Getting the chance to compete among Iowa’s elite, the Pella Christian girls track and field team put together a successful weekend at the 115th running of the Drake Relays.

The Eagle girls had eight athletes compete across six events on the famous Blue Oval in Des Moines on Friday and Saturday, and the group brought home four top ten placements, with two more finishes just outside the top ten. Highlighting Pella Christian’s weekend was the sprint medley relay team of Lexi Terpstra, Rachel Kacmarynski, Meredith Van Wyk, and Bailey Vos, who not only broke their school record, but also captured the title in the event with a winning time of 1:46.36. Rachel, the lone sophomore among the three juniors on the sprint medley squad, said that it was a surreal feeling to be crowned a Drake Relays Champion.

“I mean, this was just a dream come true. When I was a little eighth grader watching all these girls when they were freshman, they came and they ran here and I was like ‘wow, how cool would it be if I could get that victory lap someday’ and now I got one.”

In addition to winning the sprint medley relay, the Eagles 4x200m relay team of Kacmarynski, Vos, Amaia Agre, and Van Wyk captured second place (1:42.06), Vos took fourth in the 400m dash (56.69), and Kacmarynski took seventh in the 100m dash (:12.21). Pella Christian also had a pair of 11th place finishes from Van Wyk in the 100m dash (12.38), and the 4x400m relay team of Kacmarynski, Agre, Maisy Meinders, and Vos (4:01.25). Rounding out the weekend for the Eagles was the 4x100m relay team of Jessa De Vries, Meinders, Ani Bell, and Agre in 91st place (52.82). 

Find interviews with Pella Christian’s girls sprint medley relay team, 4x200m relay team, and Vos after the 400m dash below.

 

Sprint Medley Relay:

4x200m Relay Team:

Vos After the 400m Dash: