is no stopping Ballantine in the classroom where he has a 4.89 grade-point average and was honored by the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table as the school's Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Ballantine has great college choices as he is choosing between Pomona, Johns Hopkins, Washington University in St. Louis and Stanford.