There’s excitement in the air on the Pella High School Cross Country Team as both the girls’ and boys’ teams are ranked #1 in the state. 

According to head coach Douglas Cutler “the inevitable has happened.” For the first time in 11 years, both the boys and girls are ranked #1 in the state. The last time this happened in Pella was 2011.  That year the boys’ team won their most recent State Championship title while the girls placed third. The girls’ team has never won a state title, but their chances are looking good this season. 

  “We are extremely competitive, so being able to compete for conference, district, and state championships, possibly, is a lot of fun,” said Cutler. 

Even though the team has been competing very well, and is very hungry for a state championship, the coaches spread their time and effort over the whole team, not just the fast runners. 

“They don’t care if you’re fast or slow,” said senior Hayden Rozenboom. “They’re always just trying to push [you] to get better.”

A lot of times, competitive teams neglect their slower runners, as they see them as a waste of time or not that important. Instead they focus on the top seven or top ten athletes and the others are an afterthought. Cutler takes a different approach.

“We don’t have a single pie that has seven pieces, and when seven people take their piece of pie, there isn’t any pie left for anyone else,” said Cutler. “Success doesn’t have to be looked at that way, so we can make as many pies as we want.  We can make as much success as we want. Yes, seven people will run varsity in the end, but everyone on the team can contribute to it.”