One year ago, the Pella girls cross country team had their season end short of Fort Dodge for the first time in 15 years. In 2022, not only are they back, but they’ve put together one of the greatest athletic seasons in Pella High School history, and the biggest question heading into Saturday is if they can finish this special fall with the top prize in Class 3A.
The feat will be made a bit more difficult by the uncertain status of 2021 All-State finisher Raegan Snieder, who suffered an injury just after the Williamsburg meet and still remains a race day decision for the Dutch coaching staff, and how close to 100% she could even be after not running a competitive 5K in a month.
But the Dutch have proven all season long to be winners and have done so against every contender that has come head-to-head with the green and white, earning top trophies in seven straight events (Grinnell, Ballard, Heartland Classic, Williamsburg, Hillcrest Academy, Little Hawkeye Conference, and State Qualifying). There’s no reason to think the Dutch can’t pull it off one more time.
Click here to read the boys preview.
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What Coach Doug Cutler says about the 3A girls race:
“Mount Vernon-Lisbon will definitely be a team to be aware of and they’re very similar to Ballard — Lourdes Mason probably finishes 2nd in general, so she’s going to be their low stick. Similar to Ballard, they have a little bit of a spread issue — will their number five runner be to far back, or can they have great race and move on up? The difference between finishing 21:10 and 21:30 for Ballard and MVL is a big deal, because that could be 20-30 spots in that particular timeframe at state. The other pack teams, like us — Solon is fantastic, ADM is a really solid squad, and Gilbert — where their first runner finishes, depending on where she can finish, the rest of them are going to come in 20 seconds later, I mean, they’re all right there.
So you’ve got the pack teams — I would describe them as Solon, Gilbert, and ADM, and then the teams that are a little more spread out but with absolutely elite talent at the front in Ballard and Mount Vernon-Lisbon. I think we are a mix of those two strategies, and we hope by that capitalizing on both of those things, we’re contenders.”
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Let’s break down the field in the Class 3A girls race (rankings are the final issued by the Iowa Track Coaches Association):
Pella, ranked 1st
For all the reasons listed up top, Pella comes in as the state meet favorite — not by a mile, but much more like a nose. The Dutch have head-to-head wins over all of the other contending teams. Marissa Ferebee (18:52.89) broke the fastest 5K mark in school history held by former All-State runner Caroline McMartin, and has a strong chance to find herself in the top five of 3A this weekend. Autumn Blink (35th at state last year) broke her own PR by 30 seconds (19:32.44) and Lizzie Neumann (19:52.47) and Blink both dropped under 20 minutes for the first time ever, and were big reasons why the Dutch foiled the Bombers at state qualifying and should be considered as potential top 15 finishers and All-State honorees. The biggest question for Pella remains the availability of Raegan Snieder, and if the likes of a talented Junior Class of Jacie Trine (14th – 20:11.5 at districts), Sophia Boonstra (17th – 20:44.83), Macy Schroeder (18th – 20:50.67) and Tess Paulsen (21:53.37) can make up for that loss if Raegan can’t go this Saturday. Still, a top three trophy is pretty impressive for a team that didn’t get to run at state last year, but the eye is still on the top prize and one last first place trophy in the collection.
Ballard, ranked 2nd
Paityn Noe is a once-in-a-generation athlete, and assuming she makes it to the starting line at Fort Dodge, there’s no other reason to think that she won’t walk away with her second consecutive individual 3A championship. In team scoring, it’s comforting to know you’ve got a 99.99999999% chance the 1st point is out of the way. Noe will be chasing history as the first Iowa girl to complete a 5K under 17 minutes. The rest of the Bombers are really good, too, but have not been able to solve the Dutch in any head-to-head race this fall. Annika Larson (4th at state qualifying, ranked 16th) and Ava Vance (7th at state qualifying, ranked 14th) make for a potential All-State trio for Ballard, but it’s the gaps between the rest of the Bombers that make it a bit more difficult for them to get back to the top of 3A after a runner-up last year. Even without Snieder, Pella was able to place their 5th and 6th runners 30 seconds or so ahead of Ballard’s 5th and 6th runners Brynn Wilson and McKenzie Dee — and at the state meet, there will be more than just the Dutch in between. But this is nitpicking. The Raccoon River Conference champions have recent history on their side as the 2019 and 2020 championship winners. It’s a lot of pressure to have, but if either Wilson or Dee can shave off some serious time, the conversation changes in a hurry and Ballard zooms ahead to the front of the pack.
