Jami Martin-Trainor | For the Solon Economist
Evan Burg blasts out of the blocks for the first leg of the 4x200-meter relay Thursday, April 3 in the Mount Vernon Relays. Burg, Brady White, Eli Kampman, and Caleb Bock took 4th in 1:34.13 and the Spartans were sixth in overall team points.
MOUNT VERNON — Kampman exploded out of the block in lane four, with his legs pumping up and down like pistons on a car. He accelerated around the turn and entered the final straightaway on the Mount Vernon track. He had work to do with a Lisbon sprinter in the lane next to him matching him stride for stride. They flew in sync down to the finish line and seemingly crossed at the exact same time. A hair under 23 sec[External] MVL Visitors Guide- Scootersonds. But the question remained – who crossed first?
The results showed up. In second, Dakota Clark of Lisbon in 22.92 seconds. In first? Kampman. He finished in 22.90 seconds.
“Never doubt Eli Kampman,” said Solon Boys Track head coach, Mark Sovers, “He’s a competitor.”
Kampman walked off the track as a champion with one thing on his mind to tell his coach. “He said, ‘I won that race because of what we did in practice,’” recalled Sovers, “There’s a guy that pay attention to detail. You like to see when that pays o in the race.”
As a team, Solon finished in sixth place out of eight, but this meet was about much more than the final point total. Sovers found a leader in Kampman, someone who can anchor the team by leading by example of what training hard can help accomplish.
“You got to have someone do it first,” said Sovers, “You get people to buy in and they start seeing success because of the process, then others think, oh, I can do that too if I just pay attention to detail.”
With the outdoor season just in its first stages, the Spartans have plenty of time to improve on their times and they have already seen a bit of success. Due to a disqualification, the distance medley took the team’s second gold of the night. Maddox Kelley and Kaden Hoeper ran the 200-meter legs, Owen Gange ran the 400, and Will Brandt anchored with the 800, finishing the race just behind Clear Creek Amana’s relay team at 3:52.02. However, CCA stepped on the line over three times, causing a disqualification and handing Solon the crown.
“I was proud of those guys because in the end you just have to be a part of the conversation,” said Sovers, “I liked their mindset and the way they attacked each piece of the race.”
Caleb Bock placed second in the long jump with a high of 21’ 9”, his best so far this season. The 4×800 relay also nabbed a season best, finishing third with a time of 9:05. The 4×400 relay finished the meet out for the Spartans with a bronze finish. They completed the four laps in 3:36, only about three seconds out of second place.
The Spartans travel to Tiffin for CCA’s Boys Invitational Thursday, April 10 at 4:30 p.m. and will run in the Eastern Iowa Track and Field Festival Saturday, April 12 at Iowa City West High School starting at 10:30 a.m.