Pella Christian Boys Golf Earns Second Meet Title at Pella Invitational
The Pella Christian boys golf team battled the wind, spotty showers and fast greens to pull out their second victory of the season at the Pella Invitational at Bos Landen Golf Club on Thursday.
The Eagles posted a team score of 324, which was 10 strokes lower than the host Dutch, who took second-place. Pella Christian was led by senior Eliot Menninga’s 3rd place finish with a score of 78. Seniors Cooper Spronk and Landon Fransman followed closely behind Eliot in 4th and 5th place with scores of 79 and 80 for the afternoon. Senior Deacon Branderhorst rounded out the team scoring with an 87, good for 11th place on the day. Conner VanZee and Carter Brand rounded out the varsity lineup, shooting scores of 88 and 90, respectively.
The Eagles are set to return to the course for the first Little Hawkeye Conference outing of the season, hosted by Oskaloosa at Edmundson Golf Course on Tuesday.
Pella Christian Boys and Girls Track and Field Sweep Team Titles at Steve Ehret Relays
Making the short trip to North Mahaska Thursday night, the Pella Christian boys and girls track and field squads each scored 143 points to sweep the team titles at the Steve Ehret Relays.
The Eagles combined to win eight total events in the meet, with the girls claiming six first place finishes and the boys nabbing two of their own. For the Pella Christian girls, Rachel Kacmarynski (12.47) and Meredith Van Wyk (12.64) finished first and second in the 100m dash, while Van Wyk came back to win the 200m dash (26.01). Adding relay event wins for the Eagle girls were the sprint medley squad of Lexi Terpstra, Claire Westerkamp, Rachel Kacmarynski, and Amaia Agre (1:56.75), the 4×100 meter team of Terpstra, Westerkamp, Ani Bell, and Agre (52.56), the 4×200 meter squad of Kacmarynski, Bailey Vos, Agre, and Van Wyk (1:45.75), and the 4×400 meter team of Kacmarynski, Van Wyk, Ashlyn Ver Meer, and Vos (4:14.43). Highlighting the night for the Pella Christian boys was a first, second, and third place finish in the 800 meter run. Sawyer Meinders took the top spot in the event with a time of 2:06.60, while Hudson Meixner was second in 2:16.49 and Griffin Stoltz was third in 2:16.52. Adding the other event victory for the Eagle boys was the sprint medley relay team of Cael Morgan, Garrett Wielard, Jude Lubbers, Brecken Ritzert, who posted the winning time of 1:41.28.
Find full results from the Steve Ehret Relays here. The Pella Christian track and field teams will send a contingent of runners to the Jim Duncan Invitational at Drake Stadium on Saturday, before the full squads return to action for their home invitational on Tuesday.
Pella Christian Soccer Teams Sweep Centerville in Home Doubleheader
The Pella Christian soccer teams remained unbeaten on the spring with a doubleheader sweep Thursday night, with the girls defeating Centerville 7-0 in the opening game and the boys defeating the Big Reds 10-0 in the nightcap.
After jumping into the Class 1A rankings at #15, the Eagle girls opened the game with a three-goal first half, before adding four second half goals to secure the victory. Helping Pella Christian improve 5-0 overall on the season were Esther Ford and Tori Van Zee, as Ford recorded four of the seven goals and Van Zee added the other three, with both also recording an assist. As a team, the Eagle girls had 17 total shots on the night, with 13 of them being on goal.
In the second game of the soccer doubleheader on Eagle Lane, the Pella Christian boys netted four goals in the opening 40 minutes of play, before adding six second half goals and ending the game via the ten-goal mercy rule in the 77th minute. Contributing to the Eagles’ ten goals scored on the night were Ethan Van Arendonk with five, Theo Hugen with two, Camden Parker with one, Ian Vander Molen with his first career varsity goal, and a Centerville own goal. In addition to their ten goals, Pella Christian also had six assists, with Parker recording three and Van Arendonk, Hugen, and Vander Molen all adding one apiece. With the win, the Eagles improved to 4-0 overall on the spring, their first such start since opening the 2016 season 8-0.
The Pella Christian boys soccer team returns to the pitch on Monday to host Knoxville at 5:30 pm, while the girls squad is off until hosting Dallas Center-Grimes at the Pella Sports Park at 4 pm on Tuesday.
Pella Christian Girls Tennis Downs Dallas Center-Grimes, Boys Tennis Falls to the Mustangs
The Pella Christian girls tennis team improved to 3-0 on the year with a 9-2 win on the road at Dallas Center-Grimes Thursday night, while the Eagle boys dropped their first match of the spring 6-5 at home against the Mustangs.
In Grimes, the P.C. girls won five of the six singles matches and four of the five matches in doubles play. Securing the singles victories for the Eagles were Reagan DeVries at #1 (6-2, 6-0), Ava Breems at #2 (6-1, 6-0), Addie Van Arendonk at #3 (6-0, 6-2), Renae Van Wyk at #5 (6-0, 6-1), and Kate Braafhart at #6 (2-6, 6-2, 1-0). Pella Christian’s wins in doubles play came from DeVries and Breems at #1 (6-0, 6-2), Van Arendonk and Lexi Branderhorst at #2 (6-2, 6-1), Van Wyk and Braafhart at #3 (6-0, 7-5), and Trinley Gibson and Nora Van Arendonk at #4 (6-2, 6-2).
The Eagle boys opened their match by winning just two of the six singles matches, but battled back to win the first two matches of doubles play, before the comeback came up short by dropping two of the final three doubles matches. The singles wins for Pella Christian came from Kirby Van Wyngarden at #3 (7-6, 6-2) and Jonathan Van Gorp at #6 (4-6, 6-3, 10-4). The Eagles’ doubles victories were Aaron Meinders and Van Wyngarden at #1 (7-6, 5-7, 1-0), Rob Schreur and and Rhett Terpstra at #2 (6-1, 6-4), and Johnson Morgan and Gilbert Flagel at #5 (6-2, 6-3).
The Pella Christian girls tennis team will return to the court Monday to host Saydel at 4:15 pm, while the boys squad is off until hosting Norwalk on Tuesday.