Senior Carson Houchen (right) earned second team all-league honors Thursday during the Frontier League Invitational in Ottawa. His teammates Cade Holtzen (left) and Ryan Rogers earned honorable mention honors. Freshman Lola Edwards led the girls with a first-team all-league selection.

OTTAWA – The Louisburg cross country team competed on one of the toughest courses on its schedule last Thursday, along with running alongside its most difficult competition to date.

The Wildcats competed in the Frontier League Invitational at the Eisenhower Road Course in Ottawa and went up against many state ranked teams and returning state medalists. When it was all said and done, four Louisburg runners left the meet with all-league honors.

Freshman Lola Edwards finished fifth overall in the girls race as she ran a time of 21 minutes and 7 seconds to earn a spot on the all-league first team.

Three Louisburg boys also garnered all-league honors. Senior Carson Houchen took 12^th in 19:12, which cemented him a spot on the second team. Junior Ryan Rogers, who finished 16^th in 19:23, and senior Cade Holtzen, who took 20^th in 19:47, were named honorable mention.

“Lola had a great race and moved through the field as the race played out,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “She has improved her racing this year for sure. Then having three runners receive league honors for the boys was awesome. They have put in the time and they are being rewarded for it.”

The Louisburg boys took fourth in the team standings with 95 points and Eudora won the league title with 49. Tonganoxie’s Eli Gilmore won the individual league crown in 17:25.

Wildcat junior Caden Bradshaw just missed out on all-league honors as he took 23^rd overall in 19:55 and fellow junior Hayden Ross was 25^th in 20 minutes flat. Sophomore Trent Allen took 33^rd in 20:25 and junior Sawyer Richardson was 39^th in 20:37 to round out the top seven Louisburg runners.

The Lady Cats, who were without one of their top runners in Reese Johnson due to an injury, took fifth in the team standings with 143 points. Eudora won the league team title with 50 points, just five points ahead of Baldwin.

Piper’s Grace Hanson won the individual girls crown with a time of 20:12.

Louisburg freshman Maddy Rhamy just missed out on all-league honors herself as she took 24^th overall in 23:10 and sophomore Claire Brown was 38^th in 23:48. Sophomore Bree Gassman took 44^th in 24:18 and freshman Erin Apple took 49^th in 24:36.

Sophomore Nova Ptacek crossed the finish in 53^rd in 25:02 and senior Alexis French rounded out the Lady Cat lineup in 56th in 25:30.

Along with the competition, both Wildcats teams went up against a difficult Eisenhower Road Course that features numerous steep hills on the 3-plus mile terrain.

“I thought both teams ran well at Ottawa,” Reece said. “They worked hard on a tough course and some of the first timers said they could have run it differently and faster. Frontier League is a tough league and we basically repeat this meet for regionals minus Spring Hill, Bonner Springs and Piper.”

Louisburg will try for a trip to state this Saturday when the Wildcats compete at the Class 4A regional meet at the Baldwin Golf Course. The top 3 teams, along with the top five individuals who are not among the state qualifying teams, will advance to the Class 4A state meet next week in Wamego.

The girls race is scheduled for 10 a.m. and the boys will follow.

“Regionals is going to be a tough meet,” Reece said. “We set a goal to qualify both teams and they are going to do all they can to accomplish their goals. Reese (Johnson) will be running as her ankle has improved over the past two weeks. It is going to be an exciting finish.” 

Junior Ryan Rogers took ninth overall to help the Louisburg boys to a runner-up finish last Thursday at the Louisburg Invitational. The Wildcat boys medaled four.

In its final tune-up before the postseason begins, the Louisburg cross country team got a chance to run on its home course one final time last Thursday for the Louisburg Invitational.

Although it was a small meet, one that consisted of six teams, it brought a lot of competition from around the area and the Wildcats more than held their own at the Lewis-Young Park course.

The Louisburg boys were two points shy of first as the Wildcats finished runner-up to Fort Scott with 53 points. In the process, Louisburg also medaled four individual runners and continued to show its progression despite missing one of their main runners in Caden Bradshaw.

