Louisburg had seven players named to the All-Frontier League and all-state teams this past week.

The Louisburg girls soccer team was one of the top programs in the Frontier League and it showed when the all-league selections were announced.

The Wildcats were honored with seven spots on the All-Frontier League team, including three first team selections in Rowan Yows, Lexi Hampton and Adyson Ross. Bree Gassman and Hailey Sword earned second team honors, while Lola Edwards and Macy Lemke were named honorable mention.

“We did quite well,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “Postseason honors are always subjective. As a head coach, you are always thinking your nominations are what other people are thinking, but a lot of times it is not. There were girls who really showed well this year. The girls that made it were absolutely deserving, and in a really tough league like we were in, it is quite an honor.”

All-State awards were also released earlier this week by the Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association and seven Wildcats received honors. Yows, Hampton and Ross were second team selections, while Gassman, Sword, Lemke and Ellery Allen were named honorable mention.

The Wildcats received those honors thanks to the season they had. They reached the sub-state championship game and ended the year with a 13-5 record.

Yow sled the Wildcats in scoring from her midfield spot and played a key role on the team as a sophomore. She finished with 19 goals and 11 assists. She also had 50 shots on goal.

“Rowan is the heartbeat of our team,” York said. “She sets the tone with her tenacious high motor and she is near the top in every category on our team. She is a very hard worker, never complains and leads by example. She scored some very impressive goals this year and she is technically good on the ball.”

Hampton tied with Yows for the team lead in scoring as she also tallied 19 goals on the season from her forward spot. The Louisburg junior also had seven assists and 51 shots on goal.

“Lexi is great at finding shots in tight spaces, but also has a good top gear to beat defenders,” York said. “She is equally good with both feet and has the ability to stretch the defense out. She is also very good in the air scoring several goals off crosses/corners with her head. With our different style of play this year, she did a good job adjusting to a more pass heavy offense that shares the ball.”

Ross was a big factor in the scoring from her outside midfielder spot. The Louisburg senior led the team with 21 assists to go along with 16 goals. She also had 35 shots on goal.

“Adyson moved to outside mid this year in the system we played,” York said. “Not only did she lead the team in assists, she had critical goals in many of our close games and really led the team on the field. She showed great leadership and played almost every minute of every game. She is probably the most dangerous player we have because she is left footed and a nightmare to keep up with for pace.”

Gassman, a senior, also had a big season for the Wildcats at forward. She tallied seven goals and nine assists to go along with 16 shots on goal.

“Bree does all the dirty work on the field for us,” York said. “Her fitness is incredible and she has allowed us to use her in different positions throughout the season when other players were injured or we were thin at certain positions. She is very good on the ball and rarely gives up possession. Best tackler on the team and is extremely unselfish. Her stats do not do justice to her importance on the team. She is also a great captain and leader.”

Sword, a junior, was one the team’s top defenders after switching positions from a year ago. The defense as a whole gave up just 17 goals all season, which was less than one per game.

“Hailey moved from the defensive midfield to center back this year and she handled the switch extremely well,” York said “She was the field general for us this year. She was part of a defense that allowed less that a goal a game and had 9 shutouts in the regular season. She is very good at reading the play and organizing the team defensively. Strong in tackles and is fast enough to track down players from behind.”

As a part of that defense, Lemke had a strong first year as a starting goalie. She finished the year with 56 saves to go along with nine clean sheets.

“Macy had a very impressive year,” York said. “She plays very well with her feet, which allows us to use her to keep possession and build out of the back. She is confident and decisive when she comes out and is intimidating. She is good on corners and has good height, so she rarely has trouble with balls in the air or high shots. She is a good vocal leader and good organizer on the field and off.”

Edwards, a junior caption, also played a vital role in the midfield this season for Louisburg. She finished the year with seven goals and seven assists, which was good enough to earn honorable mention all-league honors.

“Lola is the most technical player we have,” York said. “Very good at finding and keeping possession. Didn’t have a statistically impressive season, but was probably involved in the majority of our build ups to goal scoring opportunities. Also a very good and consistent captain and leader.”

