The courses were crowded last week with Solon cross country runners stacked up against many teams they see off and on through the fall. There was also a half dozen or more (from different enrollment classes) the Class 3A Spartans and Lady Spartans will likely not see the rest of the season. The September 26 Williamsburg Invitational brought together over 100 runners in each of the varsity races. The varsity girls finished third among 15 full (minimum five runner) lineups with several more unscored (partial lineups) teams. The varsity boys were fourth among 17 teams.
At Williamsburg, Maya Bergstrom of Carlisle was the girls’ winner covering the 5K in 19:44. For the Lady Spartans, senior Anna Quillin (20:36) and junior Sydney Dee (20:36) on her shoulder, crossed 10th and 11th. Freshmen Falyn Svalstad (21:09) and Ava Rolwes (21:16) were 18th and 21st. From there senior Gracie Federspiel (21:36) grabbed 26th and Solon’s fifth scoring spot in the 101-runner swarm. Another 94 competed in the junior varsity field.
Pella’s girls, top ranked in Class 3A all season, won the meet with 42 points. From there, it went Mount Vernon-Lisbon (72), 6th ranked Solon (84), and then a mix of larger and small schools.
Pella’s Canaan Dunham was the boys’ medalist, running 15:59. For Solon, ranked 9th last week in 3A, four seniors and a junior carried the load. Brick Kabela (16:36) crossed sixth. Michael Yeomans (17:25) came next in 24th. From there, Collin Bumsted (17:46) nailed down 32nd. Lawsin Sinnwell was 35th in 17:55, Junior Evan Burg was next (capping the Spartans’ First Five) with his 18:03, 36th-place finish among 116 varsity runners on the course. Want more? There were 163 boys finishing the JV race at Williamsburg.
Editor’s note: full results are available at https://ia.milesplit.com/meets/573195-williamsburg-invitational-2023/results.
In boys’ team scoring, Pella again (41 points) took the top spot. Then, it went Carlisle (80), Mount Vernon-Lisbon (113), South Tama (129) and Solon (141), with 12 more schools following.
Huge cross country crowd in Waverly
More than 1,000 runners were on the course Saturday, September 30 for the Steve Johnson Invitational cross country meet at Waverly. And that was only high schoolers! Several hundred college runners had wrapped up their races earlier across long flat stretches of brown grass on the Wartburg College course. The high school segment of the Mega Meet attracted runners from not only Iowa, but into Wisconsin and Minnesota as well.
Solon’s varsity girls hit the turf among 42 schools and finished fourth in the team summary. Hempstead of Dubuque (ranked third in Class 4A) won the meet with 60 points. Gilbert (ranked #2 in 3A) was second with 119. Behind individual winner and top ranked Danielle Hostetler, Mid-Prairie, the top-ranked team in 1A, took third with 201. At 225 points, Solon (ranked #6 in Class 3A) was the best of the rest. In cross country, scoring fewer points is better. Totals stretched past 1000 points for each of the last six schools in the girls’ race.
Scoring for the Lady Spartans came in a pack, and within 32 seconds. Anna Quillin crossed 39th (21:11), Sydney Dee was 40th (21:12) followed by Gracie Federspiel at 44th (21:19), Falyn Svalstad 47th (21:20), and Ava Rolwes 60th, (21:43).
In the 49-school boys’ race, top ranked 4A Cedar Falls took the title with 102 points. Waukee Northwest (#3 in 4A) was runner-up with 164. Gilbert, at the top of 3A’s rankings was third (177). Then came 4A #12 Urbandale (184) and #13 Iowa City Liberty (206) in the boys’ top five spots. Ranked 9th in Class 3A state rankings, the Spartans snagged the 20th team spot (483 points).
Brick Kabela’s 16.52 was good for 41st place among 414 boys. Michael Yeoman was 101st (17:44), Collin Bumsted finished 142nd (18:15), Lawsin Sinnwell came in 148th at 18:15 with Grant Bumsted finishing 184th at 188:50 according to team scoring figures posted. Again, at the other end of the standings, the 16 lowest finish schools each rang up over 1000 points each!
With 90-degree temperatures expected, meet officials made adjustments. “Race times were moved an hour, and the fields got even larger,” explained Solon Coach Emy Williams. “Instead of two (enrollment) classes, they ran one class for varsity.” Boosting Solon’s strong girls’ finish though? “I think Gracie Federspiel had a great race for us. She ran smart, competed well, and just looked strong.”
“Today, as a team, we talked about just taking advantage of the conditions; having everybody find somebody to compete with during the race,” reviewed Williams. “Our girls really did take advantage of that, placing fourth, and beating Mt. Vernon—who we hadn’t beaten all season. Even though it was hot, they took advantage. And the boys ran a pretty good race; got a little bit spread out, but they competed at the end and came back.”
Editor’s note: full results are available online at https://ia.milesplit.com/meets/575453-steve-johnsondan-houston-invitational2023/info.
The runners and coaches now look ahead to the last weeks of the season. “As a team, we will cut back, not as many intense workouts during the week; still getting in one or two,” anticipates Williams. “We’ve had quite a few meets (lately). Now, we are getting our bodies to feel strong and fast. We’ve put in a lot of work the last three weeks. We will take advantage of that.”
The end of the season is in-sight, Solon to host 3A State Qualifying meet
Solon’s top-ten ranked boys and girls look toward the season’s end Saturday with another traditionally strong meet at North Linn High School, near Coggon. From there, it’s the ‘Conference’ meet Thursday, October 12 at Antioch Christian Church (433 Cross Road, just off of Hwy. 13) near Marion, and the Class 3A State Qualifier Wednesday, October 18 hosted by Solon at the Solon Recreation and Nature Area. And, potentially, the Class 3A State Meet Saturday, October 28 at Kennedy Park in Fort Dodge.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Joe Petz • Contributed photo

Gracie Federspiel and Falyn Svalstad run at the head of a good-sized pack Tuesday, Sept. 26 in Williamsburg.