“The boys continue their mission to improve weekly and this was another example of the reward received for hard work,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “Four individual medals is outstanding and to finish just behind Fort Scott, a ranked team, and to beat the other league schools for a second place finish as a team is awesome. I want to put them in ghillie suits and quietly roll into the post season and surprise everyone like I know we can.”

Along with Fort Scott, the Wildcats competed against Spring Hill, Ottawa, Paola and Piper and saw some of the best competition in the Frontier League.

Louisburg senior Carson Houchen ran another strong race to lead the Wildcats. Houchen finished sixth in 18 minutes and 23 seconds.

Junior Ryan Rogers was the next Wildcat to medal as he finished ninth in 18:57 and senior teammate Cade Holtzen was 10^th in 19:12.  Junior Hayden Ross also earned a medal as he took 12^th in 19:23.

Sophomore Leo Martin finished one spot out of a medal in 16^th in 19:31 and freshman Noah Cotter took 17^th in 19:49. Junior Sawyer Richardson was 28^th in 21:19.

Freshman Lola Edwards continues to make her mark on the Louisburg girls squad as Edwards took runner-up and set a new personal-best time of 20:27. That time gives her the third fastest time in school history.

Another freshman, Maddy Rhamy, also made a statement as she ran a time of 21:48 to medal seventh and recorded the sixth fastest time in program history. Sophomore Claire Brown also garnered a medal as she took 15th in 23:26.

“It is always nice to run on your course, even if we goofed up the first go-round with a new path,” Reece said. “I feel that we have one of the toughest late season small meets around. The girls ran well again. Lola improved on her PR and Maddy also set a PR which is great to see. We are hopeful for a return at regionals for Reese (Johnson).” 

The Lady Cats ran without one of their top runners, Reese Johnson, and took fourth as a team with 78 points.

Sophomore Bree Gassman was 26^th in 24:18, while Nova Ptacek (24:23) and Erin Apple (25:05) came in 28^th and 32^nd, respectively.

The postseason will begin this Thursday when the Wildcats compete in the Frontier League Invitational at Ottawa’s Eisenhower Road Course. The following week the Wildcats will compete at regionals as they try to earn a state berth.

“We are in the toughest league in 4A and competition is incredible,” Reece said. “Our regional will be our league plus three schools so we will have to bring our A-game. There will be schools not qualify for state that would be a top half finisher, but we are ‘Built Different’ and we will be ready to compete.”

Louisburg freshman Lola Edwards leads a group of runners during the Perry-Lecompton Invitational last Thursday at Perry Lake.

PERRY – She may only be a freshman, but Louisburg’s Lola Edwards is running like a seasoned veteran.

Edwards, who had won two consecutive meets prior to Thursday’s Perry-Lecompton Invitational, put together another strong showing. The Wildcat freshman captured her third straight first place finish as she won with a time of 23 minutes and 18 seconds on the Perry Lake course.

In fact, Edwards wasn’t the only Louisburg freshman to record a top five finish. Maddy Rhamy finished toward the top of the pack in fourth overall in 25:10.

“The race was done in three groups, so Lola ran by herself in front in that third group and won the meet,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “She has an internal drive that is unbelievable. She has the ability to get into her rhythm of the race and go. Maddy ran an awesome race and was second to Lola. She was in the flow and was smiling the whole race.”

The Lady Cats had another top three team finish as they recorded 80 points to finish third overall. They did so without one of their top runners – Reese Johnson – who was unable to compete.

Tonganoxie won the meet with 45 points and Paola was second with 74.

Sophomore Claire Brown ran strong for the Lady Cats as she also medaled in 20^th with a time of 26:40. Sophomore Bree Gassman (27:11) and freshman Erin Apple (27:17) also earned medals in 27^th and 30^th, respectively. Sophomore Nova Ptacek rounded out the Louisburg lineup in 26^th in 27:55.

On the boys’ side, senior Carson Houchen continues to run well for the Wildcats as he finished ninth in 20:45. It was his fourth consecutive meet in which he has medaled.

“Carson is on a mission,” Reece said. “He is leading the boys team and not holding back. After our little hiccup at the beginning of the season, he has cranked it up and the whole team is running strong. If I did my job correctly, the whole team will be rolling come regionals.”

