Wildcat boys, girls finish second at Prairie View

The Louisburg boys cross country team finished second Thursday at the Ramsey Invitational at Prairie View High School. Members of the team (from left) are Noah Cotter, Ben Proctor, Landan Henry, Ethan Ptacek and Leo Martin.

LA CYGNE — It didn’t have its full complement of runners Thursday, but that didn’t stop the Louisburg boys cross country team from finding success.

Minus its top runner, the Wildcats put together a strong showing as they finished second in the team standings at the Ramsey Invitational at Prairie View High School.

The team of Leo Martin, Noah Cotter, Ben Proctor, Landan Henry and Ethan Ptacek earned 41 points, which was 10 points behind first place Anderson County.

“The boys ran a great team race,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “They worked together, finished strong individually and they were rewarded for it.”

It was much of the same on the girls side as the Lady Cats also finished second in the team standings with 44 points — three points behind first place Prairie View.

Juniors Emma Vohs, Maddy Rhamy and Lola Edwards all finished in the top five for Louisburg, while Nova Ptacek, Bree Gassman and Erin Apple all finished in the top 20.

Vohs took second overall with a time of 21 minutes and 21 seconds. Rhamy was right behind as she medaled third in 22:08 and Edwards medaled fourth in 22:12.

Ptacek was fourth on the team as she took 18th in 24:08 and Gassman was 19th in 24:20. Apple rounded out the Lady Cat lineup in 20th with a time of 24:26.

“It was cool to see Emma, Maddie and Lola finish 2-3-4,” Reece said. “Nova, Bree and Erin were not far back and working together through the race. As we continue to close the gap between runners, we will get stronger as a team.”

Senior Leo Martin led the boys team as he medaled sixth overall in 19:03, which is a career-best finish for Martin.

“Leo continues to improve,” Reece said. “He is working hard in practice and it is really showing. We are feeling great about the boys’ progress this season.”

Junior Noah Cotter also earned a medal for the Wildcats as he was eighth in 19:06. Proctor was 17th for the Wildcats in 20:12, while Ptacek (20:20) and Henry (20:25) were 18th and 19th, respectively.

Louisburg will get back at it this Thursday as it competes at the Perry-Lecompton Invitational, which will be held near Hummer Park in Topeka.