It’s been two weeks since the Pella cross country teams claimed victory in both Class 3A championship races, and while it’s still far off, early indications point to 2023 having the potential to be every bit as special.

The Dutch joined rare company in Fort Dodge, becoming just the fifth school since four classes became the standard at state and 15th ever to sweep first place in both genders, and Pella Head Coach Doug Cutler says just one other school has done so in the past thirty years — when Iowa City High won both boys and girls titles from 1992 to 1994.

He says it’s unfair to place too many expectations on high school athletes, especially knowing how much can change in the next 10 months — but assuming offseason training and activities go well and the athletes in green and white are healthy and even stronger next summer, there’s no reason why the 2023 Pella boys and girls won’t put themselves in a place to have another successful fall season and a serious chance to repeat the feat.

The reason for Cutler’s optimism is two-fold — the Dutch girls were all underclassmen in the varsity lineup this fall, and multiple talented 8th graders could make an impact on that roster (read more below), as well as many current JV runners who were just outside of the final lineup. While the Pella boys do lose three key seniors–including All-State selection Chase Lauman, many talented JV runners were just off the pace of the current group of seven and additional help could come from the middle school ranks as well.

The Pella Middle School cross country teams performed well at the state meet last month for 7th and 8th graders — the Dutch girls placed 2nd in a tight competition with ADM and Solon led by 8th graders Kamry Trine (3rd) and Ruth Dunham (6th), who are both younger siblings of state champion runners Jacie and Canaan respectively. Pella’s boys placed 6th, but were paced by a 4th place finish from Jonah Ebersole.