Senior Cade Holtzen also earned a medal for Louisburg as he finished 24^th in 21:36.

Junior Ryan Rogers was 34^th in 22:22 and fellow junior Hayden Ross was 40^th in 22:30. Freshman Noah Cotter (22:32) and sophomore Leo Martin (23:17) took 43^rd and 55^th, respectively.

It was the first time any of the other runners had competed at the Perry Invitational, which was a replacement on the schedule. Louisburg was originally scheduled to compete in Pittsburg, but had to be changed due to COVID-19.

Reece said his runners fared well on the new course, but it did have its fair share of challenges.

“Perry was an interesting course,” he said. “There were lots of turns and for almost a mile the runners were not in sight as they were running in the woods on a horse trail. The course also measured long by almost a quarter of a mile, so times were not even looked at. Both teams competed well as that is always our goal and it is not always about time.”

Louisburg is back in action this Thursday, this time on their home-friendly course at Lewis-Young Park for the Louisburg Invitational. Races are set to begin at 4 p.m.

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week five of the fall sports season, sponsored by Louisburg Family Dental.

CARSON HOUCHEN, SENIOR, CROSS COUNTRY

Louisburg senior Carson Houchen has guided the Wildcat boys cross country team for most of the season and that continued Thursday at the Perry-Lecompton Invitational. Houchen led the Wildcats with a ninth place finish in 20 minutes and 45 seconds to earn a medal. This was his fourth consecutive medal to start the season as he also had top 10 finishes at Wellsville and Prairie View.

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: Weston Guetterman

Week 2: Lola Edwards

Week 3: Logan Faulkner

Week 4: Rinny McMullen

Louisburg junior Reese Johnson distances herself from the field Thursday during the Ramsey Invitational at Prairie View High School. Johnson finished second overall and the Lady Cats took first in the team standings.

LA CYGNE – It was just another week for the Louisburg girls cross country team as the Lady Cat runners found themselves atop the team standings again.

For the second consecutive week, the Lady Cats won the team title – this time at the Ramsey Invitational – Thursday at Prairie View High School. Louisburg won going away with 19 points and finished 35 points ahead of runner-up Anderson County.

Also, it was the second time in as many weeks that freshman Lola Edwards and junior Reese Johnson were the first ones to cross the finish line. Edwards won the meet in 20 minutes and 30 seconds, while Johnson was second in 21:11.

“The girls are running well,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “They are slowly drawing closer together with their times, which makes them even better as a team.

“Lola and Reese are doing awesome. They are ready to compete each race and are relentless on the course.”

The Louisburg boys also finished strong as the Wildcats nearly won their second consecutive meet as they finished second with 42 points, just three points behind champion Fort Scott and one point in front of third place finisher, Anderson County.

“They performed very well,” Reese said. “The top six are running within 30 seconds of each other, which is impressive. As their times drop they will be a strong team at the league and regional meets.”

In all, the Wildcats medaled 12 runners between the two teams, including the entire seven-member girls squad.

Along with Edwards and Johnson, sophomore Claire Brown finished fifth in the girls race in 22:45. Freshmen Maddy Rhamy (23:01) and Erin Apple (23:12) took eighth and ninth, respectively.

Sophomore Bree Gassman was 13^th in 23:34 and fellow sophomore Nova Ptacek rounded out the team in 23:55, which was good for 15^th.

On the boys side, senior Carson Houchen led the Wildcats in seventh overall in 18:47 and another senior, Cade Holtzen, was 10^th in 18:55.

Juniors Ryan Rogers finished 12^th in 19:02, while fellow juniors Caden Bradshaw (19:12) and Hayden Ross (19:13) were 14^th and 15, respectively, and also garnered medals.

Freshman Noah Cotter just missed out on a medal as he took 16^th in 19:14 and sophomore Leo Martin was 24^th in 20:18.

“Earning medals is not what we look at, but it is nice to be rewarded for a strong effort,” Reece said. “With numbers comes quality and these are the best kids in the school which makes my job easy. They work hard and are rewarded for their hard work.”

