A Pella High School senior has come back not once, but twice now, from eerily similar injuries to qualify for state track in multiple races for the second consecutive spring.
Reece Thoreson suffered a significant ACL injury in both his junior and senior football seasons, to the same knee, against Bondurant-Farrar on the same field, and has come back to compete on the track both years. This all culminated last week at the state qualifying meet, held at the same stadium he had those setbacks. Thoreson won all three races he was part of to help the Dutch win the district championship and qualify entries at all 19 events at this week’s state track and field meet. Teammate Nolan Clayberg is proud of all Reece has done to come back twice, and especially last week in Bondurant .
“It had to be really hard for him to come out onto this field and know he had to perform his best to make it back after so many bad memories here,” Clayberg says. “But I’m just so dang proud of the kid–he deserves this more than anyone.”
Hear more about Thoreson on today’s Let’s Talk Pella, and stay tuned to 92.1 KRLS this Thursday through Saturday for updates from Drake Stadium and the 2022 State Track and Field meet for all area Class 2A/3A schools, and on KNIA for local Class 1A/4A teams.