SOLON — The Solon varsity girls track and field team finished ninth in last year’s State Co-Ed Meet and were second in the WaMaC Championships.
Coach Jess Hotek, in her third year as head coach and sixth year overall with the program, faces a roster minus graduated seniors Mia Duckett, Britt Elijah, Gracie Federspiel, Abigail Felton, Bella Jedlicka, Hailey Miller, Anna Quillin, Mia Stahle, Lilly Towne, and Ashlyn Williams. Duckett, Felton, Quillin, Stahle, and Towne were among the 16 events qualifying for the State Meet last year.
Aly Stahle, a senior this year, won the 100meter hurdles at the State Meet, earning All-State honors in the process. Returning with Aly are Trea Eidahl (junior), Zoey Grimm (senior), Sydney “Syd” Dee (senior), Ava Rowles (sophomore), Grace Hoeper (senior), Falyn Svalstad (sophomore), Marin Ashbacker (junior), Kobi Lietz (senior), Piper Stahle (junior), Avery Kellen (sophomore), and Jerzey Haluska (sophomore).
Dee qualified for State last year in the 1,500 and 3,000 run while Eidahl, Grimm, and Aly Stahle ran the shuttle hurdle relay (with Mia Stahle). Aly, Mia, and Piper Stahle, with Duckett, made up the State qualifying 4×100 with Piper Stahle, Ashbacker, Lietz, and Duckett on the 4×200 Haluska, Quillin, Hoeper, and Lietz ran the 4×400, Rolwes, Hoeper, Svalstad, and Quillin ran the 4×800, and Piper Stahle, Kellen, Duckett, and Lietz ran the 800meter sprint medley while Mia Stahle, Aly Stahle, Quillin, and Rolwes ran the distance medley.
The Lady Spartans welcome freshmen Kinley Mai, Addi Seamans, and Liv Nelson to the roster this season. All three were all members of the cross-country team that f inished 4th at the 2024 state meet. “We have a large number of underclassmen on the team,” said Hotek. “I’m excited to see them grow and develop throughout the season. I’m expecting to see a lot of really exciting improvements as the season progresses.”
The 2025 season opened Tuesday with the Girls A.D. Dickinson Relays at the UNIDome in Cedar Falls. The short indoor season continues Friday, March 14, with a trip to Iowa State University and the Lied Recreation Athletic Facility for the 2025 IATC Indoor Championships starting at 3:15 p.m. Indoor competition wraps up Tuesday, March 25 with the WaMaC Conference Indoor Meet in the Grinnell College Fieldhouse starting at 2:00 p.m.
The outdoor season kicks off in Mount Vernon Thursday, April 3 at 4:00 p.m. Solon’s annual Denny Gruber Relays is set for Tuesday, April 22 at 4:30 p.m.
“There are several really solid teams within the WaMaC so we will see great competition all throughout the season,” said Hotek.
U of I Prep sports journalism student Aj J Dolan contributed to this story