Louisburg senior Carlee Gassman leads a pack of runners up a hill toward the finish line last Thursday during the Louisburg Invitational at Lewis-Young Park. The Lady Cats took first place and Louisburg medaled six overall.

Running around the course at
Lewis-Young Park for the final time, realization began to set in for the six
Louisburg seniors.

Time on the cross country season
is quickly running out. Trinity Moore, Carlee Gassman, Emily Williams, Natalie
George, Anthony Davis and Evan Murphy not only ran their final regular season
race of their Wildcat career, but also the last on their home course.

As emotional as it was for some,
they seemed to make the most of it – especially Moore and Gassman. The two
Louisburg seniors led the Lady Cats to a first place team finish at the
Louisburg Invitational on Thursday, and between the boys and girls, Louisburg
earned six medals overall.

“It was so exciting to see the
team take first,” Gassman said. “I’m really proud of all the girls who ran
their hearts out. Each and every one of us contributes to the team’s success.
It was a great way to end my last home meet.”

The Lady Cats pulled together to
win the team title as they finished in a tie with Fort Scott with 68 points.
The tie-breaker, which is the top sixth runner on each team, went the way of
Louisburg as freshman Bree Gassman edged out the Fort Scott runner.

“It meant a lot to have our team
take first place,” Moore said. “We were tied and our sixth runner helped to
break the tie for us to win. It showed me, and the team, that we can take on
challenges that come our way, even in difficult race conditions. Our hard work
paid off and it is starting to show more and more every week.”

Louisburg had to dodge the rain to
make sure its home invitational was able to get in and the Wildcats wouldn’t go
two weeks with competing in a meet, as their last meet in Pittsburg was rained
out.

That meant having to run on a
soft, muddy course at Lewis-Young, but Louisburg was still able to produce good
results.

Moore led the Lady Cats in third
place overall with a time of 20 minutes and 55 seconds. Piper freshman Grace
Hanson won the girls side in 20 minutes and Spring Hill sophomore Alyssa
Anderson was second.

“I felt like I ran okay during the race,” Moore said. “I had some tightness in my leg, but I powered through as much as I could. It wasn’t my best race, and I know I could have done better, but I’m happy with my performance with all the challenges and conditions. With never running in conditions like this before, it took some getting used to as every step was different with the terrain and wetness of the course. It wasn’t too difficult, but it had its challenges.”

As for Carlee Gassman, she
finished seventh overall in 22:14 to earn a medal in her final home meet.
Sophomore Reese Johnson also garnered a medal for the Lady Cats as she took 11^th
in 22:49.

“I felt like I gave it my all and
left everything out on the course,” Carlee said. “I wouldn’t have ran so well
if it wasn’t for Reese. She gives me a lot of motivation.”

Sophomore Ruth Minster had her
best varsity race of the season as she was fourth on the team in 24:22 and was
22^nd overall. Freshman Nova Ptacek also had a strong showing in 25^th
with a time of 24:50.

Bree Gassman (24:56) and junior
Kennady Wilkerson (28^th) were 27^th and 28^th,
respectively.

On the boys side, Louisburg
garnered three medals, including one from Davis in his final home meet. Davis
took 10^th overall in 19:01 and helped the Wildcat boys to a
third-place team finish with 70 points.

Spring Hill won the boys team
title with 32 points and Piper was second with 58. Piper senior Owen Roellchen
won the boys race in 17:30.

Louisburg sophomore Caden Bradshaw finished right behind Davis in 11^th to medal with a time of 19:06. Fellow sophomore Ryan Rogers also garnered a medal in 15^th in 19:14.

Junior Carson Houchen finished
just outside of medal contention in 17^th with a time of 19:28 and
junior Cade Holtzen was 20^th in 20:04. Senior Evan Murphy (20:31)
and sophomore Sawyer Richardson (21:12) took 26^th and 29^th,
respectively.

The competition will begin to heat
up for the Wildcats as they begin their postseason schedule this Thursday when
they travel to Tonganoxie for the Frontier League Invitational at the
Leavenworth County Fairgrounds.

The Frontier League features
state-ranked teams in Baldwin and Eudora, along with several strong individual
runners from other programs.

“I am very excited for league,”
Moore said. “We have a very difficult league with very talented and amazing runners.
We have not run this course before, so it will be very exciting and interesting
as it will provide many of its own challenges. I know that I can do great
myself, and that our team can perform very well if we give our best effort. It
should be a great race and I can’t wait to run.”

The Louisburg boys and girls cross country teams finished second Thursday at the Ramsey Invitational at Prairie View High School. Members of the team are (front row, from left) Emily Williams, Reese Johnson, Kennady Wilkerson, Carlee Gassman, Trinity Moore, Bree Gassman, Nova Ptacek; (back row) Caden Bradshaw, Carson Houchen, Sawyer Richardson, Evan Murphy, Anthony Davis, Ryan Rogers and Cade Holtzen.

LA CYGNE – The medals continue to
pile up for the Louisburg cross country teams as they added to their collection
Thursday at Prairie View High School.

