Crossley, Vohs lead Wildcat girls track to title at home meet

By Andy Brown
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Updated: April 28, 2025

***Louisburg junior Kendall Crossley won the 200 and 400-meter dashes on April 24 during the Louisburg Invitational.***

The Louisburg girls track and field team put together one of its best performances of the season on April 24 and the Wildcats couldn’t have picked a better time.

In front of its home fans, the Wildcats won the Louisburg Invitational with 130.5 points as they edged out Paola, who had 121, to win their home meet.

Freshman Ellie Vohs came up big for the Wildcats as she garnered four medals on the day, while junior Kendall Crossley won a pair of individual events and earned three medals.

“It is always a great thing to win your home meet,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “Especially for the seniors that have given so much to the program. As a whole, we performed well with some individual personal records and athletes stepping up to help out when a teammate could not run in a relay.”

Crossley had a big day in the sprints as she won the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.68 seconds. Earlier in the meet, she also captured the 400-meter dash title in 1 minute and 3.29 seconds.

The 4×100 relay team of Crossley, Mackenzie Rooney, Addi Mallett and Suzanna Dansel nearly pulled off the victory despite a bad handoff, but took second in 50.88 behind Wellsville (50.56).

Also in the sprints, Dansel and Mallett battled it out in the 100 dash. Dansel was second in 13 seconds and Mallett took third in 13.08. Wellsville’s Ellie Strain won in 12.68.

Crossley, who normally runs in the 4×400 relay as well, had to bow out due to an injury, but one of her teammate filled her shoes nicely. Sophomore Breck Nielsen joined Rooney, Vohs and Mallett to win the relay in 4:18.

“Kendall is a warrior,” Reece said. “She is not at 100 percent at this time, but that does not stop her from competing and doing what is best for the team. She ran two solid races in the 400 and 200. Then bowed out of the 4×4 because of some tightness which allowed Breck to step in and the girls did not miss a beat.”

That relay was just one of three medals for Vohs as she competed in a tough distance field that featured a state champion in Prairie View’s Bree Allen.

***Louisburg freshman Ellie Vohs recorded four medals on April 24 during the Louisburg Invitational.***

Vohs more than held her own as she was second in the 800-meter run in 2:28 and third in the 1,600-meter run in 5:38. Annie Hornberger (800) and Marissa Vallejo (1,600) also took sixth in their respective races.

Vohs, Hornberger, Vallejo and Adelyn Moore finished runner-up in the 4×800 relay in 10:35. Vallejo also took fourth in the 3,200 run in 13:37.

“Ellie has shown the coaching staff that she is willing and able to do anything we ask of her,” Reece said. “She currently finds herself closing in on two school records and yes she is only a freshman, which only makes me smile. She brings positive energy to the team and is always smiling.”

Sophomore Caroline Apple found success in both the track and field events. Apple won the high jump as she cleared 5 feet, while Nielsen and Luciana Vallejo took third and fifth, respectively.

***Louisburg sophomore Caroline Apple won the high jump on April 24 during the Louisburg Invitational.***

Then on the track, Apple finished third in the 100 hurdles in 17.65 seconds and freshman Taylor Tidd was sixth. Apple later took fourth in the 300 hurdles in 50.17 seconds.

Junior McKenna Lohse captured the shot put crown as she recorded a season-best throw of 36 feet and 8.5 inches. Lohse also went on to take sixth in the discus in 96-1.

In the javelin, the Wildcats had three point scorers in the event. Moore took fourth with a toss of 93-8. Freshman Khloe Holland and sophomore Kinley Scott were fifth and sixth, respectively.

“We only have four seniors on the team this year so the bulk of the team will be back which again makes me smile because they are hard workers and want to do well,” Reece said. “We also have a great group of incoming freshmen for next year that will fill emptied spots and then some. The future of LHS girls track and field looks great.”