Pella Christian had several exciting sports moments happen over the past year, and while our top ten features some of the biggest, plenty of others are worth mentioning. Before we resume the countdown on Monday with #5, here are the “best of the rest” stories from Eagle Lane (in chronological order):
Pella Christian’s Holmes Finishes Cross Country Career as Three-Time State Qualifier
Pella Christian girls cross country runner Jaclyn Holmes ended her high school career at the State Cross Country meet for the third consecutive year on Saturday, October 28th.
Holmes claimed 73rd place in Fort Dodge this past season, after helping guide the Eagles’ girls team back to State for the first time since 2008 and a 10th place finish in the fall of 2022. Jaclyn claimed 68th as a junior, and also brought home a 35th place finish as an individual in her sophomore year. Earning her spot among Iowa’s best for the third time in her career, Jaclyn said that she has learned a lot at the State Meet and from the sport of cross country.
“This race has taught me so much, let alone just cross country has helped me just with discipline and to always just trust your instincts and trust your coaches and what they’ve done for you. And it definitely hurts a little bit emotionally, but I’m just very proud of myself and just what I’ve had to go through and the adversity of cross country.”
Jaclyn also competed at the 2023 All-Star Senior Cross Country Meet held in Pella, and took 21st place with a time of 21:48.8.
Pella Christian Boys Track and Field Wins Rocket Relays
The Pella Christian boys track and field team won their only meet of the season on Tuesday, April 23rd, claiming the top spot at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Rocket Relays.
Seven event wins helped propel the Eagle boys to the team title in Eddyville, as they posted a score of 126. Winning individual events for the PC boys was Noah Nunnikhoven in the 400 meter hurdles (59.62), Sawyer Meinders in the 1600 meter run (4:47.38) and Trevor Veenstra in both the discus (166’ 07”) and the shot put (58’ 10”). Adding to the Eagles victories on the night were the sprint medley relay team of Nunnikhoven, Tysen De Vries, Johnson Morgan, and Brecken Ritzert (1:39.83); the 4×200 meter relay team of Nunnikhoven, Caleb Volk, De Vries, and Logan Nunnikhoven (1:38.22); and the 4×800 meter relay team of Elias Keegan, Ely Cadwell, Eli Hoksbergen, and Meinders (8:46.65).
Strong 1st Quarter Leads Pella Christian Girls Basketball to Homecoming Win Against Grand View Christian
The Pella Christian girls basketball team celebrated homecoming Friday, January 26th with a dominant 63-37 victory over Grand View Christian that was fueled by a strong first quarter.
The Eagle girls opened the game with a statement, building up a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Pella Christian kept that momentum into halftime, adding another 21 points to lead 42-8 at the intermission, before cruising the rest of the way for the 26-point win. Contributing to the offensive outburst was the Eagles three-point shooting. Pella Christian made eight three-pointers in the first half and rained in 11 total threes on the night. The Eagle girls put four players in double figures, with Chloe Snyder leading the way with 14 points. Jessa De Vries added 13 points in the win, while Karis Fikkert and Faith Kacmarynski each recorded 11 points.
Pella Christian finished the season with a 10-13 overall record.