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Wildcats sweep team titles at Wellsville Invitational

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone
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Louisburg senior Reese Johnson (left) and sophomore Emma Vohs have their eyes on the finish line last Thursday at the Wellsville Invitational. Both runners went on to earn medals.


WELLSVILLE — The entire Louisburg cross country team had that winning feeling last Thursday during the Wellsville Invitational. 

Both the varsity boys and girls squads won the team title and finished with a combined nine individual medals in the nine-team meet.

The Louisburg girls finished with 61 points and edged out runner-up Prairie View by three points to take the top spot. The boys had 48 points, two points head of second place West Franklin.

Louisburg’s junior varsity boys and girls also won team titles as the Wildcats swept the Wellsville meet.

“Having all four teams win their races was amazing,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “We never go into a meet looking to win as a team, but rather compete individually to our best and know that will create a strong team finish. They were both close races, which was exciting.”

The Wildcat boys earned five medals overall, including two in the top 10.

Senior Jaden Vohs was third overall in 18 minutes and 1 second, while freshman Jerynce Brings Plenty was seventh in 18:44.

Senior Jaden Vohs (left) and freshman Jerynce Brings Plenty (right) get out to a good start during the Wellsville Invitational on Thursday.

Sophomore Noah Cotter took 13th in 19:15, while seniors Hayden Ross (19:28) and Ryan Rogers (19:36) were 18th and 19th, respectively.

“Jaden and Jerynce ran well,” Reece said. “They quickly found out that racing two 5K’s with only four days in between is a tall task. They put in a solid effort and were rewarded for their work as well as the whole team.”

Junior Leo Martin was next on the Wildcat team in 29th in 20:14 and junior Landon Henry was 32nd in 20:32.

Senior Hayden Ross races to the finish line Thursday at Wellsville.

Sophomore Lola Edwards led the Lady Cat runners as she medaled fifth overall in 21:56 after missing the previous race with an injury.

Emma Vohs, another sophomore, was 11th in 22:29 and senior Reese Johnson was right behind her in 13th in 22:32. Sophomore Maddy Rhamy also earned a medal in 19th in 23:29.

“The girls showed real resilience and grit coming off a big race and racing again so soon,” coach Reece said. “Lola performed well and ran a controlled race as directed, so she could ease back into the racing mode.”

Junior Bree Gassman was fifth on the Lady Cat squad as she took 36th overall in 24:49 and junior Nova Ptacek was 45th in 25:52. Freshman Madison Huggins, who also raced on varsity, had to leave with an injury.

Louisburg sophomore Lola Edwards gets out to a lead at Wellsville. Edwards finished fifth overall.

Louisburg had to take a different approach to the Wellsville meet after coming off a taxing Wamego Invitational with just four days rest.

However, the Wildcats are excited for their next meet, which is at Prairie View this Thursday.

“The team ran great at Wellsville. We always approach the Wellsville race differently as we just ran Wamego on the Saturday before and know that times will be different even on an easier course,” Reece said. “With getting back to our normal weekly schedule, I hope to see some great performances at Prairie View. There is still some shuffling between varsity and junior varsity on both sides as we continue to push each other to be a top seven runner.”