ADM, ranked 3rd
It feels like ages ago, but ADM was the last Class 3A to defeat Pella back at Central College on September 3rd. And just as their top runner Geneva Timmerman (ranked 3rd individually) so often unfairly flies under the radar with the likes of Paityn Noe claiming so many 1st place medals in the many races they share, the Tigers might be a tick overlooked heading into Fort Dodge. Timmerman got a well deserved 1st place medal at the Glenwood site and broke the 18 minute mark doing so (17:59.6). ADM, who were seven-point runners up to Ballard at the Raccoon River Conference meet, had a great battle with #6 Glenwood and #7 Harlan in the team race at state qualifying and ultimately won the district title as a team, too. Four Tigers were All-District, including Haley James (5th – 19:21.14), Hanna Desmarais (10th – 20:04.08) and Mackealin Sutton (15th – 20:39.81). Graelyn Martens Sinn (18th – 20:52.96) and Paige Mattes (21st – 21:01.18) weren’t that far off, either. ADM has seen a ton of improvement in their 3-6 runners all season, and if that group can all take just another step forward, there is no reason to believe they can’t finally knock off Ballard and challenge the Dutch, Solon, and MVL for state gold, or at least one of the other two trophies. They, just like Pella, missed the state meet in 2021, but they are running to the front and center of the party with the Dutch this weekend.
Mount Vernon-Lisbon, ranked 4th
After a — dare I say, “random,” drop in the rankings from the top five to 12th just before state qualifying occurred, it didn’t take long for the Mustangs to prove they were still in the discussion for hardware in Fort Dodge. MVL won the WaMaC conference meet head-to-head with Solon and largely dominated at the Washington district meet. Lourdes Mason ran away with the district title (18:38.65) and is among the favorites to win the Class 3A-minus-Noe individual medalist race. Laura Swart (4th – 19:22.4), Emrie Johnson (5th – 19:39.45), and Kiersten Swart (9th – 20:10.45) were each All-District honorees. But the real trick for the Mustangs — just as it is for Ballard, is where the 5th scorer lands. And while Hailey Bock ran a solid race at Washington (21:09.74), she was a minute behind her 4th-finishing teammate, and as explained before, there is a lot of room for the incredible individual qualifiers and other great teams to put a lot of runners in between. The title hopes of MVL probably rest on if Bock or Gabi Moehlman (28th – 21:37.56 at state qualifying) can come up with an all-time best race and outperform their district meet pace by a wide margin.
Solon, ranked 5th
Following a head-to-head loss to Mount Vernon-Lisbon in the WaMaC conference finals, it may have been easy to write off Solon’s chances of repeating as Class 3A champions. “Not so fast, my friends,” said Sparty, and the girls in black and orange may have put together the most impressive state qualifying meet of any 3A team. While they lost two key contributors from their 2021 title squad, Solon seems to have reloaded and at West Delaware last week, looked awfully fast. Kayla Young (ranked 8th in 3A heading into qualifying) ran away with the district title by breaking the 19 minute mark for the first time (18:32.59), or about 51 seconds faster than her conference meet performance. Sydney Dee (6th – 20:00.94), Gracie Federspiel (7th – 20:06.56), and Mary Fiala (11th – 20:11.03) were all-district runners, and most importantly, Ashlyn Williams was just outside the top 15 in 16th (20:32.69) to give Solon a scary-looking 40 point score. With all due respect to the four teams above them, in a state meet format where gaps between runners can mean serious scoring challenges, the Spartans may be staring down that first place trophy with an excellent chance at repeating. It would be unwise to count out the defending champions.
Glenwood, ranked 6th
Glenwood had a solid showing at state qualifying at their home course, with all seven runners in the top 23 and three all-district honorees in a 2nd place race to ADM, including Madelyn Berglund (19:31.89 – 7th), Breckyn Peterson (19:44.41 – 9th), and Lauren Hugues (20:12.42 – 12th), and Haylee Hughes (16th – 20:48.88) was on the outside looking in. The Hawkeye 10 conference champions by a nose (three points over Harlan), they repeated a similar result against the Cyclones last week at the Rams’ home course. They had perhaps the deepest state qualifying meet of the girls field, with #9 Atlantic missing a spot behind then-#4 ADM and #7 Harlan — so they are tested. But the top five in 3A is a top group to crack through, and it feels as if the Rams will need another step forward if they will be the one to break through. But they are a strong unit that should be in the mix for a great battle for 6th.
