Meet Preview: 2024 3A State Qualifying Meet – Pella

Date: October 23, 2024

Location: Pella Sports Park | 393 Baseline Dr, Pella, IA 50219 [Google Map]

Race Start Time:

• 4:00 PM Girls
• 4:40 PM Boys
• 5:15 PM Awards

Online Race Results

Parking: $5.00 per car

Boys Results 2023

Boys 5K
Pella 1 out of 13 – 21 points

Dutch State Qualifiers Individuals
1 Canaan Dunham 10, 15:31.77 *Course Record
3 Nathan VanderWaal 12, 15:49.40
4 Devon Browne 11, 16:26.37
5 Noah Schuknecht 10, 16:40.91
8 Mason Gaulke 10, 16:43.46

Girls Results 2023

Girls 5K
Pella 1st out of 13 – 29 Points

Dutch State Qualifiers Individuals
1 Marissa Ferebee 10, 18:39.71
2 Ruth Dunham 9, 19:08.65
6 Autumn Blink 12, 19:36.25
9 Macy Schroeder 12, 20:09.62
11 Raegan Snieder 11, 20:15.02
13 Elsie Brenneman 9, 20:17.16
15 Lizzie Neumann 10, 20:30.67

Pella Sports Park – Built for Speed

The city of Pella has a hidden gem located on the east side of town. The Pella Sports Park on the surface looks like your typical athletic facility. Soccer fields and baseball fields stand prominent in the Iowa landscape. However, behind all the equipment lies a rugged, fast, and well thought out cross country course. The course is one large two mile loop followed by a smaller one mile loop. The ground is mostly flat and the turns are gentle. There are plenty of straightaways for the athletes to reach high speeds. This course boasts two fast records in its short but illustrious life. The women’s record was set by current Arkansas standout and Ballard distance legend Paityn Noe when she ran 17:15.08. The boys record is held by Dutch stand out Canaan Dunham in 15:31.77. This will be the fifth time in a row that a state qualifying meet has been hosted at this venue.

The venue is perfect for fans to enjoy. The runners pass the same location several times. The fields are wide open so you can see the race develop from afar. You won’t want to miss the action at the Pella Sports Park on October 23rd.

Varsity Boys
Devon Browne (12), Kaiden Browne (12), Canaan Dunham (11), Jonah Ebersole (10), Mason Gaulke (11), Aren Hellbusch (12), Noah Schuknecht (11)

Varsity Girls
Carleigh Altwine (9), Elsie Brenneman (10), Ruth Dunham (10), Marissa Ferebee (11), Lizzie Neumann, Mara Schiebout (12), Lizzy Vande Voort (9)

The #2 Pella Dutch boys team enters the state qualifying meet as heavy favorites. The team recently finished 4th at the Little Hawkeye Conference championships, competing with a short-handed lineup. However, they anticipate a full squad for this race.

Four other ranked 3A teams will join the Dutch in Pella for the SQM. #12 Bondurant-Farrar and #13 Washington are both expected to secure qualifying spots alongside Pella. Both teams are trending upward and poised for strong runs at the state meet. Meanwhile, #18 Fort Madison and #20 Oskaloosa have the potential to stage an upset. Winterset, though unranked, has shown late-season momentum and could surprise some teams.

Other Teams Competing:
DM Hoover, Fairfield, Keokuk, Knoxville, Mount Pleasant, Newton, Pella, Saydel, Washington, Winterset

Interesting Tidbits

• The Dutch boys have won 9 of the last 13 state qualifying meets (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023).
• They have qualified for 6 straight state meets and 18 of the last 19 years, with the only miss coming in 2017.
• Pella High School has hosted 12 state qualifying meets in the last 13 years.

To say that the 3A #1 Dutch are favored might be an understatement. They have won every meet they’ve competed in this season—most by a wide margin. The Dutch are coming off an 18-point victory at the Little Hawkeye Conference Championship, where they outpaced several ranked 4A teams. The real question for this meet may be just how few points the Dutch can score.

Two other ranked teams will also compete in Pella on Wednesday. 3A #4 Fort Madison aims to finish as close to the Dutch as possible. The Bloodhounds have had a strong season and are looking to secure a state berth and a potential podium finish at Fort Dodge. Meanwhile, 3A #10 Winterset hopes to qualify, though they may not be at full strength, leaving room for another team to make a surprise push.

Other Teams Competing:
Bondurant-Farrar, DM Hoover, Fairfield, Keokuk, Knoxville, Mount Pleasant, Newton, Oskaloosa, Saydel, Washington

Notable

• The Dutch have qualified for 17 of the last 18 state meets, with the only miss coming in 2021.
• They’ve lost just three races over the past three seasons.
• The Dutch are seeking their third consecutive state championship after winning titles in 2022 and 2023.

Boys Individual Race

Canaan Dunham, who has been ranked in the top two all season is the clear favorite in this race. He is having one of the greatest seasons for a Dutch runner ever. Canaan has won all but two races this season. He was second at Cedar Rapids Prairie to in-class rival Quentin Nauman of Epworth, Western Dubuque. He was also second at the Heartland Classic to 2023 Nebraska Gaterade Boys Cross Country Runner Juan Gonzalez.

Other ranked boys: #12 Isaac Rankin, 11 Knoxville, #21 Devon Browne, 12 Pella, #26 Tyler Alderton, 12 Washington, #28 Collin Kessler, 12 Winterset.

Historical Context: Pella has had three straight individual winners of SQM meets starting with Tony Schmitz in 2021, Chase Lauman in 2022, and Canaan Dunham 2023.

Girls Individual Race

You can expect a whole lot of green and gray jerseys at the front of this race. The Dutch have been dominant all year in what has proven to be a historic year. All seven of the Dutch have been ranked in the top 25 throughout the season. The top two runners in the state are expected to lead this race 3A #1 Marissa Ferebee has yet to lose a race this year. 3A #2 Elsie Brenneman has been right behind Ferebee and narrowing the gap. These two make for a lethal 1-2 punch. 3A #6 Ruth Dunham has started to show her post-season form and will be near the front runners as well.

Other ranked girls are: #19 Carleigh Altwine, 9 Pella, #21 Lizzy VandeVoort, 9 Pella, #23 Raegan Snieder, 12 Pella, #24 Ava Hope, 9 Winterset, #25 Iris Dahl, 11 Washington, #30 Avery Rump, 11 Fort Madison

Historical Context: The girl’s course record is 17:15.08 set by Paityn Noe. This record could be broken as Ferebee has run under that mark three times this season.

Encourage family, friends, and fans to come out and support:

• Wear your Dutch Green!
• Bring your best positive cheer voice and cheer on the Dutch….by name if you know it!

• November 1 – State Meet Fort Dodge Iowa
• November 10 – NXR – Sioux Falls South Dakota