The Pella Christian, PCM, and Pleasantville cross country teams all ran at the PCM Invitational on Monday.

In the girls race at Gateway Recreation Golf Course, the Class 2A #14 Mustangs took second place with 55 points, while the #15 Eagles were fourth with 67 points, and Pleasantville came in fifth place with 149 points. Pella Christian’s Bailey Vos claimed the individual title with a time of 21:24.6, while teammate Jaclyn Holmes (22:28.3) finished in sixth place. Leading the PCM girls was Tiffani Koonce (22:22.5) in fifth place, and Lila Milani (23:09.80) was also inside the top ten with a ninth place finish. Pleasantville was led by Kyleigh McConnell (25:44.1) in 25th place, while Ava Van Ness (26:10.6) took 29th place. 

Pella Christian senior Ryan Natelborg, who is recovering from an injury that left him partially paralyzed in 2022, got the opportunity to be the honorary starter for the boys race. Following the unique opportunity, the Class 2A #11 ranked Eagle boys won the meet with 25 points. The Mustang boys finished in fourth place in their home meet with 95 points, while the Trojans didn’t score as a team. Pella Christian placed four runners in the top ten, with Sawyer Meinders (18:04.9) winning the meet, Paxton Bouma (18:39) taking fourth, and Deacon Branderhorst (18:42.8) and Tysen De Vries (18:48.9) finishing sixth and seventh respectively. Coby Deraad (19:00.2) led the PCM boys with an eighth place finish, while Leighton McClure (20:42.6) came in 17th. Pleasantville’s top finisher in the meet was Kurt Kuhnen (18:33.8) in third place, while Cael Johnson (22:05.4) finished in 33rd.

Find full results from the PCM Cross Country Invitation here. The Eagles cross country teams are off until Tuesday, September 26th, when they run at Williamsburg. Meanwhile, PCM and Pleasantville next compete on Thursday, September 28th, running at the Chariton Charger Invitational.