As the final days of 2022 roll by we’re looking back at the year in sports for the Solon Spartans and Lady Spartans. As with any year there were triumphs and heartbreaks. Among the triumphs was the Lady Spartans’ Class 3A State Track and Field Championship.
Here then is a month-by-month look at but some of the many, many, many highlights.
February – The Lady Spartans defeated rival Mount Vernon 53-47 Feb. 8 in the final regular season home game led by Callie Levin with 24 points. Gage Marty, Jordan Schmidt, and Tyler Hancox qualified for the 2022 State Wrestling Tournament Feb. 12 in a Class 2A District 8 meet in Williamsburg. Marty improved to 45-2 at 285 pounds as he claimed the District Title while Schmidt and Hancox placed second at 126 and 220 pounds. Marty took second at State while Schmidt (only the second freshman in Solon history to qualify for State) and Hancox both fell in the first round and were eliminated after falling in the first consolation round.
The varsity boys’ basketball season ended Feb. 28 at Mount Vernon in a Class 3A Substate 4 Championship game against Central DeWitt as the Sabers topped Solon 47-37. Shawn Gilbert, a 6’9, 315-pound center, dominated the floor and led DeWitt with 26 points. Jake Quillin led the Spartans with 12.
The WaMaC’s All-Conference Basketball selections included several Spartans.
Callie Levin was named the WaMaC East Player of the Year and was a unanimous First Team pick. MaKinley Levin and Kaia Holtkamp were Second Team picks with Elly Holubar and Ava Stebral earning Honorable Mention (WaMaC Recognition). Kinnick Pusteoska was a First Team pick for the boys with Jacob Timmons named to the Second Team while Jake Benzing and Quillin received Recognition.
March — The girls track team met with early success with three first place finishes, two second place finishes, and a third place finish in the Dickinson Relays March 7 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Mia, Aly, and Sophia Stahle joined MaKinley Levin to win the 4×200 relay in 1:47.25. Gracie Federspiel, Meghan O’Neill, Anna Quillin, and Emma Bock won the 4×800 in 9:55.11, and Aly Stahle won the 200-meter dash in 27.18 seconds. Kaia Holtkamp and Gracie Federspiel won the high jump and 400-meter dash March 10 at the IATC State Meet in Ames with Holtkamp clearing 4’11 while Federspiel finished in 1:00.94. The Lady Spartans took second in team points behind Adel-Desoto-Minburn. On March 26 the ladies dominated the University of Dubuque’s indoor invitational with five first-place finishes and four second-place finishes.
The boys track team also shined early with Adam Smith winning the shot put March 19 at the WaMaC Indoor Meet in Grinnell. Top-ten finishes were put up by Blake Timmons (3rd in the 200-meter in 23.97 seconds), Nash Kotar (6th in the 60-meter hurdles in 9.6 seconds), and Barrett Schade, Grant Knipper, Charlie Brandt, and Wyatt Applegarth (6th in the 1,600-meter distance medley relay in 4:10.91).
The varsity soccer boys notched their first win against Regina Catholic (Iowa City) in 15 years March 31 as they shut out the Regals 4-0 at home. Dillon Bruck scored twice with one each from William Wittich and Keegan Conway. Bruck scored four goals March 28 in a 10-0 shelling of West Delaware.
The varsity girls opened with a 10-0 win over West Delaware March 28 at home with a 7-0 first half lead. Morgan Link scored four goals, Rose McAtee produced three.
April — The girls golf team opened the season by winning the Benton Community HS Bobcat Invitational April 9. Lilly Houtakker shot 97 (47, 50) to lead Solon.
The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) announced Coralville’s Xtream Arena will be home to the Girls State Wrestling Tournament starting in 2023, closing out the first season as an IGHSAU-sanctioned sport.
The Lady Spartans won Williamsburg’s track meet by 45 points over Prairie, Cedar Rapids. Mia Stahle, MaKinley Levin, Sophia Stahle, and Emma Bock won the sprint medley relay in 1:49.28, Addy McQuinn, Emma Wolff, Callie Levin, and Kaia Holtkamp won the distance medley in 4:34.05 while Holtkamp, Meghan O’Neill, Gracie Federspiel, and Bock won the 4×400 in 4:07.33. Individual wins came from O’Neill in the 400 dash (1:03.80) and Aly Stahle in the 200 dash (27.01 seconds).
The Spartan golfers improved to 10-0 with a 156-196 home win over Maquoketa April 12 at the Lake MacBride Golf Course.
