Qualifying for State in back-to-back years for the first time since the 2009 and 2010 seasons, the Pella Christian boys cross country team is eyeing an even better finish this fall in Fort Dodge.

The Eagles entered last year’s State Meet ranked as the #11 team in Class 1A, but well outperformed that on the big stage with a fifth-place finish. Now in Class 2A, the Pella Christian boys are ranked ninth ahead of State on Friday. The eight teams ranked ahead of the Eagles that will run at Fort Dodge features some familiar faces in #1 Des Moines Christian, #2 Danville, and #3 Tipton. The five teams Pella Christian will run against for the first time are #4 Okoboji, #5 Oelwein, #6 Waukon, #7 Denver, and #8 Mediapolis. While the Eagles sit in nearly the middle of the pack among the ranked teams at State, head coach Mike Buchheit expects his squad to be a competitor in Fort Dodge.

“People look at me silly when I say this, but the goal isn’t to get to state, the goal is to compete at state. And if we can get to state, there’s no reason we can’t compete well at state. So, we’re looking for our best runs of the season. So, we’re going to Fort Dodge to run our best race of the season.”

The Class 2A Boys State Meet is Friday, October 28th at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge at 2:45 p.m.