It was a week away from the top spot, but the Pella boys are back as #1 in Class 3A heading into the cross country postseason. The girls maintained their top spot, reinforced by a strong performance last week at Williamsburg where they defeated now #3 Solon and #4 Mount Vernon-Lisbon head-to-head.

At this point in the season, the rankings from the Iowa Track Coaches Association — based mainly on results, start to show the contenders for trophies in the four classes coming up in the next few weeks. Here are the top five teams from Class 3A:

Boys:
1. Pella
2. North Polk
3. Marion
4. Winterset
5. Western Dubuque

Girls:
1. Pella
2. Ballard
3. Solon
4. Mount Vernon-Lisbon
5. ADM, Adel

The Dutch cross country teams are riding high heading into the playoffs — the girls have won five meets in a row dating back to Grinnell, and the boys have team wins in four of five. Both teams will compete in the Little Hawkeye Conference championship meet on Monday at Dallas Center-Grimes. The following ranked teams are coming from the LHC:

Boys: Pella (3A #1), Norwalk (4A #2), DCG (4A #16), Pella Christian (2A #10)
Girls: Pella (3A #1), Indianola (4A #16), DCG (4A #20), Pella Christian (2A #17)