Allen was also a key part to the Wildcat defense, but also found herself in plenty of scoring opportunities. The Louisburg junior stopper finished with nine goals, seven assists and 20 shots on goal.

“Ellery was a transfer into our program this year,” York said. “She played stopper for us and had an immediate impact on our team. Very talented on the ball, good distributer and good in the air. Tall and imposing as a defender, and she also pushes up into the offense very well. As a defender, she had a large number of goals for us. She takes all of our set pieces and has an incredible shot.”

ALL-FRONTIER LEAGUE GIRLS SOCCER

First Team

Payton Vogelbacher, senior, Spring Hill

Rowan Yows, sophomore, Louisburg

Adyson Ross, senior, Louisburg

Perla Backberg, junior, Baldwin

Jayla Erpelding, junior, Eudora

Veronica Farris, senior, Spring Hill

Bailey Smith, junior, Baldwin

Lexi Hampton, junior, Louisburg

Fisayo Afonja, junior, Baldwin

Hailey Bregmann, sophomore, Spring Hill

GOALIE: Avery Young, junior, Spring Hill

Second Team

Nora Prather, junior, Baldwin

Gabby Klein, senior, Bonner Springs

Bree Gassman, senior, Louisburg

Hailey Sword, junior, Louisburg

Jaden Brooks, sophomore, Eudora

Jenna Knight, senior, Bonner Springs

Izzy Farris, senior, Spring Hill

Johannah Jahn, senior, Ottawa

Elizabeth Williams, sophomore, Spring Hill

Jess Russo, junior, Spring Hill

GOALIE: Molly Atchley, senior, Ottawa

Honorable Mention

Madisyn Sprinkle, freshman, Ottawa

Paige Hiracheta, senior, Ottawa

Cooper Garner, senior, Ottawa

Katelyn Bothwell, senior, Tonganoxie

Makenna Blanchat, senior, Baldwin

Alex McBride, junior, Baldwin

Maris Flory, junior, Baldwin

Laura Fisher, sophomore, Bonner Springs

Lauren Grauberger, junior, Eudora

Lizzie Fisher, sophomore, Eudora

Kaiya Taylor, sophomore, Eudora

Xin Clobes, junior, Eudora

Olivia Infante, junior, Spring Hill

Lola Edwards, junior, Louisburg

GOALIE: Kambry Shockley, senior, Eudora; Macy Lemke, junior, Louisburg; Alyssa Reichard, junior, Baldwin

Class 4-1A All-State

SECOND TEAM: Rowan Yows, Adyson Ross, Lexi Hampton
HONORABLE MENTION: Bree Gassman, Hailey Sword, Ellery Allen, Macy Lemke

Louisburg junior Lola Edwards battles a Bishop Miege player for possession Thursday during the Class 4-1A regional title game at Wildcat Stadium.

For the first half of the Class 4-1A regional championship game against Bishop Miege, Louisburg found itself in a dogfight with the six-time defending state champion.

The Wildcats were down just a goal at halftime and had another 40 minutes to try and pull off the upset.

Unfortunately, Bishop Miege had another ideas. 

The Stags scored five goals in the first 12 minutes of the second half and handed the Wildcats a 6-0 defeat to end their season.

“We fought and got them out of their game and had a really good first half,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “I don’t know if all the conditioning in the world would allow you to play two halves the way we did. 

“The first 12 minutes of the second half were just like a blur. We were able to do some things in the first half that allowed us to have success, but they sat some girls in different places in the second half that made it more difficult for us to release and go forward. They are a very talented team that I wish we didn’t have to see this early in the postseason, but that is the way it happens sometimes. Very proud of my team though.”

It was a scoreless through the first 15 minutes of the match, before Miege hit a shot from 15 yards out that sailed just off the fingertips of goalie Macy Lemke.

Louisburg had its fair share of chances in the first half, as well.

Off a pair of corner kicks from Adyson Ross, sophomore Rowan Yows had two shots on target, while junior Lexi Hampton also had shots on goal.

