DES MOINES — A two-year assault on the Solon’s boys track record book ended in Des Moines Saturday May 18 as the Spartans finished 5th in the Class 3A team race. Duke University commit, senior Ben Kampman, was top scorer grabbing gold in the discus (186-3) Thursday morning and bronze in the shot with a career best 55-6 3/4 toss Friday. Kampman was surrounded by fellow WaMaC competitors edging Williamsburg rival Derek Weiskopf in the discus and finishing between Vinton-Shellsburg’s Tony Walsh and Independence’ Brady McDonald in the shot put. Kampman ends his career with the Solon discus record, number one ranking in Iowa by ten feet and a top-10 ranking nationally. “It’s definitely nice competing with the WaMaC guys, we’re all pretty friendly with each other,” Kampman stated. When asked about his discus performance helping his shot-put placing Kampman added, “I was just glad to get it (a state discus title) done. It gave me a lot of confidence going into the shot.”
State meet veterans Mike Yeomans and Brick Kabela had hands in five school records during meet. Kabela was first to strike Thursday taking seven seconds off his 3200-meter record and finishing 5th in 9:18.44. The finish was bittersweet as the senior was on the short end of a three-way photo finish as he hit the line with two Lewis Central runners. The trio finished within .09 of each other. Yeomans helped put a smile back on Kabela’s face less than two hours later when he threw down a 1:55.97 anchor for Solon’s 4×800 relay to set another school record in 8:00.48 placing third and chopping over nine seconds off their previous mark. Senior Grant Bumsted, sophomore Spencer Michels and Kabela rounded out the podium placing squad that joined fellow WaMaC teams, Center Point-Urbana and South Tama going 1-2-3.
In addition to Kampman’s shot put performance, Friday saw several preliminary races and the Class 3A long jump. Junior Caleb Bock, the Solon record holder, earned his first state medal placing 8th with a best jump of 21-2.
Saturday, Yeomans and Kabela went back to work. In bright sun and 85 degrees, Yeomans ran middle of the Class 3A 800-meter pack for most of the race. The strategy worked to perfection as he was able to hug the rail waiting to unleash a massive kick in the final 100 meters. He crossed the finish line 4th, lowering his school record to 1:55.84. The unflappable Yeomans was happy but weary in the hot conditions. “I just wanted to get a high place and get it over. I’m really happy how it went through,” Yeomans remarked.
The conditions were no easier on Kabela who took the track in the late afternoon with sun beating down on the 1600-meter runners. Following a similar game plan, Kabela elbowed his way into the back of the lead breakaway pack on lap two and held on for a scorching 4:20.87, taking 4 second off his previous record and placing 6th. “4:20 getting 6th, 4:23 getting 8th is insane. The 3A distance talent is just crazy so I’ll take it,” Kabela said after the finish. His 5th and 6th place finishes would have placed him 6th and 7th in the class 4A distance races showing the depth of talent in Class 3A.
Bumsted and Yeomans claimed their second relay record of the meet to cap off Saturday. The pair teamed with seniors Rhett Mesch and Grant Knipper to clock 3:22.63 finishing 6th and taking a half second off their prior record set in the preliminary races on Friday. The points were crucial as they finished a single tally ahead of rival WaMaC teams Center Point-Urbana and Clear Creek-Amana who tied for 6th with 37 points. Western Dubuque won the team crown nipping ADM 72-71, behind sophomore Quentin Nauman’s three individual golds and distance medley anchor win.
Seniors leave lasting mark on the record board
With the conclusion of the season, the record board at Solon includes the following departing seniors and their number of entries: Brick Kabela (4), Mike Yeomans (3), Grant Bumsted (2), Rhett Mesch (2), Ben Kampman, Austin Knight, Brayden Moore, Milo Ashbacker, Grant Knipper, Nash Kotar, Charlie Brandt, Ben Duckett (1 each).
Juniors Eddie Johnson and Caleb Bock along with sophomore Spencer Michels also have an entry on the record board. The group holds records in ten of Solon’s 19 track events contested in Iowa. Thank you seniors, and good luck underclassmen!
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Gallery • 4 Photos

Mike Kabela/Special to the Solon Economist

Ben Kampman won the Class 3A boys discus competition in the State Meet this past Thursday with a 186’-3” throw. The Solon senior not only won the event but set a new Solon HS record and planted himself in the top-ten nationally.