Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – For the past two plus decades Blake Williams piled up victories while becoming one of the most successful prep wrestling coaches in state history.

After more than two months of deliberating Williams is calling it a career.

Williams announced he was retiring as Solon’s head wrestling coach on Thursday after 21 seasons as a head coach.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about since the end of the season and it’s made it hard considering what is going on in the world but I kept coming back to the same thing,” Williams said. “I’ve been coaching for 23 years, 21 as a head coach and it just felt like it was time.”  

In 21 seasons at Solon and Cedar Rapids Prairie Williams amassed 413 victories and coached 124 state qualifiers including eight state champions while turning both programs into state powers.

Of those 413 career wins, 160 came at Solon where Williams racked up a 160-60-1 record in two separate head coaching stints that spanned nine seasons.

“I can’t be more thankful for the coaching staff at Solon,” Williams said. “Aaron (Hadenfeldt) and TJ (Bevans) allowed me to come back to Solon and I’m thankful for them along with all of coaches and all of the wrestlers that have been part of my career.”

Williams started his head coaching career at Solon in 1999 and led the Spartans to their first state dual appearance in his second season in 2001.

He spent 12 seasons turning Cedar Rapids Prairie in a perennial Class 3A power, earning Mississippi Valley Conference coach of the year honors nine times, winning nine MVC dual or tournament titles and finishing in the top five at the traditional state meet four times.

Williams returned to Solon in 2015 and presided over the most successful stretch in program history.

Solon went 107-24 over the past five seasons qualifying for the state dual tournament three times including Class 2A runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2019.

Williams directed Solon to three top-five finishes at the traditional state tournament including the first title in program history in 2017.

The Spartans were fifth at the state meet in 2019 and fourth this spring.

Williams has coached three of the six state champions in Solon history including Hayden Taylor who became the only two-time champion in Solon history with his 145-pound title last February.  

Senior Jax Flynn won the 2A title at 170 pounds to give Solon two champions in the same season for the first time ever.

“Five years ago when I did come back I was at that point where I didn’t know how many more years I wanted to do it,” Williams said. “When this came it kind of reenergized me and I had a lot of fun doing it and I wouldn’t trade the last five years for the world.”

Over the last two months a global pandemic provided Williams plenty of time to reflect on his career and think about the future.

Williams kept coming back to the same feeling and on Thursday announced his decision to retire.

He plans to remain a teacher at Solon where his wife Emy is the head cross country coach and both of his children attend school.

“I’ve really enjoyed just being with family the past five years and that was the main reason and coaching was just kind of icing on the cake,” Williams said. “Being able to be in the same building as my kids and be a part of their lives was number one.

Solon is set to return three of its six state qualifiers from last season led by Taylor and Gage Marty who placed seventh at the state meet as a sophomore last season.

“The program is going to be in good hands with who we have,” Williams said. “That is part of the reason I am o.k. with doing it is I know that the program will be in good hands.”

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