The match stayed a 1-0 lead for Miege at halftime, before the Stags caught fire and the Wildcats didn’t have an answer. Miege scored in the opening minute of the second half and would score four more times in the following 12 minutes.

“It is an emotional thing for our girls,” York said. “It happened against Spring Hill where they scored a bunch of a goals in a short amount of time. We didn’t get tired, but I think we were emotionally out of it after they scored the first couple in the second half. Miege has some fast girls, so I think after the first couple of goals in the second half, we were just chasing and we probably got tired legs after that.

“I think both teams were pretty aggressive, and I think the first half we made them a little uncomfortable. They have speed and a lot of talent, and for the first half, I think we held them in check a little bit.”

The loss ended the Wildcats’ year with a 13-5 record, as they also had to say goodbye to five seniors in Ross, Brianne Kuhlman, Tehya Harvey, Bree Gassman and Brylee Diederich. However, it was a season filled with plenty of positives.

“It was a wonderful season,” York said. “The attitude was good, the comradery was good, and even after losses, the girls were always ready to go to work the next day in practice. That is just a tribute to who the girls are and what this program is, and it is wonderful. As coaches, it is easier to coach a team that all gets along and works really hard. You can’t ask for a better group of girls. It was a lot of fun.”

Louisburg juniors Hailey Sword and Ellery Allen were all smiles following Sword’s goal in the first half of Tuesday victory over Chanute.

When the regional brackets were announced late last week, Louisburg saw it would face a familiar first round opponent.

The Wildcats hosted Chanute on Tuesday in the Class 4-1A regional semifinal, and just like earlier in the season, it was the same result. 

Louisburg scored 10 goals en route to a 10-0 victory over the Blue Comets, who just completed the program’s inaugural season. That win set up a different kind of opponent for today’s regional championship.

The No. 3 seed Wildcats go from facing a winless Chanute team, to squaring off with No. 6 Bishop Miege — a team that has won six straight state championships.

It will obviously be a different kind of game in today’s regional title match, as the Wildcats try to reach the state tournament.

“We know this will be a big challenge for us, but is it impossible, of course not,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “It will take our best effort to get it done and I think the girls are up for the challenge. The coaches have watched a lot of film and we will put together a game plan. Hopefully the girls will come with a great attitude and put together a good performance, and will see what happens.”

Against Chanute, the Wildcats found the back of the net early and often as junior Lola Edwards and senior Bree Gassman each had a pair of goals to lead the Louisburg scoring.

Edwards got the scoring started with a goal three minutes into the match, and then followed it up with a shot from 20 yards out to make it a 2-0 contest.

Then a pair of Wildcat defenders got into the scoring column. Junior Ellery Allen blasted a shot from just beyond the 18, then minutes later, junior Hailey Sword got a goal of her own to make it 4-0.

Freshman Mena Fercho and sophomore Rowan Yows added scores in the final minutes of the first half and the Wildcats took a 6-0 lead.

Gassman opened the second half with a pair of quick goals and senior Adyson Ross followed it up with a score to make it 9-0. A Chanute own goal ended the match early.

Louisburg junior goalie Macy Lemke earned the clean sheet as the Wildcats picked up their fourth straight shutout.

The Wildcats (13-4) will host Bishop Miege at 5 p.m. today for the regional championship at Wildcat Stadium. The first 125 student will get in free with a valid student ID. There will also be a tailgate that begins at 4 p.m. that features a couple different food trucks.

Louisburg sophomore Rowan Yows takes a shot on goal during a game earlier this season. Yows had an assist in the Wildcats’ 2-0 win at Lansing on Thursday. She also recorded a hat trick last Tuesday in a win over Ottawa.

LANSING — The Louisburg girls soccer team ended its regular season just how it had hoped — with a pair of victories.

Its final game came Thursday when the Wildcats traveled to Lansing. Louisburg did what it needed to do as it got a pair of second half goals and left with a 2-0 win over the Lions.

Louisburg ended the regular season with a 12-4 record and earned the No. 3 seed in the Class 4-1A playoffs.