The Wildcat boys and girls squads both
finished second overall during the Ramsey Invitational as they continue to
improve their times for the stretch run later this month. Louisburg also had
seven individual medalists, including senior Trinity Moore, who finished first
in the girls race.

“I was pleased to see the teams
medal again,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “The last two weeks have been a
grind with three meets in 14 days, plus workouts. We haven’t run fast yet, but
we do compete very well.”

Moore was the class of the girls
division as she ran a time of 20 minutes and 37 seconds and finished 17 seconds
ahead of Jayhawk Linn’s Kate Dawson, who was runner-up.

Louisburg also had a pair of
runners who finished in the top 10. Sophomore Reese Johnson was sixth in 21:33
and senior Carlee Gassman was seventh in 21:52.

“Finishing
first is always a confidence builder,” coach Reece said of Moore. “She knows
that we are in the middle of the season and still training hard and her times
might not show it yet. Every race is different and she stepped up and ran well.”

Junior
Kennady Wilkerson was fourth on the team with a 24:55 and was 23^rd
overall. Freshmen Bree Gassman (25:02) and Nova Ptacek (25:38) took 25^th
and 27^th, respectively, while senior Emily Williams was 31^st
in 25:59.

As
a team, the Lady Cats recorded 57 points to finish second. Central Heights won
the meet with 46 points and Anderson County was third with 65.

Senior
Anthony Davis continues to lead the Wildcat boys team as he was one of four
runners to earn individual medals in their race. Davis was fourth with a time
of 18:37 and was 30 seconds behind the leader.

Sophomore
Ryan Rogers finished sixth overall in 18:53 and fellow sophomore Caden Bradshaw
was 10^th in 19 minutes. Junior Carson Houchen also medaled as he
took 13^th in 19:23.

Junior
Cade Holtzen was 16^th in 19:39, while senior Evan Murphy (20:08) and
sophomore Sawyer Richardson (20:10), were 20^th and 21^st,
respectively.

Louisburg finished the day with 49 points to take second overall. Central Heights won with 43 points and Anderson County was third with 52.

“The
boys again worked well together and in the last kilometer they really went for
it,” coach Reece said. “Teammate or not, it is about running for yourself in
that last part of the race and they did.”

The
Wildcats will face another challenge this Thursday when they travel to the
Pittsburg Invitational at Four Oaks Golf Course.

Louisburg
also found out where it would be running in the postseason. The Wildcats are in
the Baldwin regional with Atchison, Eudora, Ottawa, Tonganoxie, Bishop Miege,
Holton and Piper.

“I’m pleased with where we are at as of now,” Reece said. “We are
going to be in a very tough regional and we have a lot to do in the next few
weeks to prepare for it.”

The Kansas State High School Activities Association released its classifications for the 2019-20 school year, along with the football classifications for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.

There were a few changes in both areas, but more so on the football side.

Football classifications are determined based on enrollment figures in ninth, 10th and 11th grade. Louisburg is still in 4A with 432 students and is toward the lower half of the classification.

Entering Class 4A beginning in the 2020 school year will be St. James Academy, Lansing and Great Bend, who have all moved down from Class 5A. Wamego also made the jump back in from Class 3A.

Goddard, Pittsburg and Spring Hill all saw their enrollment grow and will be moving up from 4A to 5A next year. Baldwin saw their enrollment decline and will move down to Class 3A in football the next two years.

In the rest of the sports, not much changed with regards to Class 4A for this year.

Enrollment figures for all grades in Louisburg this year is 573, which puts the school in the upper half of Class 4A. The biggest school is Buhler with 661 and Bishop Miege is the second biggest at 656 and Ottawa is third at 653.

Three schools will make the move up to Class 4A this year. Clay Center, Girard and Holton all saw their enrollment increase and will come back to 4A, while Osawatomie, Anderson County and Wichita-Trinity Academy will move out of 4A to 3A this year.

Louisburg senior Anthony Davis leads a pack of runners down a straightaway Thursday during the Wellsville Invitational. Davis finished sixth overall.

WELLSVILLE – It was a successful
day all around for the Louisburg cross country team as the Wildcats brought
home a lot of hardware from the Wellsville Invitational.

Both the boys and girls teams finished
third overall in the 11-team meet Thursday and combined to have seven
individual medalists. It was the type of performance Louisburg cross country
coach John Reece likes to see as his teams try to find their groove.

“It was a good day at Wellsville,” Reece
said. “Both girls and boys teams ran well. It is a tough week as we ran Wamego the
Saturday before and then raced on Thursday again. This sometimes leads to fewer
time improvements and we look to compete more as a team and work together than
to really go for a personal best. Both teams did just that. They worked
together and their effort was rewarded.”

Senior Anthony Davis led the Wildcat boys
with one of his better performances of the season as he took sixth overall with
a time of 18 minutes and 24 seconds. Junior Carson Houchen followed suit as he
took 15^th in 19:32 to also earn an individual medal.

Sophomore Ryan Rogers (19:46) and junior
Cade Holtzen (19:47) also left Wellsville with medals as they finished 23^rd
and 24^th, respectively.

