Louisburg Sports Zone will be running senior spotlights everyday (Monday-Friday) through April and May in an effort to honor seniors who had their spring seasons taken away due to the spread of COVID-19.

Since last June, Louisburg senior Drake Varns had been waiting for one more shot at playing with his team at the highest level.

Varns and the Wildcat golf team qualified for the Class 4A state tournament a year ago and were the first Louisburg squad since 1977 to go to state as a team. With a majority of the Wildcats back from last season, expectations were high all-around.

“There were no possibly about it, we were most definitely going back to state,” Varns said.

Varns ended the 2019 campaign on an exciting note as he took 10^th at the regional tournament and earned a medal. He went on to finish 34^th at the state tournament and it was a memorable time for him and the rest of his team.

It was a different state tournament than in year’s past as the team made the drive to compete at state in Winfield, but torrential rains forced it to be postponed for a week and it was eventually moved to Dodge City.

“Going to state was a great time,” Varns said. “The characters we had on the golf team, plus the coaches, really made the drives and stay a fun and exciting time.”

“Playing last year at state was definitely a blast, especially with the extension. It just allowed us more time together as a team. After state, we all knew we were gonna be back with everyone we had returning.”

Unfortunately, that would not be the case.

The spread of COVID-19 canceled, not only school, but the spring sports season as well and left seniors across the state in shock as their final seasons of competition was taken from them.

“I really do not care about the graduation, the prom or anything like that, but, when golf was canceled I was devastated,” Varns said. “I just wanted to play with the boys one last time.”

Expectations were high for the Wildcats this season as they returned five of the six members from last year’s state team and had eight seniors in all. To prepare for one last campaign, many of the seniors got together for practice rounds in the fall and spring.

It was not just about qualifying for state again, but they had high expectations for themselves. Varns, along with teammate Calvin Dillon, are both playing golf in college next season and the Wildcats wanted to make sure they were ready for one final run at it.

“When you have two college athletes on one team and one who has been playing since they were 5-years-old (Dillon), you know you’re going to be good,” Varns said. “But, the supporting roles were the true stars of the show always coming in when most needed. We have a bond that most teams do not have and teams like this don’t lose – that’s just a fact.”

Golf has been a big part of Varns’ high school career, but it hasn’t always been that way. In fact, it wasn’t until high school when he actually got into the spot.

“I started truly golfing my freshman year,” Varns said. “I got into it by getting cut from the baseball team. From then on, I just fell in love with golf.”

Other than golf, Louisburg Sports Zone also had a chance to catch up with Drake on how he has been coping with an early end to his senior year and some of his other interests. Here are his responses from the rest of our Q&A.

LSZ: What have you been missing the most during this time away from everyone?

DV: I’ve been missing, well, everyone. I’m a pretty big people person so this time away from my friends has really taken its toll.

LSZ: What is your most memorable moment as an athlete or in school and why?

DV: My most memorable moment has been either state golf, of course, or the feeling of making that 41 yard field goal during football. That was great. Really it was just the feeling of accomplishment of both.

LSZ: What is your favorite activity/hobby outside of sports and why?

DV: My favorite activity outside of golf is – golf. Just kidding, it would probably be fishing or hunting. I love the peacefulness, I guess.

LSZ: What accomplishments that don’t involve athletics are you most proud of and why?

DV: My most proud accomplishment is owning a 1981 El Camino.

LSZ: What are your plans for after graduation?

DV: I plan to attend St. Mary’s of the Woods (Indiana) to study Natural Sciences and play golf.

LSZ: What do you think would be something that a lot of people don’t know about you?

DV: A lot of people don’t know I’m a tank on the saxophone.

Drake’s Favorites

Pro athlete: Tiger Woods

Pro team: Kansas City Chiefs

College team: Mizzou

Movie: Happy Gilmore

TV Show: Criminal Minds

Song: Just the Two of Us – Grover Washington

Band/Musician: Billy Joel

Pregame meal/snack: Enchiladas

Class/subject: Science

Teacher and why: Big Bear (Barry O’Brien) – I’ve never had him as a teacher, but he’s my dawg

Louisburg softball, along with the rest of the Wildcat spring sports teams, saw their season come to a close with the spread of COVID-19.

It has been almost a week since Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly closed all schools for the rest of the 2019-20 school year due to the spread of COVID-19.

When most students hear school has
been closed, especially in the winter, cheers erupt. In this case, however, the
tone was much more somber – especially among the senior class.

Proms were canceled. Any plans
they had for a graduation ceremony were put on hold, and for more than 30
seniors, their last opportunity at playing a sport at Louisburg High School was
taken away.

In fact, close to 200 students
were planning on participating in an activity in the spring, but with no
school, the Kansas State High School Activities Association followed suit and
canceled the spring season the day after Gov. Kelly’s declaration.

Students, parents and coaches alike have had to come to grips that a season they had been looking forward to all year, was never going to happen. Tears flowed, walls were punched in frustration and some were left speechless.

There would be no game days, no Senior Nights and no postseason runs. Athletes had to figure out how to cope with this fact – and in many cases – are still trying to do so.

GIRLS SOCCER

Mackenzie Scholtz didn’t spend as much of her Spring Break relaxing with family and friends as she wanted.

Instead,
she found herself focused on social media, constantly checking updates on what
was going to happen with the rest of her senior year. She was scared that her
final soccer season was going to be taken away from her.

Turns
out, those fears became a reality.

“When
I read it for the first time, I just couldn’t believe it,” Scholtz said. “I
immediately broke down in tears. I think I cried for about four hours non-stop
just thinking that I would never get to step on that field with my best friends
ever again. I had such high hopes for this season too and had been so excited
all year.”

Before
this all came about, none of the 12 Louisburg seniors had any idea they had
already played their last match as a Wildcat.

The
senior class of Scholtz, Avery O’Meara, Erin Lemke, Lily McDaniel, Ashley
Moore, Trinity Moore, Skylar Bowman, Haley Cain, Hannah Straub, Olivia Chase,
Andie Masten and Morgan Messer provided Wildcat coach Kyle Conley with a lot of
good memories, which left the news even harder to stomach.

Louisburg
was looking for its fourth consecutive state final four appearance after
earning second place finishes the last two seasons.

“The decision absolutely broke my heart,”
Conley said. “I couldn’t in a million years fathom something like this could
happen. I honestly felt the cancellation was harsh this early, but would have
rather like to have seen a postponement and then reevaluate at a later date.
This group of 12 seniors was going to be very special. If they would have
returned to the state final four this season, they would have been one of only
two 4A-1A teams to do this improbable feat. This group was 44-18-1 in their
three years. I would be willing to bet this is the most successful program over
those three years in regards to win percentage. Obviously, winning state
championships would trump that, but we were extremely successful.”

