On the eve of the final day of the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Pella High and Pella Christian’s track and field contingents represented their schools well on the Blue Oval. The high hurdle events began the day; Corin McKinstrey for the Lady Dutch was 17th overall and Emma Thoreson finished 19th, while Michael Buma wound up 22nd overall on the boys’ side. Annika Pingel was 16th in the 100 meter dash; Chase Van Sant was ninth and missed qualifying for the finals by 1/100th of a second. In field events, Austin Hill of Pella made it to the finals in the shot put, where he threw the ninth furthest at 53’9”. Paighton Malek was 19th in the long jump with a 15’8.25” leap. The Lady Dutch were also 14th in the sprint medley relay and in the 4 x 100 meter relay, and the boys were tied for 36th in the 4 x 1. The final event of the evening was the 4 x 400 meter relay, and Pella High’s girls finished in 11th place.
For Pella Christian, their 4 x 100 meter relay team placed 65th overall, and Lizzy Van Manen was 18th in the discus throw with a measurement of 118’11”. Relays and hurdles will conclude the 2016 Drake Relays, which will begin with the shuttle hurdle relay this morning at 8:00 a.m.