Pella Christian Boys Golf Secures Second Consecutive LHC Title

The Pella Christian boys golf team ended the regular season the same way they began it Monday, winning the final Little Hawkeye Conference event of the spring at Westwood Golf Course in Newton. 

The Eagles shot a team score of 307, edging the host Cardinals by three strokes. In addition to winning Monday’s event, Pella Christian also defended their conference title, defeating runner up Pella by 24 strokes over the course of the four league meets. The Eagles were led by Eliot Menninga, who shot a +1 over par 72 to finish in 2nd place. Deacon Branderhorst wasn’t far behind with a +5 over par 76 to finish in 4th place individually, while Cooper Spronk and Connor VanZee finished in 7th and 8th places respectively with an +8 over par 79 and +9 over par 80. Carter Brand and Landon Fransman rounded out the varsity team with matching 85’s for 16 and 17th place overall. All six Pella Christian golfers earned All-Conference honors with their performances in the four meets, Menninga and Branderhorst finishing with 1st team honors, Cooper Spronk, Landon Fransman and Connor VanZee earning 2nd team honors, and Carter Brand finishing as an Honorable Mention.

The Eagles will begin postseason play at Gateway Recreation Golf Course in Monroe on Wednesday at 10:00 am, with the top 3 teams at the sectional meet advancing on to district play the following Monday.

Pella Christian Girls Tennis’ De Vries Earns 3rd Place in Singles at Individual State Tournament Qualifier

The Pella Christian girls tennis team competed at the Class 1A Regional Individual State Qualifying meet at Pella’s Caldwell Park Monday.

Competing in a tough regional highlighted by the hosting Dutch, the Eagles two singles players battled for an alternate spot at State in the third place match. As the three-seed, Reagan De Vries made quick work of her first two opponents, winning 6-0, 6-0 in the first round and 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinal match. Having to play her way into the first round, Ava Breems made a run by defeating her first opponent in a three-set tiebreaker 3-6, 6-2, 1-0; before adding a 6-0, 6-0 win of her own in the first round and a 7-6, 6-1 win in the quarterfinals. Both De Vries and Breems fell to Pella’s two singles players in the semifinals, setting up an all Pella Christian third place match, and De Vries won 6-4, 6-0 to secure the alternate spot at the State Individual Tournament should one of Pella’s players not be able to play.

In the doubles bracket, Addie Van Arendonk and Lexi Branderhorst won their first round match 6-0, 6-0 before falling to the #1 seed from North Polk 4-6, 3-6. Kate Braafhart and Renae Van Wyk rounded out the Eagles’ entries on the day by playing their way into the bracket with a 6-2, 6-0 win in their first match, before falling in the first round to one of the two Newton duos.

The Pella Christian girls tennis team returns to the court on Friday for the Class 1A Regional Team Qualifying Tournament, squaring off with Chariton at 1 pm on Eagle Lane.

Pella Christian Girls Soccer Earns Senior Night Mercy Rule Win, Boys Soccer Falls at Chariton

The Eagles girls soccer team needed just 58 minutes to earn a 10-0 mercy rule Senior Night win over Central Iowa United Monday night, while the boys soccer team fell 4-3 on the road at Chariton.

The Pella Christian girls wasted little time jumping out to an early lead, as Chloe Vos found Esther Ford in the top of the box in the second minute of the game, and Ford floated the ball over the keeper for the first goal of the contest. The Eagles continued to keep the pressure on with six more first half goals, with Lexi Terpstra and Tori Van Zee each netting two, and Cassidy Bos and Isla Blommers each recording their first career varsity goals. Pella Christian needed just 18 minutes in the second half to connect on their final three goals, with Van Zee and Terpstra scoring the first two goals of the half to complete hat tricks, while Maddie De Vries added her second goal of the season to end the match. With the win, the Eagle girls improved to 8-5 overall on the season.

In Chariton, the Pella Christian boys fell into an early 2-0 hole, before battling back to tie the contest back up at 2-2 in the first half. The Chargers managed to sneak in an additional first half goal and another score in the second half on some defensive miscues, and despite the Eagles adding a second half goal of their own, it wasn’t enough to keep from dropping to 8-7-1 overall on the season. Ethan Van Arendonk recorded two of Pella Christian’s goals to push his season total to 27 this spring, while Theo Hugen added the other goal for his 13th score of the year.

The Eagles soccer teams will wrap up the regular season with a home doubleheader on Friday, with the girls hosting Van Meter at 4:30 pm and the boys taking on the Class 1A #6 Bulldogs in the nightcap.

Pella Christian Track and Field Teams Wrapped Up Regular Season Action Monday

The Pella Christian track and field teams wrapped up the regular season Monday night by competing at the Pella Coed Meet. No team scores were kept at the event, but the Eagles claimed a total of 16 top-five finishes.

Top five placements for the Eagle girls came from:

• 1st Place – Rachel Kacmarynski – 100m Dash – 12.43
• 1st Place – Meredith Van Wyk – 200m Dash – 25.76
• 2nd Place – Chloe Nikkel, Ashlyn Ver Meer, Jessa De Vries, Julia Schmalcs – Distance Medley Relay – 4:43.98
• 2nd Place – Amaia Agre, Claire Westerkamp, Brynn Runner, Ashlyn Ver Meer – 4x200m Relay – 1:51.44

• 3rd Place – Maisy Meinders – 200m Dash – 27.83
• 4th Place – Amaia Agre, Claire Westerkamp, Bailey Vos, Ashlyn Ver Meer – Sprint Medley Relay – 1:59.11
• 5th Place – Nora Lamb – 3000m Run – 13:13.75
• 5th Place – Jessa De Vries, Brynn Runner, Ani Bell, Abby De Vries – 4x100m Relay – 54.11

Top five placements for the Pella Christian boys came from: 

• 3rd Place – Caleb Volk, Adam Kacmarynski, Brecken Ritzert, Landon Nunnikhoven – 4x200m Relay – 1:32.84
• 3rd Place – Elijah Boender, Sawyer Meinders, Ezra Ochsner, Griffin Stoltz– Distance Medley Relay – 3:57.75
• 4th Place – Adam Kacmarynski, Landon Nunnikhoven, Brecken Ritzert, Hudson Ritzert – Sprint Medley Relay – 1:40.39
• 4th Place – Will Vanden Bosch, Dean De Ronde, Hudson Meixner, Logan Gallaher – 4x400m Relay – 3:50.55
• 4th Place – Will Vanden Bosch – 800m Run – 2:09.36
• 5th Place – Hudson Meixner – 800m Run – 2:10.24
• 5th Place – Logan Nunnikhoven – 200m Dash – 24.28
• 5th Place – Elijah Boender, Logan Nunnikhoven, Garrett Wielard, Ezra Ochsner – 4x100m Relay – 47.19

Find full results from the Pella Coed Meet here. The Eagles track and field teams next compete in the Class 2A State Qualifying meet at PCM on Thursday at 4:00 pm.