Solon slowly seeing success

Youth and a coaching change led to a slow start for the Solon Spartans.

They have rebounded since the break and have progressed along with the season.

Solon has won 11 straight duals and three tournament titles under head coach Blake Williams, who is in his first year back leading the Spartans since 2003.

Solon is 13-3 in duals and has placed third or better in every tournament. The Spartans are producing a successful season, needing just three wins to match last year's total.

'I think the team is pretty close,' said Williams, who coached Solon for four years and returned after a 12-year stint at Cedar Rapids Prairie. 'They do what they are told. They aren't very outspoken. I think they are pretty loose.

'It's a good balance.'

The Spartans have only two seniors on the roster. They fielded a green lineup early, resulting in a losing record (2-3) before the holiday break. The focus has been on constant improvement.

'We're pretty young for the most part,' said Williams, who led Solon to its only state duals appearance in 2001. 'We have quite a few juniors but only one senior in the lineup. I think we experienced some growing pains right away. We're still making some mistakes sometimes that come along with inexperience.'

With all those young wrestlers, the future promises to be bright.

'You know a majority of your kids are coming back next year,' Williams said. 'We have to keep developing them. I think they are getting more confident as the year goes on and that they can compete with a lot of good teams and good wrestlers. It's been fun to watch. Coaching wrestling is coaching wrestling. It's nice to watch kids develop and try to help them.'

They made some additions dipping into the deep athlete pool at Solon. Bo Black and Tyler Linderbaum have excelled on the football field and have joined the wrestling team after playing basketball in the past. Black is 18-15 at 220 pounds, while Linderbaum is 21-11 at heavyweight.

'They are pretty raw,' Williams said. 'They are getting better every day.'

Senior Cole Fritz has been a leader for the Spartans, placing sixth at last year's state tournament. He is ranked eighth at 145 pounds in Class 2A by The Predicament with a 24-4 mark. Junior Trevor Nelson, ranked fourth at 160, and No. 10 Graeson Dall (152) also returned with state experience. Junior Ben Carr (25-4) is ranked ninth at 126.

Nelson (27-1) won the team's lone title and 195-pounder Zach Wegmann was second at Solon's Ed Hadenfeldt Invitational last weekend.

Solon also won a tournament in Oelwein, besting Crestwood and a highly-touted school from Illinois earlier this season.

'Those were some good quality teams, so we're there,' Williams said. 'We are still trying to keep getting better.'

LUENSMAN CONTINUES STRONG SEASON

Monticello's Chase Luensman continued his strong season, winning the 106-pound title at Marion's Loyd Shaffer Invitational on Saturday.

The Class 2A eighth-ranked freshman improved to 29-1 with an 8-3 decision in the final over North Linn's Brady Henderson, who is ranked sixth in 1A. Luensman also placed ahead of Williamsburg's fifth-ranked Grayson Kesterson, who was third.

Luensman claimed his fourth title this season, winning Monticello's home tournament, Maquoketa's Zimmerman Invitational and Starmont's Doug Guilford Invitational in December.

PINNING HAWK

West Delaware's Max Ridenour owns a winning record at 10-9, but the way he reached it was impressive. Ridenour posted a 4-1 record at Cedar Rapids Jefferson's J-Hawk Invitational last Saturday, placing fifth at 182 pounds.

He earned the tournament's Gregorrian Award for the most falls in the least amount of time. Ridenour won four bouts by pin in a total of 7:14.

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