Douglas Miles

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Solon fully understands how close it came to a state championship last season.

At the 2023 state tournament the Spartans were eliminated in a state semifinal by a mere two points to eventual Class 3A champion Sioux Center, which won its other two state tournament games by 26 and 15 points, respectively.

Solon is officially back to attempt to make up the difference.

“At the start of the season, all of us seniors, we wanted it so bad,” Solon senior Callie Levin said after the 3A third-ranked Spartans advanced to the state tournament for the second year in a row with a 73-41 rout of No. 14 Chariton in a regional final Saturday night at Solon High School. “We worked so hard. Worked our butts off. Every game mattered and just to be going back there, it’s just such an honor. We’re so blessed. We’re so excited. We just can’t wait to get there.”

The victory was the ninth in a row for Solon (21-3), which earned the No. 3 seed in this year’s 3A state tournament and will open with a quarterfinal game Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. against sixth-seeded Dubuque Wahlert (19-5) at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

“We’re excited,” Solon Coach Jamie Smith said. “We talk about practicing for bigger things. They are going to enjoy tonight and we’ll be ready to roll next week.”

This is the first time Solon will make consecutive trips to the state tournament since the 1997-98 seasons, which both ended with 2A state titles for the Spartans.

Those Solon teams were led by Lindsey Meder, who later enjoyed a terrific women’s basketball career at the University of Iowa.

If the current Spartans are to win the program its first state championship since the Meder days, it will be steered by another future member of the Hawkeyes in Levin.

“It’s going to have to take hard work,” said Levin, who led all scorers with 26 points. “Heart. We’ve got to work together and be confident in who we are and what we can do. We’re just going to continue to get better in practice and continue to preach on what we want. Our dreams, our goals and we are just super excited.”

After trailing by a point through one quarter of play, Solon exploded in the second frame and outscored the Chargers, 20-5, to grab a commanding 33-19 halftime lead.

The Spartans scored the last 12 points of the half, capped by a Levin assist to junior Kobi Lietz, who beat the horn with a bucket.

“Really picked up our defense and we didn’t foul as much,” said Lietz, who scored 16 points. “Our shots were starting to fall.”

Solon scored the first seven points of the second half and Chariton got no closer than 15 points the rest of the way.

The Chargers (20-4) – in search of their first state tournament berth since 1924 – were paced in defeat by senior post player Tatyana Allen-Winston, who scored 22 points.

“They came out to play that first quarter,” said Solon senior Anna Quillin, who totaled nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds. “They wanted it just as bad as we did. We struggled that first quarter. They came out with good intensity, but we had to fight back, crawl our way back in and use our way as a team. Use what we know, work together and get good shots. Get rebounds and play good defense.”

Chariton (41) – Addie McGee 0 3-6 3, Sydney Cain 0 0-2 0, Abby Doran 2 1-1 6, Mckenzie Snook 4 0-0 8, Tatyana Allen-Winston 7 8-10 22, Hailee Smith 0 0-0 0, Brynli Smyser 0 0-2 0, Bailey McGee 0 0-0 0, Payton Snook 0 0-0 0, Brooke Masters 0 2-2 2, Ava Krutsinger 0 0-0 0, Briley Atwell 0 0-0 0, Taytum Smith 0 0-0 0, Ellie Lane 0 0-0 0, Totals 13 14-23 41.

Solon (73) – Kobi Lietz 7 2-4 16, Hailey Miller 1 1-2 3, Mia Stahle 3 0-0 6, Anna Quillin 4 1-5 9, Callie Levin 8 7-10 26, Delainey Durr 3 0-0 8, Trea Eidahl 0 0-0 0, Laney Johnson 0 0-0 0, Laeni Hinkle 1 0-0 2, Jerzey Haluska 0 0-0 0, Gable Knight 0 0-0 0, Maddyn Gates 1 1-1 3, Totals 28 12-22 73.

Chariton        14   5   17   5  –  41

Solon              13  20  22  18 –  73

Three-point goals – CHA 1 (Doran 1); SOL 5 (Levin 3, Durr 2). Rebounds – CHA 28 (Snook 12); SOL 35 (Quillin 13). Total fouls – CHA 0; SOL 0. Fouled out – CHA (Allen-Winston). Technical fouls – None.

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