The Wildcats did have to overcome a couple obstacles, but Louisburg head coach Ben York was pleased to see his team battle through those.

“We figured it out in the second half,” York said. “It wasn’t the greatest day for us, but the girls really fought hard and kept with it and had a good attitude. We took advantage of some opportunities and Lansing is a better team than when we saw them last.”

One of those obstacles was playing on a grass surface for the first time this season, and add in wet elements, it took awhile for the Lady Cats get going.

“Usually we will play on a few throughout the season, but this was a long, grass field and it was wet, so it took us a little while to get going,” York said. “We had many, many opportunities. We had at least six really good chances in the first half, but we just couldn’t get anything to go. The ball was moving slow.”

Louisburg picked it up in the second half and found the back of the net late in regulation. Senior Bree Gassman was on the receiving end of a cross from sophomore Rowan Yows to sneak it past the goalie.

Senior Adyson Ross added the second goal two minutes later off a deflection and the Wildcats were able to leave Lansing with a win.

Junior goalie Macy Lemke got the clean sheet with four saves on the night, while the Wildcats had nine shots on goal.

The Wildcats will now host No. 14 Chanute in the first round of the Class 4-1A playoffs at 5 p.m. today at Wildcat Stadium. The winner will play whoever advances between Bishop Miege and Ottawa for the championship Thursday.

Bishop Miege has won the last six state titles and the Stags would travel to Louisburg if both teams advance.

“We just need to stay focused on what is in front of us,” York said. “The girls are going to hear a lot of noise from the outside about who we could play, especially if it is that particular team. That is our path and we will figure it out. The coaches have watched a lot of film and we will put together a game plan. Hopefully the girls will come with a great attitude and we will do what we can.”

Wildcats blank Ottawa

Louisburg traveled to Ottawa last Tuesday for a Frontier League match and left with an easy 8-0 victory over the Cyclones.

The Wildcats scored four goals in each half and sophomore Rowan Yows led the Wildcats with a hat trick.

Adyson Ross opened the scoring on an assist from Ellery Allen to give Louisburg an early lead three minutes into the contest. Sophomore Baileigh Johnson, Yows, along with junior Lexi Hampton, all found the back of the net in the first half.

Yows began the scoring in the second half on a penalty kick, Hampton followed with her second goal, before Yows completed the hat trick. Ross sealed the win with her second goal of the match.

Allen, Yows, Lola Edwards and Johnson all had assists for the Wildcats.

Junior goalie Macy Lemke earned the clean sheet.

Lexi Hampton gives senior Tehya Harvey a big hug following her first goal of the season, while fellow senior Adyson Ross comes in to celebrate Thursday during the Wildcats’ shutout of Bonner Springs on Senior Night. Harvey played in her first game of the season after suffering an ACL tear.

Senior night usually brings out a plethora of emotions and Thursday for the Louisburg girls soccer team was no different.

In fact, it might have had a few more tugs at the heart strings.

As happy as the Wildcats were to end their regular season home schedule with a 5-0 victory over Bonner Springs, it was how they did it, and who they honored, that made it even more special.

Despite have to dodge rain drops for much of the night, the Wildcats honored their senior class of Brylee Diederich, Bree Gassman, Tehya Harvey, Brianne Kuhlman and Adyson Ross and did so in convincing fashion.

The victory pushed the Wildcats’ record to 10-4 on the season as they look to continue to improve with the postseason looming.

“I told the (senior) girls the other night that I don’t have any regrets about the season, but my only regret is that I have only been around them a year,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “They are a great group of girls. They like to joke and laugh a lot, but when it comes down to it, they are ready to go compete when its time. 

“There was already such a good foundation here when I started and the seniors are a part of that. They are just a fun group to be around and they have made a big impact on the program. Now we just want to send them out in the best way possible.”

Soccer didn’t even seem in the cards this season for one of the Wildcat seniors. Harvey tore her ACL in the fall and she thought her season was over.

It was a devastating blow, but it didn’t let it stop her from trying to make it back. That journey ended with one of the most memorable moments of the season to date.

