Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

TIFFIN – There were times over the past two seasons when Kaia Holtkamp wonder if she had maxed out as a high jumper.

After clearing 5-2 in junior high Holtkamp couldn’t seem to raise the bar past the five-foot mark in high school.

“When you do something consistently it’s hard not to wonder if you hit your peak,” Holtkamp said. “I honestly thought about that.”

The Solon senior put that notion to rest once and for all on Thursday.

Holtkamp won the high jump by clearing 5-2 on her first attempt on Thursday at the Pacha Relays at Clear Creek Amana High School in Tiffin.

“It felt so good,” Holtkamp said. “I got over it and I just felt like I was so far over it, I knew I got it and I was so excited because that had been my goal forever and I hadn’t been able to get there so I was really overjoyed.”

The high jump title was part of a big day for Holtkamp that featured a runner-up finish in the 400 and a pair of relay wins as Solon won seven events and cruised to the team title with 179 points.

Kiersten Conway swept the distance events and Emma Bock anchored Solon to titles in the 4×200, 4×400 and 4×800 relays as the Spartans finished 43 points in front of runner-up Davenport Assumption.

“I think the relays are really fun,” Bock said. “It’s fun to run races with the team and win something together.”

Host Clear Creek Amana won the shuttle hurdle relay and placed fourth with 89 points and Regina swept the individual hurdle races with Annie Gahan winning the 100 hurdles and Peyton Naeve taking the 400 hurdles as the Regals finished sixth with 69 points.

It was Solon that outclassed the field on Thursday thanks in large part to its trademark depth that could make the Spartans a state title contender in 3A next month.

“We were trying to get a few of those people some work, people that we know are going to have a bigger load in the next couple of weeks, it was one of the last chances in a meet situation to load them up,” Solon coach Brent Sands said. “We are starting to pair some people up, see who did what because there are still some questions unanswered which is great that we have the depth that causes those problems.”

Solon post top-three finishes in 15 events on Thursday with Holtkamp and Bock leading the way.

In the midst of hitting a career-high mark in the high jump Holtkamp hustled to the track and helped the Solon 4×800 team of Bock Anna Quillin and Gracie Federspiel to a win in 10:09.

“The thing I get most stressed about with the high jump is having to leave and come back,” Holtkamp said. “I love running and doing the high jump but it is hard when they are together.”

Bock anchored the 4×200 team of Mia Duckett, Mia Stahle and Callie Levin to a win in 1:47.67 but saved her best for last, closing a sizeable gap on the final leg of the 4×400 relay to give Solon a win in a time of 4:05.12.

Holtkamp, Federspiel and Ashley Stinocher joined Bock in the winning 4×400 team.

“I thought Gracie Federspiel looked great she ran 2:30 into the wind so she ran well,” Sands said. “The 4×2 that time that we ran with Bock on the end of it into the wind I thought was really impressive I felt really good about that so things are coming together.”

The Clear Creek Amana shuttle hurdle relay team of Emma Mathis, Cileigh Smiddy, Kayla Jiras, and Silvana Kabolo won in 1:07.47.

Gahan edged Kabolo to win the 100 hurdles in 15.98 while Naeve won the 400 hurdles in 1:11.43.

Pacha Relays

At Tiffin  

Team scores – 1. Solon 179; 2. Davenport Assumption 136; 3. Williamsburg 105; 4. Clear Creek Amana 89; 5. Tipton 71; 6. Regina 69; 7. Mount Vernon 67; 8. Durant 18

Individual event winners; area placers

Long jump – 1. Sydney Barton (TIP) 15-10; 2. Callie Levin (SOL) 15-9; 4. Emma Descourouez (CCA) 15-6; 5. Aisley Foster (SOL) 15-4 ½

High jump – 1. Kaia Holtkamp (SOL) 5-2; 4. Sam Schrage (CCA) 4-8; 6. Tatum Holtkamp (SOL) 4-8; 8. Bliss Beck (CCA) 4-6

Discus – 1. Ava Conrad (SOL) 119-8; 4. Elly Holubar (SOL) 99-7

Shot put – 1. Lauren Pope (WIL) 39-2; 3. Leah Kollar (SOL) 36-6; 4. Ava Conrad (SOL) 36-6; 7. Sydney Wagner (ICR) 31-8

100 – 1. Laney Fitzpatrick (DA); 3. Mia Duckett (SOL); 5. Emma Descourouez (CCA); Mari Cetta (CCA)

