Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports 

SOLON – Separate from one another the goals that Kale Altman set for himself entering his junior year at Solon weren’t exactly unique.  

Like every other football player in the state Altman wanted the opportunity to play for a state championship at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

Altman also shared the same goal as thousands of high school musicians across the state to perform at the All-State Music Festival.

It’s the combination and more importantly the achieving of those two goals that puts Altman in exceptionally rare company.

A first-year starter at left tackle Altman has helped top-ranked Solon to an 11-0 record and a spot in Thursday’s Class 3A semifinal against unbeaten Cedar Rapids Xavier (11-0).

Altman is also one of the top tuba players in the state, earning all-state honors and an invitation to the All-State Music Festival for the second time in three years.

“I’ve thought about it a little bit and I don’t think there are very many guys doing both of those things,” Altman said with a smile. “I’ve just always loved doing both and that’s not always the popular thing but it’s just something that I’ve always liked to do.”

It doesn’t require extensive research to uncover that there are not many tuba playing offensive tackles around.

Yet alone individuals playing both at the level Altman hopes to next week.

 “There are a lot of kids that are involved with everything but there aren’t a lot of kids that are in that same boat with all-state band and playing on the line for a semifinal football team,” Solon high school principal Nathan Wear said. “There are probably a few others doing that too but there aren’t too many kids like him.”

Altman seems to excel at everything he does.

He owns a perfect 4.0 GPA and has a significant role in the Solon drama department’s performance of Mary Poppins which opens on Friday.

On the football field the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Altman has started every game on the Solon offensive line helping the Spartans averaging 214 rushing yards and better than 40 points per game.

“He’s impressive young man,” Solon coach Kevin Miller said. “He’s a good kid, he does things right, he understands the value of managing his time. He’s very well-rounded and excels at everything he does and is a high character guy.”

As a musician Altman is even more proficient, earning one of only 12 all-state tuba spots.

“It’s a really good feeling especially on the instrumental side because it’s all about the work you put in,” Altman said. “You get out what you put into it.”

Tackle and Tuba.

Neither garner the most attention or spotlight and Altman can draw similarities between the two.

“Now that you say it it’s kind of like you are in the trenches with both of those things a little bit,” he said with a laugh.  

There was a moment when Altman thought reaching one goal would prevent him from achieving the other.

After learning he had earned all-state band honors, Altman checked the schedule and couldn’t believe it.

His chair placement audition is set for 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 16 in Ames, just 20 minutes before the Class 3A state title game is set to kick off at the UNI-Dome.

Altman is hoping to have that conflict and has received confirmation that if he misses chair placement to play in the state title game he can still take part in rehearsal on Friday and the Saturday All-State Concert at Hilton Coliseum in Ames.

“I think it’s a good problem to have,” Altman said. “I was a little worried that they wouldn’t want me to come to all-state but it turns out I am only going to miss chair placement I am still going to be involved in both.”

Before he can worry about a busy week next week Altman has his sights set on the semifinal meeting with Xavier and helping Solon return to its first state title game since 2010.

Solon enters having rushed for at least 210 yards in five straight games but will face a strong test in a Xavier defense that is holding opponents to 2.7 yards per carry and 76 rushing yards per game.

“The biggest thing that we are focusing on is everyone doing their job,” Altman said. “If everyone does their job we will create holes for the running back.”

A semifinal win on Thursday sets up a hectic but memorable 10-day stretch for Altman in which he would be part of the musical, play in a state title football game and perform in the all-state music festival.

“Kale is an amazing kid and that is the kind of kid that we want to have at Solon,” Wear said. “He’s a kid that is involved in everything and never complains about anything. He’s always looking for another opportunity to get involved.”