Not only was Harvey able to play limited minutes, but she made a big impact on the game. 

Junior Lexi Hampton had a breakaway opportunity late in the first half, but saw Harvey on the opposite side of the field. Hampton made the perfect pass that found Harvey’s foot as she put it in the back of the net to score her first goal of the season.

“Not sure I would have seen that coming six months ago when we found out about her injury,” York said. “I don’t know you could write a movie script better than what actually happened. When we found out she was having ACL surgery, she was emotional. I told her whatever happens, we would get her whatever time we could on Senior Night. 

“It might be a pivotal moment for Tehya. It was neat to see the connection her and Lexi had. It was a very unselfish moment there from Lexi as she could have scored the goal herself, but it was a neat deal to be a part of. I was proud to be on the sidelines just to watch it all. Everyone has always been supportive of her and I think we all enjoyed the moment.”

Harvey’s goal put up the Wildcats up 2-0, as just moments before, Diederich opened the scoring to get a goal on Senior Night. 

Early in the second half, the Wildcats increased the lead to 3-0 when Hampton scored off an assist from Ross. It was Ross who followed that up with a goal of her own to make it a 4-0 contest.

Hampton completed the scoring with her second goal of the night as the Wildcat dominated possession from start to finish.

This was the second meeting between the two teams as the Wildcats defeated Bonner Springs 10-0 earlier in the season.

“I don’t expect a lot out of senior night as there is so many distractions, but we got the win and that is the most important,” York said. “I wasn’t frustrated that we weren’t scoring as much, even though we had multiple opportunities. The girls just stayed the course and didn’t get frustrated, which was good to see. Bonner was not the same team we played earlier in the year and they have improved as well.”

It was a nice win for the Wildcats as they were coming off a difficult 2-0 loss to Basehor-Linwood last Tuesday.

“We got off to a slow start and felt like a couple players weren’t firing 100 percent and it was one of those midseason games where you can’t explain why things happen the way they do,” York said. “I think if we were to see them again it would be different, but they have some fast girls. It was their senior night too and I think they were pretty inspired. It was a weird night for us, and we had plenty of opportunities especially late, but we just didn’t play well.

The Wildcats will end the regular season this week as they travel to Ottawa today and Lansing on Thursday. 

“The last two-and-a half weeks we have made a ton of progress,” York said. “This coming week is going to be a good measuring stick with where we are at. We are all healthy and are in a good spot. We have had some good practices, and if we can get out and play quick, then we can do good things. We have things we have been working on all season that are coming around too. Hopefully by the end of the year we can see it all come together.”

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week six of the spring sports season, sponsored by Dr. Laura’s Orthodontics.

LEXI HAMPTON, JUNIOR, GIRLS SOCCER

Louisburg junior Lexi Hampton has had no problems finding the back of the net for the Wildcat girls soccer team so far this spring and that included last week. In a pair of wins over Ottawa and Eudora, Hampton finished with three goals, and also added two assists.

On the season, Hampton has been one of the team’s top scorers. She has two hat tricks on the year to go along with 15 goals through 13 matches.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the spring season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous winners:

Week 1: Rowan Yows

Week 2: Sabra Brueggen

Week 3: Danny Napier

Week 4: Corbin Hamman

Week 5: Megan Quinn

Louisburg junior Lexi Hampton leaps over the Ottawa goalie during the team’s match last Tuesday at Wildcat Stadium. The Wildcats earned wins over Eudora and Ottawa last week.

EUDORA — Goals have been easy to come by the last four matches for the Louisburg girls soccer team and that continued Thursday at Eudora.

The Wildcats scored four first half goals on their way to a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals at Eudora High School. It was the fourth consecutive victory for Louisburg and the Wildcats have looked good during that stretch.

In those four wins, the Wildcats have scored 27 goals and Louisburg coach Ben York has seen a lot of progress from his team in recent weeks.

“We are trying to move the ball better and get more people involved,” York said. “In doing so, if we can do that effectively against better teams, we will be able to hang with most teams. It was fun to see us knock the ball around, especially in the first half, against a team in Eudora that worked hard and put pressure on us. I was very pleased. We came out with high pressure, had good passes and had them on their heels.”

