Wildcat track fares well at Spring Hill Invitational

By Andy Brown
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Updated: May 2, 2025

***Louisburg senior Miles Meek set a personal record in the shot put during the Spring Hill Invitational on April 28. Meek took second overall.***

SPRING HILL — The Louisburg track and field team continues to rack up medals in what is a successful start to its season — this time it was during the Spring Hill Invitational.

During the April 28 meet, the Wildcats earned a total of 20 top three finishes. The Louisburg boys finished second with 52 points and the girls were third with 49.

The Wildcat boys team earned three gold medals, along with six runner-up finishes.

“Overall I believed we performed well as a group,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “We had some that were dinged up that didn’t compete, but hopefully everyone will be ready for our next meet at De Soto.”

The Louisburg boys started strong in the field events as they finished 1-2 in the pole vault. Senior Cooper Wingfield took the gold after clearing 14 feet, 6 inches, while senior Jacob Brown was second at 12-6.

Junior Evan McKitrick won the triple jump with a mark of 38-10 and later finished in a tie for second in the high jump after he cleared 5-10.

***Louisburg senior Jacob Brown clears a height in the pole vault during the Spring Hill Invite. Brown took second overall.***

On the track, senior Colton Blue won the Wildcats’ third gold of the night as he set a personal record to win the 400-meter dash in 51.83 seconds. Senior teammate Emmett White was second at 52.75.

Senior Jerynce Brings Plenty had a strong finish in the 800-meter run as he took second in 2:07. He also took fifth in the 400 dash in 54.63.

In the sprints, senior Gavin Lohse took third in the 100 dash in 11.86 seconds. Another senior, Aidan Meyer, was fourth in the 200 dash in 24.21.

Lohse, Meyer, Myles Vohs and White took third in the 4×100-meter relay in 44.85 seconds.

Back in the field events, the Wildcats had a season-best day in the shot put as they medaled two in the top three. Seniors Miles Meek and junior Michael Foote both had personal bests in the event.

Meek finished runner-up with a toss of 44-2 and Foote took third at 42-4. Foote also scored points in the discus as he finished fifth at 114-2.

In the javelin, junior Tasen Ellison battled for the title, but took second overall with a throw of 145-10. Meek finished fourth at 125-5.

On the girls side, the Wildcats won four golds and all four were in the running events.

***Louisburg’s Mackenzie Rooney hands the baton to Kendall Crossley during the 4×100-meter relay.***

The 4×100-meter relay of Mackenzie Rooney, Kendall Crossley, Addi Mallett and Suzanna Dansel put together a season-best time of 50.04 seconds to win the relay by more than two seconds.

“The girls competed well at Spring Hill,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “It was a very windy day for all competitors and I feel that the girls did not let that affect them. The 4×1 hit their handoffs and thus ran a season best, even though we are still a little dinged up.

“The high jump girls had to make adjustments, because of the wind, on the fly and found success and learned a little something along the way. All in all it was a good day.”

Crossley also went on to win the 200 dash in 27.30 seconds, while sophomore Breck Nielsen took fourth in the 400 dash in 1:08.

Sophomore Caroline Apple medaled in all three of her events, with her best coming in the 300-meter hurdles. Apple won the 300 in 51.34 seconds and finished second in the 100 hurdles in 18.01.

***Louisburg sophomore Caroline Apple medaled in three events, including winning the 300-meter hurdles.***

Apple also cleared 5 feet in the high jump and took third overall, while Nielsen was fifth at 4-8.

Senior Marissa Vallejo won the 1,600-meter run with a time of 6:07 and took fifth in the 3,200 in 13:27. Also in the distance races, sophomore Adelyn Moore took fourth in the 800 run 2:51.

In the field events, junior McKenna Lohse scored points in a pair of events. Lohse finished runner-up in the shot put with a toss of 35-7.25 and also took fourth in the discus at 98-8.

In the javelin, Moore and freshman Khloe Holland both scored points. Moore finished third with a throw of 95-10 and Holland took fourth at 94-1.