Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – Solon added another year to its streak of state shot put medals on Friday courtesy of Rocky Lensing.

Lensing gave the Spartans a medalist in the shot put for the fourth consecutive season with a third-place finish at the Class 3A state meet but the senior wasn’t taking any credit for adding to the streak.

That honor Lensing insisted belongs solely to Solon throws coach Brad Wymer.

“I give all the credit to coach Wymer,” Lensing said. “He makes all of our lifting sheets, he goes home and watches all this film. It boggles my mind everything he does, it really does.

The first career medal for Wymer capped another strong state meet performance by the Wymer-led Solon throws group.

With Lensing’s third-place shot put performance Solon has now left Drake Stadium in Des Moines with a medal from a throwing event each of the past eight seasons.

Add in the seventh-place finish by Coal Flansburg in the discus Thursday and the Spartans have won multiple medals in five of those years including a pair of state titles during that stretch.

“We just follow his lead the entire time,” Lensing said of Wymer. “Mentally he really helps you. You are always prepared.”
Lensing entered with the sixth best throw in 3A this season but moved up three spots in his state meet debut.

The senior finished behind state champion Nick DeJong of Pella (57-11 ½) and runner-up Mosai Newsom of Waverly-Shell Rock with a toss of 52-3 ¼.

“It’s a little hard because I got beat by four inches but I was happy with being able to get third,” Lensing said.

Like many of the state medalists before him Lensing developed a relationship with Wymer during football in the fall.

Those relationships are part of what the Spartans say make Wymer so special.  

“I have him in football too as an offensive line coach and he cares so much about us that’s the biggest thing,” Lensing said. “What helps me the most from him is just he’s never negative. He is straight up and honest with you and he invests so much in us that it really empowers us to make it worth it.”

Clippers Add 4×200 Medal

Clear Creek Amana got the relay medal it anticipated with a third-place finish in the 4×800 on Thursday.

The Clippers got a pleasant surprise with another medal performance on Friday.

Clear Creek Amana entered seeded 14th in the 4×200 but finished seventh in a time of 1:32.62.

The foursome of Zach Kabbage, Gage Freeman, Trever Stockman and Alex Figueroa clocked a season-best time despite running in a steady rain.

Class 3A

Team scores – 1. Mount Pleasant 31; 2. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 28; 3. Pella 27; 4. Dubuque Wahlert 22; 5. Atlantic 21; 6. Humboldt 18; 7. Boone 17; 7. Harlan 17; 9. Algona 16; 9. Nevada 16

Individual results (Event winner; area qualifiers)

400 hurdles – 1. Joven Nelson (Nevada) 52.02; 19. Quentin Gisleson (Clear Creek Amana) 58.54; 20. Thomas Brandt (Solon) 58.68

4×200 – 1. Dubuque Wahlert 1:29.09; 7. Clear Creek Amana (Zach Kabbage, Gage Freeman, Trever Stockman, Alex Figueroa) 1:32.62; 19. Solon (Jace Andregg, Jackson Pipolo, AJ Coons, Adam Bock) 1:33.58

Distance medley relay – 1. Atlantic 3:31.13

Shot put – 1. Nick DeJong (Pella) 57-11 ½; 3. Rocky Lensing (Solon) 52-3 ¼

Long jump – 1. Keyontre Clark (Sioux City Heelan) 21-7 ¼; 21. Jace Andregg (Solon) 19-1 ¼

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