Louisburg (9-3) got in the scoring column early when sophomore Rowan Yows found the back of the net on an assist from junior Lexi Hampton. A few minutes later, the Wildcats doubled the score when junior defender Ellery Allen hit a shot at the top of the 18 after an assist from junior Lola Edwards.

Hampton added a goal of her own to make it 3-0 and sophomore Riley May scored her first varsity goal of the season to make it a 4-0 advantage for Louisburg at halftime.

Senior Adyson Ross added another goal on a breakaway in the second half to all but seal the win for the Wildcats. Eudora scored to end the shutout, but could get no closer.

The Wildcats outshot the Cardinals 17-7 on the night and had 12 corner kicks to go along with eight free kicks.

“I really thought we played well,” York said. “We had a lot of possession and took a lot of shots. Eudora is a quality team and they really fight hard. After the game, their coach mentioned to me about how well he thought our girls played and how talented they are, so that is always nice to hear from someone outside of the program.

“The second half we got a little too comfortable and didn’t put as much pressure on them as we needed to. We made a poor decision on a clearance, which led to their goal, but that was a mistake we will make 1-in-100 times. Other than that, we did a lot of good things.”

Defensively the Wildcats have seen improvement throughout the year as they have given up just two goals during this four-game winning streak.

Louisburg’s defense had to mark up one of the Frontier League’s top forwards, Jayla Erpelding, and York believes they did a good job and he has seen improvement in that group throughout the year.

The starting back line of Jaden Bentz, Allen, Hailey Sword and Brianne Kuhlman have started to bond together to give that protection to goalie Macy Lemke.

“We are a little inconsistent still at times,” York said. “When we playing against a top striker, we struggle staying marked up. Against Eudora, at least for the first half, it was what I liked to see. We were disciplined marking up. Jayla likes to roam around, but the girls did a good job communicating and making sure someone had her.

“Jaden has really come along in the last three games and did a good job when she marked Jayla. She has been one of our better defenders, so she has earned the position, which is nice to see.”

Louisburg will try and make it five in a row tonight as the Wildcats travel to Basehor-Linwood. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m.

Wildcats shutout Ottawa in home match

The win over Eudora last Thursday was the end to what was a positive week for Louisburg.

It started last Tuesday at home against Ottawas the Wildcats shutout the Cyclones in impressive fashion, 7-0.

Louisburg scored four goals in the first half and Rowan Yows got it started as she found the back of the net on an assist from Bree Gassman 13 minutes into the match.

Just two minutes later, Gassman got in the scoring column as she snuck it past the Ottawa goalie on a corner from Adyson Ross. Ellery Allen then made it 3-0 when she scored off a defected shot.

Lexi Hampton capped the first half scoring when put the Wildcats up, 4-0, on a breakaway opportunity.

Lola Edwards and Ross got in on the scoring in the second half and Hampton picked up her second goal of the match. Edwards and Hampton also had assists in the final 40 minutes.

Junior goalie Macy Lemke earned the clean sheet.

Louisburg senior Adyson Ross dribbles the ball up the field Tuesday during the Wildcats’ home match against Chanute.

After going through a little bit of a losing skid, the Louisburg girls soccer team has now put together back-to-back wins to help right the ship.

In its second game in as many days Tuesday, the Wildcats scored nine first half goals and came away with a 10-0 victory over Chanute to improve its record to 7-3 on the season.

Seven different players scored for Louisburg and the Wildcats got a hat trick from sophomore Rowan Yows. 

“We knocked the ball around pretty good,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “We came off a game (Monday) where we worked really hard and having games back-to-back nights is never easy. We got a little dribble-happy at times, but it was a good outcome.

“Chanute is in the first year of their girls soccer program, and I know in two or three years they will be winning a lot of games. There aren’t a lot of girls soccer programs down in their area, so I was glad we could get them on the schedule and give them an opportunity to play someone relatively close.”

