2020 Senior Spotlight: Charlie Koontz

Louisburg Sports Zone will be running senior spotlights through April and May everyday (Monday through Friday) in an effort to honor seniors who had their seasons taken away due to the spread of COVID-19.

To say Charlie Koontz had a memorable junior season, might be an understatement.

Koontz, who was a sprinter on the Louisburg boys track and field team, found his way to the medal stand at state and left his mark on the Wildcat program. Koontz, along with Blue Caplinger, Justin Collins and Ben Wiedenmann broke the school record in the 4×100-meter relay at the Class 4A regional meet last May.

Then a week later, Koontz garnered a medal as the same four runners took fifth at the Class 4A state meet in Wichita. It was one of many big moments for the Wildcat track team.

Koontz was ready to make it an even better season in 2020 as the Wildcats saw their numbers rise and planned to score points in many of the events.

“This season was going to be really good for us considering we still have a bunch of speed and other weapons,” Koontz said. “There were a lot of kids that were going to step up and possibly help us out in the long run as the season went along.

“I was really looking forward to this year’s season and it was going to be a lot of fun. We were basically going to do what we did last season and try and better ourselves every day. The ultimate goal is always making it to state.”

That was the plan this season as the Wildcats were ready to make some noise at the end of the year. They returned several state qualifiers from their 2019 team and had goals of medaling at state in numerous events in 2020.

Unfortunately, nothing went according to plan this spring as sports across the country were cancelled due to COVID-19.

The news was frustrating, to say the least, for all the seniors involved but Koontz realizes it is a situation that is out of his control.

“With the cancellation of everything, you can’t really do much besides just accept what happened and roll with it,” Koontz said. “Everything will sort out eventually. It’s a bummer and no student should have their senior year cut short unwillingly, but there’s a first for everything.”

Track has been a sport that Koontz has been involved in since middle school and participated in many different events along the way. I was also something that got him ready for his favorite sport – football.

“I’ve participated in track ever since seventh grade and I had tried long jump, high jump and all the sprinting events and I enjoyed it so I stuck with it,” Koontz said. “I did pole vault in eighth grade and that was pretty fun. In high school, I did it because I liked it and it was fun and it also kept me in shape for football.”

Other than track, Louisburg Sports Zone also had a chance to catch up with Charlie on how he has been coping with an early end to his senior year and some of his other interests. Here are his responses from the rest of our Q&A.

LSZ: What have you been missing the most during this time away from everyone?

CK: I’ve probably missed the social atmosphere and just the way things were, things are just weird now.

LSZ: What is your most memorable moment as an athlete or in school, and why?

CK: My most memorable moment at this school was my junior year when we beat Paola in football, 25-7. That was just so much fun and something I will never forget.

LSZ: What is your favorite activity/hobby outside of sports and why?

CK: My favorite thing to do outside of sports is probably fishing or hunting. My dad introduced me to all that and ever since it’s become a big part of my life. I love being outside and I’m just so lucky enough to be able to share unforgettable memories, see amazing things, and do stuff that a lot of people never get to experience.

LSZ: What are your plans for after graduation?

CK: I plan to attend the University of Kansas to major in biology or pre-med.

LSZ: What accomplishments that don’t involve athletics are you most proud of and why?

CK: Some accomplishments other than in athletics would be that I’ve been on the Principal’s Honor Roll throughout high school. I’ve done my best to maintain good grades and I’ve done pretty good at it, so I feel accomplished with that.

LSZ: What do you think would be something that a lot of people don’t know about you?

CK: Most people don’t know that I can do a back flip and other stuff like that.

Charlie’s Favorites

Pro athlete: Troy Polamalu

Pro team: Kansas City Chiefs

College team: Kansas State Football

Movie: Dances With Wolves

TV Show: Supernatural

Song: California Love by 2Pac

Band/Musician: Jimi Hendrix or AC/DC

Pregame meal/snack: Pasta

Class/subject: Any kind of history

Teacher and why? Mr. Ebenstein, because I’ve spent the most time around him with football and all that compared to the other teachers. I know for a fact he will do just about anything for the people he cares about and he is just one of the best guys I’ve ever met.