A former Pella Christian Eagles thrower who missed out on a chance to compete for two state championships as a senior due to COVID-19, is now making his mark in college.
Blake Veenstra competes with Hawkeye Community College, and qualified for the NJCAA national meet over the weekend, with a shot put throw of 50’11 and discus toss of 162’08.
In the week leading up to state qualifying in 2019, Veenstra ripped off a discus toss of 173 feet, one inch for Pella Christian, shattering the previous school long with that throw at the Pella High Invitational, the final regular season meet. Veenstra then qualified for state as both a discus and shot put thrower, with Veenstra placing 5th and 6th in the shot and disc respectively. He entered the 2020 season as the top returning thrower in Class 2A in both throws before the season was shuttered due to the global pandemic.