The one thing that has helped players get
past this disappointment is that there are so many seniors to lean on and they
have done a lot of that this past week.

“The amount of support from this team has
helped me so much,” Scholtz said. “As soon as we found out that we would no
longer play, all of us seniors were sending nothing but love to one another as
well as to the whole team. Individually, there were many messages sent showing
how much we love each other and that this would get better. Coach Conley and
the younger girls also shared a lot of great messages as well. Hearing positive
words is really helping me get through this whole thing.”

Many of the 12 seniors and their parents were a part of the group that helped raise money to start the Louisburg program nearly five years ago. They had always dreamed of winning a state title, but the wondering what could have happened is the worst part for a lot of them.

“This group had three goals: they wanted
to win a league title, to win a regional championship and finally win a state
championship,” Conley said. “This would have been our program’s fifth year
and everything was built for this season. I believed in this group and I felt
we were going to compete for that league title and we were going to go back to
the state final four. We wanted three banners: league title, regional championship,
and a state championship. It’s so sad that we will never get the opportunity to
show the state what this team is capable of accomplishing.”

BASEBALL

Kade Larson was all set to begin
his first season as the head baseball coach at Louisburg High School.

Larson, who was hired late last
spring, was looking forward to leading his alma mater and had high expectations
for a group that was young, but returned experience from the year before.

Then came the news from KSHSAA to cancel spring activities, which left Larson, and the rest of the Wildcat program, speechless – including seniors Madden Rutherford, Andrew Krause and Kaden Oehlert.

“To say I am disappointed is an
understatement,” Larson said. “I was very excited for this upcoming year. Being
my first year as head coach I was more than ready to get the season
underway and see what kind of team we had. I thought we could do some great
things this year with the group that we were working with. For the short time
we were able to practice, they had a great chemistry and worked super hard.

“I feel terrible for all the players having
to lose a season like this, especially the seniors. Madden Rutherford and Andrew
Krause were showing great leadership skills and I hate that they had their
final season taken away. They are unprecedented times that I never thought
would happen.”

Rutherford, who is a two-time All-Frontier
League player himself, was ready to make one final run with the Wildcats. Even
though he has signed to play baseball for Washington University in St. Louis,
he regrets not being able to have one final run in high school.

“Personally
I was just ready to just play ball again,” Rutherford said. “My football season
ended with an injury, and two surgeries later I was just starting to get back
into the swing of things. I was excited for the baseball team this season; we
had a different looking coaching staff and a different mentality which was
evident at practice. I’ll always be left wondering what could have happened.”

As
difficult as it was for the seniors, the junior class will also have some
obstacles to overcome – especially for those who are wanting to play at the college
level.

“To go with the seniors, this is also
horrible for the juniors,” Larson said. “Junior year is a big
recruiting time and a lot of these guys are missing that. So all around
this just is a bad time for an athlete, but I know they will work through it
and come back next year ready to go.”

Even
with all the hardships athletes are facing, including the loss of a season,
several are trying to find the silver lining in it all.

“The
whole COVID-19 situation has made me appreciate what I have,” Rutherford said. “It’s
hard to truly recognize how nice you have things until they’re taken away. I
just hope and pray that things don’t escalate further.”

TRACK AND FIELD

Carlee
Gassman and Sydni Keagle were ready for the seasons of their lives on the track
this season.

Gassman,
who is a returning a state medalist in the hurdles, was considered one of the
best returning 300-meter hurdlers in Class 4A. As for Keagle, she finished one
spot away from a state medal last year in the 100 hurdles.

Both
Louisburg seniors had high hopes, as did the rest of the Lady Cat track team
that was ranked high in Class 4A in the preseason. That made the news of
canceling spring sports all the more crushing.

“I honestly couldn’t believe it,” Keagle said. “At first I
was in shock and then I was just incredibly sad at this loss of opportunity and
it’s taken a while to come to terms with the fact that I won’t be able to
compete in my favorite sport one last time.”

Gassman felt much the same way as she earned three state
medals as season ago. Along with sophomore Delaney Wright, who garnered four
state medals, the two athletes figured to score a lot of points for the Lady
Cats this season.

“When I heard the last quarter of my senior year was cancelled and knowing track would be over as well, I found myself crying about not having school,” Gassman said. “I never thought I’d find myself crying over school. I am just trying to keep my head high – there are better things to come.”

Girls coach John Reece said there were 34 out for track
before the team departed for Spring Break, which was one of the bigger groups
the Lady Cats have had in several years.

“It is a huge bummer
that everything got nixed,” Reece said. “We had a chance to do some great
things this track season on the girls side. We could have been a top three team
at state with a handful of very talented girls. My heart goes out to
the girls and the missed opportunity for them.”

The
same could be said for the boys as the Wildcats featured a big roster of 74
athletes and Louisburg would have been competitive in most events throughout
the season.

“I
am just extremely disappointed,” boys coach Andy Wright said. “We had 74 boys
out, which is the biggest number we have had in several years. We had multiple
state qualifiers returning as well as some newcomers that could have helped
contribute to a successful year.”

One
of those qualifiers was javelin thrower Michael Waldron. The Louisburg senior
finished just a few feet away from earning a state medal a season ago, and now
his attempt at getting there has been dashed.

“It’s really hard to describe the disappointment I had when I
heard that I wouldn’t be able to throw javelin this year,” Waldron said. “It
was tough and very hard to wrap my mind around, it’s tough knowing that I had
about a week of practice under my belt and a lot of preparation for the first
meet of the year. Just finding out I wouldn’t be competing at all was crushing.”

The season was an important one, not only to Waldron, but to
the rest of the track seniors as well. Anthony Davis (distance), Trent Martin
(pole vault), Charlie Koontz (sprints, relays), Carter Anglin (discus), Garrett
Harding (shot put) and Indy Strumillo (jumps) were all in their final year and
were excited with what lied ahead. A few of them had already made plans to work
out together over Spring Break to get some extra work in.

“I texted Carter Anglin and Garrett Harding about the fact
that our season was over, since we all threw together,” Waldron said. “It was
tough for Carter because I knew he was thinking about a possible state
appearance this year. For Garrett, it was his first year but he had some good
success in the first few weeks with throwing shot put, so I know he was
excited. It’s just a bummer and we have texted each other, and comforted one
another. We are just still in shock –  it
was like a slap in the face.”

