A tradition of excellence continued for the 6th-ranked Pella boys cross country team as they won the district meet Wednesday afternoon at the Pella Sports Park. Their dominant 1st place finish earned the squad a 16th trip to state in the past 17 years, a tradition Senior Josiah Wittenberg is proud to continue.

Chase Lauman placed 2nd, Wittenberg was 5th, and Akira Lopez was 11th, all earning All-District honors.

Knoxville’s Seth Walraven put together his best race of the 2021 season for the 2nd year in a row at the Pella Sports Park, earning his 2nd career state qualifying bid with a 12th place finish.

A remarkable streak ended for the Pella girls after competing in a loaded field, placing 5th overall. This is the first time in a decade in a half the girls will not be racing as a full team at Fort Dodge. Freshman Reagan Snieder placed 3rd individually and Sophomore Autumn Blink was 7th, both earning at-large bids to the state meet. Both described the evening as bittersweet, knowing they’d rather compete as a full team, but they still look forward to the opportunity.

Click here for full results from the Pella Sports Park 3A site.

The 2021 State Cross Country meet will be held Friday, October 29th at 2:30 p.m. in Fort Dodge.