Photo courtesy of Troy L. Hugen Photography

The Pella Christian cross country teams enter the fall well represented in Iowa Track Coaches Association Class 2A preseason rankings for the third consecutive season.

In the initial poll released on Monday, the Eagle girls were ranked as the #4 team in 2A, while the boys squad checks in at #8 in the class. Pella Christian’s cross country teams have also been ranked in the top 15 entering each of the last two seasons, with the boys entering 2023 at #12 and 2024 at #9, and the girls starting 2023 at #11 and 2024 at #15. In the individual rankings also released Monday, the Eagle boys’ Sawyer Meinders was listed as the #4 runner in 2A, while Bailey Vos came in at #10 on the girls’ list. The #8 ranked Pella Christian boys are looking to make their fifth straight trip to the State Meet this October, after finishing 13th in Fort Dodge in 2024. The #4 Eagle girls are seeking their third trip to State in the last four years, most recently taking 14th place last fall. Head Coach Mike Buchheit says that he is hopeful to see even more fans join them at meets this year to support the athletes’ hard work.

“If you haven’t watched cross country meets or you haven’t seen these kids compete, they really put their heart and soul into this, and we love supporting the other programs with volleyball, tennis, and football, and the musical and everything else, but hopefully everybody gets a chance to watch these kids. Especially when they run at the Central College Dutch Invitational and the Heartland Invite. Those will be ones close by that people can come out and support the kids.”

Pella Christian opens the season on August 28th at the Marshalltown Bobcat Early Bird Meet.