All of the Trojans’ fall sports are in full swing, with some great performances this week.
The cross country team enjoyed what is objectively their best outing of the year at Central Decatur. Devin Luing had his third top ten finish while the boys placed for the first time, finishing 6th out of 12 teams. The girls, led once again by Hailee McCormick, finished 5th out of seven participating schools. Head coach Aaron Fichter is happy to have his full teams competing, but is disappointed by Jenkin Fulmer being unable to officially score due to open enrollment policies. Fulmer may still compete, but his runs will not count towards the Trojans’ rankings.
Head volleyball Joel Allman and his group racked up the wins, going 4-0 this week. In the blink of an eye, his girls went from 1-3 to 5-3 after wins against Clarke, Twin Cedars, Murray, and Ankeny Christian. They only dropped one of the ten sets they competed in.
The football team’s not calling it an upset as they defeated 8th ranked Mount Ayr during their home opener and Senior Night. For a second straight week, Mack Jorth’s boys started slow, with the game being scoreless at the half. This likely had to do with the weather causing wet playing conditions for all schools in the area, and the Trojans’ grass field didn’t make things easier. Isaac Mann opened the scoring in the third quarter, while the Raiders made it 7-7 soon after. Jake Heimstra, who was making his season debut after being sidelined with an injury, scored what would be the winning touchdown for a 13-7 win over a ranked opponent.
This coming week, Pleasantville hosts their only cross country meet of 2020 on Monday starting 4:30. The volleyball team looks to build off of their winning streak as they host Panorama on Tuesday, then at Chariton on Thursday, capping it off with the M-D Invitational against Mormon Trail and Melcher-Dallas, the host, on Saturday. The football team stays home to face Central Decatur, looking to start 4-0 in 2020.
The football game can be heard on the KNIA3 stream at kniakrls.com starting at 6:30.