Solon Puts It Together in Runner-up Finish at WAMAC Conference Meet
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
CEDAR RAPIDS – Cross Country is an individual sport.
However the greatest strength for Solon lies in the team element.
The Spartans put that strength to good use on Wednesday putting five runners in the top 25 on its way to a runner-up finish at the WAMAC Conference meet at Seminole Valley Park in Cedar Rapids.
“Our biggest strength by far is just packing up together,” Solon junior Liv Nelson said. “This year we’ve struggled with that because one of us will surge and the other one won’t be able to hold on so it was really important for us today to work as a team.”
Junior Addison Seamans led a trio of Spartans in the top 11 as Solon posted its fifth consecutive runner-up finish at the WAMAC Conference meet.
The runner-up finish was the ninth consecutive top-two conference meet finish for the Spartans.
“We wanted to show what we’ve been working toward this whole season and prove where we are and who we are as a team,” Seamans said. “I’m so happy with what our team was able to do today.”
Class 3A third-ranked Williamsburg won the team title with 42 points snapping a string of four consecutive conference crowns for Mount Vernon-Lisbon.
No. 12 Solon was runner-up with 74 points followed by fifth-ranked Mount Vernon-Lisbon with 81 points, seventh-ranked Clear Creek Amana with 97 points and No. 19 Center Point-Urbana with 121.
“We know what we are capable of in our hearts but the rankings didn’t show it but we knew we the underdogs and we were here to prove it,” Nelson said. “We’ve had five meets cancelled so this is the middle of our season and we usually peak in the middle of our season and that’s right now.”
Seamans led Solon finishing ninth in a time of 19:39.2 while senior Falyn Svalstad was 10th in 19:43.9 and Nelson was 11th in 19:44.1.
Laeni Hinkle finished 21st in 20:12.8 and sophomore Mailee Schmidt was 23rd in a time of 20:18.7.
“It seems like every meet someone will have a good race but others won’t and we’ve been working toward putting it all together on the same day,” Seamans said. “We were able to do that today.”
Clear Creek Amana got top-five finishes from sophomore Ali Seidl and freshman Keira Cooney on its way to a fourth-place team finish.
Seidl finished fourth in a time of 18:31.7 and Cooney was fifth in 19:42.2.
Keira Rosenberg placed 20th in 20:11.3 and Holley Schulte was 30th in 20:38.5 for the Clippers.
WAMAC Conference Meet
At Seminole Valley Park
Boys Results
Team scores – 1. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 44; 2. Clear Creek Amana 47; 3. Benton Community 63; 4. Marion 111; 5. Grinnell 148; 6. Williamsburg 158; 7. Solon 185; 8. Center Point-Urbana198; 9. South Tama 240; 10. West Delaware 284; 11. Vinton-Shellsburg 316; 12. Independence 361
Individual leaders – 1. Carson Meskimen (CCA) 15:33.4; 2. Collin Cook (MAR)15:52.8; 3. Kyler Happel (MV-L) 15:55.3; 4. Jack Lange (BC) 15:59.8; 5. Mason Miller (CCA) 16:00.3; 6. Anthony Armstrong (MV-L) 16:01.3; 7. Aden Wolfe (GRI) 16:03.9; 8. Casey Swart (MV-L) 16:19.7; 9. Connor Teague (MV-L) 16:21; 10. Kyle Vogel (CCA) 16:31.6; 11. Anders Holmes (SOL) 16:34.5; 12. Quade Jensen (CCA) 16:37.3; 13. Korbin Hunt (BC) 16:49.8; 14. Jed Schanbacher (BC) 16:50.1; 15. Fisher Sexton (BC) 16:50.6
Clear Creek Amana – 1. Carson Meskimen 15:33.4; 5. Mason Miller 16:00.3; 10. Kyle Vogel 16:31.6; 12. Quade Jensen 16:37.3; 19. Ashur Whitmer 17:02.9; 27. Robert King 17:16.7; 36. Micah Johnson 17:42.2
Solon – 11. Anders Holmes 16:34.5; 31. Deacon Waddell 17:25.6; 40. Colton Kolar 18:01.4; 51. James Dooley 18:17.8; 52. Layne Harden 18:19.9; 61. Asher Sutton 19:05.3; 69. Ben Yeomans 19:49.6
Girls Results
Team scores – 1. Williamsburg 42; 2. Solon 74; 3. Mount Vernon-Lison 81; 4. Clear Creek Amana 97; 5. Center Point-Urbana 121; 6. Marion 156; 7. Benton Community 168; 8. West Delaware 186; 9. Vinton-Shellsburg 292; 10. South Tama 312
Individual leaders – 1. Evelyn Moeller (MV-L) 16:38.2; 2. Harper Winegarden (WIL) 17:46.3; 3. Aaliyah Causey (CP-U) 18:05.9; 4. Ali Seidl (CCA) 18:31.7; 5. Keira Cooney (CCA) 18:42.2; 6. Channing Becker (WIL) 18:50.6; 7. Maddie Gorsh (WIL) 19:07; 8. Emerson Dabroski (MAR) 19:24.8; 9. Addison Seamans (SOL) 19:39.2; 10. Falyn Svalstad (SOL) 19:43.9; 11. Liv Nelson (SOL) 19:44.1; 12. Aubree Wilde (WIL) 19:51.1; 13. Rose Pisarik (MV-L) 19:57.8; 14. Olivia Fisher (MAR) 20:00.4; 15. Aubree Messer (WIL) 20:01.5
Solon – 9. Addison Seamans 19:39.2; 10. Falyn Svalstad 19:43.9; 11. Liv Nelson 19:44.1; 21. Laeni Hinkle 20:12.8; 23. Mailee Schmidt 20:18.7; 29. Kinley Mai 20:37.2; 31. Ava Rolwes 20:39.2
Clear Creek Amana – 4. Ali Seidl 18:31.7; 5. Keira Cooney 19:42.2; 20. Keira Rosenberg 20:11.3; 30. Holley Schulte 20:38.5; 38. Myka Slaymaker 21:13.7; 44. Maya McElliot 21:36.1; 45. Kadence Whitmer 21:36.9
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