IOWA CITY — A short and light drizzle misted the track at Iowa City West High School on Saturday morning, but the Solon Spartans weren’t about to let a little rain dampen their performance at the Hollingsworth Relays. As the meet unfolded, the Spartans showed early promise, with multiple athletes setting personal records and turning in strong performances. Despite finishing fourth overall out of six teams, head coach Mark Sovers was encouraged by what he saw from his young roster.
“After losing 23 seniors to graduation, I’ve liked what I’ve seen from this young group,” Sovers said, watching his athletes cool down after their races. With the first month of competition winding down, he added, “This team is off to a better start than in previous years.”
Sovers went on to congratulate Junior Will Brandt and sophomores Maddox Kelley and Kaden Hoeper.
Starting with Kelley as he stood at the end of the runway, eyes looking down the dirt about 40 meters away, mentally rehearsing his approach. As he sprinted at full speed toward the mark at the last moment, he launched himself forward, before landing in the sand. With a measurement of 20 feet, 2.5 inches a season-best for Kelley and good enough for fifth place overall.
Just ahead of him was senior Caleb Bock, whose leap landed him a 20-foot, 9.5-inch mark, placing him in fourth.
Junior Will Brandt was geared up for a long day as he appeared in three races. Brandt exploded out of the running blocks as the starting gun fired, his form clean as he sailed over the first hurdle. With every cleared hurdle, he pulled further ahead of the pack.
By the final stretch, Brandt finished strong, charging past the finish line in 58.71 seconds, a personal record that secured him first place.
He didn’t have long before his next race, the 4×200-meter relay. He kept the momentum rolling as Solon secured second place with a time of 1:33.75.
Not done yet, Brandt later took the track again to anchor the 4×400-meter relay. Despite being out of breath moments earlier, he drove through his last 400 meters of the day to help Solon to a fourth-place finish in 3:44.09.
Across the stadium, sophomore Kaden Hoeper prepared for the high jump. The bar sat at 6 feet, 4 inches, a height he had never cleared in competition before. As he reached the takeoff point, he planted his foot, launched himself upward, and arched his back over the bar. With the bar still standing, he secured first place in the event.
Sovers was pleased with his team’s early success to start the season.
“If you can start at a certain level, you know you can be competitive when it’s all said and done,” he said. “This group is doing that.”
“They’re doing everything we ask of them in practice, and today it showed,” Sovers added.
The Spartans will be back in action on April 3 at Mount Vernon High School, looking to build on their momentum.