Three Wildcats earn honors at Frontier League meet

By Andy Brown
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Updated: October 18, 2022

Louisburg’s Emma Vohs, Noah Cotter and Maddy Rhamy all earned all-league honors following their performance Thursday in the Frontier League Invitational at Wyandotte County Park.

BONNER SPRINGS — Other than the state meet, the Louisburg cross country team won’t see much tougher competitions this season than they did Thursday at its own league meet.

Louisburg traveled to Wyandotte County Park to take part in the Frontier League Invitational, which featured some of the top teams in the state — especially on the girls side.

Teams that include defending state champion Eudora and state runner-up Baldwin, along with a strong Class 5A program in Spring Hill, make the girls race a difficult one.

The Lady Cats held their own as they finished fourth as a team with 108 points. Eudora was first with 27 points, Baldwin was second with 52 and Spring Hill was third with 86.

“We beat Tonganoxie which will be our competition for the third spot to qualify for state this week at regionals,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “With some of the top runners in 4A in our league, it is brutal.”

Louisburg also earned a pair of all-league honors and it all started with Emma Vohs. The Wildcat junior earned first team all-league, while junior Maddy Rhamy was an honorable mention.

Vohs finished fifth overall with a time of 20 minutes and 42 seconds and Eudora’s Hanna Keltner was the league champion in 19:18.

Rhamy ran a 22:21 to finish 19th overall as she worked her way to honorable mention honors. Junior Lola Edwards just missed out on the all-league list as she was 23rd in 22:51. The top 21 in each race earn all-league status.

“The girls continue to compete very well,” Reece said. “Emma ran a strong race and was able to surge away from competitors late in the race to solidify her finishing spot. Maddy also moved through the field to gain all-league honors. Lola just missed out, but she will be there come regionals.”

The Wildcats had their third all-league recipient in the boys race. Junior Noah Cotter was named as honorable mention as he was 17th in 18:33.

“The boys continue to hold their own and hope to have great races next week to end their season on a high note,” Reece said. “Noah ran strong and got out faster than usual at the beginning of the race, which allowed him to maintain and move up spots in the last kilometer.”

Sophomore Madison Huggins was fourth on the girls team as she finished 32nd overall in 23:52 and senior Nova Ptacek was 35th in 24:00. Junior Erin Apple was 50th in 25:15 and Lila Edwards was 68th in 26:49.

For the boys, the Wildcats finished seventh in the team standings with 158 points and Spring Hill won the league title with 48. Tonganoxie’s Eli Gilmore won the individual league title in 16:06.

Senior Ethan Ptacek was second on the Wildcats as he took 32nd in 19:28. Sophomore Ben Proctor was 44th in 20:01 and senior Landan Henry took 45th in 20:20. Steele Smith rounded out the Louisburg lineup in 20:49 and finished 52nd.

It all comes down to one more race for the Wildcats as they will compete in the Class 4A regional meet Saturday at Baldwin Golf Course. The top three teams will qualify for the state meet next week in Wamego, along with the top five individuals that don’t qualify as a team.

The girls race will kick things off at 10 a.m., with the boys to follow at 10:45.

“The girls are ready to punch their way back to state this year and make another strong showing for their school and sport,” Reece said. “There is a chance that we could get Noah, Leo (Martin) or both to state as individuals for the boys, but that remains to be seen. Either way, it has been a great season with some setbacks, bumps and dings, and finally good weather to end an outstanding season by all.”