Ed Hadenfeldt

DAVENPORT– Solon’s boys notched two solid track and field performances last week, taking third place at the Ruth Ahrens Invitational in Marengo and fourth place at the mixed-school Jesse Day Co-Ed Relays in Davenport.
Tuesday, April 21, the Spartans will host the Denny Gruber Relays, named in honor of longtime head boys track coach and teacher Denny Gruber. On Friday and Saturday, several members of the team (yet to be determined) will participate at the prestigious Drake Relays in Des Moines. WaMaC, district, and state meets will be held in mid-May.

SOLON– With a number of key athletes returning, and a promising influx of newcomers, the defending 3A state track and field champion Solon Spartans are expecting big things this season. Head coach Mark Sovers, along with assistant coaches Brad Wymer, Steve Calloway and Riley Takes, welcome back 16 letter-winners including:

VAN HORNE– The Solon varsity boys track team won five events en route to a runner-up finish at the 16-team WaMaC conference track meet held this past week.
Senior thrower Dalton Ferguson swept the throwing events, winning the shot put with a throw of 56’5 and the discus with a toss of 153 feet. Connor Ham won the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 14.94, the 100-meter dash in 11.49, and the 200-meter dash in 22.58.
Other place winners included :
Discus: Tanner Wymer, fourth, 145’8;
Long jump: Zach Nunemaker, third, 20’1.5;
High jump: Matt Roeder, seventh, 5’10;

SOLON– Solon hosted its own invitational track meet last week, named in honor of former boy’s track coach and teacher Denny Gruber. He was most likely proud as he watched the Spartan boys outdistance second place Mt. Vernon by 57 points to claim the team title.
Final scores were as follows:
Solon 137
Mt. Vernon 79.5
Regina 76.5
Vinton-Shellsburg 70
CCA 67
Beckman 57
North Cedar 48
Assumption 23
Gruber still coaches the jumpers for Solon and they helped to get the team off to a great start in the field events, scoring two places in both the high and long jump.

MOUNT VERNON– The 2014 edition of the Solon boys track team had its first chance to compete at the WaMaC indoor meet, held Saturday, March 22, at Cornell College in Mount Vernon. Team scores were not kept, allowing a variety of athletes to compete in various events.
Results for Solon included:
55 meter dash: Grant Goldsberry, 7.41; Dalton Hoit, 7.61.
200 meter dash: Grant Goldsberry, 25.91; Austin Kennedy, 26.54; Colton Hansel, 26.90; Jackson Walker, 28.93.
400 meter dash: Liam Bell, 1:04.14.
800 meter run: Patrick McGill, 2:20.46; Ben Backers, 2:34.62.