Sawyer Richardson, a sophomore, ran a
20:28 to take 39^th overall. Senior Evan Murphy was 40^th
in 20:30.

As a team, the Wildcats recorded 98
points to earn the third place team medal. Central Heights won the Wellsville
title with 29 points and Burlington was second with 81.

“Anthony
is on a mission this year,” Reece said of his senior leader. “He has been
training great and is being rewarded through time improvement. He is setting
the tone for the boys team and they are following his lead. Four medalists in
the meet shows how hard and well they are working together, both in practices
and in meets. They pack-up together and mow down the field as the move through
the race.”

Senior
Trinity Moore also ran a strong race in what was a difficult field. Moore led
the Lady Cats with a sixth place finish in 21:30 and Bishop Seabury freshman
Oona Nelson was first in 20 minutes.

Fellow senior Carlee Gassman ran one of her better races of the season as she took 12^th in 22:06 and sophomore Reese Johnson was 14^th in 22:15 to round out the Louisburg medalists.

“Carlee
is running well,” coach Reece said. “She has improved upon her personal record
from last year and is training great. She is setting herself, and the team,
up for big time success at the end of the season.”

Freshman
Bree Gassman was fourth on the Louisburg team with a 24:51 to take 36^th
and junior Kennady Wilkerson took 40^th in 25:29. Freshman Nova
Ptacek (27:09) and sophomore Ruth Minster (27:16) rounded out the Louisburg
team in 52^nd and 53^rd, respectively.

As
a team, the Lady Cats recorded 78 points to take third overall. Central Heights
took the top spot with 60 points and Fort Scott was second with 67.

Louisburg
will hit the course again this Thursday when they compete in the Prairie View
Invitational. Races are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

The Louisburg girls cross country team was all smiles after its fourth-place finish Saturday in Wamego. Members of the team are (from left) Bree Gassman, Carlee Gassman, Trinity Moore, Reese Johnson, Kennady Wilkerson and Ruth Minster.

WAMEGO – The goal for members of
the Louisburg cross country team is make the trip to Wamego for the state meet
in early November.

Louisburg got a little taste of
what state is going to be like Saturday when the Wildcats competed in the
Wamego Invitational at the Wamego Country Club.

Senior Trinity Moore felt right at home as the 3-time state medalist mastered her way through the course and finished third overall out of 103 runners. The Lady Cats were also toward the top of the team standings as they finished fourth overall with 189 points.

Buhler won the girls title with 25
points, Baldwin was second with 81 and Eudora was third with 111 points.

“The
girls ran a great race,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “Fourth place as a
team was good and it shows us that we need to close the gap between No. 3 and
the rest of the team. It is always good to run at Wamego, which we missed out
on last year. It is a good barometer for how state might shake out.”

Moore
made her way through the field for that third place finish as she ran a time of
21 minutes and 2 seconds and was one of three Lady Cats to earn medals. Chapman
junior Taylor Briggs, who is the two-time defending state champion, won in
19:12 and Buhler senior Daycee DeWindt was second at 20:57.

“Trinity
ran a solid race,” Reece said. “She was feeling it as we had two good workouts this
last week and it showed a little in her face at the end. She is cranking out
the miles and workouts and will be ready for regionals and state.”

Sophomore
Reese Johnson and senior Carlee Gassman ran strong races as well as both left
Wamego with medals. Johnson took 18^th overall in 22:07 and Gassman
was 21^st in 22:32.

Freshman
Bree Gassman was fourth on the Louisburg team as she was 78^th in
26:11, while junior Kennady Wilkerson (26:17) and sophomore Ruth Minster
(26:30) finished in 80^th and 82^nd, respectively.

The
girls weren’t the only ones to garner medals.

Senior
Anthony Davis earned his second consecutive medal as he took 29^th
overall in 18:42 out of 127 runners in the 18-team meet.

“Anthony
ran well and he sees, by his finish, that he has some work ahead of him and he
will be ready come regionals to qualify for state and hopefully have six other
runners with him,” coach Reece said.”

As
a team, the Wildcats finished 11^th overall with 282 points. Wamego
won the title with 89 points, Buhler was second with 96 and Towanda-Circle was
third with 114.

Sophomore
Ryan Rogers was second on the Wildcat team and ran a 19:25 to take 48^th
overall. Junior Carson Houchen finished 56^th in 19:32 and junior
Cade Holtzen was 69^th in 19:49.

Sophomore
Sawyer Richardson came in 93^rd in 20:53 and senior Evan Murphy ran a
21:37 to take 104^th.

Louisburg
will be back in action Thursday when it travels to the Wellsville Invitational.
The meet is set to begin at 4 p.m.

The Louisburg boys cross country team took third overall Thursday in Garnett. Members of the team are (from left) Ryan Rogers, Carson Houchen, Anthony Davis, Evan Murphy and Cade Holtzen. Not pictured were Caden Bradshaw and Sawyer Richardson.

GARNETT – If its season opener had
anything to say about the way the rest of the season will go, then the
Louisburg cross country team will have a lot to celebrate in 2019.

Louisburg traveled to Garnett County Club on Thursday for the Jerry Howarter Invitational and came back home with a lot of hardware to show for its efforts.

