CORALVILLE — The four state qualifiers from Solon High School sat on the floor of Xtream Arena with tear-filled eyes.
On Thursday, February 6, the Lady Spartans state qualifiers – Olivia Bonnema, Tess Richards, McKenna Rogers, and Kara VeDepo – failed to advance past the quarterfinal round in the Iowa High School Girls State Wrestling Tournament held at Xtream Arena.
Bonnema and Rogers advanced to the quarterfinals while VeDepo and Richards were eliminated in the first round.
“Things don’t always go our way,” Head Coach Jake Munson said Thursday evening.
A state final farewell
Bonnema and VeDepo, took the wrestling mat for the last time this weekend in a Solon uniform. Coach Munson said they haven’t ruled out wrestling in college.
Bonnema is a three-time state qualifier. Ahead of the season she tore her labrum, so at the end of the tournament on Saturday she defined her senior season in one word, perseverance.
“It’s something that I love to do,” Bonnema said. Bonnema wrestled all season with two torn labrums, one tear was 6 cm and the other tear was 4 cm. She competed in her final season injured for her teammates and the love of the sport.
“I didn’t want my final season to slip away like that,” she said.
Making it to the state quarterfinals on injury is no small feat, but it also wasn’t the results that Solon’s Lady Spartans had hoped for.
“It’s unbelievable,” Munson said, “I’m just in shock.”
A promise to come back stronger
After a disappointing first day of competition at the State Wrestling Competition, Munson said Solon will rebound and rebuild.
“Tomorrow will be better,” he said.
Munson reflected on how wonderful the 2024- 2025 season was for the Solon Girls Wrestling Program.
“…the camaraderie this team has shown and the way they’ve worked together,” he said.
And there’s more work to be done, more meets to look forward to.
Next season, the Lady Spartans will have two state qualifiers returning to their team: Junior McKenna Rogers and Sophomore Tess Richards.
“Both of those two are two of [the] more talented wrestlers in the area and in the state,” Munson said.