Last year the Solon Spartans’ golfers came close to clinching the State Championship with a 2nd-place finish. The boys had already won the WaMaC East Division Championship, were the WaMaC Super Meet Champions, and had taken the District Championship. With five returning starters, Coach Adam Stahle and company are eager to hit the links for 2022.
Stahle, in his 15th year with Solon, along with assistants Scott Wolfe (seven years) and Nate Miller (four years) lost two seniors to graduation but have a lot of talent coming back headed up by senior Frank Haege Jr. Haege earned First Team All-Conference and First Team Iowa High School Golf Coaches Association (IHSGCA) honors last year. Junior Mac McCarty was a Second Team All-Conference pick while sophomore Jack McCarty earned First Team All-Conference, First Team All-State, and First Team All-Tournament honors (IHSGCA). Senior Nathan Miller and sophomore Brennan Heesch round out the returning starters.
Also back are seniors logan Gruchow, Elias Miller, Colin Werner, and Garret Witham; juniors Austin Bell, David Karam, Zeb Kleinsmith, Landon Shive, and sophomores Cole Buffington, Garret Stebral, Kaden Hanson, Jack Irwin, Jackson Messinger, Nate Spengler, Lincoln Swann, Brent Werner, and Tyson Wheeler. A host of newcomers to the team includes seniors Gage Marty, Lucas Kampman, and Kaden Lamm; juniors Fischer Harrison, Quinton Heineman, Brayden Ruskey, and Sean Stahle; sophomores Cole Farnsworth and Lawson Sinnwell; and freshmen James Calef, Jackson Feuerbach, Carson Fuller, Abe Houtakker, Carson Reid, Isaiah Zoske, Nolan Seagren, and Brady Evers.
“The WaMaC will once again be a tough conference,” Coach Stahle said. “Outside of us Dyersville-Beckman returns a lot of players including the winning individual of the 2A State Golf Tournament. We should be in the hunt again this year for the conference championship.”
The season opens on Thursday, April 7 at the Lake MacBride Golf Course as Center Point-Urbana and Marion visit at 4:00 p.m. for the first of three home meets. On Tuesday, May 3 the Spartans will compete against defending State Champs Gilbert, Waverly-Shell Rock (who has the individual 3A State Champion), and Knoxville (State qualifier last year, and returning the whole team) in an 11:00 a.m. tournament being played at the Cedar Rapids Country Club.
“We’re very excited to get the year started and see how the boys compete. Last year was a great year but we need to continue to get better and improve.”