The cross country teams and athletes who qualified for state have entered the home stretch of training ahead of Saturday’s final race in Fort Dodge. Athletes from Pella, Knoxville, Pella Christian, Indianola, PCM, Twin Cedars, and Melcher-Dallas have all qualified for the state meet. In order to get there, the Pella Lady Dutch had to gather together their best athletes — many of whom competed with injuries for the majority of the fall, to claim the 3rd place spot at the district meet this past Thursday. One of those athletes at the time wasn’t sure if she could make it to state — Abby Cutler, who says she powered through a painful injury to try and get the senior-heavy Pella team back to state for the 14th straight season.

“My pain isn’t as strong as my love for my team and so I want to push myself as hard as I can so I can get these girls to state,” she said after Thursday’s race.

The 2019 State Cross Country meet begins at 11 a.m. in Fort Dodge this Saturday, with each class starting their races every half an hour from 11 until the end at 3 p.m. from Class 4A to 1A. Stay tuned to 92.1 KRLS for continuing coverage, including interviews with local athletes on tonight’s Radio Sports Page, which begins at 6 p.m. on KNIA/KRLS and updates throughout the day Saturday.