When the Little and Lady Dutch cross country athletes hear the opening gun in their races at the state meet this Saturday, they’ll hit the course in hopes of adding to a growing legacy of success at the school.

Pella has been a staple in state team finals for over a decade, with the boys qualifying every season since 2005 and the girls in 2006. The Little Dutch have earned two team championships and the Lady Dutch are still searching for their first team gold.

Head Coach Doug Cutler believes that culture of success has been built over the years by the quality people participating and buying into the program.

“We’ve been very fortunate to have young people with such high character, and they appreciate the value of hard work, they appreciate the ability to improve through that hard work. When you have young people who will focus not on the results–especially early on in the season, but focus on the process, focus on what they can control and what they can do to improve, it means everything,” Cutler says.

The No. 1 ranked Pella girls will compete at noon Saturday in Fort Dodge in Class 3A, and the No. 6 boys will follow at 12:30. Tune into KNIA/KRLS for reports from the state cross country meet.