GOLF

Calvin Dillon has already had the best career in Louisburg High School golf history, and he accomplished that after his junior season.

Still, he wanted a lot more.

Dillon, who is a three-time state medalist, was looking for
that elusive state championship this year and was considered one of the
favorites going into the season. With the cancellation of spring sports it left
Dillon, like many others, wondering ‘What if?’

“It was definitely hard to hear that the regular season, as
well as postseason were canceled,” Dillon said. “It seemed like it happened all
of a sudden. When you hear of professional and collegiate seasons being
cancelled, you feel some remorse and disappointment for them, but when your own
season gets cancelled, it becomes real.”

The remorse for his own season wasn’t what Dillon was feeling. It was the fact that he had hoped to lead a team – full of seniors – to its second consecutive state tournament appearance.

Seniors Drake Varns, Garrett Rolofson, Ryan Haight and Colin
Cook all returned from that team, while other seniors like David Perentis,
Deven Wieland and Luke Wickersham were also trying to vie for the final spots.

“We definitely had high expectations for this season,” Dillon
said. “With the heavy amount of seniors on the team, as well as our regional
and state experience last year, we were really excited. I think the most
disappointing thing for all of us is going to be the lack of closure. We were
all looking forward to one last go-around, and to have our season disappear in
a matter of days is devastating.”

Like with every other conflict in life, the Wildcats are
trying to make sense of it all and find a positive side to what has been a
forgetful week.

“One
positive that comes from this situation is the gratitude we will now have for
our everyday lives,” Dillon said. “You never know when something catastrophic
like this can happen, and we need to be thankful for the life we do have.
Although this situation is disappointing for us, it was ultimately God’s plan.
He is the one that is in control, and if we seek him in this time of
discomfort, we will find the closure and satisfaction that we lost along with
our senior season.”

GIRLS SWIMMING

It was
an historic season before it even started as Louisburg would join the
Osawatomie-Paola girls swim team for the first time this year.

Unfortunately,
thanks to the pandemic spreading across the country, history will have to take
a back seat for another year.

Head
coach Maddie Carrigan was in her first year with the program after assisting
with the boys team last winter, so finding out the news with everyone else was
a little tough to take.

“It
was really upset when I heard the news,” Carrigan said. “Obviously, I
understand the reason for the cancellation of school and sports season, so I
completely back the decision. It was still a huge bummer for me because this
was my first time having a high school head coaching role. It was a pretty big
honor since I’m only 23 and I was super excited to try some fun new things I
came up with for the girls. The first two weeks were already so much fun and
the girls improved so much, so I can’t imagine how great the whole season would
have been.”

Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg
had three seniors swimmers this season, including Shayla Aye from Louisburg and
Brayden Hanf and Grace Shore from Paola.

In
all, Louisburg had eight swimmers on the team including Aye, Claire Brown,
Bailey Hallas, Sydney Keaton, Dana Mattison, Anna Morrison, Dagen Page and
Reese Reitz.

“Everyone
is really bummed, especially the seniors,” Carrigan said. “We had a lot of
first time swimmers, as well, so I hope this doesn’t deter them from joining
the team again next year.”

SOFTBALL

Last year was a special season for the Louisburg softball
team as the Lady Cats made a run to a regional championship and a state
tournament appearance.

It was a great last part of the season for several of the
Lady Cats.

Unfortunately, with the news of COVID-19, this year’s version
of Louisburg softball team will never get another chance at a magical season.

“When
I found out my season was canceled, I was devastated,” senior Reilly
Ratliff-Becher said. “It would be the last time I ever played softball and it’s
just taken away from me.”

The
seven Lady Cat seniors were excited to begin this season, as was their coach,
Nick Chapman. Chapman was in his first year as head coach with the program
after spending last season at the junior varsity level.

After a couple weeks of practices, Chapman had barely gotten a chance to get to know his new team. Then he had to deliver the news that no one wanted to hear.

“This was not easy news to get,” Chapman
said. “It was even harder to have to tell the girls and even worse that I had
to do it over the phone. It’s still not real. Next week, we were going to get
back to work and prepare for a special season. The girls had bought into what
we were trying to accomplish. Just in two weeks, the culture was changing and
girls were understanding what it meant to play team softball and do what is
best for the team. The end of last week we had our first team bonding night.
The seniors set their team expectations and goals for the year. I listened to
each of them say how excited they were for this specific year and to make one
last run at it. 

“I was crushed to have to tell them they
weren’t going to get that chance. All seven of them helped mold this team into
something special and set the tone for what Louisburg softball should be. I was
excited for the product we were going to put on the field game one. I thought
this year was going to be a season full of success.”

The seven seniors consisted of
Ratliff-Becher, Allie Boles, Lauren Cutshaw, Kayla Willey, Kat Coolidge, Gabby
Duggar and August Daniels. Some of those seniors were a big part of the Lady
Cats’ state run a year ago, while others were looking to make an impact on the
varsity level this year.

“I had
very good expectations for this year,” Ratliff-Becher said. “As much as I feel
bad for myself, teammates and my fellow seniors, I feel especially bad for
Chapman. He worked so hard once he found out he got this job. I was so ready to
learn and make him proud this season.

“I
tell myself is that I have to think of other people in this situation. This
could all be much worse. We are just containing this virus and protecting the
ones at the most risk, although it’s going to be hard on everyone for a while.”

It was a successful, and eventful, 2019 for Louisburg High School athletics and for those who are connected to the Wildcat program. This past year created a lot of school history for LHS and several programs brought back state hardware.

Below are the Top 10 stories from 2019, along with a brief explanation of each. Included in the explanation is the link to the actual story from the event.

When putting the list together, I took a lot of things into account – whether it was team vs. individual, popularity of the sport, historical achievements and the interest it drew on the web site. There were stories that I had to leave off that normally would easily make it. 2019 was that successful of a year for Wildcat athletics.

This year was a blast to cover and I was blessed to have the opportunity to go along for the ride with many of these. As much fun as it was, I can’t wait for 2020 to begin. Looking forward to it!

10. Tucker, Ratliff-Becher win powerlifting titles, Tucker breaks state record.

Two Louisburg High
School weightlifters made their way to the top of the podium in March during
the Class 4A State Powerlifting Meet at Basehor-Linwood High School.

Louisburg senior Kiefer Tucker and junior Reilly Ratliff-Becher both earned state championships in their respective weight class. Senior Jonathan DePriest finished third overall and several other Wildcats also earned individual medals.

Not only did Tucker
win a state title in the 220-pound division, he also broke a 24-year state bench
press record as he recorded a bench of 375 pounds to surpass the old mark of
365. He also won the squat competition at 505 pounds and had a total of 1,165
pounds to run away with the crown.

