With a 12th place finish at the 2024 Class 2A State Cross Country meet this past weekend, Pella Christian junior Sawyer Meinders accomplished his goal of earning First Team All-State.
Leading up to his top-15 finish in Fort Dodge, Meinders had to persevere through adversity earlier in the season. After opening the season with a fifth place finish at the highly competitive Dallas Center-Grimes meet on September 3rd, the junior was unable to finish the race at the Pella Dutch Invitational on September 7th due to a minor injury. Meinders bounced back and finished in the top 15 in every meet the remainder of year, with the exception of the Lynnville-Sully meet, when the Pella Christian coaches held many of the top runners in the lineup out of the race to rest up for the final stretch of the season. Finishing 43rd at State as a sophomore and 82nd as a freshman, Meinders said he was grateful his hard work paid off by achieving his goal of an All-State finish.
“It means a lot, just all the work that’s been put in through the past couple years and I’m finally able to experience what I haven’t been able to experience as a freshman and sophomore, and just able to pull through on that, so that’s fun. ”