Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – Solon entered the state track and field meet this week believing it could win state championships and push for a team title.

Just two days into the Class 3A state meet the Spartans are already exceeding those sky-high internal expectations.

Solon claimed its second relay title in as many days Friday winning the distance medley on a strong second day that saw the Spartans surge to the top of the 3A team standings.

“I think we’ve exceeded the expectations I had for us,” Solon junior Kaia Holtkamp said. “I didn’t think going into this week we’d win two (relays), I was really just hoping for one, so it feels amazing.”

Solon added points in two other events on Friday and enters Saturday locked in a three-way tie with Carlisle and Dubuque Wahlert atop the Class 3A standings with 26 points.

Senior Ava Conrad was fifth in the discus and, Spartans finished seventh in the 4×200 relay and qualified its 4×100 team for the finals in a second consecutive strong day on the track.

“We are off to a good start and that’s what we need,” Solon junior Makinley Levin said. “I think yesterday gave everyone confidence and we are keeping it going.”

The highlight for Solon on Friday was a second consecutive dominating relay effort in the distance medley.

After shattering the school record while cruising to the 4×800 title on Friday the Spartans set another school record in its distance medley relay win.

Levin, Sophia Stahle, Holtkamp and Emma Bock finished cut more than four seconds off their previous season best time while winning in 4:05.77.

“If you would have told me this is how we would start, with these two wins, I would have never believed it,” Bock said. “You are always hoping for the win but for it to actually happen twice is crazy.”

Solon led for the final 1,200 meters on its way to the distance medley relay title but the win wasn’t entirely stress free.

Carlisle standout Ainsley Erzen ripped off a 2:09.17 anchor leg cutting into a sizeable Solon lead while going from eighth place to second in a time of 4:08.42.

It wasn’t enough to catch Bock who anchored the Spartans to gold for the second straight day.

“I was getting really nervous at the 300 because (Erzen) was third and I saw she had come into second,” Bock said. “I just had to bring it home and get it done.”

Levin got Solon off to a strong start and Stahle had the lead when she handed off to Holtkamp for the 400-meter leg.

“I’ve always told whoever I am handing it off to in the 400 that I am going to get them a good lead,” Stahle said. “I always try to get us in the lead so they don’t have to do as much and they don’t have to worry about people gaining on them.”

Holtkamp ran a 1:00.7 split widening the margin for Bock who took the baton with a sizeable lead on the pack.

“Everyone on the team was going in with a very confident mentality today,” Holtkamp said. “I think that’s what motivated us is that we were all positive about it.”

Erzen, who owns the fastest 800 time in the state this spring at 2:13.73 made things interesting down the stretch.

The Carlisle junior pulled to with five meters of Bock over the final 400 meters but couldn’t catch the Solon standout anchor.

“I was listening the whole time, I knew Carlisle was behind but I knew they had her and she is going to pass girls pretty fast so I was listening,” Bock said. “I was looking at the board, it can be good and bad. I looked at the board on the last turn and she is such a good sprinter I knew she would have a kick.”

Conrad added to big day for Solon with a fifth-place finish in the shot put.

Conrad entered with the 16^th best throw in 3A this season at 38-4 which came all the way back on March 8 indoors at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls but added more than a foot to that with a career-best toss of 39-6 ¾.

The Solon 4×200 team of Callie Levin, Sophia Stahle, Mia Duckeett and Makinley Levin placed seventh in 1:46.35.

Class 2A Girls State Track and Field Meet

At Drake Stadium in Des Moines

Team scores – 1. Mid-Prairie 31; 2. Williamsburg 17; 2. Northeast 17; 4. Dike-New Hartford 16; 5. Southeast Valley 15; 6. Kingsley-Pierson/Woodbury Central 14; 6. Waukon 14; 6. Van Meter 14; 9. Unity Christian 13; 9. Sibley-Ocheyedan 13

Individual results (event winners; area competitors)

Discus – 1. 24. Allie Laschanzky (West Branch) 93-8

High jump – 1. Maddie Olson (Sheldon) 5-9

400 hurdles – 1. Ellie Rickertsen (Northeast) 1:03.43; 11. Annie Gahan (Regina) 1:07.64

4×200 – 1. Dike-New Hartford 1:44.21; 20. West Branch (Nicki Henson, Sasha Koenig, Iva Senio, JaLynn Falco) 1:52.24

Distance medley – 1. Mid-Prairie 4:10.42

Class 3A Girls State Track and Field Meet

At Drake Stadium in Des Moines

Team scores – 1. Solon 26; 1. Carlisle 26; 1. Dubuque Wahlert 26; 4. Charles City 23; 5. Oskaloosa 20; 6. Ballard 19; 7. Keokuk 18; 8. Waverly-Shell Rock 17; 9. Bondurant-Farrar 16; 10. Humboldt 14; 10. Winterset 14; 10. Spencer 14

Individual results (event winners; area competitors)

Shot put – 1. Jadan Brumbaugh (Mount Pleasant) 44-9; 5. Ava Conrad (Solon) 39-6 ¾

Long jump – 1. Isabelle Noring (Carlisle) 17-11 ¼; 12. Makinley Levin (Solon) 16-5

400 hurdles – 1. Darci Wiseman (Winterset) 1:03.91

4×200 – 1. Dubuque Wahlert 1:43.91; 7. Solon (Callie Levin, Sophia Stahle, Mia Duckeett, Makinley Levin) 1:46.35

Distance medley – 1. Solon (Makinley Levin, Sophia Stahle, Kaia Holtkamp, Emma Bock) 4:05.77; 22. Clear Creek Amana (Silvana Kabolo, Bailey Olerich, Kiera Rogers, Haidyn Barker) 4:31.4

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