Louisburg was originally scheduled to compete in the Pittsburg Invitational on Thursday, but due to COVID-19, the Wildcats had to find a different meet. Instead, Louisburg will travel to the Perry-Lecompton Invitational on Thursday at Perry Lake. Races are set to being at 4 p.m.

The Louisburg boys and girls cross country teams both earned team titles last Thursday at the Wellsville Invitational. Members of the team are (front row, from left) Braden Branine, Caden Bradshaw, Hayden Ross, Sawyer Richardson, Carson Houchen, Cade Holtzen, Noah Cotter; (back row) Nova Ptacek, Lola Edwards, Reese Johnson, Claire Brown, Bree Gassman, Erin Apple and Maddie Rhamy.

WELLSVILLE – Less than a week after performing well on one of the toughest courses in the state, the Louisburg cross country teams continued their momentum Thursday at the Wellsville Invitational.

Both Wildcat teams brought home top honors as they both finished first in the team standings and garnered 12 individual medals. It was a memorable day all-around for the Louisburg runners.

“Any time a team is successful it is a good feeling,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “When both win the meet, and with the margin of the boys win being so small, it makes you feel great. It shows the effort that the runners are giving both individually, and as a team, to support each other’s effort.”

The Louisburg boys found themselves in a battle for the top spot with West Franklin. The Wildcats recorded 46 points and edged West Franklin by just one point without one of their top runners in the lineup.

Junior Ryan Rogers was unable to run last Thursday, but his Wildcats teammates picked up the slack as seniors Carson Houchen and Cade Holtzen earned top 10 finishes. Houchen took fifth overall in 18 minutes and 49 seconds and Holtzen was ninth in 19:08.

Junior Caden Bradshaw also earned a medal for the Wildcats as he took 13^th in 19:46. Two more runners, junior Hayden Ross (20:00) and freshman Noah Cotter (20:02), also medaled as they took 15^th and 16^th, respectively.

Sawyer Richardson came in 30^th in 21:04 and Braden Branine was 34^th in 21:39 to round out the Wildcat runners.

“Carson and Cade are great senior leaders,” Reece said. “At the meet they led by example and the others followed. With Ryan not running, we really had to step up with our 3,4 and 5 runners and they did. With every runner counting and as close as the score was, our No. 6 would have won the meet for us if it was a tie breaker.”

The Louisburg girls had a strong performance of their own as the Lady Cats recorded 25 points to win the team title over Santa Fe Trail, which had 43 points.

Freshman Lola Edwards continued her strong season as she won the individual crown going away in 21:02. Junior Reese Johnson was right behind her as she finished second overall in 21:43.

All seven Lady Cat runners came away with individual medals. Sophomore Claire Brown was third on the team in seventh overall in 23:24.

Sophomore Bree Gassman (23:51) and freshman Maddie Rhamy (23:55) took 11^th and 12^th, respectively. Another freshman, Erin Apple, was 17^th in 24:46 and sophomore Nova Ptacek took 22^nd in 25:39.

“It was nice to see them (Lola and Reese) running up front, especially with a short week after running at Wamego on the Saturday before,” Reece said. “The girls group is doing a great job of pushing each other in meets and working together in practice.”

The Wamego course featured several hills and obstacles to overcome, but the Wellsville was vastly different and took a little bit for the Wildcat runners to get used to.

“Wellsville is not a hilly course but it has a million turns on it which makes it hard to get a long stretch to get into a good rhythm,” Reece said.

Louisburg will look to continue its success this Thursday when the Wildcats compete at the Prairie View Invitational. Races are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Louisburg senior Carson Houchen leads a pack of runners Saturday during the Wamego Invitational at the Wamego Country Club. Houchen was one of five medalists for the Wildcats.

WAMEGO – For Louisburg cross country coach John Reece, the purpose of driving the 2-plus hours to compete in the Wamego Invitational is a simple one.

The course at Wamego Country Club is where the Class 4A state meet will be held at the end of October and Reece wanted to give his runners a taste of what it is like to run on one of the toughest courses in the state and what it will be like should they make it to state.

