By nightfall Wednesday, Solon’s cross country teams knew whether all the miles had turned to smiles, and if their performance at the October 19 state qualifying meet at West Delaware rewarded the season’s hard work with a berth at the Class 3A State Meet. The top three teams at each of five regional Class 3A qualifiers this week punched their tickets to the October 29 State Meet in Fort Dodge. The top 15 individuals (from each regional run) also take the trip.
Ahead of this week’s Class 3A state qualifier, however, came conference meets across Iowa. And Solon held up well at their WaMaC conference run, October 13, in Independence.
Spartans take third at WaMaC meet
Marion (ranked third in Class 3A) won the boys meet with 61 points. Marion’s Jedidiah Osgood, #1 in the individual state rankings, was the meet medalist crossing in 16:52. Mount Vernon-Lisbon, 10th in 3A, came through with 71 team points for runner-up. Solon’s 10th ranked boys were third with 92 among the ten teams on the course.
“Our boys actually ran pretty well,” said head coach Emy Williams. “We were missing Evan Burg, who was our ‘third’ runner, so the rest of the team really moved up. Wyatt Applegarth was new to varsity, just stepping up from JV. He was our fifth runner at Conference and did a great job.” Applegarth ran18:25 (37th place) over the five kilometer course on the State Hospital campus. Along with him, regulars Brick Kabela (fourth, 16:57), Mike Yeomans (11th, 17:13), and Grant Bumsted (18th, 17:38) emerged with All Conference ratings in the top 20 in the field of 77 runners. “They each had great races, real strong races,” applauded Williams.
The boys were backed by a strong Junior Varsity performance too, finishing fourth. Mason Pauley led the Spartans with a ninth place finish (19:00). Joining him in the top 20 were teammates Spencer Michels (11th, 19:02), Nate Shafer (17th, 19:23), and Hayden Henneberry (19:25) in a field of 79.
“Again, we put four people in the top 20. It was fun to see them on that course, finishing hard, competing. It is hard to say goodbye to this year’s seniors,” admitted Williams. “There were a lot of seniors on both teams who are now done running. They have just been great leaders for us!”
Lady Spartans notch second place at Conference
On the girls side, 12th rated (Class 3A) Mount Vernon-Lisbon (MV-L) took the team title, with 50 points. MV-L’s Lourdes Mason was the meet medalist. The Lady Spartans notched 68 for runner-up. Clear Creek Amana was third of the ten teams on the turf with 79 points.
“Mt. Vernon-Lisbon probably ran their best race of the season at WaMaC,” said Williams. “We too, looked strong though, with four all-conference runners.”
Kayla Young was first through the chute for Solon and claimed meet runner-up to Mason in 19:23. Freshman Sydney Dee was seventh in 20:20. “Sydney Dee is really starting to figure out how to run cross country, what she can do and how to push herself to a top ten finish,” applauded Williams. Mary Fiala (20:50) crossed 16th, with Ashlyn Williams three seconds back in 19th place. The fifth team scoring spot went to Gracie Federspiel (24th, 21:28). Ella Sheeley was 27th (21:39) and Mara Düster was 29th (21:45).
Williams also applauded the depth in the girls Junior Varsity finish. “I think it’s our sixth year in a row, that we have won the JV conference meet. We had the individual winner too in each of the last three years. That really shows the depth of our team, winning that many years in a row, and showing how many people we can put in front. Six of our girls this season finished in the JV top 20. It’s amazing to see what those girls can do, how talented we are!”
A 1-2-3 finish included Sophia Stahle with the win (22:02), Mia Duckett second (22:06). and Kerrigan Lyons third (22:25). Then came Delaney DeWild in fifth (22:49), Kate Richards eighth (23:03), and Grace Fiala one second back in ninth.
Mia Duckett has her eyes on the finish line at the recent North Linn cross country meet. Duckett and a half dozen other teammates boost the overall strength of Solon’s #3 rated girls team, rotating up to varsity occasionally, and pushing their teammates.