200 – 1. Laney Fitzpatrick (DA) 25.9; 3. Sophia Stahle (SOL) 26.93; 4. Adelyn Leichtman (SOL) 28.69; 7. Sam Schrage (CCA) 29.1; 8. Bliss Beck (CCA) 29.14

400 – 1. Laney Fitzpatrick (DA) 1:02.44; 2. Kaia Holtkamp (SOL) 1:03.48; 5. Aisley Foster (SOL) 1:07.87; 7. Meghan Cullen (CCA) 1:10.11

800 – 1. Morgan Jennings (DA) 2:28.42; 2. Berlyn O’Connor (ICR) 2:30.64

1,500 – 1. Kiersten Conway (SOL) 5:14.57; 3. Haidyn Barker (CCA) 5:20.6; 4. Anna Quillin (SOL) 5:28.89; 6. Annalee Bartels (ICR) 5:30.85;

3,000 – 1. Kiersten Conway (SOL) 11:47; 2. Annalee Bartels (ICR) 11:51.1; 5. Ashlyn Williams (SOL) 12:35.1; 6. Natalie Franklin (ICR) 12:48.1; 8. Allie Kounkel (CCA) 13:39.9

100 hurdles – 1. Annie Gahan (ICR) 15.98; 2. Silvana Kabolo (CCA) 16.23; 3. Emma Mathis (CCA) 16.49; 5. Sophia Stahle (SOL) 16.66; 7. Jada Buffington (SOL) 17.57

400 hurdles – 1. Peyton Naeve (ICR) 1:11.43; 2. Mia Stahle (SOL) 1:12.19; 5. Mari Cetta (CCA) 1:17.34; 6. Calla Foster (SOL) 1:20.06

Shuttle hurdle relay – 1. Clear Creek Amana (Emma Mathis, Cileigh Smiddy, Kayla Jiras, Silvana Kabolo) 1:07.47; 2. Regina (Peyton Naeve, Abby Clark, Alli Clark, Annie Gahan) 1:08.82; 3. Solon (Jada Buffington, Mia Stahle, Calla Foster, Sophia Stahle) 1:11.32

Sprint medley relay – 1. Davenport Assumption 1:55.03; 4. Regina (Avery Kies, Allison Clark, Peyton Naeve, Annie Gahan) 1:59.27; 5. Solon (Mia Stahle, Makinley Levin, Mia Duckett, Callie Levin) 1:59.81

Distance medley relay – 1. Tipton 4:36.86; 2. Clear Creek Amana (Silvana Kabolo, Bailey Olerich, Kiera Rogers, Haidyn Barker) 4:37.44; 3. Regina (Avery Kies, Alli Clark, Peyton Naeve, Berlyn O’Connor) 4:38.94; 4. Solon (Monet Barnhouse, Heather Bachus, Hailey Miller, Meghan O’Neill) 4:48.1

4×100 relay – 1. Davenport Assumption 50.93; 2. Solon (Sophia Stahle, Mia Duckett, Callie Levin, Makinley Levin) 51.53; 3. Clear Creek Amana (Silvana Kabolo, Bailey Olerich, Cileigh Smiddy, Emma Mathis) 51.96; 8. Regina (Emma Sueppel, Baylee O’Connor, Alli Clark, Avery Kies) 56.32

4×200 relay – 1. Solon (Mia Duckett, Mia Stahle, Callie Levin, Emma Bock) 1:47.67; 5. Clear Creek Amana (Bailey Olerich, Cileigh Smiddy, Kayla Jiras, Bliss Beck) 1:51.42; 8. Regina (Emma Sueppel, Baylee O’Connor, Alaina Timmerman, Hope Simpson) 2:02.27

4×400 relay – 1. Solon (Kaia Holtkamp, Gracie Federspiel, Ashley Stinocher, Emma Bock) 4:05.12; 5. Clear Creek Amana (Kiera Rogers, Bliss Beck, Kayla Jiras, Sam Schrage) 4:15.26; 7. Regina (Abby Clark, Josie Pursley, Hope Simpson, Berlyn O’Connor) 4:34.69

4×800 relay – 1. Solon (Kaia Holtkamp, Anna Quillin, Gracie Federspiel, Emma Bock) 10:09; 3. Clear Creek Amana (Kiera Rogers, Haidyn Barker, Sam Schrage, Avery Allan) 10:45.85; 8. Regina (Josie Pursley, Josie Voss, Kate Milder, Mya Whitaker) 11:32.28

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