Wright wins two Frontier League titles, breaks own record in 400

Louisburg junior Delaney Wright sprints to the finish in the 400-meter dash Thursday during the Frontier League Invitational in Tonganoxie. Wright won league titles in the 400 and long jump, and also broke her own school record in the 400.

TONGANOXIE — Delaney Wright is no stranger to winning events or breaking school records – it has almost become commonplace during the 2021 track season.

It continued Thursday at the Frontier League Invitational. Wright won league titles in the 400-meter dash and long jump and broke her own school record in the 400 dash in 58.76 seconds at Tonganoxie High School.

Wright won the long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 8.75 inches, just two inches shy of breaking a Frontier League meet record. She also finished third in the 200 dash in 26.27 seconds and helped the Lady Cats to a fifth-place league finish with 45 points.

“Delaney is a warrior on the track,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “She is racing an internal opponent and is not satisfied if she does not bring her best. She always brings her best at every meet.”

Wright wasn’t the only Louisburg league champion on the girls side as senior Alyse Moore did the same in the javelin. Moore beat out Paola’s Mackenzie Kuehl on her last attempt with a throw of 136-1 to win by a little more than a foot.

“The girls did an awesome job at league,” Reece said. “We are few compared to other league schools but we compete. Becoming a league champion is definitely an accompaniment, especially in the Frontier League.”

Junior Corinna McMullen also scored some big points for Louisburg as she recorded a throw of 106-5 in the discus to take third overall.

Freshman Emma Vohs recorded a personal best in the 400 dash as she took sixth in 1:02.89. Another freshman, Maddy Carpenter-Ross, was seventh in the pole vault after clearing 7-6.

The Lady Cats now have their eyes set on the biggest meet of the year when they compete in the Class 4A regional meet Friday in Paola. The top four in each event will earn a trip to the state meet next week in Wichita.

“The girls are ready to go and punch their way to the state meet,” Reece said. “If we go and perform our best for the season, great things will happen at regionals and carry us on to state.”

Other results are: 

100 dash: Emma Vohs, 9th, 13.72; Andrea Gaza, 14th, 14.77

200 dash: Vohs, 8th, 28.0; Gaza, 14th, 31.05

1,600 run: Erin Apple, 10th, 6:12; Alexis French, 16th, 6:44

3,200 run: Apple, 11th, 13:52; French, 15th, 14:55

Shot put: Emma Prettyman, 12th, 30-1; Sydney Thornton, 21st, 22-2

Discus: Prettyman, 8th, 99-8; Aiyana Penca, 17th, 85-3

Javelin: Malee Rutherford, 20th, 58-3