Moore to compete at state in two sports in same season

Louisburg sophomore Alyse Moore is competing at state this weekend in both softball and track this weekend and is the first Wildcat athlete to do so in recent memory.

Alyse Moore was filled with excitement after she and the Louisburg softball team qualified for state last week.

As the team’s starting shortstop on the 5-win team, it was an unexpected, yet a fantastic feeling for the Wildcat sophomore. Just three days later, however, Moore’s excitement level reached a new level.

Moore qualified for state in the javelin after she won a regional title in the event last Friday in Paola. So, for the first time in recent school history, she is the first Wildcat athlete to head to state in two sports in the same season.

“It is such an honor,” Moore said. “I am so thankful because I couldn’t imagine do it without my teammates in softball and my coaches in track. I am just very thankful and it is a great opportunity for me.”

After the Lady Cat softball team won the regional title on May 14, Moore took to the javelin runway last Friday in Paola during regional track and she had an outside shot of earning a spot at the state track meet.

She knew she was going to have to have her best throw of the season to have a chance. Moore had competed in just two meets all season prior to regional due to her softball schedule.

So in her final throw of prelims, Moore let it fly and she shattered her old personal record by 25 feet with a throw of 129 feet, 11 inches. That mark jumped her to the top of the leaderboard and it was good enough win regionals by three feet.

She held off Baldwin senior Kayla Kurtz, who recently signed with the University of Oklahoma. When Moore’s personal record mark was read out, her javelin coach, Alex Gentges, got a little excited himself.

“I knew she was capable of a big throw but 129-11 exceeded expectations so I let out some excitement after they read off the distance, that’s for sure,” Gentges said. “The great thing is that she is capable of more, but walking away a regional champ after the first year ever throwing is incredible.”

The idea of participating in two sports was brought to Moore’s attention before the start of the season, and after talking with coaches from both sports, she was given the go-ahead to compete in both, with softball being the priority.

It made for some busy afternoons and evenings after school as she would attend softball practice and then made her way over for track workouts.

“It is definitely a challenge sometimes, but at the same time it is super fun and it is fun to be around different people,” Moore said. “Most of the time I will go to softball first, practice there, and then Gentges comes over and we will put in the time after softball practice working on throwing. It means a lot that he created extra time for me to get better.”

Moore grew up playing softball and the thought of throwing javelin hadn’t even entered her mind until before the season when the Wildcat track coaches brought the idea to her parents. They knew she had a strong arm as a shortstop, and they thought it would translate well into the javelin.

Although there were some growing pains early, Moore has taken off with the javelin as she threw over 100 feet in just her second meet earlier this month at Wellsville. She then followed it up with the regional-winning throw.

“I’m very impressed about her success in both sports,” Gentges said. “She comes to practice with a great attitude and takes criticism well. She is a competitor and anyone that watches her compete knows that. This is the first time in a long time that someone has played two sports at once and to have this success this early is a special thing.”

Moore and the Lady Cats softball team competed in Salina on Thursday and left with a 10-0 loss to No. 1 seed Andale-Garden Plain. It is just the first part of what is a busy weekend as Moore will throw the javelin at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday in Wichita at the state meet.

Whatever happens, Moore has enjoyed the experience of being able to participate in two sports and is hoping for good things on Saturday.

“Although this is my first year throwing javelin, I am expecting to go out there and place,” Moore said. “There are a lot of good throwers out at state, but hopefully I can go out there and throw well. It will be a lot of fun.”

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