Pella and Knoxville made the trip north up Highway 14 to compete in a new location for the Newton Cross Country Invitational Tuesday.
The #4 Pella boys placed 3rd behind #1 in 3A DCG and #3 North Polk, while the #12 Dutch girls nabbed 2nd place just behind the #7 Comets and #3 ranked Mustangs. Freshman Raegan Snieder (pictured above) came home with her first career gold medal, winning the girls race (20:17.6), followed closely by teammate Autumn Blink in 3rd (21:10.3). A trio of Dutch boys placed in the top 20, including Chase Lauman (7th-17:12.5), Josiah Wittenberg (14th-17:36.2), and Akira Lopez (17th-17:59.7).
Hear from Pella runners Lauman and Blink following their performances at the Heartland Classic on this week’s KNIA/KRLS Radio Sports Page, airing every Wednesday at 6 p.m. and Thursday at 10 a.m. on 92.1 KRLS.
Both Knoxville Cross Country Squads placed 8th. The girls were led by Natalie Collins in 33rd place with a time of 24:04. Seth Walraven led the boys over the line in 20th at 18:18.
Pella is next in action on Tuesday, September 28th at Williamsburg; the Panthers are off until next Tuesday when they host the annual Panther Invitational that brings in over 15 teams from across the region.