Pella High loads up the busses with their 126 cross country runners again today as the Dutch travel to Indianola for a meet. It’s the first competition for the green-and-white since this past Saturday when they were part of a large – and loaded – field at the Des Moines Roosevelt Invitational in Ames.

Pella’s squads have adopted the theme “Everyone Counts” this season, and in a recent interview with KNIA/KRLS Sports, senior Elizabeth VerHoef explained why that slogan was important to the team this fall.

“Whatever everybody does, it has a purpose in the meet. Nobody’s left behind – everybody always runs,” said VerHoef. “It’s not like football or basketball where someone will sit out on the side – everyone participates every meet.”

Heather Van Wyk, another senior on the girls’ side, says “Everyone Counts” goes beyond the inclusion of each runner as an individual in its application.

“It’s not just every person, but every practice, every mile we run, every second of practice, and just making every day count,” said Van Wyk. “I think that, in itself, is kind of the mentality of cross country.”

The terrain at Indianola’s course is a bit flatter than some of the other courses the Dutch have run at this season and has yielded some personal records for the team in seasons past. Pella High’s girls and boys cross country teams take to the course at Pickard Park at 5:00 p.m. this evening.

Tags: , , , , , , ,