Cotter, Rhamy earn all-league honors at Frontier meet

Louisburg senior Noah Cotter medaled ninth last Thursday at the Frontier League Invitational at De Soto’s Lexington Lake Park. He also earned second team all-league honors.

DE SOTO — It didn’t all pan out like it was supposed to for the Louisburg cross country team Thursday at the Frontier League Invitational, but the Wildcats still had a few things go their way on the Lexington Lake Park course in De Soto.

In what is one of the tougher meets of the season, the Wildcats came away with a pair league honors. Senior Noah Cotter earned a medal and a spot on the all-league team, while senior Maddy Rhamy also found her way to the all-league squad.

“Our teams ran well at league,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “With some of the top 4A teams there, it is always a challenge. The course itself was interesting and the runners seemed to like it.”

Cotter had a strong meet for the Wildcats as he medaled ninth overall in 17 minutes and 57 seconds. That finish put him on the All-Frontier League second team.

“Noah is a competitor,” Reece said. “He ran a great race and was awesome for him to earn All-League honors in his last league race.”

Rhamy battled her way through a talented girls field as she finished 20th in 22:55. That earned her a spot on the honorable mention all-league team.

“The girls have endured lots of obstacles this season,” Reece said. “Maddy earning All-League honors in her last league race shows how hard she has worked this season. I have a feeling she is not done and is looking to return to state one more time.”

The Wildcats’ top runner, Jerynce Brings Plenty, was sitting third halfway through the competition and would have been the third Louisburg runner to garner all-league honors, but had to exit the race with an injury.

“Jerynce had some abdominal issues and had to drop out after putting himself in a great spot to challenge for top three finish,” Reece said. “Good thing is that the issue went away and he is ready to roll at regionals.”

As for the rest of the boys team, freshman Levi Cotter just missed out on all-league as he took 24th overall in 19:01. Junior Ben Proctor was 38th in 20:27 and freshman Spencer Mattison was 40th in 20:34.

Cameron Jenkins, Conner Forrester and Zac Musil rounded out the Wildcat lineup in 57th, 61st and 65th, respectively. As a team, the Wildcats were sixth with 134 points.

Spring Hill won the league title with 34 points and Tonganoxie was runner-up with 67.

On the girls side, senior Lola Edwards was second on the girls team in 25th with a time of 23:39. Freshman Talen McMurray was 38th in 24:43 and senior Erin Apple was 51st in 25:47.

Lila Edwards finished 59th in 26:59 to round out the Wildcat girls team that took seventh with 165 points. Baldwin won the league crown with 33 points and Eudora was second with 45.

Louisburg will now prepare for the Class 4A regional meet that will be held Saturday at Johnson County Community College. The top three teams will qualify for the state meet, along with the top five individuals of non-qualifying teams.

The girls race will begin at 10:15 a.m., followed by the boys competition.

“We are definitely on the outside looking in when it comes to teams qualifying for state,” Reece said. “We will prepare the best we can and take care of our business and hope that it is good enough to bump a team out. The top finishers in the state, both team and individuals, can be found at our regional. It will be an accomplishment for those who qualify from any of the teams represented.”