Tucker’s total was the
highest three-lift mark at the entire state meet in all weight classes.

“I had messed around with 375
and 385 before on bench, so I was confident that I could lift it if I had the
chance,” Tucker said. “I was more worried about my first lifts on bench at 345
and 365 because if I messed up on those attempts then I would not have had the
change to even attempt 375. It was definitely a sigh of relief when I finally
locked it out.

“It was a great feeling to beat the state
record. To put Louisburg up on the record chart definitely brought a smile to
my face.”

Ratliff-Becher had a big day
in the women’s division as she won a state crown in the 180-pound weight class.
She finished with a three-lift total of 575 pounds.

The Louisburg junior took first in bench press with 155 pounds,
first in clean at 150 pounds and second in squat with a 270-pound lift.

“Winning the state title
meant a lot to me,” Ratliff-Becher said. “I have put in a lot of time and
effort in weights class, so it’s nice to see it has paid off. But, also because
I feel as if I put out a message to girls that it’s cool to be strong
physically. I know that being sometimes the only girls in a class with a lot of
strong guys is intimidating. Weightlifting is all about your own personal
growth and seeing how far you can push yourself.

“I was honestly surprised I won because there are lots of very
strong girls there and it’s good competition. It’s also fun to meet new people
that have the same interests and motivation as you.”

9. Golf qualifies for state, Dillon medals for third straight season

As the scores trickled
in to the clubhouse at Paola Country Club, the Louisburg golf team could hardly
stand it.

The Wildcats were
nervously waiting to hear if they had qualified for state, but they knew it was
going to be close. Louisburg had to be in the top three of the team standings
to earn a spot and the Wildcats had some tough competition amongst them.

As it turned out, the
Wildcats had nothing to worry about.

Louisburg recorded a team score of 352 during the Class 4A regional tournament in May and finished third overall by nine strokes over fourth-place Ottawa. The Wildcat team of Calvin Dillon, Drake Varns, Garrett Rolofson, Ryan Haight, Noah Hill and Colin Cook all competed in the state tournament

Topeka-Hayden won the
regional title going away with a 332 and Louisburg was just three strokes
behind runner-up Tonganoxie, which had a 349.

“It feels great,
especially with all the hard work we have put in the offseason and last few
months,” Dillon said. “It was our goal coming in and we did it. I felt like we
had a good chance. It was borderline with those four teams being as close as we
are. I knew we had a chance, but it was nice to actually qualify. It was
definitely a little nerve-racking waiting for the scores to come in.”

As impressive as that
feat was for the Wildcats, Dillon’s performance blew away the rest of the
competition.

The Louisburg junior
won his first individual regional title as he carded a 1-over 73 to win the
tournament by six strokes. Dillon’s 73 was his best score on the season and he
has now won all but one tournament on the year.

Dillon went on to record his third consecutive state medal and finished 11^th overall in Dodge City after the tournament was postponed several times, and eventually moved due to weather.

8. Wildcat wrestling sends six to state, Moore earns first state medal

Back in early November
of 2018, Austin Moore was in a sling with a broken collarbone and he wondered
why all this was happening.

Moore suffered the
injury during the regional football playoffs and he didn’t get to finish his
final high school season. Not only that, his hopes of getting his first state
wrestling medal was in serious jeopardy.

A little more than
four months later, Moore was on the medal stand with some of the state’s best
wrestlers in his weight class.

The Louisburg senior earned a fourth-place medal at 220 pounds during the Class 4A Kansas State Wrestling Championships in February at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina. It was his first high school state medal and it marked the end of a long journey for Moore.

“It was pretty special
for me to get a state medal, especially because it has been a goal of mine ever
since I started wrestling,” Moore said. “Overall, I felt like I wrestled pretty
well, but I just wish I could’ve ended it on a win.”

The Wildcats qualified six wrestlers for state, had three regional champions and took third place in the team standings during the regional tournament in Paola – all while not being able to field a full team.

Louisburg’s talent was
certainly on full display during the two-day tournament. Brandon Doles, Blue
Caplinger and Austin Moore won regional crowns, Cade Holtzen was a regional
runner-up, while Gabe Bonham and Ryan Owens also qualified for state by placing
third and fourth, respectively.

As a team, the
Wildcats ended up with 138.5 points and was just 2.5 points out of second
place. Ottawa won the regional with 149.5 points and Eudora was second at 141.
It was the highest regional team finish for Louisburg since 1998.

“The way these guys
wrestled this weekend shows that the program has been doing so many things
right this season,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “We’ve had the obstacle
of low numbers, which hurt us in our duals, but when it comes to tournament
time, we have a bunch of guys who are placing high and that gives us a lot of
team points. Taking six to state feels pretty encouraging, and finishing third
at regionals is an awesome statement for this team.

“If a few things had
gone the other way, we would have been in second as a team. On paper, we
weren’t supposed to be in the race for a regional plaque. Almost all of our
guys stepped up and scored huge team points for us.”

7. Louisburg softball captures regional title

OTTAWA – Madison
Svoboda could feel her heart starting to come out of her chest.

Karson Griggs was a
feeling a little nauseous.

Those are some of the
same feelings that were flooding the Louisburg softball’s team dugout during the
final inning of the Class 4A regional championship game against Chanute on
Tuesday in Ottawa.

Louisburg held a one
run lead, but Chanute had the tying run on third, two outs, and a trip to the
state tournament was on the line. On the mound was sophomore Brooklyn
Diederich, and with two strikes, the Chanute batter fouled five straight
pitches.

The tension was
mounting.

Finally, on the 10^th pitch
of the at-bat, Diederich got what she was looking for – a swing and miss.

The strikeout sealed the Lady Cats’ trip to state with a 6-5 victory over No. 7 seed Chanute and sent shockwaves throughout Class 4A softball.

“I want to cry, but at
the same time I am just really happy,” Griggs said. “It is exciting because I
never thought something like this could happen, especially this year. It feels
really nice and now maybe people will actually start taking us seriously.”

Not many gave people
gave the Lady Cats a chance as they entered the Class 4A regional tournament
with just five wins and were forced to begin tournament action in the play-in
game.

After a 17-2 win over
Parsons last Monday in the play-in game, No. 15 Louisburg advanced to the
regional semifinals and upset No. 2 seed Ottawa, 9-7, which helped set up the
Lady Cats’ first state tournament appearance since 2014.

“I think a lot of
other teams underestimated us,” Diederich said. “The fact that we came out and
played our hardest ball showed what type of team we actually are. It is just
crazy.”

