Class 3A second ranked Knoxville boys Cross Country Squad is quickly proving to be one of the top teams in the state as the Panthers outscored class 4A number 14 Marshalltown by 13 points to claim first place at the Oskaloosa Classic yesterday. Bolstered by four runners in the top ten led by Jamie VanderVeer in second place, Alex Edwards in fifth, Wick Cunningham claimed his first top ten with an eighth place and Timothy Shepherd came in ninth. Coach Mike Moats was extremely pleased with the entire team both varsity and J-V who picked up a win also.

The Pella Christian boys Cross Country squad ran strong against mostly larger schools and finished 4th at the Oskaloosa Invitational yesterday. The Eagles who are ranked 5th in Class 2A, were led by Skyler Giddings who finished third in a time of 17:00, Josh Meyer also had a top ten finish in seventh with a time of 17:42. Pleasantville’s boys were 12th.

On the girls side Alissa Van Klootwyk’s season-best seventh place finish helped Knoxville to a fourth place. Her time of 16 minutes 43 seconds was a personal best. Pella Christian finished 8th as a team led by Sarah Brandsen who despite being ill finished 5th in 16:38, Mickaela Martin was 29th. Twin Cedars was 10th. Overall, Pella Christian Coach Jocelyn Meinders was very pleased with the outcome noting that they were the smallest school in the field and held their own and that she continues to see inprovements from each runner top to bottom every meet. The Eagles are off until a week from tomorrow when they will compete at the PCM Invitational.