With five early cancellations, three meets in a week helped keep the Lady Spartans on track; racking up two wins and giving junior varsity performers a head to head shot against eastern Iowa varsity lineups.
That second win went ‘down to the wire’ April 16 at the Linn-Mar Invitational in Marion. Going into the final event, Solon led Cedar Rapids Prairie 109-105, with 12 other teams trailing. A solid 4×400 relay win, though, gave Solon ten points—and a 119-111 meet victory.
Team depth meant scoring in all 19 events…including five ‘firsts. They included that 4:10.0 rip through the 4×400, as the meet closed. Meghan O’Neill, MaKinley Levin, Gracie Federspiel and Kaia Holtkamp got the carries. “Kaia’s 400 time looked good, with the wind Saturday keeping relay times down”, reviewed Solon Coach Brent Sands. “We were missing a couple ‘point getters’ Saturday. Our depth could fill in those spots. Still, we had to re-arrange things a little; Gracie Federspiel’s 2:22 in the open 800 (for 5th place) was really good to see. But pulling Meghan O’Neill out (to fill out a relay), maybe we missed a double place there.”
Wins also came in the shuttle hurdle relay, the 1600 meter distance medley relay (Addie McQuinn, Callie Levin, O’Neill and Anna Quillin, 4:38.10), 400 hurdles (Sophia Stahle) and the long jump (MaK Levin). “Our relays looked really good. Ashlyn Williams shaved a lot of time off her 3000 finish.”
That long jump win did not come easily. Levin and Taylor Lee of Center Point-Urbana traded the lead early, through three prelim jumps. They ran their other events, then came back for the finals. Lee took the lead with 17-3 on her last jump, to edge Levin’s 17-1. Out of reach? Hardly. “The last couple meets, I’d have the best jump, and (the girl in second place) would get a PR”, recalled Levin. “Last meet, I actually scratched on my last attempt. So, 17-1 today let me know I was improving. And then, she jumps 17-3! (But) I trusted my steps on the last jump, and I soared!” And when 17-4¾ went up on the board for the win? “I just screeched!,” the senior admitted. “(Still,) I felt bad for her; went over and gave her a hug. She was super supportive because we’ve jumped together a lot over the years.”
The next Solon win came in the 400 hurdles, with Sophia Stahle rounding the track in 1:09.38. Mia Stahle was (1:11.98) in fifth. The two teamed earlier with Jada Buffington and Aisley Foster for the win (1:08.91) in the shuttle hurdle relay. Sophia Stahle earlier notched 16.20 in the 100 hurdles, for fifth place.
The points kept coming in the throws. “Abby Felton went over the 100 foot mark (101-6, a personal best) in the discus and third place”, noted Sands. “Season best for Elly Holubar (in the shot) 33-10 for fifth place.
Back on the track, Holtkamp, O’Neill, Quillin and Federspiel grabbed third in the 4×800 (10:02.67) Kaia Holtkamp was second in the 400 in 1:01.89. Federspiel’s 2:22.74 in the 800 was good for fifth place. Kayla Young picked up third in the 3000 (11:06.50), with Ashlynn Williams seventh (12:01.10). Anna Quillin was sixth in the 1500, 16.97.
Mia Duckett ran eighth in the 100 (12.89). Callie Levin’s 27.98 in the 200 was good for eighth, too. Duckett stayed busy through the meet, with a leg on the meet opening sprint medley. She, Mia Stahle, Sophia Stahle and MaK Levin took fourth (1:54.11) Late in the meet, it was Duckett to Callie Levin to McQuinn to Emma Wolff for 5th place (52.04) in the 4×100, More relay muscle showed with Duckett, Mia Stahle, Olivia Bonnema and MaK Levin posting 1:50.48 in the 4×200, for more third place points.
Split Squad Fills in at Jesse Day Relays in Davenport
With numerous weather cancellations, coaches this spring are scrambling to get their girls into meets. For Solon, that included sending a JV team to the Jesse Day Relays in Davenport, April 14. The rest stayed back, preparing for their next meet, in a cold, wet and windy outdoor season.
The results were good. Kate Shafer’s 92-10 toss in the discus was a highlight, good for first place. She also picked up fifth in the shot put, flipping it 30-11½. “Kate has really been coming on”, reviewed Sands. Solon placed in nine of the 19 events, in the 11 team meet. Aisley Foster had a 15-4 long jump, good for sixth, doubling back with fourth in the 400 (1:08.41). Zoey Grimm was sixth (18.71) in the 100 hurdles
Solon picked up points in four relays, too. Hendricks, Emma Jauron, K. Miller and Ella Sheeley’s 2:15.29 sprint medley run was good for seventh place. Vedepo to Yasmine Sell to Lucy Miller to Jauron brought the baton home in 59.72, seventh place in the 4×100 relay. The distance medley foursome of Jaynie Mottinger, Miller, Calla Foster and Ella Sheeley grabbed fifth. Calla Foster, Grimm, Lily Towne and Olivia Scott’s 1:17.99 meant fourth in the shuttle hurdle relay.
