Throws, sprints lead Lady Cat track to fourth place finish at Ottawa

By Andy Brown
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Updated: April 9, 2025

***Louisburg junior McKenna Lohse throws the shot put during a meet last season. Lohse won the shot put last Thursday in Ottawa and was second in the discus.***

OTTAWA — In just its first meet of the season, the Louisburg girls track and field team had a strong showing at the Ottawa Invitational.

Louisburg won three events, scored in 11 and ended with a fourth place team finish with 101 points. St. James Academy was first in the 10-team meet with 166 points and Olathe East was second with 128.

“The girls did a great job at a tough meet,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “We faced a lot of big schools and got fourth, which was fantastic. We have 27 girls out this season. Practices have been going well and the girls are working hard.”

The Wildcats scored a bulk of their points in the throws and sprints as they put together several solid performances.

Junior McKenna Lohse took first in the shot put with a toss 35 feet, 10 inches, which won the competition by more than four feet. Sophomore Kinley Scott also scored points as she took fourth at 30-8.

Lohse later went on to finish runner-up in the discus with a throw of 96-10, while senior Cora Wulfkuhle was seventh at 82-3.

In the javelin, sophomore Adelyn Moore picked up where she left off last season after qualifying for state as a freshman. Moore won the event with a throw of 98-7.

Louisburg had three score in the javelin as freshman Khloe Holland took third at 84-8 and Scott was seventh with a mark of 75-1.

“Kenna and Adelyn are picking up where they left off last season, which is awesome,” Reece said. “For a not so great weather day, they both threw well. They had some teammates throw well, which definitely helped the team points.

“We definitely have returning talent in the throws. Adelyn and Kenna have state experience and are leading our other throwers by their great work ethic. Hopefully they can return to state this year and bring along some teammates.”

The Wildcats 4×100-meter relay also looked in good form after medaling at state a season ago.

Mackenzie Rooney, Kendall Crossley, Addi Mallett and Suzanna Dansel edged out Olathe East as they ran a time of 51.40 and won by .19 seconds.

The success continued in the 100 dash as Crossley took runner-up in 12.86 seconds. Dansel finished fourth in 13.05 and Rooney was fifth at 13.34, while Mallett was fourth in the 200 dash in 27.09.

Louisburg’s 4×400 relay team of Rooney, Ellie Vohs, Mallett and Crossley ended the night with a third place finish in 4:19.

Louisburg junior Kendall Crossley gets off to a good start in a race during a meet last season. Crossley helped the 4×100 relay to a first place finish Thursday at Ottawa and took second in the 100 dash.

“Our sprinters did a great job,” Reece said. “We had some running different events than last year’s usual races, which was a positive as they performed very well. Suzanna, Kendall, Addi, and Mac are going to do some great things this season.

“The 4×1 posted a solid time for our first race and not so great handoffs. We will take a 51.4 any meet, but the first meet shows our potential.”

Vohs also found success in the 1,600-meter run. The Louisburg freshman finished second in her first ever varsity race as she ran a time of 5:47.

Senior Marissa Vallejo was sixth in 6:06 and later took sixth in the 3,200 run in 13:34.

Sophomore Caroline Apple, a returning state qualifier in the hurdles, finished fifth in the 300 hurdles in 52.65 seconds. She was also seventh in the high jump at 4-8.

Apple, who is dual-sporting this season with soccer, will be looked to score points in three different events for the Wildcats.

“Caroline is dual sporting again this year so it might be a little before she is in her stride,” Reece said. “We see her returning even stronger this year in the hurdles and hope to qualify in both 100 and 300.”