Stiles, Lohse, Burk and Bowes to be inducted into LHS Hall of Fame

By Andy Brown
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Updated: July 3, 2019

Dennis Stiles (top left), John Lohse (top right), Jason Burk (bottom left) and Krystal (Bowes) Grojean will be inducted into the Louisburg High School Athletic Hall of Fame this fall.

It has been 11 years since Louisburg High School had inducted a class into its athletic hall of fame, but the wait for a new class is finally over.

The USD 416 Endowment Association, which oversees the LHS Athletic Hall of Fame, has announced a new 4-member class. Dennis Stiles (Class of 1969), John Lohse (1995), Jason Burk (1999) and Krystal (Bowes) Grojean (2001) were the top four vote getters in this year’s hall of fame voting and will be honored in an induction ceremony sometime this fall.

“Louisburg has a history of great athletes,” said Damon Dennis, a USD 416 Endowment Association board member. “We had a good cross-section of both young and older voters this year that really took their job seriously. The four athletes chosen represent several generations of former Wildcats and each one were dominant in their particular era and sports. The Endowment Association is excited to get the Hall of Fame going again and plan on some big things in the future.”

More than two dozen voters, that includes current members of the hall of fame, long-time Louisburg residents, teachers and coaches, voted on the class in June. Each voter was asked to submit their top four choices for the hall and votes were then tabulated.

To be eligible for the hall of fame, the inductee must wait at least 10 years following graduation to be nominated.

The last class that was inducted was in 2008 and Dennis, and the rest of the Endowment Association, is committed to making this a yearly occurrence moving forward.

Here are the accomplishments of each of the newest hall of fame inductees. Look for more information on an induction ceremony in the coming weeks.

Dennis Stiles – Class of 1969 – Football, Basketball, Track

Stiles lettered 4 years in football and track and 3 years in basketball. His senior year he was named all-league and all-state in football and was co-captain on the Wildcat team that finished the year 4-4.

As sophomore, he played on the varsity basketball team which was 12-0 in league play, finished the year 19-3 and were district champions. He earned honorable mention all-state honors his sophomore and junior seasons and was second-team all-state his senior year. Stiles was at one time the school’s career scoring leader.

Stiles competed at the state track meet as a junior and senior where he placed fourth in the discus his senior year. He previously held school records in the discus and triple jump. He also received a football scholarship to Kansas State University.

John Lohse – Class of 1995 – Football, Basketball and Baseball

Lohse lettered all four years in baseball and was selected to represent Kansas in the all-star baseball classic his senior year. He was an all-league pitcher and centerfielder for the Wildcats his sophomore through senior years. He had a .510 average his junior and senior seasons with 10 home runs his junior year and 12 more his senior season.

In football, Lohse was a 3-year letterwinner. He was an all-league wide receiver his junior and senior seasons. In his senior year, he had 850 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns and was later selected to represent Kansas in the Metro Classic All-Star Game.

Lohse was also a 3-year letterwinner in basketball and was an all-league selection his junior and senior seasons. He averaged a double-double his junior and senior years.

Post-graduation, Lohse attended Pittsburg State on a baseball scholarship and played on the Gorilla team for four years. He was selected to the all-MIAA team his sophomore and junior seasons before injuring his shoulder his senior year. He had a .315 average his junior and senior seasons. In his first collegiate at-bat his freshman year, Lohse hit a game-winning grand slam to give Pitt State its first win over Missouri Southern in five years.

Jason Burk – Class of 1999 – Track and Football

Burk was a 4-year letterwinner for the Louisburg track and field team and qualified for state in all four years in four events. He accumulated 12 state medals, 16 regional track medals and 14 Frontier League medals. Burk was selected to the Kansas City All-Metro track team in 1998 and 1999.

During his senior season, Burk was a state champion in both the triple and long jump. He won the triple jump with a leap 48 feet and the long jump with a mark of 22-5. He also finished fifth in the 100-meter dash and sixth in the high jump. As a junior, Burk won a state championship in the triple jump with mark of 46 feet and won three more state medals. He took second long jump, fourth in the 100 dash and sixth in the 200 dash. As a sophomore, Burk won state medals in the triple jump (second), long jump (fourth) and 4×100 relay (third). He was a member of the 4×100 team that took second at state as a freshman in 1996.

At one time, Burk held seven school records. He currently holds school records in the triple jump, high jump and long jump. Burk holds the school record for most points in a season with 326.

Burk also played football, where he was a part of bi-district, district and regional championship teams.

Krystal (Bowes) Grojean

Krystal (Bowes) Grojean – Class of 2001 – Volleyball, Basketball, Track

Bowes was a 4-year letterwinner in track before she was offered a scholarship on the Wichita State track and field team.

In her senior season at Louisburg, Bowes earned three state medals, including a second-place finish in the javelin with a throw of 145-10. She was also third in the discus with a toss of 126-9 and fifth in the shot put at 37-5. As a sophomore and junior, she finished sixth in the discus at state. In all, Bowes racked up five state medals in her high school career before moving on to Wichita State. She is the current Louisburg record holder in the javelin (146-10) and discus (137-11).

At Wichita State, she earned academic All-American honors and was a team captain all four years. Bowes was a two-time NCAA national qualifier and finished fifth in the javelin and was second in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2006. In 2004, Bowes took first in the MVC in the javelin and fourth in the discus. In 2003, she won the Missouri Valley Conference discus title, was second in the javelin and fourth in the hammer throw. Bowes was also a member two Shocker teams that won conference titles.

In volleyball and basketball at LHS, Bowes was a 3-year letterwinner in each sport and earned first-team all-Frontier League honors each season.