TIFFIN– Running 1,500 meters is a tough job. Add in a field of 10 to 15 opponents twice a week, and it really turns into work. Still, it’s more fun at the front!
That’s where Solon senior Kiersten Conway placed herself through most of her run April 29 at the Pacha Relays in Tiffin, hosted by Clear Creek Amana. Already the 3,000 winner (in 11:47) early in the meet, Conway was at the front for much of the shorter distance event.
Cross country rival Haidyn Barker of Clear Creek Amana was pushing her hard, and with 250 meters remaining, tried to skinny through the inside of lane one. Conway felt the push, crowding over a few inches to change Barker’s mind. Turning on the jets, Conway also held off Davenport Assumption’s Kylar Hoffman, hitting the finish stripe in 5:14.22 for a double win.
“I talked (with Barker) before the race. That was the first time we’d run (a track race) together. We’ve had several cross country races. We definitely were excited to push each other,” recalled Conway. “In my last lap, I felt really good. I just went for it!”
The Lady Spartans were first in seven events through the evening, with a 43-point victory margin (179-136) over Davenport Assumption. Williamsburg was third with 105 points. From there, Clear Creek Amana (89), Tipton (71), Iowa City Regina (69), Mount Vernon (67) and Durant (18) divided up the rest.
“Early on, with the wind, it was hard to tell if we were going well. Our times were not telling us a lot,” admitted Solon Head Coach Brent Sands. “We got a little better, though. Kaia (Holtkamp) hit her 5-2 career best (in high jump). The 4×200 group ran really well, especially with the wind being a factor. We beat Williamsburg, just coming off a fifth-place finish at the Drake Relays. We are still gathering information on what each girl can do. We will give them a full load this Thursday, at the conference meet.”
With the Pacha trophy assured, and four events to go, the showstopper came in the meet-closing 4×400 relay. There, Kaia Holtkamp, Gracie Federspeil, Ashley Stinocher and Emma Bock sprinted away from the field, racking up a 4:05.12 win. Bock ran a 57-second-and-change anchor leg.
While the “firsts” loom large in Solon’s run this season, a big factor is team depth. In Iowa high school track, points are awarded on a descending scale; for example, 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 at the Pacha Relays. A school, though, may only score with one relay team or two entries in individual events.
The Lady Spartans picked up 10 points with a 10:09 win in the 4×800 relay (Holtkamp, Anna Quillin, Federspeil, Bock), but none for the sixth-place 11:15 finish a few seconds behind, with Ashley Stinocher, Mary Fiala, Kerrigan Lyons and Annika Kruse toting the baton. Those two points skipped down to Regina’s A team, which finished 17 seconds behind the Solon foursome. More of the same came in the 4×200. Mia Duckett, Mia Stahle, Callie Levin and Bock crossed in 1:47.67, besting Assumption by a half-second. Also in the hunt were Lady Spartans Monet Barnhouse, Kerrigan Lyons, Ava Stebral and Addie Leichtman. Their 1:57.25 was better than nine other teams at the meet, but the points went elsewhere.
The payoff comes, of course, as a girl continues pushing her teammates; filling in for injuries, or working her way to the A team this year… or later in her career.
“These kids are still battling for places. It’s nice to have meets with a couple relays entered. It shows some pretty talented girls running on B teams. They might be the best in some other schools. We hope they do not feel that,” stressed Sands. “We are lucky to have them; for the depth and to show us what they are capable of!”
There was plenty of help, though, on a cool, breezy evening with the occasional freight train blasting past the Clear Creek Amana stadium, holding up the starter’s count.
Sister Act. Times four.
Holtkamp’s season best 5-2 high jump was the best in field. Sister Tatum’s 4-8 sixth-place meant another three points added to the growing pile for Solon. Near meet’s end, another Solon Sister Act teamed up in the 4×100 relay. Callie and MaKinley Levin; together with Sophia Stahle and Mia Duckett, sprinted the baton around the oval for second place (51.53). The Levins frequently double-place in the long jump as well. Twin pairs Aisley and Calla Foster, and Grace and Mary Fiala run more distance events, so chances for a twin team up in the same event have not been as likely. The Fialas did run the last two legs of the 4×400, earlier in the week, at the Center Point-Urbana invitational.
Points came fast and furious, through the meet. In the discus ring, Ava Conrad went 119-8 for the win, with Elly Holubar in fourth (99-7). Leah Kollar and Conrad were third and fourth, each with a 36-6 toss in the shot put. Callie Levin and Aisley Foster snagged second (15-9) and fifth (15-4 1/2) in the long jump.
In the meet-opening sprint medley, Mia Stahle, MaKinley Levin, Mia Duckett and Callie Levin were fifth (1:59.81); Duckett turned around for a blistering 12.67 to get third in the 100. The Stahles– cousins Mia and Sophia– teamed with Jada Buffington and Calla Foster for third (1:11.32) in the shuttle hurdle relay. Barnhouse, Heather Bachus, Hailey Miller (with a 1:06 400 leg) and Meghan O’Neill clicked at 4:47.9 for fourth in the distance medley relay. Kaia Holtkamp (1:03.48) and Aisley Foster (1:07.87) double-placed third and fifth, for points in the 400.
Sophia Stahle (16.66) and Buffington (17.57) double-placed (fifth and seventh) in the 100 hurdles. Mia Stahle (1:12.19) was runner-up, with Calla Foster (1:20.06) sixth, in the grueling 400 hurdles late in the meet. Backing Conway in the 1,500, Anna Quillin was fourth (5:28.89). Teammate Annika Kruse was their insurance, with 5:37.06 for ninth place. “Annika also ran her best time ever in the 1,500,” commented Sands, proof that the coaches are watching. Sophia Stahle, the Levins and Duckett grabbed eight runner-up points in the 4×100 (in 51.23). From there, Kaia Holtkamp, Federspeil, Stinocher and Bock blew away the field, and brought even some of the non-Solon fans to their feet as Bock barreled down the homestretch in 57.09 to stamp a finish on the meet, with a 4:05.11 4×400 relay close.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Sophia Stahle powers out of the blocks in the 200-meter dash last week in Tiffin at the Pacha Relays. Stahle grabbed third place for the Lady Spartans.