A Pella High School hurdler blew the doors of his own personal record to claim an individual state championship on day two of the Iowa High School Track and Field Meet.

Avery Van Zee, with a time of 53.07 seconds, shredded his previous best and a school record to win the race in the midst of a hot afternoon at Drake Stadium

Pella also received big points on the boys side from Nick DeJong and Mason Huerter, as their respective throws of 53’5.75” and 53’3.5” placed 5th and 7th.

For the Pella girls, Friday didn’t quite go as planned, but today they find themselves in the throes of competing for a team championship.

Emily Holterhaus and Elsie Thoreson became very familiar names to those in attendance Friday, as both raced four times to rack up points for their team, with the two placing 4th and 7th in the 400 meter hurdles. Emily also qualified for the 100 meter hurdles as the 8th seed and helped the team grab 8th in the Distance Medley.

In a display of pure speed, the Lady Dutch ran stride-for-stride with Benton and Dubuque Wahlert in the 4×200 finals — with all three teams beating the previous state record and placing in the top ten all-time at Drake Stadium–with Pella finishing 3rd by a few tenths of a second.

Kaeleigh DeWaard salvaged a slow start to finish 3rd in the shot put with a toss just under 40 feet. The Lady Dutch also qualified as the fastest 4×100 team and 2nd quickest 4×400 relay squad.

Pella Christian’s girls found themselves in the top eight more often than not. Their 4×200 relay was 3rd fastest at 1:47.02, just behind PCM’s 2nd place relay team at 1:45.23. Morgan Fopma, Mary Kate Bandstra, Erica Nikkel, and Chloe Morgan felt the season’s hard work definitely paid off.

The same group of four qualified for the 4×400 finals in 7th place, just behind–who else, PCM. Morgan Fopma also grabbed a fourth place finish in the 400 meter hurdles, with the Mustangs Margo Chipps placing 3rd.

Join us for updates throughout the day today on KNIA/KRLS, with Trevor Castle and Andrew Schneider following the action. Find updated results and today’s schedule at KNIAKRLS.com.