When the fall of 2023 concluded for the Pella boys cross country team, they did so with one of the best performances ever by a team that didn’t win a state championship. The Gilbert Tigers surged at the right time and claimed a title with a team filled with underclassmen. The last 10 months have been a matter of the Dutch working to try and knock off a potential dynasty.

Pella will do so with several key returners, but also trying to figure out the graduation of multiple-time All-State selection Nathan Vander Waal and a host of other talented seniors. Head Coach Doug Cutler is excited with the returning core of athletes and their progress made toward what should be another special season.

“The returning group is hungry and they know the target,” he says. “Last year, I feel like we kind of had the target on our back and we weren’t sure exactly what those Gilbert freshmen were going capable of, and they certainly proved themselves that they were ready for the fire and they were iron strong.

“It will be tough. Last year’s team was the fastest team overall we’ve ever had and that Gilbert team was quite legendary, so we were really pleased with how we competed against them then and we’ll be ready to compete with them again.”

The Dutch are led by defending state individual champion Canaan Dunham, who has his sights set on the school record set by Zach Buchheit in 2011 (15:10 at state) after running 15:18 at last year’s title race in Fort Dodge. Dunham is joined by preseason ranked runners Devon Browne (2023 All-State), Mason Gaulke (23rd individually), and Noah Schuknecht (ranked 29th preseason). Senior Aren Hellbusch rounds out the likely top five for Pella after his 78th place finish last year.

Pella opens the season at Cedar Rapids Prairie on August 31st.

Full schedule:
Aug. 31st – at Cedar Rapids Prairie
Sept. 7th – at Central College (home meet)
Sept. 12th – at Iowa State University (Gilbert)
Sept. 21st – at Central College (Heartland Classic)
Oct. 1st – at Williamsburg
Oct. 7th – at Hillcrest Academy
Oct. 14th – at Newton (Little Hawkeye Conference championships)
Oct. 23rd – State Qualifier
Nov. 1st – State Meet in Fort Dodge