Gilbert, ranked 7th
Gilbert is a district champion that might be feeling slighted in the state title discussion — due in part, perhaps, to their 3rd place finish in the Raccoon River Conference championships to Ballard and ADM. The Tigers had just 11 spots and approximately 30 seconds separate their 1st through 5th runners (with No. 6 only another six seconds behind) at the district meet at Humboldt. At state qualifying, Clare Stahr and Abby Patel were 10th (20:59.17) and 11th (21:30.13) to lead the charge. But in a field like the RRC championship race, it just might not be the right year for a true pack team to win it all. That’s not to say that they can’t — but all of the other contenders have exceptional No. 1 runners in Noe, Timmerman, Mason, Ferebee, and Young, who could very well be the top five that comes in (not in that order necessarily), meaning all of the other contenders will have a really low score to match at the top of the card, and a strong group of runners behind them. If the Tigers can get multiple from their pack into top 20 — they’ll have a definite shot at a trophy, but 6th place also isn’t too shabby considering who the top five teams are heading into the final meet of the year.
Clear Creek-Amana, ranked 8th
Courses are always different in cross country, as are scoring differences depending on the field, but CCA had a really nice performance at the WaMaC conference meet, where they were just 11 points behind #5 Solon. But that gap grew considerably at the West Delaware course, and while the Spartans are in a five-team heat for a state championship or top three hardware, a 36 point difference is a lot to overcome when moving up to an even deeper state meet field. The good news is 12th-ranked individual Haidyn Barker ran well at both postseason meets (3rd at conference – 19:45.5; 2nd at qualifying – 19:08.81) and a decent pack formed at the league race before districts, but a group that included Kira Barker, Sara Kinzenbaw, and Kiera Rogers that was bunched much closer together at Independence (9 seconds) were instead closer to 43 seconds apart at West Delaware. There’s no insider information here as to why that happened — and honestly, everyone can have a down day. CCA has had a great season, but it’ll be a fight to stay in the top ten at state for the Clippers. But if they can come together as the team that raced at the WaMaC meet, there is a lot of upside here.
Harlan, ranked 9th
The Cyclones were just a step behind their conference rival Rams in the postseason, and were just a handful of points away from being both the Hawkeye-10 champions and district runner up. Conference champion Lindsey Sonderman (18:46.41 in the Hawkeye-10 race) was runner up to ADM’s Geneva Timmerman at state qualifying last week (18:56.73), but she’ll need to be a tick faster to move into the individual top five and match her individual ranking of 4th coming in. A lot of Harlan’s hopes probably ride on if their ace can get a strong finish. They are solid in the middle with Brylee Schechinger (11th – 20:05.46 at districts) and Jenna Gessert (14th – 20:25.37), but there is a bit of a gap between 3rd and 4th, which was nearly a minute at Glenwood and a bit closer at conference. The Cyclones are an intriguing team, and didn’t cross paths too much with the strong contenders in central and eastern Iowa. But they will need to a) overcome Glenwood and b) have a solid jump from 1-5 in order to crack the upper half of the scoresheet Saturday.
Clear Lake, ranked 10th
Back in August, I mentioned the possibility that 2A Clear Lake looked like they were a state meet “snub” in 2021, having found themselves in a difficult an deep district, but a lot of talent that was coming with them to Class 3A. Not only did the Lions find their way to Fort Dodge, they do so with a top ten finish in their sights. With the entirety of their team returning, the veteran Clear Lake girls looked experienced in many of their races, and gave a good chase of Clear Creek-Amana in the district meet, finishing just seven points behind and 24 points clear of Wahlert for the 3rd qualifying spot. Tenth-ranked Addison Doughan was 3rd (19:09.88), just one second behind the Clippers’ Haidyn Barker. The North Central Conference champions will have one more chance to show that they not only belong in the bigger class, but that they will be a tough out at the state meet. It will be a close race between teams 7-12, but the experienced Lions will have a shot to finish ahead of some solid teams.
