One of the fastest moving seasons in high school sports tends to be track and field, and there are several athletes at Pella High School who find themselves quickly closing in on the Drake Relays and the looming postseason by the end of this month and into early May.

High school entries have until Thursday, April 18th to get qualifying times and distances necessary, outside of the automatic Blue Standards, several of which have already been knocked down by Dutch athletes, including:

Marissa Ferebee – 1500 meters (4:42.57); 3000 meters (10:03.15)
Canaan Dunham – 1600 meters (4:17.44); 3200 meters (9:18.68)
Nathan Vander Waal – 1600 meters (4:19.78)
Hanson King – Shot Put – 57 feet, 3 1/2 inches

Here are Pella events currently within the boundaries of qualifying at-large for the Drake Relays (as of April 7th):
Jacie Trine – 400 meters (58.61) – 10th (top 16 accepted)
4×100 Relay (Girls) – Abigail Melvin, Bray-Lynne VanZante, Avery Parks, Mara Schiebout (52.51) – 54th (top 96 accepted)
4×400 Relay (Boys) – Colin Kerndt, Bailey Shetterly, Harrison Mullens, Cooper Lautenbach (3:32.39) – 24TH (top 24 accepted)
Discus (Boys) – Hanson King (162-05) – 9th (top 24 accepted)

Both Pella Head Coaches Brent Van Hauen and Dak Rasmussen believe their best events are still well ahead of them, and a favorable forecast and the looming Jim Duncan Invitational this coming Saturday will be huge opportunities to put strong performances together and get several more events in the discussion for a return trip to the Blue Oval ahead of mid-May.

The Drake Relays are April 25th through 27th at Des Moines, and include a showcase of Iowa’s best high school athletes, regardless of class size.

Pella returns to action on Tuesday at the Pella Christian Invitational.

Spring teams in action for the Dutch on Monday:
Pella, Indianola Girls Golf at Ankeny – noon
Pella Boys Tennis at Boone in Triangular with DCG – 4 p.m.
Pella Girls Tennis vs. Boone – 4:15 p.m.