SOLON– With wins in six events and seconds in five more, The Lady Spartans stormed through their Class 3A state qualifying meet May 13 at Solon. With at-large entries, they will line up in 17 of the 19 events May 20-22 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
To make it to state, 3A contestants must finish first or second in their event to gain an automatic berth. From there, at-large spots are finalized after comparing times, jumps and throws from all regional qualifiers which occurred throughout Iowa, on the same day, during the same time periods. Solon and Dubuque Wahlert dominated the competition. With 181.5 points, Solon’s girls outlasted the Golden Eagles’ 165. It wasn’t even close after that. Marion (78 points) was third. Mount Vernon (72) was fourth, followed by Central DeWitt (71), Cedar Rapids Xavier (65) Monticello (58.5) and Maquoketa (49).
Much of the postseason strategy is to build a lineup that can score the most points at state. Events there are spread over three days, not four hours late in one day at the regional, when recovery time for athletes can be critical– with the next event potentially just minutes away.
Still, you have to get there first. And Solon’s contingent did that often– and convincingly. First place came in the shuttle hurdle relay (Jada Buffington, Mia Stahle, Calla Foster and Sophia Stahle) at 1:08.91. The 1,600 distance medley got the win, too (MaKinley Levin, Sophia Stahle, Grace Federspiel and Emma Bock), putting together a 4:11.37, seven seconds ahead of runner-up Wahlert. Bock (2:22.57) and Kaia Holtkamp (2:22.91) fired up the home crowd with a one-two race down the homestretch in the 800 meters. Ava Conrad picked up a pair of firsts, going 37-2 3/4 in the shot put and 124-10 in the discus. Closing the meet with a win, Holtkamp, Levin, Federspiel and Bock put together a 4:00.18 in the 4×400 relay.
“That we won shows we have some good depth,” said Coach Brent Sands. “At districts, to win is not the goal. It is how to get the right events, the right things to state that will score. And then, get anything we can at state. And it turned out that way.”
Winning a meet takes a lot of help. And there was plenty of it throughout the Solon lineup. Holtkamp, Meghan O’Neill, Anna Quillin and Federspiel went 9:43.58 for second in the 4×800 relay. It is also a school record. “It felt really good today. We knew Wahlert was going to be out ahead, so we knew to stay with our own race… and not let it get it into our heads,” reviewed O’Neill. And qualifying for state? “Super awesome! We qualified almost everything we thought we would,” she said. “It felt good as a team. We came out and did what we needed to do.”
Early in the meet, MaKinley Levin was second in the long jump (17-5). Mia Duckett, Mia Stahle and MaK and Callie Levin spun a 1:46.96 4×200 runner-up finish. Sophia Stahle, Callie Levin, Duckett and Ady McQuinn rounded the track in 50.88 for second in the 4×100. Sophia Stahle’s 17.08 was second in the 100 hurdles, at the May 13 qualifier.
From there, it was an overnight wait before at-large qualifiers were determined across the state. And with two alternates on each relay unit– whether automatic or at-large– there could be a couple new faces on the track as the state meet opens.
Those listed as at-large entries for Solon by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union include Mia Duckett (who was third in the regional 200), Ashley Stinocher (fourth in the 400), Kiersten Conway (third in both the 1,500 and 3,000), Mia Stahle (400 hurdles) and the sprint medley relay, (which at Solon was run by Mia Stahle, McQuinn, Callie Levin and Bock)
“We had a rough start, but it turned out (okay),” Sands summarized. “We ran some of our best times; the 4×100, 4×200, 4×800, distance medley; had the fastest times of the year… shuttle hurdle relay. Ashley Stinocher ran her best (400) time. Happy she made that. Kiersten Conway ran season bests in the 3,000 and 1,500… we still want to drop times; we have a couple relays we can improve; two or three that we have a shot at winning. Maybe get those other events to where we can pick up some more points, too.”
The results Saturday, will show how well it all worked out.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Emma Bock (right) and Kaia Holtkamp deliver a Solon one-two punch, as they cross the finish line in the 800 in the state meet qualifier in Solon May 13. They are seeded two-three out of the 24 contestants across eight regional meets, as they come together in Des Moines this week.