The Wildcat boys finished third overall with 77 points to earn a team medal, while five of the seven members also earned individual medals. Iola won the meet with 40 points and Anderson County was second with 65.

The Louisburg girls also had a
strong showing as they had three individuals medal, including senior Trinity
Moore who finished second overall. The Wildcat runners were able to overcome a
hot, humid afternoon to leave Garnett with a total of eight medals.

“Everyone ran well considering the heat,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “I did not have one complaint when stepping up to the line about it being too hot. They realize they all are in the same boat and they focused on their races. Eight varsity medals was awesome and the boys finishing third as a team was somewhat of a surprise.”

Senior Anthony Davis led the Wildcat boys in seventh overall with a time of 19 minutes and 41 seconds and sophomore teammate Caden Bradshaw wasn’t far behind as he medaled ninth in 19:52.

Sophomore
Ryan Rogers was 15^th in 20:05, while juniors Carson Houchen (20:45)
and Cade Holtzen (20:54) came in 24^th and 27^th, respectively,
to earn medals. Sophomore Sawyer Richardson finished 38^th in 21:27
and senior Evan Murphy was 48^th in 22:47.

“Our
top six are going to be hard to crack as they all ran great,” Reece said. “Anthony,
Carson, and Cade bring the experience and the newbies, Caden Bradshaw, Ryan
Rogers, and Sawyer Richardson, will improve their racing every week and they
will become a tight pack working together and be a solid team.

“Anthony
is definitely committed to the sport this year. He has been bit by the cross
country bug and really wants it. He ran great.”

On
the girls side, Moore provided the performance of the day as she nearly won the
event. The Louisburg senior, who ran a 22:16 to finish runner-up, was sitting
in third for most of the race.

Moore
made her way toward the front of the pack late, and eventually passed Fort Scott’s
Macayla McClure about 50 meters to the finish line to take the lead, but
McClure eclipsed Moore a few seconds later to take first.

“Trinity
and all the others heeded Coach (Paul) Restivo’s and my advice to get settled
in early and the field will come back to you and when it does, let’s go,” Reece
said. “That is what allowed Trinity to get to the lead and make it a two person
race. Everyone moved through the pack in the second half of the race and never
stopped pushing.”

Sophomore
Reese Johnson had a good opening performance as she finished in eighth overall
in 23:21 to earn a medal. Senior Carlee Gassman also left Garnett with a medal
as she took 13^th in 24:06.

Freshman
Bree Gassman (28:44) and junior Kennady Wilkerson (29:06) came in 45^th
and 47^th, respectively, to round out the Lady Cats. As a team,
Louisburg finished fourth with 92 points, while Baldwin won the meet with 36
points and Fort Scott was second with 77.

The
Wildcats return to action Saturday when they travel to the Wamego Invitational.
Races are set to begin at 9 a.m.

Louisburg senior Trinity Moore (right) will try for her fourth consecutive state medal this season and she hopes to lead the Lady Cat cross country team back to state for the third straight year.

It was an historic finish for the
Louisburg cross country team last season and it is one many of the runners
haven’t forgotten.

For the second straight year, the
Wildcat girls team qualified for the state meet, while Trinity Moore and Reese
Johnson recorded top 10 finishes. It was the best postseason performance in
program history.

Louisburg wants to take it to the
next step in 2019.

Moore and Johnson are both
returning to help the Louisburg girls as they are one of the top teams in the
state. Kansas Milesplit recently ranked the Lady Cats as the fifth best team in
Class 4A.

“Last year was awesome and we met and
exceeded our goals,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “This year we look to
better ourselves again and the girls’ work ethic shows it. We have several
girls that will be challenging each other to be one of the top seven. The
runners that are there at the end of the season will have earned it. We might
not field a full seven runners for varsity races until later in the season as
we are still working towards getting into racing form.

Moore and Johnson have two of those spots
as they are two of the top returning runners in the state after their
performance last season.

Moore, who is a senior, will be vying for
her fourth consecutive state medal as she tries to improve on her fourth place
finish at state a year ago.

“I am extremely excited for what this
season has to bring for the team this year with new and young runners joining
the team,” Moore said. “I am also excited for myself, and my senior season, to
better my time and hopefully to make it to state with my team once again.

“This year I have many goals for myself.
I want to push myself to get a faster time each race and possibly break a 19
minute 5K. Hopefully I can qualify for state again with my team and bring home
a plaque this year.”

Johnson will be pushing Moore all season
as the Louisburg sophomore was on Moore’s heels at the state meet a year ago
and took sixth overall. Both runners helped the Lady Cats to a fifth place
finish at the Class 4A meet in Wamego.

Not only did the two runners push each
other last year, but they have also been competing with each other at practice
and in summer workouts. Both athletes hope all that competition will pay off as
the season goes along.

“Reese and I have constantly been
training with each other in workouts and long runs,” Moore said. “Training with
each other has made us go faster and hard in practice by giving each of us
someone to challenge the other. I think down the road it will help us to have
faster times individually, but also help lead the team to state again.”