At the state tournament in Salina a week later, the Lady Cats faced off against Andale and lost to the eventual state champion in the first round, 10-0.

6. Cross Country qualifies for state, Moore breaks school record and takes third at state

BALDWIN CITY – One by one,
members of the Louisburg girls cross country team crossed the finish line and
coach John Reece was unsure whether or not his team did enough to qualify for
state.

The Lady Cats had made
school history by qualifying the last two seasons, but the third time was a
little bit in jeopardy – that was until the results were released.

As it turned out,
Reece didn’t need to be so worried.

Louisburg finished third overall with 96 points in October at the Class 4A regional meet at the Baldwin Golf Course, and beat out Bishop Miege by six points to earn a spot at the state meet this weekend in Wamego.

The team of Trinity
Moore, Carlee Gassman, Reese Johnson, Claire Brown, Ruth Minster, Kennady
Wilkerson and Bree Gassman competed for the Lady Cats at state.

“This group of girls runs
well, they race well and they train well together,” coach Reece said. “They are
a good group and this is just as exciting as the other two times. The
competition was a lot tougher than the previous two times. We had to run our
races and we did. From our third to fifth runners was about an eight point
spread.”

Trinity Moore has left a
lasting impression on the Louisburg cross country program over the last four
years, but she saved the best moment for her final act.

Moore broke her own school record with a time of 19 minutes and 39 seconds to finish third overall at the Kansas Class 4A State Cross Country Championships at the Wamego Country Club a week later.

The Louisburg senior
recorded the program’s best ever state finish as she eclipsed her fourth-place state
medal from a season ago.

“It meant so much to
me to finish with such a great race for my high school career,” Moore said.
“Going into the race, I didn’t know how well I would finish. This race had the
best competition that I have ran against all year and I think that is what
really pushed me.

“When I saw my time
crossing the finish line, I was ecstatic. I felt great the entire race and was
able to control everything I did. Finishing third was icing on the cake. I was
surprised but so incredibly happy to be able to place in such a great spot, but
I also knew that this what I had worked for all year.”

This made the fourth
state medal for Moore in her high school career and she improved on her state
finish every year. Last season, she took fourth overall and bested her state
time from a year ago by more than 30 seconds.

5. Boys Soccer wins league, regional titles to earn No. 1 seed in playoffs.

For more than 70
minutes, the goals for Louisburg were hard to come by and it started to leave
an eerie feeling on Halloween night.

However, the Wildcats
got their treat when it was all over.

Louisburg scored two goals in the final seven minutes of the match to earn a 2-0 victory over Kansas City Christian in the Class 4-1A regional championship game Thursday. The Wildcats (16-2-1) earned their third regional title in the last four years and advanced to the state quarterfinals.

“This group is
special,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “It is going to be tough when it is
all over. This group has changed our culture. They came back to what this
program believes and they have bought in to what we are teaching them. They
have worked so hard since June. For these seniors, this is their third title in
four years and I think it is a lot of fun for them.

A school record 16
wins, a Frontier League championship and a regional title are all something
worth celebrating, but following the state quarterfinal match with Bishop
Miege, all Louisburg could think about was the finality of it all.

Despite all those
accomplishments, the Wildcats fell one win short of their main goal – a spot in
the state final four.

Louisburg saw its season come to a close with a 3-0 loss to Bishop Miege at the Wildcat Sports Complex. The Wildcats lost to the eventual state champion, as Miege went on to defeat Wichita-Trinity on Saturday, 3-1, for the Class 4-1A state championship – the Stags’ fourth in a row.

As difficult as the
loss was for Louisburg, there was no forgetting how big of a jump the Wildcats
made from the season before as they went from a 6-win team to one that earned
the East’s No. 1 seed in the state playoffs.

“Going 6-11 last year
and seeing this Miege team almost mercy-ruling us in the regional championship
last year in the rain, was a program changer,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley
said. “After that was over, we talked about how things needed to change and it
starts now. For our first practice in June, I told them that they are the ones
that has to change them. Since day one, they have played for each other, played
hard in practice and it was a total mindset change. When someone got hurt, it
was the next guy up. We missed two starters for half of the year and it was
always the next guy up taking advantage of his opportunity to fill in. The
freshmen stepped up huge for us.

“This team is special.
16 wins is a school record and only two losses is probably a school record.
This team is incredible, played so hard and did everything I asked them to do.
They were always there to pick each other up and that is what this soccer
family is all about. It will be tough to say goodbye to these kids.”

4. Volleyball knocks off Miege to win regional title, takes fourth at state

ATCHISON – The
sub-state semifinal game between Louisburg and Bishop Miege had all the feels
of a state tournament match.

Partially because a
year ago, it was.

Louisburg met Miege in
the state championship match only to see the Stags send the Lady Cats to a
runner-up finish in two sets. Then three weeks ago the two teams met again, and
like before, Miege dispatched of Louisburg in two sets.

However, Bishop Miege
saw a different Louisburg team during the sub-state tournament at Atchison High
School – one they didn’t expect.

The Lady Cats came out on fire and never let up in a 25-18 and 25-22 win over Miege to end the Stags’ season. It marks the first time in at least 12 years, if not longer, that Miege will not be at the state tournament.

Since the state
tournament began in 1971, Bishop Miege has made 39 state appearances during
that time in either Class 5A or 4A and is the most in Kansas history.

“Our energy was going
to be the difference in that match, so we knew we had to bring it,” Louisburg
senior Erin Lemke said. “We knew we had the same skill set as Miege, but our
energy was what was going to pull us through there in the end. To get there, we
just had to believe in ourselves and work hard this past week to give us the
confidence that we needed.”

However, even after
pulling off a big revenge win that expended a lot of energy, the Lady Cats
still had a sub-state championship match to play against No. 2 seed Atchison.
The No. 7 seed Lady Cats took care of business as they won in straight sets,
25-12 and 25-15, at Atchison High School.

Louisburg lost its final two matches of the season, but those setbacks didn’t take away from what the Lady Cats accomplished during the Kansas Class 4A State Championships.

For the third straight
season, the Lady Cats were among the last four teams playing and brought home a
little hardware for their efforts. Louisburg took fourth overall after losing
its third place match to Towanda-Circle, 2-1, in October at Hutchinson Sports
Arena.

“Every season our goal
is to put ourselves in the best position to qualify for state and then to
hopefully advance to bracket play on Saturday,” Louisburg coach Jessica
Compliment said. “Leading up to state, we talked about how nothing is
guaranteed and in order to make it to bracket play, we have to show up and play
our best from the first whistle to the last whistle. If we play our game, then
hopefully the winning will take care of itself and we’d advance.

