Wildcat track finds success at Anderson County

GARNETT — The Louisburg track and field teams competed in the Anderson County Invitational on April 17 and the Wildcats had their fair success.

Overall, the Wildcats won three events and had several place in the top five.

The Louisburg girls scored a lot of their points in the field events and it started with Caroline Apple. The Louisburg sophomore won the high jump after she cleared 4 feet, 10 inches.

Teammates Breck Nielsen and Luciana Vallejo each tied for third after clearing 4-8.

“The girls that went to Anderson County did an awesome job despite the very windy conditions,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “All our high jumpers did great. They continue to improve and are setting themselves up for success at the end of the season.”

Junior McKenna Lohse finished as a runner-up in the shot put with a toss of 35-3 and Kinley Scott took fifth at 30-8.  Freshman Khloe Holland took fourth in the javelin with a season best throw of 101-1. 

On the track, senior Marissa Vallejo won the 1,600-meter run with a time of 6:10 and later took fifth in the 3,200 run in 13:54.

Apple also scored points in both hurdle events. She took third in the 300 in 52.31 and was fourth in the 100 with at time of 19.41.

On the boys side, the Wildcats ended the meet with their lone victory of the night as the 4×400-meter relay of Anis Ghannam, Ryan Barberich, Mathias Wright and Bryce Liddell won in 3:45.69.

“Although the weather conditions weren’t perfect, we came out and competed fiercely,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “It was exciting to finish the meet with a first-place finish in the 4×400, continuing the tradition of having a strong relay team.”

Also on the track, Barberich, Levi Cotter, Wright and Cameron Jenkins finished third in the 4×800 relay in 9:33.

In the hurdles, Grant Cannon and Gavin Manson finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 110 meters. Cannon also took third in the 300 hurdles, while Jay McCaskill finished fifth. 

Ghannam and Tanner LaBrie were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 100 dash, while Cotter finished fifth in the 3,200-meter run. 

Senior Brayden Yoder led the Wildcats in the field events as he took second in the javelin with a season-best throw of 145-7. Junior Tasen Ellison was right behind him in third at 143-3 and senior Miles Meek took fifth at 130. 

Junior Evan McKitrick took fourth in the high jump after he cleared 5-10 and junior Johnny Hendrickson was fifth in the discus at 124-0. 

Sophomore Noah Kush finished fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 36-2.

Louisburg is back in action on April 24 when it hosts the Louisburg Invitational. Events begin at 4 p.m.