McMullen wins discus at Redbud Relays

By Andy Brown
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Updated: May 12, 2015

Louisburg senior Connor McMullen lets the discus fly during the Redbud Relays on Friday at Wellsville High School. McMullen won the event with a throw of 187 feet and 3 inches.

WELLSVILLE – A year ago, Connor McMullen set a Louisburg High School and Redbud Relays record in the discus with a throw of 187 feet, 3 inches.

On Friday, McMullen returned to Wellsville to try and duplicate, or even exceed his mark. Although he didn’t quite get there, McMullen still won the event with a toss of 175-4 at the Redbud Relays.

“Connor has a big one in him and I think it is just a matter of time,” Louisburg coach Gary Griffin said. “We have some big meets coming up, and he will have some good competition the rest of the year.”

McMullen’s victory in the discus was the Wildcats’ lone win on the day as they finished ninth in the team standings with 28 points. Baldwin won the meet going away with 101 points and Osawatomie was second with 69.

Louisburg senior Sean Dennis recorded team points in two events and nearly came away with a victory in the 100-meter dash. He was second in the event in 11.72 seconds and Wellsville’s Zach Strom won in 11.53. Dennis finished fourth in the 200-meter dash in 23.65.

Dennis was scheduled to go up against Osawatomie’s Jacoby Greenwood in the 110-meter hurdles as they both hold two of the top times in Class 4A this season. Instead, Dennis was disqualified for a false start.

“Sean was a little amped up for the race and I think he knew he needed to get out quick,” Griffin said. “It was one of those things that happen to sprinters once in a while, but he came back and ran a good 100. I hope it does not happen again.”

The Wildcats also put together some points and personal best in several field events.

Louisburg senior Mason Wilde (left) takes the handoff from senior teammate Zach Knox during the 4x100-meter relay Friday at the Redbud Relays in Wellsville.

Louisburg senior Mason Wilde (left) takes the handoff from senior teammate Zach Knox during the 4×100-meter relay Friday at the Redbud Relays in Wellsville.

McMullen, before winning the discus, was in the shot put ring and finished fourth with a mark of 46-8. Teammate Jarod Woodward was seventh with a throw of 45-2.

For the first time this season, freshman Frankie Hurst cleared 11 feet in the pole vault, which is a new personal best and placed sixth overall in the process. Teammate Parker Cates took eighth after he cleared 10-6.

“Frankie has a chance at regionals if he can make 11 or higher to make it to state, so it was nice to see him make that height,” Griffin said.

Although they didn’t score points, both of the Wildcat javelin throwers set new personal bests. Jacob Jensen recorded a toss of 133-6 to take 11th and Dustyn Rizzo had a throw of 130-1 to take 13th.

On the track, the Wildcats are dealing with some injuries as senior sprinter Mason Wilde was held out of the 100 and 200 dashes, but still ran the 4×100 and 4×400-meter relays.

Zach Knox, Wilde, Ben Minster and Dennis finished sixth in the 4×100 in 45.43 seconds. The 4×400 team of Wyatt Reece, Quinn Rigney, Wilde and Dawson Christy was seventh in 3 minutes and 41 seconds.

Christy later went on to finish seventh in the 800 run in 2:10 and Minster took seventh in the 100 dash in 11.95 seconds.

Reece, Christy, Michael Minster and Ben Hupp ran the 4×800 for Louisburg and came in 8th in 8:59.

Michael Minster and Bobby Hargis also ran personal bests in their respective distance races. Minster ran a 2:16 in the 800 run and 11:35 in the 3,200-meter run, while Hargis came in 13th in the 3,200 run in 11:31 and ran a 5:17 in the 1,600 run.