A pair of local state champions found the spotlight one more time as part of an annual tradition at the Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union State Basketball tournament. The annual Parade of Champions was held during halftime of the Class 5A title game, and both the Twin Cedars Class 1A softball title team and Pella girls cross country Class 3A trophy winners participated in the event highlighting the previous year’s best of the best.

The Sabers entered the Class 1A state tournament last July in a deep field as the #6 seed, but it was a group of eight that felt like anyone could win. Twin Cedars made a magical run to the championship game that could have been played in Knoxville, as they won 6-3 over Southeast Warren on July 22nd. Read the full recap here.

Pella’s girls broke a glass ceiling many great teams of the past from the Dutch could not break, putting together a dominant fall season that saw the team win eight meets in a row to end it — including the Class 3A championship race in Fort Dodge on October 29th. A return from injury was a highlight for Pella’s Raegan Snieder, who missed the second half of the season recovering, and put together a 29th place finish to bolster the green and white. Find the full recap here.