Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – The rebuild at Solon has been remarkable.

From a three-win season two years ago to a share of the WAMAC Conference overall title this season the Spartans have enjoyed one of the best turnarounds in the state.

But it’s not complete. Not yet.

“I don’t think there is anybody within our program that is satisfied with where we are at,” third-year Solon coach Jamie Smith said. “We are happy but it’s not like we’ve gotten everything we wanted. This isn’t just gravy for us now, we are going out there to make a run.”

Smith has been the architect of an impressive resurrection project in three seasons at Solon.

The Spartans went 3-18 in his first season before jumping to nine wins last season.

Solon is 15-5 and ranked No. 12 in Class 3A entering its postseason opener on Saturday against Tipton (6-13) at 7 p.m. in Solon.

Solon has already secured its first winning season since 2017 and with a win over Tipton on Saturday would have the most wins in a season since the Spartans went 19-3 in 2010-2011.

“It brought a lot of joy to me to watch these kids and see where we are from where we came from,” Smith said. “Not only that but where we came from at the start of the season. We were 1-2 right off the bat and we’ve come a long way from there.”

Smith’s first Solon team finished 3-14 in WAMAC play.

With a win over Mount Vernon on Tuesday the Spartans finished 14-3 in conference games this season earning a share of the overall WAMAC title with Clear Creek Amana.

“We aren’t one of those teams that talks about winning a lot but one of the goals was to win the conference,” Smith said. “We didn’t talk a lot about it but I think the kids realized we have a good group and we have a foundation for a program.”

There is no ignoring the strides the Spartans have made.

Still, there are steps that need taking starting with a postseason win.

Solon hasn’t won a regional game since 2016, a string of postseason defeats that reached four last season with a home loss to Vinton-Shellsburg in the regional quarterfinals.

The Spartans will try to stop that skid on Saturday in a 3A, Region 7 quarterfinal against Tipton.

“I think this year we’ve realized we are a good team and we can do things we haven’t been able to do before,” Solon junior Makinley Levin said. “We realized that if we play our best, if everyone does what we have to do we can pull out those big wins in those big moments.”

Of course Solon has its sights set on more than just a first-round win.

With regular season wins over perennial powers Center Point-Urbana and Marion the Spartans have proven they can play at a state tournament level.

“The first game of the season getting killed by CPU twice each season by 40 points and then coming out and beating them by double digits that was a big deal and we knew that we could do big things this year,” Levin said. “Even the Marion game playing a close game with them and trying to beat them for a second time in a season and coming up short we saw where we could be.”

Levin (9.3 points, 3.4 rebounds) and fellow junior Kaia Holtkamp (8.5 ppg, 3 rpg) are both in their third year in the starting lineup.

Junior Elly Holubar (4.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg) and sophomore Hilary Wilson (3.8 ppg) are both returning starters.

Solon has gotten a big boost from freshman point guard Callie Levin who is averaging a team-high 19.1 points to go with 4.9 rebounds, 4.1 steals and 3.7 assists per game.

The Spartans have the most depth and talent in recent history but the key has been chemistry.

“Being able to play with people I click with is the best part,” Makinley Levin said. “Playing with my sister and all these girls and seeing them all score and push the ball and do big things together. That’s the best part is that it’s with this group.”

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