MARION — A strong showing at their WaMaC Conference meet had Solon cross country runners eyeing a return trip to State this week. Heading through the post-season, Solon’s girls were ranked fifth in Class 3A last week by the Iowa Association of Track/Cross Country Coaches. The boys showed up 13th. They bolstered those picks with a win (boys) and a runner-up (girls) finish in the October 12 WaMaC conference meet at Marion.
Their last stop before State—the Class 3A qualifying meet was slated for October 18—at home. The 2023 State Meet is October 28 in Fort Dodge. Meanwhile, Solon’s coach liked what she saw, at WAMAC.
Boys edge Mt. Vernon/Lisbon for WaMaC title
“With the boys, we have talked about getting out hard at the beginning of the race; and setting yourselves up for success. We’ve stressed running as a team; supporting each other. They listened and did exactly that last week,” applauded Coach Emy Williams. The win on the boys’ side couldn’t have been much closer at 85-87 over Mount Vernon-Lisbon despite MV-L medalist Grady Oberding’s 16:13 trek over the five kilometers for the win. Clear Creek Amana was third at 98 with South Tama fourth at 100. From there it was a 40-point drop before the eight remaining schools filled the remaining slots.
Brick Kabela led the Spartans, crossing third in 16:31. Spencer Michels (17:29, 15th) was next over for Solon. “Coach is always telling us to pack together. It really worked out well,” agreed Michels. “I went out slower, but in control, to keep the pace throughout. I’d see people that didn’t need to be (in front of me) and kept passing them during the race.” Teammates Michael Yeomans (17:38, 20th), Collin Bumsted (17:42, 21st), and Evan Burg (17:47, 26th) claimed the Spartans’ five scoring spots in the field of 82 runners with Grant Bumsted (30th, 17:55.8) and Lawsin Sinnwell (47th, 18:28.6).
Did having six seniors at the starting line help their cause? “They all got out super strong and put themselves in great position and stayed right where they were, the whole race,” agreed Williams.
Second place for the girls as they head through post-season
It was Mount Vernon-Lisbon, again, for the ‘double’ team win at WaMaC October 12. Solon’s Lady Spartans though were the only team close at 58 to 69 for the 1-2 team finish. “Their girls are another strong team. It’s harder to beat them because they have an ‘out front’ runner (meet runner-up Eastin Whisner, in 20:05) and their pack approach,” Coach Williams pointed out. “But I think we did close on them a little. Sydney Dee ran a great race. With Anna Quillin, they both made first team all-conference. We just continually work on closing that gap. The weather (cold, cloudy, windy) wasn’t that great, but our times were still pretty good,” assessed Williams. “The girls wanted to run.”
Dee was fifth (20:19) in the 77-runner field with Quillin ninth (20:31), leading the Lady Spartan pack.
“I really like the long downhills and the (winding) open course,” said Dee. “You can see other people running in front of you. It’s easy to see the front pack, even though I might not have been running with them.”
The Solon finish was boosted by freshman Falyn Svalstad (11th, 20:48)—a second team all-conference honor, junior Ella Sheeley (21st, 21:16), senior Gracie Federspiel (23rd, 21:24), and then another freshman- Ava Rolwes (24th, 21:26). With junior Rose McAtee (22:13, 41st), Solon locked down second place.
In the team standings, it went Mount Vernon/Lisbon (58), then Solon (69), Marion (88), Center Point-Urbana (109), Clear Creek-Amana (138), and Williamsburg (158). From there Benton, West Delaware, Vinton-Shellsburg and Grinnell filled out the standings. Independence and South Tama did not field girls’ teams at this one.
Now, with the calendar showing season’s end, what is left to be done? “I probably haven’t reached my peak yet,” assessed Dee. “I want to beat my PR (20 minutes flat), yet. I will like running on our Solon course again at the state qualifier. There aren’t as many hills. And we have a great crowd to cheer us on”
JV girls second, boys third
Mia Duckett and Jillian Jansen’s third-and-fourth place finishes in 22:18.6 and 22:25.7 led the JV Lady Spartans to a second-place team finish (40 points) behind Mount Vernon-Lisbon (24 points). Marion (94), Clear Creek Amana (104), West Delaware (116), Williamsburg (186), CPU (202), and Benton Community (227) rounded out the field.
Also for Solon were Ashlyn Williams (8th, 22:43.1), Mya Fordice (12th, 23:17.8), Keegan Kleppe (13th, 23:34.2), Joli Sinnwell (23rd, 24:29.8), Brynn Sheeley (28th, 24:44.9), Marin Ashbacker (32nd, 24:54.6), Piper Stahle (36th, 25:02.6), Olivia Bonnema (39th, 25:07.9), Maddy Bogard (43rd, 25:23.4), Sophia Miles (48th, 25:48.1), Miranda Simison (70th, 25:28.0), and Bella Jedlicka (74th, 28:59.9).
Wyatt Applegarth led the junior varsity boys to a third-place team finish with his third place showing (18:46.1) behind CPU’s Isaac Larson (1st, 18:29.3) and MV-L’s Teague Krob (18:34.7). Mount Vernon-Lisbon won with 44 points followed by Clear Creek Amana (69) and the Spartans (80). CPU (105), Grinnell (111), Williamsburg (132), West Delaware (181), Marion (190), Benton Community (290), South Tama (298), and Vinton-Shellsburg (308) rounded out the field.
Also for Solon were Camden Lyons (7th, 18:59.3), Rene Meza (19th, 19:39.5), Homecoming King Ben Duckett (21st, 19:48.5), Mason Pauley (30th, 20:00.8), Owen Young (34th, 20:14.5), Braydon Baker (44th, 20:30.8), Caden Mai (50th, 20:40.3), Ethan Ressler (67th, 21:14.4), Rhett Mesch (71st, 21:20.3), Gabe Nicholson (86th, 21:40.0), Owen Rekers (89th, 21:46.5), Harbor Viet (90th, 21:47.1), Charlie Pettit (97th, 22:03.2), Ethan Melloy (105th, 22:41.3), Ben Yeomans (110th, 22:46.7), Evan Gleason (112th, 22:53.07), Evzen Meza (116th, 23:08.7), Tyler Gregory (118th, 23:16.0), Max Ferin (125th, 23:58.9), Benjamin Fetzer (141st, 26:21.2), Clayton Cooney (142nd, 26:23.0), and Porter Ball (149th, 27:36.6).
Editor Chris Umscheid contributed to this report with thanks to Andrew Kauder, Kauder Racing, LLC.
Solon XC boys win WaMaC, girls second, State Qualifier this week
October 18, 2023
About the Contributor
Chris Umscheid, Editor
Chris Umscheid is the editor of the Solon Economist.