The Wamego Invitational brings in some of the top teams and runners from all over the state, and if Saturday’s results have anything to say, the Wildcats have a chance to do well in the postseason.

Freshman Lola Edwards led the way as she finished sixth overall in 21 minutes and 5 seconds and was one of five Wildcats to medal. The top 40 medalists in each race earn medals.

“Wamego always lines up the top 4A teams in the state each year,” Reece said. “This makes it the most competitive meet next to league for the regular season. Our veteran runners get a chance to run the course again and the newbies get their first taste of one of the toughest courses in the state.”

Edwards led the Lady Cats to a fifth place team finish as they recorded 129 points and were just one spot away from earning team medals – that distinction goes to the top four squads. Baldwin (29 points), Eudora (69), Buhler (80) and Tonganoxie (107) each finished in the top four.

Along with Edwards, junior Reese Johnson also ran well. Johnson, who was a state medalist as a freshman, was familiar with the course after appearing at state the last two years and took 12^th in 21:49.

“The race was run in two waves 90 seconds apart, which kind of helped us as we were in the second wave so we got to use the tail end of the first wave to motivate us to pass runners,” Reece said. “Lola and Reese competed very well. As a team we just missed being one of the top four for team medals, but this meet is more about the opportunity to run the course in preparation for a return in October.”

The Wildcat boys came away with three medals of their own. Junior Ryan Rogers led Louisburg in 32^nd with a time of 19:08. Senior Carson Houchen also left with a medal as he took 34^th in 19:19 and junior Caden Bradshaw was 36^th in 19:20.

“The boys team ran great,” Reece said. “The one aspect of their race that was impressive was that the top five runners for us were only 40 seconds apart from each other. This is a huge deal as we move forward. We can not only improve individually, but being so close together we will pull each other along and be strong as a team. Earning three medals on the boys side was outstanding. I hope to be bringing both teams to state this year.”

Senior Cade Holtzen just missed a medal as he finished 45^th in 19:38 and freshman Noah Cotter was 48^th in 19:48. Freshman Braden Branine was 63^rd in 20:38.

On the girls’ side, sophomore Claire Brown also just missed a medal as she took 42^nd in 24:14 and sophomore Bree Gassman was 47^th in 24:28. Freshman Erin Apple was 50^th in 24:41, sophomore Nova Ptacek was 53^rd in 25:37 and senior Kennady Wilkerson was 60^th in 26:58.

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

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week two of the fall sports season, sponsored by Louisburg Family Dental.

LOLA EDWARDS, FRESHMAN, CROSS COUNTRY

In her first major varsity race, Louisburg freshman Lola Edwards put together an impressive showing against some of the top runners in Class 4A. Edwards medaled sixth at the Wamego Invitational last Saturday with a time of 21 minutes and 5 seconds. She finished in the top 10 in the 66-runner field and the Lady Cats finished fifth in the team standings.

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.

Louisburg freshman Lola Edwards leads a pack of runners during the Wildcats’ season opener Sept. 3 at Lewis-Young Park.

It wasn’t the way its season was supposed to start, but the Louisburg cross country team made the best of a bad situation.

The Wildcats, who were originally scheduled to compete in Garnett for their season opener, had to find a different meet due to COVID-19 restrictions. It didn’t take them long to figures something out as they were able to host a quadrangular with three other Frontier League schools on Sept. 3 at Lewis-Young Park.

Louisburg was able to put together a successful performance in its first meet of the season as the Wildcats had several top 10 finishes on both teams as they squared off against quality competition in Baldwin, Spring Hill and Ottawa.

The Wildcats had the most success on the boys’ side as they came away with three in the top 10.

Junior Ryan Rogers had a strong opening meet as he finished fourth overall in 19 minutes and 40 seconds and junior teammate Caden Bradshaw was sixth in 19:59. Senior Cade Holtzen took eighth in 20:12.

Freshman Noah Cotter finished just outside the top 10 as he took 13^th in 21:03, while junior Hayden Ross and sophomore Braden Branine were 15^th and 16^th, respectively. Sophomore Leo Martin was 18^th in 21:55.

