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Solon is well-stocked for a run at a 3rd straight girls’ track and field title
ISU recruit Gracie Federspiel, Stahle girls highlight the list of returners
Mar. 19, 2024 3:03 pm, Updated: Mar. 19, 2024 3:24 pm
SOLON — In addition to her athletic commitment at Iowa State University, Gracie Federspiel awaits a challenging academic regimen.
Engineering. To be more specific, mechanical engineering.
“I’m interested in prosthetics,” Federspiel said.
Whoa.
“Yeah,” Mia Stahle said. “She’s a genius.”
Brainy, and speedy.
Now a senior at Solon High School, Federspiel has grown into the cornerstone role for the Spartans’ powerhouse track and field program.
She won the Class 3A 800-meter race (2:12.97) and anchored the distance medley relay to gold as the Spartans won their second straight 3A title.
Solon scored 79 points, and 55 1/2 of them return
“I think the goal is always the same,” Federspiel said. “We want to win another one.”
No argument from Coach Jessica Hotek.
“It’s the same goal as last year, and the year before that,” Hotek said.
Hotek, 29, was a Solon track athlete as Jessica Brimeyer, graduating in 2013 before competing at Wartburg College. She returned to her high school alma mater, first as an assistant, then flip-flopping with former head coach Brent Sands before the 2023 season.
“It’s a great program here,” she said. “It was a privilege to see it from an athlete’s perspective. (Sands) and (cross country coach) Emy (Williams) really inspired me to coach.
“This program is something special. I want to continue what has been built and keep the tradition rolling.”
With a roster of 55, Hotek has numbers on her side. Top-end talent, too, a good amount of which is surnamed “Stahle.”
Mia Stahle is a senior and older sister to Piper, a sophomore. Aly Stahle is a junior and younger sister to Sophia, who graduated last year.
The two sets of sisters are distant cousins.
Mia and Aly were members of the Spartans’ state runner-up shuttle hurdle relay team last year. Aly was third in the 3A 200.
A starting guard on Solon’s recent state-championship girls’ basketball team, Mia was listed at 5-foot-3.
“Everybody on the shuttle team is 5-5 or shorter,” she said. “We’re just so athletic, we can make it work.
“You don’t have to be tall. You just have to be quick.”
After two idle weeks following cross country, Federspiel spent her offseason in the weight room (three days a week) and taking advantage of the unseasonably warm winter (running 4-5 times per week), along with some cross-training.
“I was so anxious,” she said. “Track comes up fast.”
The distance medley championship quartet (Mia and Piper Stahle, Anna Quillin and Federspiel) returns intact. So does the runner-up 4x800.
One of Solon’s top cross country runners from last fall, junior Sydney Dee will add track to her spring schedule, in addition to golf. That gives the Spartans another option.
On the other hand, Hotek said, “We have to do a bit of rebuilding in the hurdles and short sprints.”
Solon’s top challenger for the 3A title in May is likely to be Adel ADM, the 2023 runner-up. Pella and Mount Vernon also could contend.
For now, Federspiel said, “We’re very focused on the process, getting better every day.”
Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com
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