Senior Carlee Gassman will also give
Louisburg a nice boost on the girls side as the team’s No. 3 runner, while
freshman Bree Gassman and junior Kennady Wilkerson complete the top five
runners.

“Trinity
and Reese are both bringing it during workouts, along with Carlee, and are
really pushing themselves,” coach Reece said. “Trinity definitely put in the
time over the summer and is ready to race. Carlee and Reese worked in their
summer running when their schedule allowed and are not far behind Trin in the
ready to race category.

“Cross country is such a mental sport and they can accomplish great things this season with the right mindset. Our new assistant coach, Paul Restivo, does a great job working with all the runners in promoting a positive mind set to help them prepare to compete.”

The Wildcats also return several runners
on the boys side as well. Seniors Anthony Davis and Evan Murphy are back as the
teams’ top runners, along with juniors Cade Holtzen and Carson Houchen.

Ryan Rogers, Caden Bradshaw and Sawyer Richardson will also compete for the Wildcat varsity squad this season and Reece believes this group can do some good things as well.

“The boys are returning a lot of experience, along with some newcomers to the sport who have stepped in and are making positive gains within the team,” coach Reece said. “Anthony Davis is leading the group, but the other six runners are closing in and making progress. Much like the girls side there are a few right behind them that are going to push and make us strong.”

Louisburg opens its season at 3:15 today
when it travels to the Anderson County Invitational at the Garnett Country
Club. It is also a special day as the Wildcat middle school program will
compete in its first-ever race.

“Practice
is going well,” Reece said. “It has been a change with middle school cross
country starting and having 58 runners to work with and two coaches. The high
school runners are ready to roll and their eyes are set on the last three meets
and are working hard to do better than last year.”

Last fall, each of the four
Louisburg High School athletic programs had something to brag about.

Whether it was football’s 10-1
season that ended with a regional championship, volleyball’s state runner-up
finish, cross country’s two state medalists and state qualifying girls team or
the boys’ soccer regional championship appearance – the Wildcats had plenty to
cheer about and several athletes took notice.

Numbers are up for all four programs following the first day of practice Monday and the coaches and athletes are excited to get the season started after last year’s successes.

The Wildcat football team saw a big jump in numbers as they have 70 students out this season and football coach Robert Ebenstein and has liked what he seen through the first couple days of workouts.

“Our numbers are up and based on the numbers at the middle school and youth programs and I expect them to keep growing,” Ebenstein said. “I am very excited for practice to get going. When you finish the season off with a loss in the playoffs it sticks with you and the opportunity to go play another game creates that energy and that eager feeling to get going. So far I am very pleased with our kids’ focus and effort. We need to continue to get better every day.”

Louisburg volleyball has also seen a spike in its numbers as 40
athletes have attended tryouts. Those tryouts will go through Wednesday and
head coach Jessica Compliment believes those high numbers will be beneficial
down the road.

“The players are excited, but I
think some are nervous as well with tryouts and cuts these first few days,” Compliment
said. “Forty is the most we’ve had tryout for quite some time. Generally we
have around 35. The higher numbers leads to more competition for uniforms and
playing time.”

Cross country head coach John Reece is pulling
double duty this season as he, and assistant coach Paul Restivo, will also be
leading the new Louisburg Middle School program. The Wildcats have a combined
59 runners out between the two programs, including 37 on the high school side.

Louisburg returns a majority of its girls team
that qualified for state a year ago, including its two state medalists in
senior Trinity Moore and sophomore Reese Johnson.

Despite a little hiccup with the heat during
the first two days of workouts, coach Reece likes what he sees from both teams.

“It was great to get started, and yes the
heat caused us to change our workout a little bit, but we still got in our
miles,” Reece said. “We had a good turnout during summer running, so as a whole
they are ready to get to the good stuff and go compete.

“There is definitely a huge difference
with LMS joining the crew. Two coaches managing 59 kids is a lot, and we might
need more help for supervision as we get more personalized with workouts for
different levels of runners, but this is a good thing for Louisburg’s cross
country program. It is going to be a fun year.”

Soccer also saw a big increase in
interest as the Wildcats have 44 athletes trying out this season and they will
continue the tryout process through Thursday. It is a good problem to have for
head coach Kyle Conley and he has liked what he has seen so far as the Wildcats
look to take another step forward this year.

“The kids worked hard, but showed we have
a lot of work to do,” Conley said. “We had a really, really good summer, but we
got a little rusty with the month off. This year we are getting back to focus
on our culture and getting back to playing for each other. The boys have been
focused and determined to improve this season.”

However, the first two day of practices weren’t without their challenges as intense heat and humidity caused some of the programs to change their schedules, including soccer, which moved its practice to the evening on Tuesday and spent some time indoors Monday.

“The
heat was an interesting factor to go along with the late start due to the
KSHSAA schedule,” Conley said. “We started in the AUX gym for the first hour
and 15 minutes then transitioned outside for an hour. It was frustrating but
the boys handled it very well.”

With
the heat advisories, teams had to take precautions with their athletes and
everything seemed to go smoothly with the hot weather.

“There is nothing you can do about the heat, and it is not centralized to Louisburg, so everybody has to deal with it,” Ebenstein said. “So you just do what you have to do when it comes to moving practice to the evening or whatever. I do not mind these hot early practices as it sets the tone that athletes need to take care of their bodies, and the acclimatization process gets going from the beginning. I would much rather have it this way instead of it being cool and the first hot week comes on a game week.”

With the first day of practice starting
later than normal, the start of competition will also be pushed back. Team
scrimmages will be the Friday before Labor Day and actual competition won’t
start until Sept. 3.

Soccer will host Fort Scott in its season
opener on Sept. 3 and volleyball will travel to Paola for dual on the same day.
Cross country opens its season on Sept. 5 at the Anderson County Invitational
and football will travel to Spring Hill on Sept. 6.

The Louisburg High School cross country team will have some company this season as Louisburg Middle School is offering cross country for the first time this year and the younger Wildcats will attend many of the same meets as the high school. LHS will also offer boys and girls swimming this year and have discussed girls wrestling for the future.

There are always changes with
every incoming school year, but Louisburg residents will see a couple major
ones for the 2019-20 school year on the activities side.

Late last spring, the USD 416 Board of Education approved to add three new activities to the Wildcat sports slate in middle school cross county and boys and girls swimming. All three will give students opportunities to try something different for the upcoming year.

Middle school cross country will
coincide with the high school season in the fall and those athletes will attend
many of the same meets in 2019. Louisburg will open its season on Sept. 5 at
the Anderson County Invitational in Garnett.

The Wildcats will then travel to Wellsville and Prairie View on Sept. 19 and 26, respectively, before wrapping its season on Oct. 10 in Eudora for the Frontier League meet.

There will be separate seventh and eighth-grade divisions for the meets and the middle school runners will run two miles, while the high school will continue to run its usual 5-kilometer course.

Current high school coach John
Reece will also serve as the middle school head coach, while Paul Restivo takes
over assistant coach duties. It is an exciting time for Reece and the Wildcat
program.

“Having a feeder program at the middle
school level feeding into the high school level is invaluable,” LHS activities
director Scott Hinkle said. “Having a feeder program is what builds and
sustains successful programs.”

Louisburg will also participate in
boys swimming, which takes place during the winter season, along with girls
swimming that competes in the spring. USD 416 approved to co-op with the
current Osawatomie-Paola team during the season, and if any swimmers should
qualify for the state meet, they will compete on their own for Louisburg.

USD 416 superintendent Dr. Brian
Biermann met with interested swim parents last year and worked with the Kansas
State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) in getting the approval to join
the Osawatomie-Paola team for this school year.

Hinkle conducted interest meetings
late in the spring with current high school students and eighth-graders moving
up into high school.

“The students that attended the initial
organizational meeting were very excited and inquisitive,” Hinkle said. “We had
approximately 24 at the high school meeting – 12 boys and 12 girls. We probably
had 10 or 12 show up for the middle school meeting. Usually when you introduce
a new sport a lot of kids are interested in hearing about the new opportunity
and what options are available to them.”

Due to the possible increased numbers for the Osawatomie, Paola and Louisburg team, there was also a new hire made as Maddie Carrigan, who is in her first year as a para at LHS, will be the assistant coach and will help out current head coach Gerri Hart.

When the addition of swimming was
first announced, there was talk of how to get the swimmers to and from practice
every day at the Miami County YMCA in Osawatomie. If the numbers worked, the
parents were going to be allowed to take a school van and do a rotation
schedule to take the athletes to practice.

However, due to what could be
bigger numbers than anticipated, the district might have to come up with a
different option.

“We have explored many options in regard to transportation,” Hinkle said. “We may have gotten real lucky in hiring an assistant swim coach who could help with the transportation. If numbers dictate more than a van, then the district is committed to transport the swimmers in a district school bus. The logistics of all of those factors will have to be worked out.”

Another activity that the district considered
adding was girls wrestling. The sport was approved by KSHSAA as a sanctioned
sport last April and it became the 23^rd championship sport in
Kansas.

Although some schools will begin programs right away, Louisburg head wrestling coach Bobby Bovaird knows it might take a little time to get a team put together here.

“I’m pretty excited for girls wrestling to finally become a
sanctioned sport in Kansas,” Bovaird said. “I’m on the state board of directors
for USA Wrestling – Kansas, and we’ve been seeing huge numbers out for girls
wrestling at the youth level. Because of that, we’ve known for a while that it
was bound to happen at the high school level. Neighboring schools have been
seeing a big interest in girls wrestling, and I hope we’re able to see some of
that same interest here. 

“Last year, we had five girls join the Wildcat Wrestling Club,
and I think it was a great experience for them. As they get older and continue
with the sport, I hope to see them bringing their friends to try it out.”

Louisburg won’t be the only district in Kansas where girls
wrestling will take time to develop, but Bovaird has a plan in place for
current female athletes to begin their journey into wrestling.

“I plan on working with our AD (Hinkle) to set a plan in place
to accommodate interest in girls wrestling at the high school,” Bovaird said. “For
the next two seasons, if a tournament only offers a boys division, then girls
will be allowed to compete against male wrestlers. If there is a girls
division, then they will compete against females only. After the 2020-21
season, all competitions will be separated by gender. For the time being, we’re
going to operate as a single program — one practice, one coaching staff, one
team, regardless of gender. As numbers grow and we get closer to the 2021-22
season, we’ll need to restructure to accommodate the state’s requirement for
separation. 

“We have a history of solid female athletics in Louisburg, and I
think the timing is just right for us to expand our wrestling program to
include more females. Since I’ve been here, we’ve had girls join the team, but
never in big numbers. I hope to be able to build a foundation for a solid girls
program, especially since I have a 7-year-old daughter whom I’d love to see get
the benefits of the sport of wrestling.”

For the past three years, Louisburg Sports Zone has given out Athlete of the Week awards during each of the three sports seasons. I do it to recognize special athletic achievements and to highlight the athletes.

For the second straight year, Louisburg Sports Zone will be handing out an Athlete of the Year honor to a male and female athlete at Louisburg High School. I wanted the opportunity to recognize those who exemplify what it means to be an “athlete.”

Although I am giving out the award, I wanted the process to be subjective, so I asked the head coaches at LHS to help me out. I asked each coach to send me nominations of who they thought exemplified the Athlete of the Year honor. They will then vote for their top 3 male and female athletes and then I will tabulate the results and determine the winner. In the next week, I will announce this year’s recipients.

Below are the nominees for this year’s award in alphabetical order by last name. Congrats to all those who were nominated and best of luck!

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

CARSON BUFFINGTON – SENIOR – BASKETBALL, SOCCER, VOLLEYBALL

Carson was a 3-time letter winner in her senior season and
was named as a team captain in volleyball, basketball and soccer.

In volleyball, Buffington earned second team All-Frontier
League honors as she helped lead the Lady Cats to a Class 4A state runner-up
performance. She also moved from her starting setter position to the outside
hitter spot and had a lot of success for the Lady Cats as she tallied 130 kills
in her new position. With all that success, Buffington was also selected to the
Greater Kansas City Volleyball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Match.

Buffington also wrapped up a strong career for the Louisburg
basketball team as she averaged eight points and seven rebounds to go along
with three steals a contest. She was named as a Frontier League honorable
mention this past season, and she also was selected as an all-state honorable
mention.

In girls soccer, Buffington was the starting goalie for Louisburg in all 20 games. She posted 13 shutouts, which is a school record and had a .952 goals against average, which is also a school record. Buffington had 90 saves on the season that ended as a Class 4-1A state runner up for the second consecutive year. For her efforts, she was also selected second team All-Frontier League. Buffington was also named first team all-state goalie and was named Goalkeeper of the Year.

ANNA DIXON – SENIOR – VOLLEYBALL

Anna wrapped up her fourth volleyball season as a varsity starter for the Lady Cats and guided Louisburg to its second consecutive Class 4A-state runner-up finish.

Dixon, who is currently with the Kansas State volleyball
team, ended her senior season with 584 kills and had a hitting percentage of
.260. She also added 325 digs, 50 aces and 42 blocks as she played all six
rotations. With those lofty numbers, Dixon earned several big time honors in
her final season.

She was selected as an All-Frontier League first team player
and was also named to the 4A State All-Tournament Team. Those honors continued
as she was named the Kansas Volleyball Coaches Association Class 4A Player of the
Year and earned a spot on KVA All-State First Team.

Following the season, Dixon was also named as an
Under-Armour All-American also earned MaxPreps/American Volleyball Coaches
Association Player of the Week honors.

ALYSE MOORE – SOPHOMORE – BASKETBALL, SOFTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD

Alyse is a 3-sport varsity letter-winner this past year as she earned letters for the basketball, softball and track and field teams. This past spring season, Moore went to state in two different sports and became the first Wildcat athlete in recent memory to do so.

In her first season in track and field, Moore threw the
javelin for the Lady Cats and went on to become regional champion as she
eclipsed her personal best throw by almost 25 feet in just her third
competition of the season. The following week, she medaled fourth at the Class
4A state tournament with a personal best throw of 131 feet and 9 inches.

Moore was also the starting shortstop for the Lady Cats as
she helped Louisburg to its first regional championship since 2014.

During the basketball season, Moore was a starter for the
Lady Cats and averaged six points, five rebounds and three steals a game.

TRINITY MOORE – JUNIOR – CROSS COUNTRY, SOCCER

Trinity is 2-sport letter-winner for Louisburg this past
year as she had state performances in both cross country and soccer.

During the fall, Moore was the top runner on the Louisburg girls cross country team as she helped the Lady Cats to a regional runner-up finish and qualified for state as a team for the first time in school history. Moore medaled fourth at the Class 4A state meet in Wamego and currently holds the school record for the fastest time in program history. She also earned first-team All-Frontier League honors for her third place finish at the league meet.

In soccer, Moore was a starter on the Wildcat team that recently finished as the Class 4-1A state runner-up for the second consecutive year. At the midfield spot, she finished the season with 12 goals and six assists and was also named to the All-Frontier League first team.

DELANEY WRIGHT – FRESHMAN – BASKETBALL, CROSS COUNTRY, TRACK AND FIELD

Delaney is a 3-sport letter-winner as she took part in cross country, basketball and track and field and competed at the state level in two of those.

Wright found most of her success in track and field as she
earned four medals at the Class 4A Kansas State Track and Field Championships
in Wichita this past month. She medaled in the long jump, 400-meter-dash,
200-meter dash and as a member of the 4×400-relay.

During the regional meet, Wright broke two school records
(long jump, 400 dash) and earned a regional and Frontier League title in the
long jump. She also earned a medal in the long jump at the Kansas Relays
earlier in the season.

In cross country, Wright was a member of the Louisburg team
that finished as a Class 4A regional runner-up and qualified for the state meet
as a team for the first time in school history. In basketball, Wright saw
playing time at the varsity level as a freshman at different points throughout
the season.

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

BLUE CAPLINGER – SENIOR – BASEBALL, FOOTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD, WRESTLING

Blue is a 4-sport letter-winner in football, wrestling,
baseball and track and field and competed at the state level in two of the
sports.

In football, Caplinger was an All-Frontier League player on
both sides of the ball as he was named to the first team defense as a defensive
back and second team offense as a multi-purpose player. On defense, Caplinger,
who helped Louisburg to a 10-1 record and a regional championship, had 31
tackles from the safety spot and also had two tackles for a loss, two fumble
recoveries and an interception. Offensively, he had 544 total yards and six touchdowns.

On the wrestling mat, Caplinger was a regional champion at
170 pounds and finished his season with a 33-5 record. The Louisburg senior
fell one match short of state medal with a 2-2 record at the Class 4A state
tournament. He currently holds the school record for most career reversals (72)
and most career escapes (86). Following the season, he was also named to the
KWCA Academic All-State first team.

Caplinger split time between baseball and track and field in
the spring. Although he spent time as a reserve and pinch-runner on the
baseball team, Caplinger found a lot of success on the track.

He qualified for state as a member of two relays. Caplinger was a member of the 4×400 relay team that won the Class 4A state championship in 3 minutes and 25 seconds. Caplinger also helped the 4×100 relay to a fifth place finish and went on to garner two state medals.

Caplinger will join the Benedictine football team this fall.

AUSTIN MOORE – SENIOR – FOOTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD, WRESTLING

Austin is a 3-sport letter winner in football, wrestling and
track and field and was among the state’s best in two of the sports.

Moore thrived on the football field for the Wildcats as he helped Louisburg to a 10-1 record and a regional championship. Moore was a first team All-Frontier League player on both sides of the ball and was the league’s leading vote-getter. He went on to rack up all-state awards as the Louisburg senior earned Class 4A first team all-state honors as a running back from the Topeka Capital-Journal and the Kansas Football Coaches Association. Moore was also named as a Class 4A first team all-state linebacker from the Wichita Eagle.

When the season was all said and done, Moore tallied 1,554
total yards from the running back spot, including 1,428 yards on the ground,
and had 21 touchdowns before he broke his collarbone during the regional
championship game.

With those numbers, he was named the Kansas Small Class
Player of the Year by 810 Varsity and was All-Purpose Player of the Year by
Kpreps.com. Earlier this year, Moore was also named to the Kansas Shrine Bowl
roster.

On the wrestling mat, Moore missed more than half of the
season with his broken collarbone, but came back in a big way. Moore won his
first 14 matches when coming back at 220 pounds, which included a regional
championship. He went on to earn his first state medal as he finished fourth at
the Class 4A state tournament with a 3-2 record. He was also named to the KWCA
Academic All-State first team.

During the spring, he was a member of the Louisburg track and field team and threw the javelin for the Wildcats. He was also on the throwers relay that ranked Top 5 nationally at one point in the season.

Moore will join the Kansas State football team this fall.

KIEFER TUCKER – SENIOR – FOOTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD, WEIGHTLIFTING

Kiefer is a 2-sport letter winner in football and track and
field and also went to state competition in two activities.

Tucker was a presence on the line of scrimmage for the
Louisburg football team as he was a first team All-Frontier League player on
both sides of the ball and helped the Wildcats to a 10-1 record and a regional
championship.

The Louisburg senior was among on the leaders on the
offensive line as he helped pave the way for more than 3,500 yards of total
offense. On defense, Tucker recorded 55 tackles from the defensive end spot,
including three tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and
a sack. Those numbers helped earn him honorable mention all-state honors and was
also named to the all-state team by the Kansas Football Coaches Association.
The honors kept coming for Tucker as he was recently selected to participate in
the Kansas Shrine Bowl.

During the winter, Tucker was a member of the Louisburg
powerlifting team and certainly made his mark there as well. Tucker won the Class
4A state championship in the 220-pound class and broke a 24-year-old record in
the bench press with a lift of 375 pounds.

In track and field, Tucker qualified for state for the first time in the discus. He finished as a regional runner-up and went on to take ninth at the Class 4A state meet in Wichita, just one spot away from earning a state medal.

Tucker will join the Emporia State football team this fall.