Morgan Link was named KCRG TV9’s Athlete of the Week April 14 during a four-game winning streak including a 4-0 shut out of Mid-Prairie and a 1-0 win over Beckman Catholic (Dyersville).
The Varsity boys defeated Benton Community 2-1 in overtime April 23 with William Wittich equalizing the match at 1-1 late in the second half and Dillon Bruck scoring three minutes into the first overtime period for the sudden death victory. The Spartans defeated WaMaC East rival Mount Vernon 2-1 in sudden death overtime April 29 with Bruck banging in the winning goal off an assist by Wittich.
The annual Denny Gruber Co-Ed Relays was held April 19 with the boys winning with 168 team points and the girls dominating the field with 223, more than double runner-up Mount Vernon (107). Several Solon athletes qualified for the Drake Relays with the girls 4×400 relay squad of O’Neill, Holtkamp, Federspiel, and Bock winning in 3:56.24. Bock set a new school record in the 800-meter run with a 2:14.33 effort good for seventh, and a 57.31 finish in the 400 dash, good for eighth and besting grad Erin Kerkhoff’s 2019 record. Mia, Aly, and Sophia Stahle with Calla Foster reset the shuttle hurdle relay record with a 1:06.82 finish for fifth place.
Blake Timmons, Trin Eidahl, Austin Knight, and Michael Pipolo put up their season-best time in the 4×100 relay at 44.56 seconds but finished 49th at Drake.
May — The Spartans shut out Center Point-Urbana (CPU) 4-0 at home May 3 with another hat trick by Dillon Bruck and a goal from freshman Caleb Bock. Williamsburg fell to the Spartans 3-0 May 5. The boys improved to 13-2 overall and 9-2 in the WaMaC East with road shutout wins over Independence and Vinton-Shellsburg. Owen Erusha, William Wittich, and Bruck scored in a 3-0 win over Independence. Senior Night was celebrated May 17 with a 5-0 win over Clear Creek Amana (CCA) with three goals scored in the first ten minutes. Bruck scored twice, Wittich and Gabe Hinman scored once each, and Bock produced a goal as well. Wittich and Bruck scored twice each in a 2A substate match against Aplington-Parkersburg/Dike-New Hartford May 19. Eli Freerks, Keegan Conway, Ethan McLaughlin (penalty kick), Logan Sieverding, Erusha, and Bock rounded out the scoring.
The boys rolled 7-0 over Independence in the 2A substate 5 semifinals May 23 but fell 2-1 to Bondurant-Farrar in the May 25 finals.
The Lady Spartans racked up a 5-0 winning streak to finish out the regular season with a 5-0 victory against West Branch, a 2-0 victory over Independence, a 1-0 Senior Night win over Vinton-Shellsburg, and a 1-0 win over WaMaC West rival Clear Creek Amana in Tiffin: all in one hectic and hot week. Tali Radcliffe and Morgan Link scored twice each against West Branch with one goal from freshman Farrah Hendricks. Link and freshman Elena Swan scored one goal apiece against Independence. The Golden Hawks of Mid Prairie fell 2-0 to Solon May 18 in the first round of Class 1A Region 7 action in Solon. Rose McAtee booted one in for a goal early in the second half, and Hendricks put in the second goal late in the half. The Washington Demons fell 4-0 in the semifinals May 24 but the Van Meter Bulldogs bit the Lady Spartans 4-0 in the finals. Hendricks, Gabby Knipper, Alex Locke, and Link scored against the Demons. The ladies finished the season at 16-4 overall.
The varsity track boys took third at the WaMaC conference meet May 5 at Beckman Catholic behind CCA and Benton Community. Jeremy Bachus won the 400-meter run in 50.51 seconds, Brady Mullen was second in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.42 seconds, and Austin Knight, Bachus, Rhett Mesch, and Jake Timmons took second in the 4×400 relay in 3:28.85. Nash Kotar, Charlie Brandt, Cole Carney, and Mullen were third in the shuttle hurdle relay in 1:04.14, Adam Smith was third in the discus with a 178’ throw, Oaken Foster was third in the 400 meter hurdles in 59.83 seconds while Grant Gerdin, Parker Pentico, Mesch, and Michael Yeomans were third in the 1,600 meter distance medley relay in 3:45.80. The Spartans won the State Qualifying meet May 12 with Adam Smith winning the shot put, Bachus winning the 400 dash, Yeomans winning the 800 meter run, and Mullen taking second place in the 110-meter high hurdles. At-large qualifiers included the shuttle hurdle relay (Kotar, Brandt, Carney, Mullen), distance medley relay (Grant Gerdin, Jacob Timmons, Knight, Ty Becicka), and the 4×100 (Knight, Mesch, Timmons, and Bachus). The Spartans finished 33rd in team points at the State Meet with a PR (personal record) for Bachus as he took fourth in the 400 dash in 49.74 seconds. Knight, Bachus, Mesch, and Timmons put up a new school record in the 4×400 of 3:28.62 (10th place).