Heelan, ranked 11th
Only 21 points split 2nd place Heelan and 5th place North Polk at a competitive battle for the two qualifying spots behind eventual district champions Gilbert in Humboldt last week. The Crusaders compete in the Class 4A-heavy Missouri Valley Conference and claimed that league championship against the large schools of Sioux City and Council Bluffs. Heelan has a really strong pack, with Scarlett Walsh (13th at districts, 21:04.85) finishing just 26 seconds ahead of #5 scorer Delaney Saulsbury (23rd), with No. 6 runner Maddie Demke just a few seconds and places behind (26th). As stated above, tight-knit groups like this are as good as they can move ahead through the field, and just like the Tigers they saw at the state qualifying race, a lot will be determined by how far ahead this bunch of six Crusaders can move ahead. On a really good day, they could be right with the likes of Gilbert and Glenwood just outside the top five, but they have plenty of spots to pick up to make that happen in the meantime.
Washington, ranked 12th
The Demons entered state qualifying with three ranked runners: freshman Iris Dahl (11th), and sophomores Alyvia Anderson (29th) and Quincy Griffis (30th). At their home course, Washington was just 11 points behind #4 Mount Vernon-Lisbon and had five runners in the top 17. The challenge for the Demons and how far they got, was that Dahl finished behind a trio of Mustangs at state qualifying, just seven seconds behind Emrie Johnson of the district title team, and Griffis was just over a second behind MVL’s fourth runner Kiersten Swart. Those switches alone don’t flip the head-to-head district title race, but it makes the Demons a dangerous sleeper team. It’s never fair to say too many squads are under or over rated, but Washington is in the former category if I had to pick. They don’t feel like they are that far off from something really exciting at Fort Dodge this weekend — and while it’s still a definite longshot to be in the top five, it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see the Demons much higher in the top 10 in the state meet scoring field, especially with a fairly tight spread between 1-6. Look for the Demons to outperform their ranking by a solid margin if they can put together a great racing day.
Center Point-Urbana, ranked 13th
The 13th ranked Stormin’ Pointers are led by 13th ranked individual Emma Wilkerson, who placed 2nd at the district site (19:11.51) at Washington last week. The 4th place team in the deep WaMac, they are definitely not the pack team some of those immediately ranked ahead of them are. Deni Katcher (8th at state qualifying – 20:00.56), placed 8th and ahead of a pair of ranked Washington girls. But the state meet will be a difficult challenge for CPU — the spread between their top runner and 5th scorer was a whopping 2 minutes and 36 seconds, and their 6 and 7 runners were another two-plus minutes behind from there. The room for error is small when running against Iowa’s best. To qualify the upcoming statement — CPU should be congratulated on what they’ve accomplished to get here (4th in the WaMaC and 3rd at their district site). But the top 12 of the 15 coming to Lakeside are an excellent bunch, and the Stormin’ Pointers will need a special day to get to a top 10 finish.
Carlisle, ranked 14th
Lost in the shuffle on an epic head-to-head between the top two teams in Class 3A, Carlisle had the edge in a tight race with Iowa Falls-Alden to nab the third qualifying bid from the Pella Sports Park. In my August preview, I said life after Ainsley Erzen would be different, but that they still have some legs in the 3A team race. Maya Bergstrom (6th – 19:35.14 at qualifying) and Marie Daggett (8th – 19:41.01) were both ranked 17th and 21st heading into the district meet, and finished ahead of some solid runners from both the Dutch and Bombers. The 5th place team in the Raccoon River Conference has some challenges in a state field, and while their top two should solidly have chances at top 30 finishes, there was a nearly minute-and-a-half gap back to their three and four runners, and 5th runner Riley Sievers was 37th across the line at the Pella Sports Park. The Wildcats have had a great season that will be finishing in Fort Dodge, but their prospects of contending will probably have to wait until the future.
MOC-Floyd Valley, 15th
Placing 3rd in the Humboldt qualifier was no easy feat with then-13th ranked North Polk and 14th Spencer jockeying for position with then-#18 Heelan for two qualifying spots, but the upset minded Lady Dutch put together the race they needed to for the final bid to Fort Dodge. Twins Biyanca (20:47.66 – 3rd at districts) and Aryana (20:58.16) Dokter lead MOC up front and the pair of seniors were instrumental in a 2nd place finish in the Siouxland Conference by just four points to Sibley-Ocheyedan. But while they’ve had great seasons racing up in northwest Iowa, neither have challenged the times put out by some of the elite girls in the rest of Iowa quite yet — and if these Lady Dutch want to be closer to the other Dutch in the standings, they need a large jump and another significant time drop from all five of their scoring athletes to get themselves there.
The 2022 Class 3A state girls cross country meet is this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge. Stay tuned to 92.1 KRLS for updates.