Pella Christian had several exciting sports moments happen over the past year, and while our top ten features some of the biggest, plenty of others are worth mentioning. Before we resume the countdown on Monday with #5, here are the “best of the rest” stories from Eagle Lane (in chronological order):

Branderhorst’s Career Night Leads Pella Christian Boys Basketball to District Championship

Behind a career-night from senior Deacon Branderhorst, the Pella Christian boys basketball team dominated Davis County in the Class 2A District 10 semifinals for a 72-31 victory on February 20th.

Despite grabbing the advantage early in the game, the Eagles led just 15-11 at the end of the first quarter, but it was all P.C. the rest of the way. Pella Christian outscored the Mustangs 20-5 in the second quarter to take a 35-16 lead into the locker room, before winning the second half 37-15 to secure the 41-point win. Branderhorst rained in eight three-pointers in the contest to finish with a career-high 31 points to lead the Eagles offensively. Deacon’s performance marked the first 30-point game for a Pella Christian boys basketball player since March 9th, 2017, when Levi Jungling scored 31 points against Kuemper Catholic in the State Tournament Semifinals. Cooper Spronk contributed eight points in the win, while Ben Van Wyngarden and Deven Runner added seven and six points respectively. Defensively, Pella Christian limited Davis County’s top three scorers entering the game to just 14 combined points, well below their combined season average of 38.3 points a contest. Eagles head coach Marv Van Wyk said it was exciting to see his squad play well in all facets of the game.

“That was fun to watch from where I was standing, and I was glad to have a front row seat for that, because that was a phenomenal game for our kids. They played really well on both ends of the floor, shot the ball really well, moved the ball really well to get those open looks. And on the defensive end, we were just really active, really did a great job of shutting down their passing lanes and driving lanes, and did a great job out of the middle of the floor for the most part, and made life tough for them on the offensive end as well. So, it was a really good all around effort.”

Pella Christian finished the season with a 10-14 overall record.

Girls Tennis Bounces Back for a 11-2 Season One Year After Going 4-5

After a down year that saw the Pella Christian girls tennis team go 4-5 in the spring of 2024, the Eagles had a big bounce back season to finish 11-2 in 2025.

Pella Christian got off to a strong start to the year, earning a 10-0 sweep over Centerville on March 31st and an 11-0 sweep at Grinnell on April 7th. Kicking off Little Hawkeye Conference play on April 10th, the Eagles dispatched Dallas Center-Grimes 9-2, before jumping back into non-conference play for a 7-0 sweep against Saydel on the 14th. Pella Christian then picked up their narrowest victory of the season in a 6-5 win over Norwalk on the 15th, and also earned a pair of 7-4 wins over Knoxville and Indianola on April 21st and 22nd. Closing out regular season action, the Eagles dominated Oskaloosa and Newton for 10-1 and 11-0 victory on April 24th and 29th, before dropping their first game to Pella on the 30th. In postseason play, Pella Christian picked up a pair of 5-0 sweeps over Chariton and Albia on May 16th and 20th, before their season came to an end on the doorstep of the State Tournament to Pella later in the day on the 20th. 

The Eagles 11-2 overall record gave the program an .846 winning percentage, marking the squad’s best finish in the last five seasons.

Grant Kelderman Strikes Out 14 at Field of Dreams

The Pella Christian baseball team got the opportunity to square off with Knoxville at the Field of Dreams Movie Site in Dyersville on June 19th, and despite falling 4-1 in extra innings, Grant Kelderman shined on the big stage.

Taking the mound at the site of the iconic 1989 movie, Kelderman locked the Eagles into a pitcher’s duel for much of the evening. The senior mowed through the Panthers lineup in the first four innings, striking two batters in each frame, registering eight strikeouts through the first 12 outs. Grant continued to fool the Knoxville bats in the fifth and sixth innings, recording all six outs via the punchout, pushing his total to 14 on the afternoon. After a walk, a ground out, and a single, Kelderman ran out of pitches and was pulled from the game. The senior recorded a no-decision after the Panthers walked the game off in the eighth inning, but allowed just one run on five hits and four walks in 6.1 innings of work. 

The Eagles finished the season with an 8-23 overall record and a 2-15 Little Hawkeye Conference mark.