Sahara was one of Stivers most outstanding track athletes. She came from a basketball family that included her father Sylvester, 1973 Patterson High and 1979 Ohio Dominican College, brothers Shamier at Stivers in 2002 and Sylvester Jr., a 1999 Colonel White basketball player.
At Stivers, Sahara ran the 100, 200 meters and as the anchor for the 800 meter relay team. She qualified and ran in the Ohio State Championship meet all four years. In 2001, she set a Southwest District record for the 100 meters at 12.1 seconds and finished 3rd in the State 200 meters. In 2002, Sahara was 2nd in the 100 meters and 5th in the 200 meters in the State Championship Meet, as a senior in 2003, Sahara placed 2nd in the 200 and 3rd in the 100 meters at the State Meet. She also won a gold in the 100 and 200 in the USATF Ohio Association Junior Olympic Championship. It is noteworthy that she also set a 200 meter record at the Cedarville Invitational with a time of 24.63. Sahara was named Athlete of the Week on two occasions by the Dayton Daily News.
Ballard was told by competitors “Stivers is a school for the arts, not sports”. She replied “it’s not all about art, I can perform as good or better than anyone in sports”. Sahara graduated in June 2009 from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Communications and Deaf studies.
