Sunny conditions led to some scorching times at the Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational. The day featured six races. The Dutch demonstrated their depth and strength by sweeping all the Orange Division races in which they could field an entire team. The weather varied throughout the day, ranging from 70 degrees to over 80 degrees by the end of the races. However, that didn’t stop the Dutch runners from performing well in their season opener.
Girls Varsity Race
The Pella Dutch were favored to win the race, but no one expected them to be as dominant as they were. The Dutch girls secured five of the top seven spots in the combined race. They were led by defending state champion Marissa Ferebee, who set a new course record with a time of 17:23.9. The previous record was held by Maria Hostetler, who ran for the storied Mid-Prairie program and later at Liberty University. The second Dutch runner to finish was sophomore Elsie Brenneman, who completed the course in 18:14.9—another time that would have set a course record. Elsie made a strong surge in the last mile, closing a 13-second gap to second place, but narrowly missed catching Cedar Falls freshman standout Charlee Gall by just over two seconds.
Sophomore Ruth Dunham was the next Dutch finisher, placing fourth overall and completing the course in 19:46.9. A surprise standout for the Dutch was senior Mara Schiebout, who finished sixth overall with a personal best time of 19:54.2, shaving over two minutes off her previous best. Mara has put in great work over the summer and is a key contributor to the Dutch’s standing as one of the top programs in the state this year. Senior Raegan Snieder showed her steadiness by completing the course in 20:02.4. Junior Lizzie Neumann and senior Chloe Punt rounded out the Dutch runners, finishing the course in 21:43.5 and 22:11.1, respectively.
In the team competition, the Dutch scored 21 points in the combined race. 4A Cedar Falls placed second with 47 points, and the host team, 4A Cedar Rapids Prairie, was third with 126 points. The closest 3A team was Clear Creek-Amana, who scored 154 points and placed 5th in the combined scoring. The Dutch girls posted a team average of 19:04, the lowest for a Dutch girls’ team since at least 2005.
Boys Varsity Race
The Boys Varsity race featured three of Iowa’s all-time best distance runners. Dutch junior Canaan Dunham faced off against his 3A rival Quentin Nauman from Western Dubuque and 4A standout Jaden Merrick. The race lived up to the hype. At the halfway point, all three runners crossed the checkpoint at 7:25, on pace for a scorching 14:50 5K. With about 600 meters to go, Nauman executed his now-famous surge and pulled away to win the race in 15:15.0. Dunham crossed 10 seconds later, completing the course in 15:25.5. Merrick followed 5 seconds later, finishing in 15:30.0. All three boys ran under the previous meet record of 15:51 set by Josh Evans of Linn-Mar back in 2013. Nauman and Dunham have proven their rivalry to be one for the ages. They may not face each other again until the state meet in November.
Juniors Mason Gaulke and Noah Schuknecht were the next Dutch finishers, running 17:09.5 (26th) and 17:25.0 (30th), respectively. Senior Devon Browne completed the 5K in 17:29.3 for 32nd place. Freshman Jonah Ebersole was the fifth scorer for Pella in just his second Varsity race. He finished the race just 20 seconds off his all-time best, covering the course in 17:43.2. Seniors Aren Hellbusch and Kaiden Browne rounded out the Varsity team, running 17:45.7 and 18:11.7, respectively.
In the team race, the Dutch finished fourth in the combined results with 123 points and first in the Orange Division. 4A Cedar Falls was the combined team winner, scoring 44 points. The nearest 3A competitor was Clear Creek-Amana with 204 points.
Girls Freshman/Sophomore Race
The Cedar Rapids Invitational features a 4K Freshman/Sophomore race. Pella opts to run all of their freshmen in this race, along with some sophomores who prefer the 4K distance. This year, the incoming Dutch girls showed just how deep the lady Dutch will be. They were led by Lizzy Vande Voort, who completed the course in 15:45.3. The next four places were all taken by Pella Dutch runners, sweeping the podium for a perfect score. They finished as follows: Freshman Carleigh Altwine (16:27.3), Freshman Dana McCulla (16:36.4), Sophomore Kamry Trine (16:36.0), and Freshman Bryn Paulsen (17:16.0).
The girls’ team scored a perfect 15 points for the victory. They were followed by Cedar Falls with 40 points.
Boys Freshman/Sophomore Race
The Boys Freshman/Sophomore race featured four Pella runners, one short of the number needed to score as a team. The boys were paced by newcomer Will Schuknecht, who ran 16:11.3 for the 4K. The next two freshmen were Reid Svenby (16:28.8) and Coben Browne (18:16.4). Zack Van Wyk was the lone sophomore, covering the course in 22:49.9.
JV Girls Race
The Pella JV Girls placed second in the combined division and first in the Orange Division. They were led by junior Emerson Wogen, who took the lead from the start and finished in 23:40.5. Junior Rebekah Wittenberg was the next Dutch finisher, placing 10th overall with a time of 25:28.8. Newcomer Jaeda Van Zante completed the course in 26:57.9, securing 21st place. Juniors Isabella Smith and Lyndon Norton rounded out the JV runners, finishing in 27:45.4 and 28:34.0, respectively.
JV Boys Race
The JV boys placed a close second in the combined team scores, scoring 49 points, just behind 4A Iowa City High. Junior Asher Schiebout was the top JV runner, placing 3rd and running 18:32.8. Sophomore Caiden Teul was not far behind, running 18:59.7 for sixth place. The remaining JV boys finishers were: Caleb Punt (19:27.7), Dane Paulsen (19:28.4), Evan Johnston (19:55.7), Ben Thompson (20:00.1), Mac Copeland (20:23.3), and Noah Huffaker (22:00.0).
Next up for the Dutch is the Pella home meet on Saturday, September 7th, at the Central College Cross Country Course. The races will kick off with the Girls at 9:00 AM, followed by the Boys at 9:40 AM. Since there are only two races, everyone will run together.
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