Trent Allen (21^st), Griffin Drew (22:19), Sawyer Richardson (25^th), Landan Henry (28^th), Max LaJoy (30^th), Carson Houchen (38^th), Drake Baus (46^th) and Kemper Johnson (47^th) also competed for Louisburg.

Spring Hill’s Tommy O’Leary won the boys race in 18:34 and Baldwin’s Caleb Carr was second in 18:40.

For the Louisburg girls, the Lady Cats had a pair of top 10 finishes, led by junior Reese Johnson, who placed eighth. Freshman Lola Edwards was right behind her in ninth in her first varsity race.

Sophomore Claire Brown finished 15^th, while Nova Ptacek (22^nd), Bree Gassman (23^rd), Kennady Wilkerson (24^th), Erin Apple (25^th) and Maddie Rhamy (26^th) all finished in the upper-half of the race.

Alexis French (29^th), Maddy O’Keefe (39^th), Andrea Gaza (40^th), Ruth Minster (42^nd) and Elizabeth George also competed for Louisburg.

Baldwin’s Riley Smith won the race and finished two seconds ahead of Spring Hill’s Vienna Lahner.

The Wildcats are back in action Saturday when they travel to the Wamego Invitational. The first race is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Wamego Country Club.

The Louisburg boys cross country team returns five varsity runners from a year ago and are led by seniors Cade Holtzen (pictured, front) and Carson Houchen.

It was another historic season for the Louisburg cross country team a year ago.

For the third consecutive year, the Louisburg girls qualified for state as team, and one of those runners – Trinity Moore – had the school’s best finish as she took third at the Class 4A meet and broke her school record in the process.

Fast forward to the present day and the Wildcats will have a little different look to it. Gone is Moore, who is now a member of the Pittsburg State cross country team, but much of the team still remains.

They may be some of the same names, but they are a year older, a lot faster and there are some new faces mixed in.

Still, the goal remains the same for the Wildcats – to find themselves at the final meet of the year in Wamego for the Class 4A state competition.

“Our end of season goal is a state bid by both teams and it is the same for this year,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “We will run and have fun and enjoy our time together because we know it can be taken away at the drop of a hat.”

The threat of COVID-19 has every team in the state knowing full well that they can’t take anything for granted and the Wildcat runners plan to compete with that mentality.

Louisburg will bring of a lot of experience on both the boys and girls side.

Five runners off the girls state team return to try and make it a fourth consecutive trip to state and are led by returning state medalist, Reese Johnson. Senior Kennady Wilkerson, junior Ruth Minster and sophomores Bree Gassman and Claire Brown could also play big roles on varsity this season.

Sophomore Nova Ptacek, who was an alternate on the team last season, will look to add the depth, as will freshman Lola Edwards as she works her way into the top seven runners.

Other freshmen such as Erin Apple, Madison Rhamy and Madison O’Keefe could all see varsity time as the season goes along.

“The girls team will be solid this year,” Reece said. “We return lots of experience and have added some quality freshman to the team. State last year was not what a few of the runners wanted and they are working hard to go back and improve.

“Lola, Erin, Maddie and Maddy, our freshman girls, will add a lot of depth to the team and they could even be varsity runners sooner than later. Lola will be one of our top girls from the start and we will bring her along slowly as she learns to race the 5K.”

On the boys side, the Wildcats return much of their starting lineup from a season ago and they are led by a pair of seniors in Cade Holtzen and Carson Houchen, who will be in their fourth year with the program.

Juniors Ryan Rogers, Sawyer Richardson and Caden Bradshaw all steadily improved last season and will look to do the same thing this year as they welcome some new faces to the group.

“Like the girls, we bring back lots of experience in the boys team,” Reece said. “Carson and Cade are our seniors and they are stepping up to lead the others. We will be rolling through races together and going for it at the end of the season.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has already put its fingerprints on the Wildcats’ season as Louisburg was not able to compete in Garnett in its opener this week due to numbers restrictions.

Instead, Louisburg was able to put together a quad competition for Thursday on its home course at Lewis-Young Park. Races are set to begin at 4 p.m.