“The eight teams at
state this year were all very talented. I was happy that we qualified for the
semifinals because that put us one step closer to the championship. Even though
we didn’t reach the championship match and finished fourth, I was still very
proud of how the team played throughout the tournament.”

3. Louisburg cheer wins first state championship

The Wildcat
cheerleaders competed at the Class 4A KSHSAA Game Day Spirit Showcase
Competition on Nov. 23 at the Stormont Vail Events Center in Topeka and came
back home with a big trophy in tow.

Louisburg edged out runner-up Augusta with a point total of 82.25 to 81 in the finals to secure what is just the third athletic team state title in school history.

“I was so nervous at
the awards,” Louisburg senior Lauren Vincent said. “We were all holding hands
and had our heads down. We thought that we would get second place at best, most
likely third. We were content because we put everything out on the mat and did
the best we could. But when they called out second place and it was Augusta, we
screamed, cried, and hugged each other because we knew that we had just won.

“When our name was
called for first, we jumped up and hugged each other. Then I ran out onto the
mat and grabbed the trophy and we held it up and jumped around victoriously. It
was the best feeling in the entire world. Knowing that all of our hard work had
finally paid off was indescribable feeling of joy.”

The Louisburg
cheerleaders that competed are Lexi Pena, Lauren Vincent, Ashlyn McManigal,
Brooklyn Mitchell, Gabby Tappan, Andrea Gaza, Eleanor Willming, Jayden Trester,
Lacie Kallevig, Sammy McDaniel, Mable Graham, Anna Morrison, Bella Feikert,
Audrey Anderson, Sydney Dudzik, Kaitlyn Vest, Jolie Hendrickson, Abby Bradley
and Zoe Cutshaw. Louisburg’s head coach is Jayna Guerra.

Not only were the
Wildcats the third team to win a state title in school history, they were also
the first female squad to win a team crown as well. All the history just added
to what was a special day for the program.

“It means so much to
me and all my teammates,” Tappan said. “As someone who’s been a part of a variety
of sports my entire life, I know how hard each of our teams work to do their
very best in whatever sport they’re a part of. We are so thankful that we got
to make history for Louisburg and it is something that I can guarantee that
each and every one of us will remember it for the rest of our lives.”

2. Girls soccer
takes second at state, Conley named coach of year and Scholtz, Buffington awarded
players of year.

When it was all said and done, the Louisburg girls soccer team held its trophy high in front of the Wildcat faithful and the tears were easy to spot.

After nearly 200
minutes of soccer in a nine-hour time period, including one match that ended in
penalty kicks, the Wildcats were spent. They gave everything they had.

For the second consecutive season, Louisburg earned the Class 4-3-2-1A state runner-up trophy after a wild victory over Topeka-Hayden in the semifinals and then were shutout by Bishop Miege in the championship game, 4-0. It was the third consecutive state final four appearance for Louisburg.

Frustration and
sadness was easy to see following the Wildcats’ loss to the defending state
champion, but the team realizes what they have accomplished in just four years
of existence is to be celebrated.

“Being in this
situation two years in a row is something that doesn’t happen very often,”
Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “There are a bunch of teams that haven’t been
to a state final four and we have been to three in three years. It is pretty
cool and it is special.”

It was a wild 24 hours
for the Wildcats. Louisburg was supposed to play Hayden on Friday in the
semifinals, but severe weather forced the postponement to early Saturday
morning.

The Wildcats battled
Hayden through four overtimes and eventually led to penalty kicks. After an
intense first five penalty kicks that left the match still tied, senior goalie
Carson Buffington recorded a big save and then senior Hallie Hutsell converted
the sixth penalty kick to break the tie and give Louisburg a 2-1 win over
Hayden.

 “We usually play 80 minutes, but this time we
had to play 110 minutes and we were gassed,” Conley said. “We were holding on
and had some chances at the end to win it, but then we went to overtime and
then to penalty kicks. It was all about to see if we could survive. Emotionally
it was just a high for us and an unbelievable response and a great finish.
Carson making a big save, Hallie putting it in for the win – it was just a
great game.”

In the championship match,
the Stags were just too much for the Wildcats and junior Sophia Stram provided
a big spark. Stram scored all four goals for Miege in the title game, all of
which came in the first half, and the Wildcats didn’t have an answer.

“They are just so freaking good,” Conley said. “I think the
girls were mentally ready, but I don’t think their legs were quite ready, but
we lost to one of best teams in the state of Kansas. They have great players,
they are well-coached, but our girls played their butts off.

Coming off its second
consecutive state runner-up appearance, Louisburg had some positive
repercussions from its historic season.

However, none bigger
came when the all-state teams were released by the Kansas Soccer Coaches
Association. Not only did six Wildcats earn all-state selections, but they were
honored with some of the highest awards out there.

Junior Mackenzie Scholtz was named as the Co-Offensive Player of the Year in Class 4-1A with Bishop Miege’s Sophia Stram after she led the Wildcats in scoring.

Louisburg was also
recognized on the other side of the ball as senior Carson Buffington was named
the Class 4-1A Goalkeeper of the Year.

“Seeing Mackenzie and
Carson recognized for their positional player of the years was fantastic,”
Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “They both had incredible years.”

The Wildcats weren’t
done, as for the second consecutive season, Conley was named as the Class 4-1A
Coach of the Year as he guided Louisburg to a 17-4 record. He also led the
Wildcats to three consecutive final four appearances.

1.4×400 boys wins state championship, Wright wins four state medals and team breaks six school records at regional meet.

Three days after
arriving in Wichita for the Kansas State Track and Field Championships, Justin
Collins, Blue Caplinger, Ben Wiedenmann and Chris Williams finally got the chance
to get on the Cessna Stadium track.

The four Wildcat
runners had the top time in Class 4A going into the 4×400-meter relay, but
weather threw a little wrench into their plans. The meet, which was supposed to
end on a Saturday, was postponed to Sunday morning and all races were judged by
times with no preliminaries.

It wasn’t the ideal
situation, but they made it work – and it worked well.

Collins, Caplinger, Wiedenmann and Williams won the state championship in a time of 3 minutes and 25.39 seconds as they edged Chapman at the finish line, which ran a 3:25.61. It was the first state track championship for Louisburg since 2015 when Connor McMullen won the discus.

That was just one
event in what was an historic week for Louisburg track.

Louisburg freshman Delaney Wright earned four state medals, while junior teammate Carlee Gassman finished with three as the Lady Cats went on to finish 10^th in the team standings. The Lady Cats earned several other medals at the state meet coming off an impressive performance at regionals.