Near Sweep of Relay Races Powers Lady Spartans at Prairie
Cold and windy? Definitely, but rain held off April 12 at the Prairie Co-Ed Track Meet, in Cedar Rapids. It was a Prairie-Solon duel for the top spot. The Lady Spartans won six of the seven relays—with Prairie second in all of them. The one relay Prairie won? Solon was second.
Solon also scored in all 12 individual events for 210½ points to stretch their lead over the Hawks (184) for the championship. Center Point-Urbana (87) was third, with Marion (84.50), Cedar Rapids Xavier (63), Marshalltown (55), C. R. Washington (32) and C.R. Jefferson (17) rounded out the eight team finish.
Solon built its lead from the start, with double scores from all four field events. Kaia Holtkamp high jumped 4-10 to take the win, on fewer misses. Lilly Towne had her best jump, for third place. “Lilly’s 4-10 jump was a highlight”, notes Coach Brent Sands. In the long jump, MaKinley Levin was runner-up, with a leap of 16’3, just three inches behind the winner. Aisley Foster was fifth, at 15-6. Callie Levin’s 15-4 was right behind. However, since only two individuals per school may score in an event…it was not tallied. That scoring rule–which also scores only one place, per school, per relay– ‘nicked’ several other Lady Spartan finishes, too.
In the throws, Elly Holubar inched close to 100 feet in the discus, but settled for 98-8 this time–good for fourth. Kate Shafer hit 97-9 (fifth). In the shot put, Holubar (33’6) was fourth…and Leah Kollar (33-2½) fifth.
In the running events, Solon crossed in first place, right away, for the sprint medley win. Mia Stahle, Addie McQuinn, Mia Duckett and Emma Bock put together a 1:54.88. After third place from Ashlyn Williams (12:28.29) in the 3000, Meghan O’Neill, Anna Quillin, Gracie Federspiel and Kaia Holtkamp put together a (10:01.10) win in the 4×800.
Aly Stahle out-leaned Prairie star Gabbie Cortez in the 100, winning in 13:42. Yasmine Sell’s 14:36 was good for fourth for Solon. “Overall, I was really pleased with the times, despite the winds. The girls really came to compete and were excited to be there”, reviews Coach Brent Sands. “Aly Stahle’s time in in the 100 was pretty impressive; beating (Cortez), who has a very impressive time already this season.
Three Stahle’s (Aly, Mia and Sophia) and a Buffington (Jada) took first (1:07.75) in the 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay. “The shuttle hurdle had a very good time, considering the conditions”, said Sands. Later in the meet, Sophia (16.26) took the win in the 100 hurdles. Aly (17.08) was third. Calla Foster (18.54) backed them, with the sixth best finish, but could not score. In the grueling 400 hurdles, Mia Stahle (1:10.28) was second, supported by Tatum Holtkamp (1:14.97) in fifth place.
Cortez came back later, for a win in the 200 with Sophia Stahle second (26.59). Sell picked up an eighth place point (30.60) in that 22 runner field. A ‘double place’ in the 800—with Emma Bock (2:18.21) first and Kaia Holtkamp (2:22.13) third– added another 16 points to the Solon haul.
Ava Stebral, McQuinn, Addie Miller, and Grace Hoeper were second in the 1600 distance medley relay (4:46.32). MaK Levin’s 1:01.44 took the 400, Kerrigan Lyons’ fifth (1:07.08). Aisley Foster (1:08.71) would have been eighth…but for ‘two per school’. Kayla Young (5:16.13) and Gracie Federspiel (5:35.84) went third and sixth in the 1500.
Another relay? Another first. Mia Duckett led off the 4×100, with Aly Stahle, Sophia Stahle and MaK Levin taking the baton from there for a 51.22 turn around the track. Duckett, Callie Levin, Mia Stahle and Emma Wolff got the 4×200 win (1:49.51).
The meet ended with another Solon relay win. O’Neill led off the 4×400 relay, with Callie Levin, Kaia Holtkamp and Emma Bock taking it from there, for a 4:04.60 win.
Solon’s MaKinley Levin stretches her winning jump, at the Linn-Mar Invitational track meet, April 16. Levin and Taylor Lee of Center Point-Urbana traded the lead through the day, until Levin launched this 17-4 ¾ effort, passing Lee’s 17-3 in their final jumps.