It was a banner night in the return to the Class 3A district meet as Pella won their state qualifying event in both the boys and girls competition Thursday at their home site.

The Dutch boys scored 194 team points and automatically qualified 15 entries to the state meet in Des Moines next week, while the Lady Dutch tallied 156 team points and 10 automatic bids to Drake Stadium in Des Moines. The Pella High coaching staff believes an additional five boys qualifiers and four girls entries will receive at large consideration for state.

Knoxville’s boys had three entries automatically qualify for the state meet, including the sprint medley relay in the opening race and the 4×400 relay to book the district meet, with Kieren Nichols winning the 400 meter dash and likely finding an at-large time in the 200.

Pella Christian’s Levi Schelhaas and Allison Van Gorp qualified in two different events as the Eagles have five total events earn automatic bids, while PCM’s Margo Chipps qualified in four events out of seven total for the Mustangs.

Find a list of automatic qualifiers from the area by clicking here.