Yows got the scoring started in the first five minutes as the Wildcats took an early lead. Less than a minute later, Yows scored again, this time on an assist from Lexi Hampton.

Hampton recorded her second assist moments later when she found junior Ellery Allen, who took the left-footed shot and scored. Hampton was on the other side of the scoring a minute later, when she found the back of the net on an assist from Riley May. 

Senior Brylee Diederich got in on the scoring with 18 minutes left in the first half on an assist from fellow senior Adyson Ross. Ross then found sophomore Baileigh Johnson with a pass up the filed, who scored her first goal of the contest.

Lola Edwards, Hampton and Yows followed it up with three straight goals to end the first half and the Wildcats held a 9-0 advantage.

Goalie Macy Lemke got the chance to try the offensive side of the game for a change to start the second half, and her teammates made sure got the opportunity to get in the scoring column. 

Two minutes into the match, Lemke dribbed the ball down the field and took a shot that hit off the crossbar and Lemke was able to follow it up for her first varsity goal.

“She darn near knocked the goal over with her first shot,” York joked. “We tried to get her in a couple times before this, but it was really neat to see her get that goal. I know the girls were really excited for her.”

The Wildcats will try and make it three straight wins Tuesday when they host Ottawa for a Frontier League match. Varsity is slated to begin at 6 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium.

Louisburg boys basketball coach Ty Pfannenstiel will take over the school’s activities director role next school year. He also resigned his basketball position after coaching the Wildcats for the last six years.

Beginning next school year, Louisburg High School activities will have a little different look to it — especially at the top.

Ty Pfannenstiel will serve as the school’s new activities director and will take over for current AD, Michael Pickman, who will focus on his assistant principal duties and curriculum. 

Pfannenstiel, who has been the boys basketball coach for the last six years, resigned his post to take on the activities director position. He also stepped down as an assistant football coach.

Currently the weight room instructor, Pfannenstiel will spend half his day teaching and the other half in the AD role.

All of the moves were approved during Monday’s meeting of the USD 416 Board of Education.

“This is very exciting for me,” Pfannenstiel said. “It’s definitely going to be a change. I have been a teacher and a coach for 18 years. I still get to be a teacher half-time, and now I get to step into a new role as an administrator. It is going to be all sports and activities and I am looking forward to the new direction.”

As for Pickman, he gets the opportunity to focus more on the academic side as a full-time assistant principal. He was hired as an assistant principal/ activities director in April of 2020.

“I am very excited to commit more fully to the assistant principal role as education and curriculum have always been my true passion,” Pickman said. “Being able to support the teachers, students, and administrative staff by providing data, feedback, and assessing teaching and learning goals and initiatives in the building and district aligns with that passion and the opportunity arose to allow for that. I hope to enable and promote continued growth in the various curriculums and initiatives and structures that make Louisburg a fantastic district in a supportive community.

“Ty has experience and is passionate about athletics and activities. As it is where his passion is, I have every confidence he will do a fantastic job in his new role and look forward to witnessing where he takes our programs moving forward.”

Pickman took over LHS activities at a difficult time as the school was coming back from COVID-19 and the all challenges it presented. As tough as that situation was, he appreciated the relationships he built.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my role as activities director and was presented a fantastic growth opportunity and am grateful for being given it,” Pickman said. “I had a goal of being present for athletes and coaches and for the patrons, so I hope people saw that presence. I was blessed to have great leadership in place in our coaches and sponsors, and tried to support them best by advocating for their needs and supporting them to do their job of being great role models and passing on their passion and knowledge to students.

“Ultimately, I am most proud of our student athletes and activity participants and being part of their journey. I believe that sports are an extension of the classroom and I wanted to help ensure that character and sportsmanship were just as important and success, and I am overjoyed to have a wealth of memories where our fans, students, participants, and coaches and sponsors proved that to be true of LHS.”

While taking on the challenge of being a new administrator is one he is looking forward to, leaving his coaching roots behind was a difficult decision for Pfannenstiel.

In 2021, Pfannenstiel led the Wildcat boys basketball team to the Class 4A state championship game and finished as the state runner-up.

