Wildcats medal three in opening meet at Garnett

Louisburg junior Jerynce Brings Plenty gets out to a good start Thursday during the Jerry Howarter Invitational at Garnett Country Club. Brings Plenty finished fourth overall.

GARNETT — The Louisburg cross country team brought home some hardware in its first competition of the season.

Louisburg earned three medals at the Jerry Howarter Invitational last Thursday at Garnett Country Club and did so by not having full squads on both the boys and girls side.

The Wildcats, who had some runners out with injuries, still made some noise as Jerynce Brings Plenty and Noah Cotter each had top 10 finishes to lead the boys. Senior Maddy Rhamy finished in the top 20 to pace the girls side.

“Everyone ran well at Anderson County,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “The temps were not terrible, and there were some first race jitters, but it was a good meet.”

Brings Plenty had a strong showing in his season opener as the Louisburg junior finished fourth out of 73 runners in 17 minutes and 35 seconds.

Cotter was right behind him. The Louisburg senior finished sixth overall in 17:52 to give the Wildcats a strong start to their season.

“Jerynce and Noah ran great races,” Reece said. “Jerynce could do some special things this season and Noah is going to be right there with him. They will be a huge factor when it comes to postseason and team scoring.”

On the girls side, Rhamy led an injury-riddled girls team that featured just three runners. Still, the Louisburg senior competed against a very strong field as she took 19th in 23:31.

“Maddy ran a solid race,” Reece said. “Earning a medal is always a great way to start the season. I look for her to really step up this year and work hard for the team.”

Senior Lola Edwards was second on the team in 35th overall in 25:49 and senior Erin Apple was 46th in 27:20.

Freshman Truman Ellison was third on the boys team in 50th in 21:27 and junior Ben Proctor was 56th in 22:00.

The schedule gets a little tougher for Louisburg this Saturday as the Wildcats travel to the Wamego Invitational — a meet that brings some of the top teams across the state. It is also the home of the 4A state meet. Races begin at 9 a.m. at the Wamego Country Club.