By Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports 

SOLON – There are plenty of people that contend wrestling is an individual sport and the most important matches of the season to date are looming this weekend at districts.

Good luck telling that to the wrestlers at Solon.

The team oriented Spartans secured their second ever trip to the state dual tournament with a pair of dominating performances in a Class 2A regional in Solon.  

Second-ranked Spartans defeated Saydel 70-12 in the semifinals and rolled past Mount Vernon 51-18 in the finals to return to the state dual meet for the first time since 2001.

“It’s a dream come true, I went to state duals when I was in junior high and it just seemed awesome and I’ve always wanted to get there,” Solon senior Trevor Nelson said. “We were already a really close knit team but tonight I feel like just ramped it all the way up.”

Solon opened the postseason with an emphatic individual showing at the sectional meet last Saturday, qualifying individuals at 13 of 14 weights for this weekend’s district meet while cruising to the team title.

It was more of the same for Solon on Tuesday.

The Spartans won 21 matches in the two dual wins on Tuesday, 17 by pin, with 11 of those pins coming in the first period.

Solon will face seventh-ranked Sergeant Bluff-Luton in the quarterfinals of the 2A dual meet on Feb. 15 at 9 a.m.

“The team aspect is a big part of Solon wrestling and we made history tonight,” Senior Dillon Diltz said. “It felt really good to get something accomplished that we haven’t done in a long, long time.”

Solon wasted little time dispatching of Saydel in the semifinals winning 12 matches and posting nine pins in a 70-12 win.  

The Spartans were nearly as impressive against No. 15 Mount Vernon in the finals.

A year after falling to the Mustangs 56-15 in the regional dual semifinals, Solon had seven pins in nine wins on its way to an emphatic 51-18 win.

“I feel great for these kids because it was a goal that they set from day one and you could just tell they were confident and they came in expecting to win,” Solon coach Blake Williams said. “I think last year we were in this at Mount Vernon and it was the total opposite, we hoped to win and it didn’t work out, here we expected to win and it showed.”

Seventh-ranked Graeson Dall bumped up a weight to 160 pounds and got Solon started with a 54-second pin of Nolan Hinrichs.

Fourth-ranked Trevor Nelson followed with a second-period fall against Coy Martin at 170 and fifth-ranked Diltz made it 18-0 Spartans when he pinned Camron Woodley in 4:41 at 195 pounds.

Mount Vernon got back-to-back hard fought wins to stay in it as second-ranked Sam Moore held off Zach Wegmann 7-4 at 195 and No. 8 Jack Cochrane got a takedown with 23 seconds left to edge Jackson Walker 5-4 at 220.

The tied turned toward Solon for good at heavyweight.

Fourth-ranked Tyler Linderbaum scrambled to pin No. 3 Tristan Wirfs with seven seconds left in the sudden victory overtime to bring the crowd to its feet and give Solon an insurmountable 24-6 lead.

“Those first three weights got us started off with three straight pins and then of course Tyler in that insane match, holy cow,” Williams said. “The guys that lost, man they fought and that was huge too. The Wegmanns the Walkers the (Zeb) Gnidas, the (Aidan) Dalls, they fought and that’s what it’s all about. You have to have everybody fighting if you are going to reach your goals.”

Solon won five of the final six matches as top-ranked Bryce West, No. 2 Drew West and No. 9 Ben Carr all recorded pins.

In all, 12 different Spartans recorded a pin on Tuesday.

“We all wrestled really well,” Diltz said. “I think we wrestled better tonight what we have in a long time.”

 

Solon 70, Saydel 12

106 – Zeb Gnida (SOL) won by forfeit

113 – Aidan Dall (SOL) pinned Nico Garcia 1:47

120 – Bryce West (SOL) pinned Mike Moore :44

126 – Cody Lehman (SAY) pinned Christian Haight :45

132 – Drew West (SOL) pinned Klayton Keller :26

138 – Ben Carr (SOL) pinned Skyler Cardenas 2:54

145 – Zack Bevans (SOL) pinned Bailey Moore 2:40

152 – Jax Flynn (SOL) pinned Caleb McCoy 1:38

160 – Trevor Nelson (SOL) pinned Trent Stephenson :56

170 – Devon VanHouten (SAY) pinned Mike Hoyle 1:53

182 – Dillon Diltz (SOL) major dec. Trevor Sprauge 12-3

195 – Zach Wegmann (SOL) pinned Peyton Swafford 1:17

220 – Jackson Walker (SOL) won by forfeit

285 – Tyler Linderbaum (SOL) pinned Hunter Jesse 4:00

 

Solon 51, Mount Vernon 18

106 – Jack Streicher (MV) dec. Zeb Gnida 3-0

113 – Ryan Clark (MV) dec. Aidan Dall 6-2

120 – Bryce West (SOL) pinned Connor Bilden :58

126 – Christian Haight (SOL) pinned Garret Akers :54

132 – Drew West (SOL) pinned Graham Bradbury 1:19

138 – Ben Carr (SOL) pinned Mitchell Louwagie 2:00

145 – Paul Ryan (MV) pinned Joe Lovan 1:42

152 – Jax Flynn (SOL) dec. Andrew Louwagie 7-2

160 – Graeson Dall (SOL) pinned Nolan Hinrichs :54

170 – Trevor Nelson (SOL) pinned Coy Martin 2:18

182 – Dillon Diltz (SOL) pinned Camron Woodley 4:41

195 – Sam Moore (MV) dec. Zach Wegmann 7-4

220 – Jack Cochrane (MV) dec. Jackson Walker 5-4

285 – Tyler Linderbaum (SOL) pinned Tristan Wirfs 6:54