The Pella Christian boys golf and boys tennis teams got off to a strong start in postseason action on the road on Wednesday. 

The Eagles boys golf squad made the short trip up Highway 163 and took 1st place at their Class 2A Sectional Meet at Gateway Recreation Course in Monroe to advance to the District Meet next week. Pella Christian shot a +7 over par 295 as a team, besting the host Mustangs by 8 strokes. The Eagles were led by Cooper Spronk with a -1 under par 71 to take 2nd place individually. Eliot Menninga wasn’t far behind with a +1 over par 73 to finish in 4th place, while Deacon Branderhorst and Landon Fransman finished in 5th and 6th places with a +3 over par 75 and + 4 over par 76. Rounding out the varsity lineup for the day were Connor VanZee and Carter Brand, shooting an 83 and 91 respectively.

Venturing across Lake Red Rock for the Class 1A District Individual Tournament in Knoxville, the Pella Christian boys tennis team had two doubles teams and one singles player advance to the semifinals. Earning the three-seed in the doubles bracket, Aaron Meinders and Kirby Van Wyngarden won their first two match 6-1, 7-5 and 6-0, 6-2, before falling to the two seed from #2 Cedar Rapids Xavier. As the four-seed on the other side of the bracket, Rob Schreur and Rhett Terpstra also won their first two matches 6-1, 6-4 and 6-1, 7-5, but also fell to the one seed from Xavier. In an all Eagles third-place match, Meinders and Van Wyngarden defeated their teammates to secure the alternate spot at the State Individual Tournament should one of Xavier’s players not be able to play. Jonathan Van Gorp was the three seed in the singles bracket and won his first two matches 6-4, 6-0 and 6-3, 6-3, before dropping his semifinal match and the third place match to finish 4th.

The Pella Christian boys golf team will host the Class 2A District Meet on Monday at Bos Landen Golf Club at 10:00 am, competing against nine other teams for three spots at the State Meet in Waterloo. The Eagles boys tennis squad returns to the courts on Saturday, squaring off with Nevada at Waverley-Shell Rock in the Class 1A Team Substate Tournament at 9 am.