WASHINGTON– They are a step away from the Class 3A state golf championships.
Solon’s varsity boys edged Beckman Catholic at the WaMaC Super Meet May 10 and then took the sectional field by storm Friday, May 14, for a date at districts this week on Burlington’s Flint Hills Golf Course.
In the nine-team sectional meet at the Washington Golf and Country Club, the Spartans posted a 37-stroke victory with six of the top seven scores.
Solon’s team score of 316 left the opposition in the dust, with Mount Pleasant (353) nudging past host Washington (356) for second place. Clear Creek Amana (362), Fairfield (377), Burlington Notre Dame (382), Keokuk (382) and Fort Madison (392) rounded out the competition.
Solon junior Frank Haege Jr. took medalist honors with a 73; Washington’s Roman Roth was three strokes back at 76.
The next five at the top of the leaderboard were all Spartans.
Freshman Jack McCarty (77) was just another stroke off the pace, followed by sophomore Mac McCarty (82), senior Stetson McIlravy (84), senior Lucas TePoel (85) and freshman Brennan Heesch (88).
Qualifiers from the district meet Friday, May 21, advance to the 2021 Iowa High School Athletic Association State Golf Championships, currently set for May 27-28 at three courses.
The winning margin for Solon was much smaller at the WaMaC Super Meet earlier in the week at Wildcat Golf Course by Shellsburg.
The Spartans combined for a 317 team score, capturing the title by three strokes over Beckman Catholic. Independence (325), Mount Vernon (336), Center Point-Urbana (338), Clear Creek Amana (338), Williamsburg (340), Maquoketa (340.1), host Vinton-Shellsburg (340.2), Marion (354), West Delaware (355), Benton Community (357) and South Tama (362) were crowded in a pack behind.
Leading Solon were Haege and Jack McCarty, each completing the course with a 77, better than all but six other golfers in the 13-team field.
McIlravy (81) and Mac McCarty (82) were in the top 20, with TePoel and Heesch just outside, each carding an 84.