“That was definitely the biggest thing that was holding me back,” Pfannenstiel said. “I love basketball and the kids that I have worked with. There is a group coming up that I really enjoy coaching, and leaving that behind was one of the biggest challenges for me. Whoever takes over the program, I think it will be good transition for them because they will have a great group of kids to work with.

“Originally, I was going to be allowed to coach a sport and they didn’t want to take coaching away from me. The more I thought about it, if I want to do a good job at this, I need to focus on being the AD and that will be something that will benefit me and all the other activities.”

Pfannenstiel believes the move is a good one for the school in general as it will allow Pickman and principal Amy VanRheen to focus more on the academic side of things.

“This is something that is definitely needed,” Pfannenstiel said. “Our administrators are so busy with all the stuff they do during the school day, but they are also going to all the activities as well. Hopefully this will be a big help for Mrs. VanRheen and Mr. Pickman.”

Although he won’t official start his new position till next school year, Pfannenstiel is already starting to transition into his new role — one that is looking forward to.

“My job in the weight room and coaching has all been about sports,” he said. “That is what entices me about this job is that I am still going to be all about sports and activities. I just want to be a support for our coaches and our athletes and be advocate for our students.” 

Louisburg senior Bree Gassman dribbles down the side during a game earlier this season. The Wildcats earned a 5-1 victory over Augusta on Monday in Emporia.

EMPORIA — Louisburg needed something good to go its way after suffering setbacks in two of its last three matches.

“We had a little bit of a tough stretch there with losses against Spring Hill and Baldwin,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “I think the girls were a little disappointed or frustrated, so we need something good to happen to change that mentality.”

The Wildcats got what they needed Monday.

Louisburg traveled to Emporia as it faced off with Augusta in a neutral site contest. From the opening whistle, the Lady Cats took control of the game and left with a 5-1 victory over the Orioles.

“I thought the girls played alright,” York said. “Augusta had a couple pretty talented players, but for the most part, the girls were focused and did some good things.

“Whenever we’ve have losses like we have, I want to take a few games to work on specific things that went wrong and that we need to correct. We definitely saw improvements in some areas, but overall it was good to see the girls leave with a win.”

Augusta suffered some bad luck early as its goalie had to leave with an injury in the opening minute and the Orioles were forced to shuffle their lineup. That led to an own goal that gave Louisburg a 1-0 lead early.

Senior Adyson Ross scored her first goal to give the Wildcats a 2-0 early in the match. Junior Ellery Allen then scored off a free kick a few minutes later.

Freshman Mena Fercho added a goal of her own late in the first half and the Wildcats took a 4-0 lead at halftime. Junior Lexi Hampton competed the Wildcats scoring a with a goal midway through the first half.

The Wildcats will try and make it back-to-back wins tonight as they host Chanute at Wildcat Stadium. Varsity is slated to begin at approximately 6 p.m.

Louisburg comes up short at home to Baldwin

Whether it was unfortunate calls, a little bit of bad luck or everything in-between, Louisburg went through it all last Thursday when the Wildcats hosted Baldwin.

Baldwin scored two early goals and the Wildcats weren’t able to come from behind in a 3-1 setback to the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs scored their first goal on a penalty kick. From there, the Wildcats had to play catch-up and couldn’t complete the comeback despite having several chances on goal.

“I think we came out a little slow, but I thought we settled in and played well,” York said. “They scored on a penalty kick early on a questionable call and the same thing on their second goal where it looked like they had a player offsides. We were a little unlucky in that area, but that is no excuse because we had plenty of chances on our own to get back in the game.”

Louisburg registered 30 shots in the contest, including 16 in the second half, but couldn’t find the back of the net. The Wildcats were able to cut into the Baldwin lead on a goal by Bree Gassman in the first half, but could get no closer.

“We had a lot of pressure in that game, we just couldn’t get anything to go,” York said. “I think our fitness is really good right now and I think that allowed us to control the second half. We had so many opportunities, which is a good thing and something we can build on if we were to see them again.”