With two first place finishes leading the way, Solon’s girls scored in ten of the 14 events contested at the Iowa Association of Track Coaches state meet, March 10 in Ames. Notching firsts for the Lady Spartans were Kaia Holtkamp (4’11) in the high jump and Gracie Federspiel (1:00.94) in the 400 meter dash.
Though offered statewide, most schools at the 3A girls’ session at Iowa State University’s Lied Center came from within an hour or so of Ames; providing a cross-section of the talent and depth from schools the Lady Spartans could face in the post-season. One of those frequent foes from this side of Iowa, Davenport Assumption, was at the IATC meet.
“Our distance girls looked good for the day. All our 800 girls started out well ahead of last year”, notes head coach Brent Sands. “Our 1500 times are similar to their PRs (personal records). Kayla Young, too, dropped ten to 15 seconds from our Monday meet, at Dickinson in Cedar Falls.”
Team results showed Solon finishing second, behind Adel-Desoto-Minburn. “Gracie ran well, for sure, with that minute flat 400”, Sands continued. “I thought our hurdlers ran very well, too. Mia Stahle, especially for her first time out.”
Besides first place medals in the grasp of Holtkamp and Federspiel, Kayla Young grabbed second with an 11:07.02 3000 tour of the indoor oval.
MaKinley Levin topped 16 feet again in the long jump. Her 16-1¼ was third, with Aisley Foster picking up seventh (14-4). Also snagging third place were Holtkamp, Federspiel, Quillin and Kerrigan Lyons (4:15) in the 4×400 relay. Mia Stahle, Callie Levin, Emma Wolff and MaK Levin brought the baton around in fourth place (51.42) in the 4×100, a good time, considering several sprinters were missing.
With Kaia Holtkamp on the 400 meter anchor leg, Mia Stahle and the Levin sisters teamed up for fourth (1:55.65) in the sprint medley; a good finish, considering a muffed handoff in one of the exchange zones. Tatum Holtkamp delivered an eighth place point in the high jump.
Mia Stahle, Callie Foster, Zoey Grimm and Olivia Scott were 42.62 at the finish line; fourth in the shuttle hurdle relay. Anna Quillin’s 2:31.08 800 meters was good for fifth place, behind Holtkamp. Ashlynn Williams (5:26.50) was seventh, among 22 entries in a crowded 1500. Aisley Foster picked up 7th place in the long jump.