AMES — Solon boys track kicked off the varsity season Thursday, March 7 at the Iowa State indoor championships in Ames. The Spartans showed they will be a state title contender in Des Moines when May rolls around. Senior Mike Yeomans led the charge winning the class 3A 800 meter run (1:59.07) and anchoring the victorious 4×400 meter relay team in an outstanding indoor time of 3:28.86.
The Spartans sat in the middle pack of the team race most of the meet until senior Brick Kabela shattered his 3200 meter run school record, finishing second in 9:25.62. The 4×400 relay then took to the track and won going away to end the meet. The late 18 point outburst helped Solon surge past WaMaC rival Clear Creek Amana putting the Spartans on the podium in third, a point behind runner up Pella (47 points). ADM ran away with the 3A team title scoring 79 points.
Solon’s all senior distance medley team of Grant Knipper, Rhett Mesch, Keenan Kruse and Grant Bumsted got the running events started with a bang. The quartet placed second in 3:40.96. Bumsted, Knipper and Mesch later joined Yeomans to win the 4×400 relay by nearly 8 seconds and set a new meet record.
Freshman Kaden Hoeper followed up his strong showing at the Dickinson Relays earlier in the week with a 6-1 effort in the high jump, good for 5th place. He placed 6th on Tuesday clearing 6-2. Assistant coach Pat Parysz loves Hoeper’s no back down attitude despite being a freshman. “He’s not going to shy away. He took the opportunity and put the pedal to the floor.”
Yeomans said mission accomplished for the season kickoff. “I just wanted to win my events and win the meet; I wasn’t that concerned about times.” Yeomans added the Drake Relays blue standard for the 800-meter run and 1600-meter relay are definitely on his mind going forward. The Blue standard was also on Kabela’s mind as he sat with the 3rd fastest time among all classes for the early season. “I was targeting a finish in the 9:20-9:25 range. I think this takes the pressure off trying to run a fast time outdoors in unpredictable weather and safely gets me into Drake.”
The Spartans also picked up points from the 4×100 meter relay team (senior Milo Ashbacker, senior Brayden Moore, sophomore Einar Stecher and sophomore Eli Kampman). The foursome clocked 45.44, good for 5th place. The shuttle hurdle relay team (junior Cole Carney, freshman Maddox Kelley, senior Ben Duckett and Kruse) placed 7th in 35.89.
Solon coach Mark Sovers was pleased with his team’s performance, despite several keys runners and jumpers not competing at the meet. “I’m just pleased the way this group respects the process and goes out and competes no matter what the circumstances.” He added, “WaMaC indoor will be no different……they have the confidence to set high goals and get after them together.”
The Spartans start up again after spring break competing in Grinnell Tuesday, March 19 at the WaMaC indoor championship. They open the outdoor season in Mount Vernon Thursday, March 28.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Mike Kabela/special to the Solon Economist

From left – Mike Yeomans, Rhett Mesch, Grant Bumsted, and Grant Knipper celebrate on the podium after setting the meet record in the 4x400 relay March 7 at the Iowa State Indoor Championships in Ames.