During the Class 4A
regional meet at Paola High School, Wright qualified for state in four events,
broke two school records and earned a regional title in her first postseason
track meet.

Wright won a regional
title in the long jump and finished second in the 200 and 400-meter dashes. She
also helped Carlee Gassman, Rain Pugh and Sydni Keagle to a second place finish
in the 4×400-meter relay.

“I am so grateful for
everything,” Wright said. “I had been having trouble with my hip this week and
I just wanted to come out and make state in at least one event. I didn’t
realize I would make it in four. It is an unbelieveable feeling.”

Wright’s day was just one of the many positives for the Lady Cats as they broke four school records, had four regional champions and qualified for state in 10 events.

As a team, the Lady Cats nearly earned the regional runner-up trophy as they racked up 86.5 points and finished a half a point behind second place Baldwin and Bishop Miege, who tied for second. Paola won the regional title with 107 points.

The Wildcat boys also broke two school records and would end up qualifying for nine spots at the state meet.

On Friday, Louisburg senior Calvin Dillon signed his letter of intent to play golf at the University of Central Missouri. Dillon is a 3-time state medalist and a 2-time Frontier League champion.

As Calvin Dillon walked into room
113 at Louisburg High School, he received a loud applause from several of his
friends as it he sat down at the table.

Dillon doesn’t usually hear that
loud of a roar on the golf course – because well – that sort of thing is
frowned upon among his fellow golfers. The ovation was well deserved, however.

After playing just three full seasons of high school golf, the Louisburg senior has already become the most decorated golfer in school history and that led him to the jam-packed room in 113.

On Friday, Dillon made it official
as he signed his letter of intent to play golf at the University of Central
Missouri, a Division II program in Warrensburg, Mo.

“I am ready,” Dillon said. “It is
really exciting and I am thankful I was able to make it official and I can
focus on getting to work for next year. I wanted to sign early so I could play
in the spring without any pressure and just go out there and play golf. I think
that will definitely be an advantage for me going into the spring and summer.
It definitely takes a lot of pressure off.”

Dillon joins a Central Missouri
program that has a lot of tradition in the MIAA. Under head coach Tim Poe, the
Mules have earned 14 MIAA Championships and have made 27 straight NCAA
postseason appearances.

Poe has been named the MIAA Coach
of the Year 14 times as was recently inducted into the Golf Coaches Association
of America Hall of Fame. He coached the 2015 NCAA Division II individual
national champion and helped the Mules to a second place finish in 2010.

“The coach at Central Missouri is
really great,” Dillon said. “Coach Poe has been there for 30-some years and he
is veteran. He has had multiple guys turn pro and he is very experienced. I really
connected with him on my visit and I think Central Missouri has a very good
program. They are more than likely going to be in the postseason every year and
that was another big factor for me. I want to compete for a national title.”

Although he eventually found his
future home, the decision wasn’t always an easy for one Dillon as he took his
time and visited several programs before deciding on a final two.

“It was definitely tough,” Dillon
said. “We visited five or six schools and then I narrowed it down to three and
then to my top two. Those couple weeks were a little stressful, but it was a
good stress to have and weighing the pros and cons. It was between Central
Missouri and Drake University, and when it came down to it, Central Missouri
was just the place for me.”

Dillon has had a memorable career as a Wildcat through his first three seasons. He has earned a Class 4A state medal each of the last three years and has won 17 of the 28 tournaments he has played in.

He won the regional title this
past May and is a two-time Frontier League champion. This past summer, Dillon
won the Kansas City Junior Match Play Championship and had a top-10 finish at the
Midwest Junior Championship.

“The competition is great,” he
said. “Kansas has some good golf and I think it helps me get better by playing
in the state tournaments and ones over the summer as well. I think the KGA does
a great job and put on some really good tournaments and there is a lot of good
competition out there. It is a lot of fun.”

However, it all started with his
father Jim, who introduced Calvin to the game of golf at an early age and the
countless hours improving his game has certainly paid off.

“Dad put a club in my hand early and we would just hit it around the yard,” Calvin said. “We never really made a distinct decision that I was going to play college golf. I think it was just kind of assumed that I would or that I wanted to. It is a good feeling to officially sign and I’m ready to play at the next level.”

So when Friday finally arrived, Dillon walked into 113 and saw a lot of familiar faces join him on his special day as he took the next step on his golf journey.

“It was nice to have all my friends here for this,” he said. “It was really awesome to see and I am thankful for every one of them. It was great to have them here supporting me.”

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’s Calvin Dillon won his third straight state medal last week during the Class 4A state golf tournament in Dodge City. Dillon finished 11th overall with an 80.

DODGE CITY – It was a state golf
tournament to remember for Calvin Dillon and some of those memories weren’t
always the best ones.

Dillon and the Louisburg golf team traveled to Mariah Hills Golf Course last week in Dodge City to take part in the Class 4A meet that was delayed for more than a week due to inclement weather. If that wasn’t bad enough, it wasn’t even the same course the Wildcats were originally scheduled to play on.

The Class 4A tournament was scheduled to be held in Winfield, but due to the torrential rains, the course had to be moved to a different site. So all the preparation for the Winfield course went out the window and the Wildcats quickly had to learn about their new landing spot.

“It was very chaotic waiting for
KSHSAA to announce where and when we were going to play,” Dillon said. “It was
frustrating because we were supposed to ‘leave’ for the tournament a couple
times and didn’t actually leave for about a week.”

As hectic as the experience was,
there were still plenty of good memories to be had. For Dillon, that meant
garnering his third consecutive state medal.

The Louisburg junior carded an 80
on the Mariah Hills course last Wednesday to finish 11^th overall in
the individual standings.

“It feels good to earn another state medal,” Dillon said. “It was a little disappointing because the round didn’t go well, but I had to stick in there and grind to finish in the top 15.”

Dillon was in the top 10 for most of the tournament, but had a double bogey on his last hole to move him out of the top 10 and into 11^th. He had one birdie on the day, but Dillon also had six bogeys and two doubles as he tried to maneuver through Mariah Hills on what was a blustery day in Western Kansas.

“Mariah Hills is a links style
course and it played a little long because it was so windy there,” Dillon said.
“With the course being as open as it was, the wind was a big factor.”

The rest of the Louisburg team also had its struggles with the course, but the three other Wildcat golfers were able to experience state for the first time.

