A pair of podium finishes at the State Meet for the Pella Christian boys track and field team takes the #2 spot on our countdown of the top 10 sports stories from Eagle Lane this past school year.

Junior Brecken Ritzert decided two and half weeks prior to the State Meet to give the long jump a try, a decision that paid off big at the Blue Oval. After jumping 20’ 7.5” in his first long jump at the Little Hawkeye Conference meet and 21’ 10” at the State Qualifying meet, Ritzert entered Drake Stadium with the 10th best qualifying mark and the 11th best jump in Class 2A overall. Brecken said that he wasn’t expecting to earn a medal at State, but that’s exactly what he did, taking eighth place with a jump of 21’ 1”.

Joining Ritzert with a podium finish at Drake Stadium was senior Landon Fransman, who returned to track and field to do the high jump this spring after not participating in the sport since middle school. As a dual sport athlete, Fransman made both the State Golf Meet and the State Track Meet, qualifying for the Blue Oval with a high jump of 6’ 4”. At the State Track and Field Meet, Landon recorded a jump of 6’ 3”, finishing in a four-way tie for fourth place, but took seventh place on the tiebreaker.

Fransman will continue his high jumping career this school year at Dordt University, while Ritzert will attempt to better his placement in the long jump at State this coming spring for the Eagles.

Interview with Ritzert at State:

Interview with Fransman at State: