Louisburg junior Emma Vohs recorded her fifth top 5 finish of the season Thursday as she took fourth at the Louisburg Invitational at Lewis-Young Park.

Louisburg junior Emma Vohs has found herself in the top five in all four meets she had competed in prior to Thursday’s meet.

Nothing changed in that regard after her race in the Louisburg Invitational. 

Vohs finished fourth overall and she helped the Lady Cats to a runner-up team finish at Lewis-Young Park. Louisburg finished with 49 points and was runner-up to first place Spring Hill, which finished with 26.

Vohs ran a time of 21 minutes and 45 seconds to lead the way for the Lady Cats and she was one of three Louisburg runners to medal on the day.

Junior Maddy Rhamy finished ninth overall in 23:08 and junior Lola Edwards was 10th in 23:10 as each took home hardware. Piper senior Grace Hanson won the meet in 18:36 and Spring Hill freshman Sophie Rivers was second in 21:04.

Senior Nova Ptacek just missed out on the medals for Louisburg as she took 17th in 24:11. Sophomore Madison Huggins was 22nd in 25:10.

Another senior, Bree Gassman, took 24th in 25:50, while junior Erin Apple was 26th in 25:56.

On the boys side, the Wildcats were still without their top runner in Jerynce Brings Plenty and finished fifth as a team with 102 points.

Junior Noah Cotter missed a medal by two spots as he took 17th overall in 19:10 and senior Leo Martin was 19th in 19:37. Senior Ethan Ptacek was third on the team in 25th in 20:12.

Senior Landan Henry (20:16) and sophomore Ben Proctor (20:32) finished 26th and 30th, respectively.

Spring Hill won the boys side as the Broncos finished with 25 points and Paola was second with 70. Spring Hill’s Logan Beckman was the individual champion in 16:50.

The postseason now begins for the Wildcats as they compete in the Frontier League Invitational this Thursday at Wyandotte County Park. Races are set to begin at 4:30 p.m.

Louisburg’s Lola Edwards (left) and Maddy Rhamy both finished in the top 10 on Thursday at the Perry-Lecompton Invitational and helped the Lady Cats to a first place finish.

TOPEKA — The Louisburg girls cross country team has seen improvement throughout the 2022 season, but the Lady Cats put it all together Thursday at the Perry-Lecompton Invitational. 

The Lady Cats won the team title as they edged out Bishop Miege and Tonganoxie for the team crown with 56 points and finished four points in front of Bishop Miege and six points ahead of Tonganoxie.

“With both Tonganoxie and Bishop Miege at the meet, it was nice to finish first and show ourselves that we can better them as they will be at our regional,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “The girls continue to improve and I feel we now have our top seven runners as we move towards the postseason.”

Six of the seven Lady Cat runners earned medals and they were once again led by Emma Vohs. The Louisburg junior finished runner-up with a season-best time of 20 minutes and 18 seconds.

Juniors Lola Edwards and Maddy Rhamy also earned top 10 finishes. Edwards was sixth in 21:22, while Rhamy finished ninth in 21:39.

“Emma continues to race well and her time is showing it,” Reece said.” The course was awesome and the weather was great for fast times by all. Lola and Maddy continue to work well together and will benefit from this as the season progresses.”

Senior Nova Ptacek also earned a medal as she finished 18th in 23:06 and another senior, Bree Gassman, medaled 21st in 23:20. 

Sophomore Madison Huggins also garnered a medal in 30th in 24:23. Junior Erin Apple just missed the medals by one spot as she took 31st in 24:34.

On the boys side, the Wildcats earned three individual medals on their way to a fifth place team finish with 122 points as they were again without their top runner, Jerynce Brings Plenty.

Senior Leo Martin led the Wildcats in 11th overall in 18:12 and junior Noah Cotter medaled 13th in 18:21. Senior Ethan Ptacek also garnered a medal as he was 24th in 19:12.

Senior Landon Henry (20:12) and sophomore Ben Proctor (20:30) finished 36th and 43rd, respectively.

“The boys team continues to improve as a whole,” Reece said. “They are practicing great and are being rewarded for their efforts. We hope to have Jerynce back for league but will wait and see. 

The meet, which was run at Hummer Park in Topeka, provided the runners with an opportunity to improve their times.

“The course at Hummer Park is full of curves and sometimes isolated as it winds through tall grass and trees,” Reece said. “There are a few hills, but no real challenges per se, so it was a fast course.”

Louisburg will take part in its final meet of the regular season as it hosts the Louisburg Invitational this Thursday at Lewis-Young Park. Races are set to begin at 4 p.m.

The Louisburg boys cross country team finished second Thursday at the Ramsey Invitational at Prairie View High School. Members of the team (from left) are Noah Cotter, Ben Proctor, Landan Henry, Ethan Ptacek and Leo Martin.

LA CYGNE — It didn’t have its full complement of runners Thursday, but that didn’t stop the Louisburg boys cross country team from finding success.

Minus its top runner, the Wildcats put together a strong showing as they finished second in the team standings at the Ramsey Invitational at Prairie View High School.

The team of Leo Martin, Noah Cotter, Ben Proctor, Landan Henry and Ethan Ptacek earned 41 points, which was 10 points behind first place Anderson County.

“The boys ran a great team race,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “They worked together, finished strong individually and they were rewarded for it.”

It was much of the same on the girls side as the Lady Cats also finished second in the team standings with 44 points — three points behind first place Prairie View.

Juniors Emma Vohs, Maddy Rhamy and Lola Edwards all finished in the top five for Louisburg, while Nova Ptacek, Bree Gassman and Erin Apple all finished in the top 20.

Vohs took second overall with a time of 21 minutes and 21 seconds. Rhamy was right behind as she medaled third in 22:08 and Edwards medaled fourth in 22:12.

Ptacek was fourth on the team as she took 18th in 24:08 and Gassman was 19th in 24:20. Apple rounded out the Lady Cat lineup in 20th with a time of 24:26.

“It was cool to see Emma, Maddie and Lola finish 2-3-4,” Reece said. “Nova, Bree and Erin were not far back and working together through the race. As we continue to close the gap between runners, we will get stronger as a team.”

Senior Leo Martin led the boys team as he medaled sixth overall in 19:03, which is a career-best finish for Martin.

“Leo continues to improve,” Reece said. “He is working hard in practice and it is really showing. We are feeling great about the boys’ progress this season.”

Junior Noah Cotter also earned a medal for the Wildcats as he was eighth in 19:06. Proctor was 17th for the Wildcats in 20:12, while Ptacek (20:20) and Henry (20:25) were 18th and 19th, respectively.

Louisburg will get back at it this Thursday as it competes at the Perry-Lecompton Invitational, which will be held near Hummer Park in Topeka.

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week three of the fall sports season, sponsored by Dr. Laura’s Orthodontics.

EMMA VOHS, JUNIOR, CROSS COUNTRY

Louisburg junior Emma Vohs is continuing to build off of last season’s state medaling performance as she led the Wildcat girls cross country team to a third place finish last Thursday at the Wellsville Invitational. Vohs ran a time of 21 minutes and 39 seconds and finished fifth overall to earn her second medal on the season.

Vohs, along with teammates Lola Edwards, Maddy Rhamy, Bree Gassman, Nova Ptacek and Erin Apple, finished with 100 points to take third in the nine team meet.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the fall season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous winners:

Week 1: Layne Ryals

Week 2: Nathan Vincent

Louisburg junior Emma Vohs finished fifth overall Thursday at the Wellsville Invitational and helped the Wildcat girls to a third place team finish.

WELLSVILLE — For the second time in three weeks, the Louisburg girls cross country team found itself in the upper-half of the team standings.

The Lady Cat runners finished third Thursday at the Wellsville Invitational to earn team medals with 100 points. Louisburg also had four runners earn individual awards, as well.

Juniors Emma Vohs, Lola Edwards and Maddy Rhamy all earned individual medals to help the Louisburg cause.

On the boys side, sophomore Jerynce Brings Plenty garnered an individual medal to lead the Wildcats.

“Wellsville is always a wee bit different for us as we are coming off of a big meet last Saturday at Wamego,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “Racing again on Thursday is tough. We use the meet as a learning tool and do some different race tactics during the run. 

“With that said, the girls executed the tactics very well as shown by their team finish. Emma got out there and ran a great race from start to finish.”

Vohs had a strong race for Louisburg as she was up toward the front for much of it. She finished fifth overall with a time of 21 minutes and 39 seconds.

Edwards and Rhamy ran together for much of the race as well, as both were able to sneak into the medals. Edwards took 24th in 23:21 and Rhamy was 25th in 23:22.

Prairie View’s Bree Allen won the meet with a time of 19:40.

Louisburg senior Bree Gassman was fourth on the Lady Cat team as she took 39th in 24:48. Senior Nova Ptacek was 48th in 25:56 and junior Erin Apple was 52nd in 26:10.

Brings Plenty medaled 11th in 18:15 to lead the Louisburg boys and ran with the leader — Wellsville’s Nash McDaniel — for the first part of the race. McDaniel won in 17:07.

“Jerynce really pressed early on and faded some as racing so close together is difficult,” Reece said. “The team ran well with some stiff competition and gained valuable knowledge from their performances.”  

Junior Noah Cotter took 29th overall and finished in 19:50, while senior Leo Martin was 31st in 20:01. Seniors Ethan Ptacek (20:46) and Landan Henry (20:50) took 40th and 41st, respectively.

Sophomore Ben Proctor was 43rd in 20:56 and junior Max LaJoie took 53rd in 22:19. As a team, the Wildcats finished fifth with 117 points.

Louisburg is back in action this Thursday when it travels to the Prairie View Invitational. Races are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Louisburg junior Maddy Rhamy led the Wildcats on Saturday at the Wamego Invitational as she finished 19th overall and was one of three Wildcats to leave with a medal.

WAMEGO — The Louisburg cross country teams found themselves in Wamego on Saturday morning — a place where they hope to be in a little more than a month from now.

The Wamego Country Club is the site of the Class 4A state meet and both Wildcats teams have their eyes on getting back there.

However, first they had a tune-up on the state course Saturday as the Wildcats competed at the Wamego Invitational. Some of the top teams across the state ventured to Wamego and several Wildcats more than held their own.

Maddy Rhamy, a junior, led the Wildcat girls as she earned medal with a 19th-place finish in 22 minutes and 6 seconds. 

The Lady Cats, who finished 13th overall, also earned another medal as junior Lola Edwards was 34th out of 102 runners in 22:40.

Senior Bree Gassman finished in 79th in 25:19, while another senior, Nova Ptacek took 82nd in 25:25. Junior Erin Apple finished 89th in 26:20.

“The girls ran well on Saturday,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “Maddy had a solid race finishing 19th and Lola was not far behind. Nova and Bree worked well together throughout the race and looked good at the end. Erin ran a strong race and the group continues to close the time gap between them. “

The Wildcat boys also earned a medal as sophomore Jerynce Brings Plenty finished 31st in 18 minutes and 15 seconds. As a team, Louisburg took 12th overall.

Junior Noah Cotter was 56th in 19:12, while seniors Leo Martin (19:29) and Ethan Ptacek (19:30) were 66th and 68th, respectively, out of 119 runners. Sophomore Ben Proctor took 94th in 20:46.

Senior Landan Henry was 100th in 21:18 and junior Max LaJoie was 107th in 21:44.

“Jerynce ran a great race as did the other boys.” Reece said. “They really ran a smart first mile and worked through the field as the race played out. Ben Proctor really stepped it up and was our No. 5 runner.  We were happy with their performance, but we have our work cut out for us depending on which regional we go to.”

Louisburg will try to improve those times even more Thursday when it competes in the Wellsville Invitational. Races are set to begin at 4 p.m.

Louisburg junior Emma Vohs led the Lady Cats to a second place team finish Thursday at the Garnett Country Club. Vohs also finished fourth overall.

GARNETT — It didn’t take long for the Louisburg girls cross country team to get back in the swing of things.

In its first meet of the season, the Lady Cat runners picked up right where they left off a year ago as they finished second Thursday at the Jerry Howarter Invitational at the Garnett Country Club. 

Juniors Emma Vohs and Maddy Rhamy each recorded top five finishes in a solid start to their season.

“Second as a team for the girls was awesome,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “There were schools at the meet that had not been there the past few years, so it was much stronger competition.”

The boys also found success as they brought home three individual medals, including a top-10 finish from junior Noah Cotter. The Wildcats took fourth as a team.

“All things considered, including the hot weather, the team ran well,” Reece said. “We have a long way to go to postseason races and we feel like the season started off on a good note.”

Vohs paced the Lady Cats to the runner-up performance as she finished fourth overall in 22 minutes and 18 seconds. Rhamy was right behind her in fifth in 22:25.

Junior Lola Edwards also earned a medal as she finished 14th in 23:37.

Senior Bree Gassman just missed out on the medals by one spot as she took 31st in 25:42 and senior Nova Ptacek was 33rd in 26:08. Junior Erin Apple rounded out the Lady Cat team in 50th in 27:47.

As a team, Louisburg recorded 61 points to take second, just one point ahead of third place Prairie View. Baldwin won the meet with 39 points.

“Emma and Maddy ran great races and competed well,” Reece said. “Lola was not far back and was all smiles after her injury riddled season last year. Bree, Nova and Erin will continue to close the time gap between the front runners and we will improve as a team.”

Cotter put together one of his stronger performances as he led the Wildcat boys. The Louisburg junior finished ninth overall in 19:11.

Sophomore Jerynce Brings Plenty earned a medal as he took 14th overall in 19:41, while senior Leo Martin also medaled in 23rd with a time of 20:09.

Senior Ethan Ptacek was 33rd in his first ever cross country race in 20:55 and senior Landan Henry was 39th in 21:18. Junior Max LaJoie took 53rd in 23:06.

As a team, the Wildcats were fourth with 92 points and were just four points back of third. Santa Fe Trail won the meet with 57 points.

“Noah ran a smart first race of the year,” Reece said. “He was controlled through the first mile and worked past runners as the race played out. We look for him to do some great things this year. The rest of the squad also ran strong races. Ethan was introduced to the sport for the first time and walked away with valuable lessons to aid him for the rest of the season. Jerynce was a bit under the weather, but ran well.”

Louisburg will continue to improve its times Saturday as the Wildcats travel to the Wamego Invitational. Races begin at 9 a.m.

Louisburg junior Emma Vohs is the top returning runner for the Wildcat girls cross country team after finishing in the top 10 at state last year. Vohs, along with Maddy Rhamy and Lola Edwards, are returning state medalists.

It was one of those special type of seasons for the Louisburg cross country team last year.

The Wildcats qualified both the boys and girls teams for state. Louisburg left Wamego with four state medals and the girls team finished fifth overall.

Goals haven’t changed for the Wildcats in 2022, but both teams will be forced to replace one of their top runners from a year ago. Still, hopes are high for what they can accomplish.

“It is always tough to see strong runners graduate and move on, but that is the reality of our profession,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “The returners will step up and fill that void, and by adding a couple of new runners to the mix, we might be even stronger.”

On the girls side, the Wildcats will have to replace one of the program’s most accomplished runners in Reese Johnson. She finished her career with three state medals, including a top 20-finish a year ago.

Despite that loss, the Lady Cats are still considered one of the top teams in Class 4A as they are ranked in the top 5 by Kansas MileSplit.

Juniors Emma Vohs and Maddy Rhamy are both state medalists who return from a big year last season. Vohs, who was in her first year of cross country, finished sixth at state and Rhamy earned her second consecutive state medal and took 13th.

Louisburg also returns junior Lola Edwards, who medaled a state as a freshman, but battled injuries as a sophomore.

Seniors Bree Gassman and Nova Ptacek, along with junior Erin Apple, also return from that state team. Newcomers Kate Frederick (junior) and Ashlyn Kuhlman (sophomore) could also see varsity action this year.

“Emma, Maddy, and Lola will be leading the way with Bree and Erin in tow,” Reece said. “Adding Kate and Ashlyn to the mix increases our depth. I hope to instill in them the pack mentality for the first part of the races and then go for it in the second half hopefully together. It will be a great season, and tough as always in the Frontier League.”

On the boys side, the Wildcats lost their top runner from a year ago in Jaden Vohs after he medaled 12th at state.

Louisburg does return experience from that team in sophomore Jerynce Brings Plenty, junior Noah Cotter and senior Leo Martin. Cotter was 40th at state a year ago, while Brings Plenty was the team’s No. 2 runner to Jaden Vohs as a freshman.

The Wildcats also have a newcomer in senior Ethan Ptacek, who made the move to cross country after playing three years of soccer. Senior Landan Henry, junior Max LaJoie and sophomore Ben Proctor will also help out on the varsity squad this year.

“Jerynce is inheriting a leadership role by default, but I know he can step up and handle it,,” Reece said. “He will have huge support from Ethan, Noah and Leo, who all came off of a successful track season. We are also looking for Max, Landon, and Ben to step up as well.”

Louisburg kicks off its season Thursday when it travels to the Jerry Howarter Invitational in Garnett. Races are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Louisburg head football coach Drew Harding speaks to his players in the huddle during a practice this week. Harding is in his first year as head coach after serving as an assistant for several years.

It’s only four days into practice, but all four Louisburg High School fall coaches have liked what they have seen so far out of their teams.

Numbers have been steady as each program has high expectations for the upcoming 2022 season.

There are also plenty of new faces this year as the Wildcats will feature two first year coaches in Bobby Bovaird (boys soccer) and Drew Harding (football). Leanna Willer (volleyball) is in her second season, while cross country coach John Reece is entering his 20th season.

On the gridiron, the Wildcat football team is returning several starters from last year’s team that lost to St. James Academy in the first round of the playoffs.

Louisburg currently has 70 players out for football this season, including 15 seniors that will help lead the way.

“Practice has been going well so far,” Harding said. “We have a lot of competition for spots and competition brings out the best in everybody. We are very excited for the upcoming season.  We have a large senior class and a junior class that has gained lots of experience from last year so we are excited to see what we can do.”

Having a new head coach can bring a learning curve, but the Wildcats worked hard over the summer. Along with their annual team camp, they had several scrimmages, 7-on-7 competitions and skill sessions.

“The team did a good job picking up on our installs on both sides of the ball so we were able to get a lot of really good reps that will hopefully help us in this upcoming season,” Harding said.

As for the boys soccer team, the Wildcats will try and reach the state final four for the second time in three years after falling to Bishop Miege in the regional championship match a season ago.

Louisburg returns another experienced group as it enters the season with 15 seniors after earning the No. 1 seed in the playoffs a year ago. Numbers are once again high for the program as 40 players are out this year.

“Nine of them (seniors) saw some pretty solid varsity playing time last year, and five of them got playing time in the state tournament two years ago when we finished in 3rd place,” Bovaird said. “Practice has been running very smoothly. We’re getting a great look at the players during our tryouts this week, and we’re seeing lots of leaders emerge every day.”

The Wildcats also had a busy summer with camps and team workouts. It was a good way for Bovaird to get to know his players as a first-year head coach.

“Almost everyone was able to participate,” Bovaird said. “They were getting together for informal kick-arounds, they were either lifting weights with the school’s summer program or they were lifting together on their own, and I’m loving the buy-in that they’ve shown. We’re looking at the potential to have another outstanding season this year. Of course, conditioning is a factor and we’re working on improving that during practice. 

“This year, we’ve got the motto ‘United,’ which comes from the fact that many soccer clubs use that word with their club names — Manchester United, New Mexico United, etc. I chose that motto because we have kids with all sorts of experience, from those who play year-round club soccer to kids who only play in the fall. They’ve grown up playing all over the place, whether it’s a club up in the city, Louisburg Rec, or somewhere in another district or community. But we’re here right now, and we have to come together to be united as a soccer family if we want to achieve our goals. This group of seniors has had a taste of state success, and they’ve had a taste of falling short of the team’s goals. I think they have the hunger to buy into what the coaching staff is striving to provide for them and they are willing to make a commitment to get to the top this year.”

As for cross country, Reece has liked what he has seen from his runners so far after a successful season a year ago in which both teams qualified for state.

He currently has 25 runners out this season, while 18 are out on the middle school level. The girls team is already being thought of as one of the top squads in the state as they are ranked in the top five in Class 4A by Kansas MileSplit.

“We are down a little in numbers but return many state qualifiers,” Reece said. “Practices are going well and we are enjoying this stint of cooler weather. We are again focusing on the end of the season and are setting a goal to return both teams to state again. It is going to be an exciting year.”

Volleyball also has strong numbers out as they had 36 athletes out for tryouts for the first three days and have settled at 30 for the rest of the season between the three levels.

Despite losing four starters from last season’s team that fell one game short of reaching the state tournament, Willer is excited to see what this group can do.

“We’ve had a great first few days and are seeing really awesome things from our girls that have us excited about what we’ll be able to do at all three levels this year,” Willer said. “We see a lot of potential at all ages and we are hungry for the opportunities to keep improving and make some noise in the league.”

The squad had a busy summer with its team camp in early June, followed by summer league action for two months and the varsity traveled to the University of Nebraska team camp in July. Add in the normal open gyms and weight sessions, Willer is pleased with how her players have improved.

“This was a very busy summer of all sorts of crazy twists and turns with the high school being under construction and schedules constantly changing,” Willer said. “Those that were able to dedicate time and effort consistently throughout the summer improved, not only in skill, but also in confidence. The coaches and athletes were typically here working four days a week with weights, conditioning, and open gyms. 

“We love having these summer opportunities to get to know our team better and to start working on our team chemistry as much as possible. As a whole, we have grown a lot over the past couple months and we are looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish here in the next couple.”

For the past six 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 fifth consecutive 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. The winner will be announced in the coming days.

Below are the nominees for the Female Athlete of the Year award in alphabetical order by last name. Congrats to all those who were nominated and best of luck!

Davis Guetterman, Senior, Volleyball and Track and Field

Davis made an impact on a pair of Louisburg athletic programs this past season. The Louisburg senior was a starting setter for the Lady Cats and she was also a thrower on the Wildcat track team.

On the volleyball court, Guetterman finished her year with a 138 kills, 436 assists, 184 digs and 58 aces as she helped the Lady Cats to the sub-state championship this season. In her four year career, she tallied 199 kills, 1,603 assists, 564 digs and 184 aces as she helped the Lady Cats to two state tournament appearances. She also earned honorable mention all-league honors this season as a setter and earned the AVCA Best and Brightest First Team Award and was chosen as the recipient of the 2021 Lady Cat Volleyball award.

In the spring, Guetterman was one of the top throwers on the team in the javelin and earned a state bid in 2021. She will continue her career in both volleyball and track and field at the University of Sioux Falls in the upcoming year.

Reese Johnson, Senior, Cross Country and Soccer

Reese played at a high level for two different Louisburg teams this past season. The Louisburg senior was one of the top runners on the Louisburg cross country team and a starter for the Wildcat soccer program.

In cross country, Johnson helped the Lady Cat team to the Class 4A state meet for the fifth consecutive time. The team finished fifth overall at state and Johnson earned her third state medal of her career as she finished 19^th overall in 21:08 at Wamego Country Club. She was also an honorable mention all-league selection as she finished 16^th at the league meet.

Johnson also played a vital role for the Wildcat soccer team that finished the season in the regional championship and a 13-5 record. She finished with nine goals and eight assists on the season and was a first-team all-league selection from her midfield spot.

Corinna McMullen, Senior, Volleyball and Track and Field

Corinna was a big part of two Wildcat programs this past season as she was a member of the volleyball and track and field programs. She was the starting setter for the volleyball team and threw the discus on the track squad.

In volleyball, not only was McMullen one of the team’s starting setters, she was also the team’s top hitter. McMullen led the Lady Cats to the regional championship and helped the program to two state tournament appearances. This season, she led Louisburg with 284 assists and 224 kills to go along with 194 digs and 35 aces. She was a first-team all-league selection as a hitter and an honorable mention selection as a setter. McMullen also earned all-state honors and was selected to play in the GKCVCA MO-KAN All-Star match. She was named as the team MVP for Louisburg and was given the AVCA Best and Brightest First Team Award.

On the track team, McMullen was the squad’s top discus thrower and earned her second consecutive state medal this past May. McMullen placed third at the Class 4A meet with a throw of 117-4. She threw a personal best of 127-3 to win a Frontier League title. She will be continuing her athletic career at Washburn University as a member of the volleyball team.

Delaney Wright, Senior, Basketball and Track and Field

Delaney was a part of the girls basketball program and track and field team for Louisburg High School this past season. She was a starting guard on the basketball team and competed in four events on the track team.

As a member of the Wildcat track program, Wright competed in the long jump, 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash and the 4×400 relay. She qualified for state in all four events and won three regional titles. At the Class 4A state meet she brought home three medals. Wright finished as the state runner-up in the 400 dash, took in the 200 dash and medaled fifth in the long jump. She ended her Wildcat career with 10 state medals, three state championships and holds school records in three events.

Wright was also a member of the Lady Cat basketball team and was a returning letter-winner off of last season’s third place finish at state. She was a starting guard on the Lady Cat team and was considered the team’s best defender, before an injury ended her season halfway through.  That injury also cost Wright part of her track season, as well. She will continue her track career at Kansas State University next season.