The varsity girls track team put up 11 wins at the WaMaC conference meet May 4. Mia Stahle, MaKinley Levin, Sophia Stahle, and Emma Bock broke a WaMaC record with their winning sprint medley relay time of 1:50.27. Kayla Young won the 3,000 meter run in 10:59, Gracie Federspiel, Grace Hoeper, Anna Quillin, and Kaia Holtkamp won the 4×800 in 9:51.98, Aly Stahle won the 100 dash in 12.88 seconds. “MaK” Levin, Aly Stahle, Mia Duckett, and Emma Wolff set another WaMaC record with a 49.66 seconds winning finish in the 4×100 while Callie Levin, Holtkamp, Federspiel, and Bock won the 4×400 in 4:04.80. Holtkamp won the high jump by clearing 5’0. The State Qualifying meet was held May 12 with another team championship for Solon and 17 out of 19 events automatically qualifying including all seven relays, seven individual running events, and two field events. That all led up to the Lady Spartans’ first 3A State Championship. The ladies broke four school records: the 4×100, 4×200, shuttle hurdle relay, and Emma Bock Her own 400 meters record.
The girls golf team finished second in the WaMaC East Divisional meet May 2 led by Taylor Dee with 48, and took third in the WaMaC Super Meet May 9 with Camryn Keith leading Solon with 93 (46-47). Taylor Dee led the Lady Spartans to the State Golf Meet as the team finished second behind Wahlert Catholic (Dubuque) May 18 at Brown Deer in Coralville. Dee shot 87, a personal best and good for third on the leaderboard. Keith had 92 (also a personal best), Lilly Houtakker shot 101, Peyton Pentico put up a personal best of 102, Rylie Greazel had a personal best of 105, and Izzy Messenger had a personal best 107. The Lady Spartans were eighth in the team standings at State with 832 led by Keith with 100.
For the varsity boys it was a runner up finish at the WaMaC Super Meet May 9 with Frank Haege Jr. winning the individual championship with 78 (39-39). The boys won their 3A Sectional meet May 11 with 239 and were led by Mac McCarty’s 71. The Spartans won the 3A District Meet May 16 with Isaiah Zoske and Marion’s Nathan Whalen tied for first with 75. Whalen won a playoff by one stroke to win individual medalist. Haege carded 77, Jack McCarty had 81, Mac McCarty shot 82, Brennan Heesch shot 85, and Nathan Miller had 88.
As if the month wasn’t busy enough with track, soccer, and golf, May also saw the start of the baseball season with the Spartans pounding out 30 runs in their season opening doubleheader May 16 on the road at Vinton-Shellsburg. Solon won 14-10 and 16-5 with Jacob Timmons nailing a homer and fie RBIs in game one. Brick Kabela took the win with four innings on the mound, Drew Wilcox pitched three. Parker Pentico earned the nightcap win in four innings with Tyson Wheeler pitching one inning. White slammed a three-run homer May 27 at home against Washington (Iowa) in a 6-4 victory.
It was the first season for new head softball coach Brad Holub, who led the Anamosa Blue Raiders to their first State Tournament in 25 years in the 2021 season. Holub and his Lady Spartans opened the season May 23 falling 8-6 and 9-5 to Maquoketa with a homerun by Addie Miller in game one and a double in game two by Izzy Frees. May 26 Solon swept Independence on the Mustangs’ diamond taking game one 13-3 and the nightcap 4-2. Miller and Tiffany Primmer each had a game one double with three singles by Ava Stebral. Carly Ellison belted a double in the nightcap with three hits apiece from Meghan O’Neill and Ellison. Frees went the distance in game two giving up four hits and two unearned runs while striking out five.
Next week we’ll round out the rest of the year in Spartan sports.

Gallery • 27 Photos

Joe Petz • Contributed Photo

Gage Marty is declared the winner over Columbus/WMU’s Russel Coil Feb. 12 in the 2A District 8 meet in Williamsburg. Marty won the 285-pound title to advance to the State Tournament.