Pella Christian Boys Golf Wins the Oskaloosa Invite
The Pella Christian boys golf team captured their second team title in as many days on Tuesday, this time winning the 15-team Oskaloosa Invite at Edmundson Golf Course.
After winning the PCM Invitational on Monday, the Eagles shot the lowest round on the day with a 303, clearing second place Pella by nine strokes. The Eagles were led by Deacon Branderhorst, who shot a +1 over par 71, and took second place overall after a sudden death 2 hole playoff. Cooper Spronk followed closely behind with a +3 over par 73 for a 4th place finish on the day, while Eliot Menninga fought off a rough first 6 holes to turn in a +6 over par 76 to finish in 7th place. Landon Fransman rounded out the Eagle scores with an 83. Connor Van Zee and Carter Brand were the other varsity members for the meet, shooting an 85 and an 88 respectively.
The Eagles boys golf team is off until Saturday, when they compete in the six-team Knoxville Invitational at Pine Knolls Golf Club.
Eagles Girls Track and Field Takes 4th at Charger Relays, Boys Finishes 6th at EBF Boys Rocket Relays
Competing for the second time in as many days but at different meets, the Pella Christian girls track and field team took 4th place at Chariton’s Charger Relays, while the boys finished in 6th place at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s EBF Boys Rocket Relays.
In Chariton, the Eagle girls won two individual events and four relays en route to their fourth place finish. Amaia Agre claimed the top spot in the 200m dash in a winning team of 26.57 seconds, while Keilah Schiebout secured the other individual first place finish in the 3000m run in a time of 11:52.76. Pella Christian’s relay wins came from the sprint medley relay team of Amaia Agre, Meredith Van Wyk, Bailey Vos, and Rachel Kacmarynski (1:49.89); the 4×200 meter relay team of Agre, Chloe Nikkel, Brynn Runner, and Claire Westerkamp (1:51.43); the shuttle hurdle team of Nikkel, Runner, Ani Bell, and Heidi De Bruin (1:14.11); and the 4×400 meter relay team of Maisy Meinders, Kacmarynski, Van Wyk, and Vos (3:59.33).
At Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, the Eagle boys had a total of six top three finishes in the meet, including winning two events. Pella Christian’s event victories came from the quartet of Landon Nunnikhoven, Brecken Ritzert, Caleb Volk, and Adam Kacmarynski who won both the 4x100m relay (44.80) and the sprint medley relay (1:38.03). The Eagles added second place finishes from Nunnikhoven, Kacmarynski, Ritzert, and Sawyer Meinders in the distance medley relay (3:49.11) and Garrett Wielard in the 200m dash (23.51). Third place finishes for Pella Christian came from the 4x800m relay team of Ely Cadwell, Griffin Stoltz, Hudson Meixner, and Logan Gallaher (8:44.25) and the 4x200m relay team of Jude Lubbers, Logan Nunnikhoven, Wielard, and Ezra Ochsner (1:37.65).
Results from the Charger Relays
Results from the EBF Boys Rocket Relays
The Eagles track and field teams are off until Thursday, May 8th, when they make the trip to Dallas Center-Grimes for the Little Hawkeye Conference meet.
Pella Christian Girls Tennis Sweeps Newton, Boys Fall to the Cardinals
The Pella Christian girls tennis team matched the program’s best start since 2019 with a 11-0 sweep over Newton Tuesday, while the boys tennis team fell on the road against the Cardinals 8-3.
Improving to 9-0 overall and 5-0 in Little Hawkeye Conference matches, the Eagle girls secured the six singles wins from Reagan De Vries at #1 (7-5, 6-2), Ava Breems at #2 (6-1, 6-1), Addie Van Arendonk at #3 (6-3, 6-3), Lexi Branderhorst at #4 (1-6, 6-4, 1-0), Renae Van Wyk at #5 (6-1, 6-3), and Kate Braafhart at #6 (6-3, 7-5). Completing the sweep, Pella Christian’s doubles wins came from De Vries and Breems at #1 (6-3, 6-3), Van Arendonk and Branderhorst at #2 (6-0, 6-4), Van Wyk and Braafhart at #3 (6-2, 6-0), Trinley Gibson and Ali Pleima at #4 (6-1, 6-2), and Elsa Breems and Erika Van Maanen at #5 (6-3, 6-1).
At Newton, the Eagle boys won just one of the six singles matches and added two victories in doubles play, but fell to 8-4 overall and 0-4 in conference action. Pella Christian’s lone singles win came from Rob Schreur at #2 (6-2, 6-2), while the two doubles wins came from Aaron Meinders and Kirby Van Wyngarden at #1 (6-3, 6-2) and Jonathan Van Gorp and Johnson Morgan at #5 (6-4, 6-2).
The Eagles tennis teams will return to the courts this afternoon at 2 pm, with the boys making the short trip to square off with Pella and the girls hosting the Dutch.
Pella Christian Boys Soccer Plays to a Tie with Pella, Girls Soccer Falls to Pella
Wrapping up a busy Tuesday, the Pella Christian boys soccer team used a hectic final seven minutes to play to a 2-2 draw at cross-town rival Pella, while the girls soccer squad fell 6-1 at home to the Dutch.
On the road, the Eagle boys fell behind early in the game, after Pella’s Tyson Barnes netted the lone goal of the first half in the seventh minute. The 1-0 advantage for the Dutch lasted late into the second half, before the contest took a chaotic turn in the final seven minutes of play. In the 73rd minute, Theo Hugen took the ball from Pella’s backline and found Ethan Van Arendonk across the box, and Van Arendonk found the back of the net for his 25th goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1. The late game dramatics continued from there, as a Pella handball in the box in the game’s 77th minute gave Pella Christian a penalty kick, which Nathan Brouwer buried to push the Eagles ahead 2-1. The Dutch wasted little time responding, as Beckett Mathes scored in the 78th to re-tie the game at 2-2. Pella had one more chance to break the tie with a penalty kick in the 79th minute, but Pella Christian goalkeeper Dallas Ford made the save to preserve the tie and push the Eagles record to 8-4-1 overall and 2-1-1 in the Little Hawkeye Conference.
On Eagle Lane, Pella Christian also fell behind earlier in the contest but were unable to make up the difference. The Dutch got the scoring started in the game’s first minute, before adding four more first-half goals. The Eagles netted the lone goal in the contest just before halftime, when Esther Ford raced past the Pella defense and floated the ball over the goalkeeper in the 38th minute. The Dutch added their sixth and final goal in the second half, dropping Pella Christian to 7-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
The Eagles soccer teams are off until Tuesday, May 6th, when they travel to Norwalk for a doubleheader that is scheduled to start at 6 pm.