Wildcat girls win four events at Paola Invite, take third overall

PAOLA — Louisburg juniors Addi Mallett and Kendall Crossley left the Paola Invitational with their fair share of hardware.

During the April 10 meet, the two Wildcats dominated the sprints as Mallett won the 100-meter dash and Crossley took the 200 dash. Both runners also helped the 4×100 and 4×400 relays to gold medal finishes. 

They guided the Wildcats to a third place team finish with 93 points. Spring Hill won the team title with 189 points and Paola was second with 124.5.

“The girls’ overall performance was great,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “We are still trying some different things so it is great to see them find success in events that might not have done last year. 

“Addi and Kendall ran very well at Paola. It was awesome to see Addi run a strong 100 as she did not run it last year. They ran solid relay legs, as did their teammates, to bring home gold and continue to improve their times in each.”

Mallett edged out teammate Suzanna Dansel for the title in the 100 dash with a time of 12.79 seconds to take the gold, while Dansel was second at 12.88.

Crossley breezed to the title in the 200 dash with a time of 26.60 seconds

In the relays, the 4×100 team of Mallett, Crossley, Dansel and Mackenzie Rooney improved their season best time to win the event in 50.42 seconds. The Wildcat quartet dominated the field as they won by a second-and-a-half.

It was much of the same in the 4×400 as Mallett, Crossley, Rooney and Ellie Vohs cruised to a victory in 4:15.69 and won by almost three seconds.

“The 4×1 and 4×4 are very solid at this point in the year,” Reece said. “We still need to get those handoffs perfect in the 4×1, and make a run at the school record. The 4×4 continues to improve and there is definitely more to give, which I know the girls will do each meet.”

Louisburg’s 4×800 relay of Marissa Vallejo, Adelyn Moore, Annie Hornberger and Vohs also had a strong performance as they took runner-up in 10:58. Vohs also scored points in the 1,600-meter run as she finished fourth in 5:43.

Sophomore Caroline Apple fared well on the track as she was seventh in the 100 hurdles in 18.21 seconds. However, Apple’s best event came in the field at the high jump. 

Apple, along with teammate Breck Nielsen, both set personal best marks in the event. Apple took second after she cleared 5 feet and Nielsen was third at 4-10.

“Caroline and Breck are really jumping well,” Reece said. “Finding early success will drive them to do even better as we continue to see our regional competition and see how we match up with them.”

In the throws, junior McKenna Lohse finished third in the shot put with a toss of 34-10 and teammate Kinley Scott was fifth at 32-1. Lohse also scored points in the discus as she took eighth with a mark of 91-7.

Sophomore Adelyn Moore and freshman Khloe Holland had top 8 finishes in the javelin. Moore took fifth with a throw of 108-11 and Holland was eighth at 96-7.

Louisburg is back in action on April 17 when it travels to the Anderson County Invitational. However, a select number of girls will travel to Lawrence on April 18 to compete in the KU Relays.

The 4×100 and 4×400 relays, along with Adelyn Moore (javelin), qualified to compete in Lawrence.

“The 4×1 and 4×4 will get a chance to run against great competition on Friday at the Kansas Relays,” Reece said. “Adelyn will be throwing the javelin as well. We look to perform well and continue a solid start to our season.”

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