Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – In the time since collecting her first career state medal last fall while helping Solon to the Class 3A state title Kayla Young has done everything she could to repeat that success this season.

That meant logging many miles over months of training and several weeks on the stationary bike and elliptical machine while battling through an offseason injury.

Young knows she has put in the work required for a special senior season yet her impressive start to the season this fall still sometimes seems like a dream.

“It’s amazing,” Young said of winning three consecutive races to start the season. “Sometimes I still feel like I’m dreaming or like it’s not real.”

Young had never won a varsity race until the second to last race of her breakthrough junior season last fall when she claimed the individual title at the Class 3A state qualifier in Solon.

A week later she finished fifth at the Class 3A state meet helping Solon in its first state title in program history.

Following a challenging offseason in which Young rehabbed an injury and missed more time with COVID the senior has picked up right where she left off last season.

You has won individual titles and helped top-ranked Solon to team titles at each of the first meets of the season after winning the Tipton Invitational last Tuesday.

“Winning these races is so cool,” Young said. “Coming from just one individual win at the end of last season it’s an incredible feeling and hopefully it will keep going.”

Young missed more than a month of offseason running while rehabbing an injury instead training on the bike or elliptical machine.

Later in the summer she missed more time after contracting COVID.

Those setbacks had Young wondering if she would be able to match her success from a season ago early in the year.

The answer has been a resounding yes.

Young has claimed titles at the Anamosa Invitational, Bob Brown Invitational and Tipton Invitation lowering her time from a year ago at all three meets.

“I had an injury over the summer and I got COVID so I was really worried about where I would be able to be recovering from that because I had to cross train for about a month,” Young said. “When I got back to running I was able to hit the times I wanted to hit so I am really happy about that.”

Young showed early in the season she would be in for a big season taking nearly 25 seconds off her time from a year ago while winning the Anamosa Invite in 19:45.7.

She took more than 40 seconds off her time from her junior season in a win at the Bob Brown Invitational at Kicker Soccer Complex in Iowa City.

“I think the biggest area is her confidence that she has improved on this year,” Solon coach Emy Williams said. “She knows her body, she knows what she is doing and understands how to run her best race and that is the area where she has really improved.”

Last week Young won the Tipton Invitational in 20:13, nine seconds faster than she clocked at the meet while finishing fourth last season.

“I’m feeling really good, I’m really happy with where I am at,” Young said. “It’s cool to see where I am at compared to last season because I think I am already faster than I was.”

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