SOLON — Spartan Stadium will the site for one of the eight Class 3A state coed qualifying meets tonight. With wins in each of the past three years, the boy’s and girl’s senior classes look to conclude their careers undefeated in state qualifying meets.
Each team appears poised to send all seven relay teams and a plethora of individuals to Des Moines. The girls will be seeking to hit Drake Stadium’s Blue Oval in position for a third consecutive Class 3A title. The boys look to improve on last year’s 9th place finish.
The Lady Spartans feature four relays topping district 7, with two more favored to finish in the top two automatic qualifying spots. Although the 4×100 meter relay sits third, they look to be a shoo-in to at least grab one of the eight wild card spots going to the next fastest teams not finishing first or second at the state qualifying meets. 24 relay teams and individuals qualify for the state meet in each event.
On the boys side, two relays sit top ranked in the district with two more in the second automatic qualifying spot. The remaining three relays sit third or fourth and are likely to make the State Meet as wild cards as well.
Each team has a number of top ranked individuals. Seniors Gracie Federspiel (800 and 400 meters), Ben Kampman (shot put and discus) and Brick Kabela (3200 and 1600 meters) each lead district 7 in a pair of events. Senior Mike Yeomans leads the field in the 800-meter run. Juniors Aly Stahle (100-meter hurdles) and Kate Shafer (discus) also start Thursday as event leaders. All six were qualifiers for last year’s state meet with 5 taking home state medals.
Field events start at 4 pm today with running events starting at 4:45. The Iowa State Track meet starts Thursday May 16 and wraps up Saturday May 18.