Pella Christian boys cross country runner Sawyer Meiners earned a 12th place finish individually and first-team All-State honors to highlight the Class 2A State Meet for the Eagles on Saturday.

In their fourth consecutive appearance at State, the Eagles’ boys squad finished in 13th place overall with a team score of 243 points. The Pella Christian girls team competed in Fort Dodge for the second time in three years, taking 14th place with 250 points. 

Meinders completed the course in a time of 16:27.2, marking the second fastest time at the State Cross Country Meet in the Eagles program history. A member of all four Pella Christian boys teams to make it to State, Deacon Branderhorst capped off his career with a 61st place finish (17:34.5). Griffin Stoltz (18:01.3) and Will Vanden Bosch (18:01.5) crossed the finish line less than half a second apart in 88th and 89th, while Joel Pogany (18:08.1) was just seven seconds back in 95th.

For the Pella Christian girls, Bailey Vos broke the school record for the fastest time in program history for the second time this season. The junior completed the course in 19:36.4, running the first time under 19:45 to earn second team all-state honors with a 17th place finish. Freshman Hayley Rens (20:47.9) took 50th place while fellow freshmen Keilah Schiebout (21:52.2) and Chloe Vos (22:05.7) were 94th and 102nd respectively.

Find full results from the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet here.