Solon puts 5 on 2A all-state baseball team

To the victor, go the spoils. And a lot of all-state honors, too.Class 2A state champion Solon has five players on the Iowa Newspaper Association's all-state baseball team, including four first-teamers. A panel of state sportswriters selected players to three all-state teams in each of the four classes.Cedar Rapids Xavier pitcher Jon Keller has been elected the all-state captain in 4A. He is a Seattle Mariners draft pick who is still negotiating a professional contract with the club.Class 4A state champion Cedar Rapids Kennedy is represented by first-team outfielder Austin Christensen. The junior led the Cougars with a .474 batting average and is considered an MLB draft pick next year.Solon's first-team all-staters include pitcher Brandon Shulista, who won two games at last week's state tournament, including the title game against Carroll Kuemper. He is joined by teammates Nick Day and Marshall Koehn on the infield and Derrick Loveless in the outfield.All are juniors. Loveless and Koehn hit over .500, with Koehn setting a state record with 30 doubles.Fellow junior Tyler Smith is on the 2A third team.Other first-teamers in 4A include Iowa City High first baseman Adam Pribyl and Iowa City West infielder Sean Moore. Moore hit .462 and set the school record for career homers as West made it to the 4A title game for a second consecutive year.In 3A, Decorah infielder Tyler Smith and Oelwein infielder Matt Kastli are first-team all-staters. Marion's Dalton Combs is a second-team choice.Monticello junior first baseman A.J. Reuter and senior outfielder Tanner Hageman join the Solon quartet on the 2A first team. Reuter hit .602, while Hageman was second in the state with 19 homers.The state leader in that latter category was Sigourney junior Andrew Utterback, and he is on the Class 1A first team. Calamus-Wheatland senior Ryan Powers, who set a state record for highest batting average with at least 100 at-bats (.634) is the 1A captain.The 2A captain is Cherokee pitcher Cody Ege, who is headed to the University of Louisville. Marcus Heemstra of Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley is the 3A captain.