Solon dreaming big: Spartans skyrocket to 3A girls’ state track team lead with wins in distance medley, 400 hurdles

DES MOINES — Three best friends turned out the lights in a Des Moines-area hotel room Thursday night.

Pillow talk ensued.

“Mia (Stahle) and Gracie (Federspiel) and I were talking Thursday night,” Solon’s Anna Quillin said. “Gracie likes to get to sleep early, but we stayed up late, talking about this race.

“We knew we were out in Lane 8, but we knew we could do it.”

That junior trio, along with Piper Stahle — Mia’s freshman sister — combined to win the Class 3A girls’ distance medley relay at the state track and field meet Friday afternoon at Drake Stadium.

Federspiel’s come-from-behind endeavor allowed the Spartans to finish in 4 minutes, 8.79 seconds.

“You don’t get a lot of opportunities like this,” Mia Stahle said. “Winning this with two of my best friends, and my sister.”

Speaking of opportunities ...

The distance medley triumph, coupled by Sophia Stahle’s title in the 400-meter hurdles, sent Solon to the top of the 3A girls’ leaderboard heading to the final day.

Through 10 events, the defending-champion Spartans have 43 points. Adel ADM follows with 34.

The final nine events are Saturday.

Solon’s staff shuffled the distance medley personnel between regionals and state, and it worked out, though the Spartans came to Des Moines as the No. 8 seed.

“We knew it was anybody’s race,” Federspiel said. “We just went for it.”

Carroll finished second in 4:09.42; Mount Vernon (4:10.35) was third.

Sophia Stahle opted to give cross country a whirl last fall, and credited her newfound stamina to her 400-meter hurdles title.

“I recommend it for all people,” she said. “My endurance has skyrocked.”

Which creates the natural question: Why not the steeplechase in college?

“Oh my gosh, no,” she said. “But one of my coaches brought that up, too.”

Stahle found herself in a dead heat with Spencer’s Jerra Merchant and West Delaware’s Alivia Schulte as they reached the seventh hurdle.

But that “skyrocket”-ing endurance was the difference. Stahle finished in 1:04.27, Merchant in 1:05.37, Schulte in 1:06.27.

“I figured, if I really wanted it, it was time,” Stahle said. “It was only one (difficult) minute of my life.”

Running in the second heat of the 800-meter relay, Solon ran to a third-place overall finish.

Decorah’s Chloe Reiser was third in the shot put.

“My best throw, I ended up scratching,” Reiser said. “It’s OK. I told myself, top three, that’s where I want to be.”

Friday results: Class 3A girls

Top 10 teams (through 10 events) — 1. Solon 43, 2. Adel ADM 34, 3. (tie) Clear Lake and Hampton-Dumont/CAL 20, 5. (tie) Carroll, Mount Vernon, Knoxville, Carlisle and Pella 18, 10. Ballard 16.

RESULTS (Top 3 and area placewinners)

Shot put — 1. Charlee Morton (Hampton-Dumont/CAL), 42-5 1/4; 2. Lauren Travis (Spirit Lake), 41-8 1/2; 3. Chloe Reiser (Decorah), 41-7 3/4; 7. Taylor Luscomb (Center Point-Urbana), 38-3 1/2; 8. Maci Cook (Western Dubuque), 37-4.

Long jump — 1. Shay Sinnard (Carroll), 18-7 3/4; 2. Isabelle Noring (Carlisle), 18-4 3/4; 3. Reese Brownlee (Clear Lake), 18-2 1/2.

Distance medley relay — 1. Solon (Stahle, Stahle, Quillin, Federspiel), 4:08.79; 2. Carroll, 4:09.42; 3. Mount Vernon, 4:10.35; 8. Marion, 4:16.47.

800 relay — 1. Adel ADM (Tollari, Grove, Dufoe, Crannell), 1:42.90; 2. Dubuque Wahlert, 1:43.40; 3. Solon, 1:43.85; 4. Maquoketa, 1:43.98; 7. Western Dubuque, 1:44.88.

400 hurdles — 1. Sophia Stahle (Solon), 1:04.27; 2. Jerra Merchant (Spencer), 1:05.37; 3. Alivia Schulte (West Delaware), 1:06.27; 6. Jaylin Herring (Clear Creek Amana), 1:08.57.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com