Junior Drake Varns finished 34^th
overall as he carded an 88 to finish second on the Louisburg team. Juniors Ryan
Haight (103) and Colin Cook (125) were 73^rd and 82^nd,
respectively. Senior Noah Hill and junior Garrett Rolofson were not able to
participate in the tournament due to previous engagements.

“It was great having the guys there,” Dillon said. “We all got some great experience and hopefully we will be back next year.”

The high school season may be
over, but for Dillon, his golf season is just heating up. He is scheduled to
play in tournaments throughout the summer as he prepares for his senior year
and for his collegiate future.

“I have a rigorous summer schedule
planned out,” Dillon said. “The state tournament gives me a lot of motivation
to practice harder and get better for summer tournaments as well as next high
school season.”

The Louisburg golf team finished third Monday during the Class 4A regional tournament in Paola and qualified for the state tournament. Members of the team are (from left) Colin Cook, Drake Varns, Calvin Dillon, Ryan Haight, Garrett Rolofson and Noah Hill.

PAOLA – As the scores trickled in
to the clubhouse at Paola Country Club, the Louisburg golf team could hardly
stand it.

The Wildcats were nervously
waiting to hear if they had qualified for state, but they knew it was going to
be close. Louisburg had to be in the top three of the team standings to earn a
spot and the Wildcats had some tough competition amongst them.

As it turned out, the Wildcats had
nothing to worry about.

Louisburg recorded a team score of
352 during the Class 4A regional tournament Monday and finished third overall
by nine strokes over fourth-place Ottawa. The Wildcat team of Calvin Dillon,
Drake Varns, Garrett Rolofson, Ryan Haight, Noah Hill and Colin Cook will all compete
the state tournament in Winfield.

Topeka-Hayden won the regional title
going away with a 332 and Louisburg was just three strokes behind runner-up
Tonganoxie, which had a 349.

“It feels great, especially with
all the hard work we have put in the offseason and last few months,” Dillon
said. “It was our goal coming in and we did it. I felt like we had a good
chance. It was borderline with those four teams being as close as we are. I
knew we had a chance, but it was nice to actually qualify. It was definitely a
little nerve-racking waiting for the scores to come in.”

As impressive as that feat was for
the Wildcats, Dillon’s performance blew away the rest of the competition.

The Louisburg junior won his first individual regional title as he carded a 1-over 73 to win the tournament by six strokes. Dillon’s 73 was his best score on the season and he has now won all but one tournament on the year.

Dillon got off to a good start at
Paola Country Club as he birdied his first hole and had three on the day. He
also birdied his final hole on No. 18 with a nice chip and putt to seal the top
spot.

“It was nice to get that under my belt,
especially since I haven’t really finished all the well at regionals the last
couple of years,” Dillon said. “It is definitely good to get in the winner’s
circle here.

“I thought I played well. I got
off to a good start early and birdied No. 1 and I think that really helped me
momentum-wise. I just gave myself looks all day and it worked well. It was also
nice to end it with a birdie and I was able to make a nice putt there at the
end.”

Varns also played well for the Wildcats
as he carded an 87 and finished 10^th overall to earn a medal. The Louisburg
junior had to play a playoff hole to decide 9^th and 10^th
place.

Although he lost the playoff,
Varns played well in his final nine holes after a rough patch early on where he
had back-to-back triple bogeys. He went on to card a 40 on the back nine to get
himself back into contention for a medal.

“It is nice and I am really happy
to get a medal,” Varns said. “It is basically a home course for me as I play
here quite a bit. I didn’t play very well the first nine holes, but I came
back, followed through and shot a good back nine.

“After the back-to-back triples,
it took me awhile to get back into it. I was just in my own head. I came out and
shot par the next hole and that just got me back in the right mindset.”

Haight was third on the Wildcat
team with a 95 and finished 22^nd overall, while Rolofson carded a 97
and took 23. Hill finished with a 111 and Cook had a 116 to round out the
Louisburg scores.

The Wildcats are now preparing to
compete in their first state tournament, but it isn’t known when the last time
Louisburg qualified a team for state. The last known team to qualify for state
was in 1977 when the Wildcats won the sand greens title.

On Monday, the Wildcats will tee
off around 10 a.m. in Winfield for the Class 4A state tournament at Quail Ridge
Golf Course. Cook will tee off first at 10 a.m. on hole No. 10 and the rest of
the Wildcats will follow ending with Dillon’s scheduled tee time being 10:50
a.m.

“It feels great,” Varns said of
qualifying. “We have been working since last summer to get here and it is nice
to come through and do well at regionals. It has been awhile since that has
happened.

“State is going to be so fun. I don’t
think we are going to feel a lot of pressure, but we just want to go have fun
and see what happens.”

Expectations are high for Dillon
as he is one of the top golfers heading into state action. His 73 was the top
score from all the regionals last Monday, but Dillon knows state will be a big
challenge as he has medaled the last two seasons.

“The Winfield course is set up
really tough,” Dillon said. “The rough is really thick and the greens are fast.
If I play like I did (Monday), I think I can have a genuine shot at winning.”

Louisburg coach Brian Burns agrees
that Dillon will be among the favorites come tee time.

“Calvin is playing great golf right now,”
Burns said. “He is still working on his accuracy on his drives, but is hitting
the ball a long way. I know the course at Winfield has long rough and hard
and fast greens, but we are trying our best to play the ball down at our course
this week to work on a more upright swing, chopping down at the ball to advance
our rough shots.

“Overall, I like where everyone is with their game, but it is an individual sport and they must get over their own nerves and be confident. Calvin has a chance to place in the top five at state, if not better.”

The Louisburg golf team took second last week at the Ottawa Invitational. Members of the team are (from left) Garrett Rolofson, Noah Hill, Calvin Dillon, Drake Varns, Ryan Haight and Cole Williams.

OTTAWA – It has been a special
year so far for the Louisburg golf team and the Wildcats added to that on April
29 when they traveled to the Ottawa Invitational.

For the fifth time this season,
the Wildcats finished in the top two of the team standings as they took second
overall with a 346. Louisburg junior Calvin Dillon also recorded his fourth
consecutive tournament win and made for a successful day at Ottawa Country
Club.

“We are very happy to get second
at Ottawa,” Dillon said. “Ottawa is a great team and they are high up in the
state rankings. Surprisingly, our teams have become friends throughout the
season.”

Dillon continued his hot streak as
he carded a 75 to roll to the Ottawa title and has taken first in every
tournament but one so far this season.

“I played a solid round at Ottawa,
with ups and downs along the way,” Dillon said. “I played the front nine at
3-over, but I really buckled down on the back nine to shoot the 75.

“The course was a little wet and
the greens were punched as well, which led to some bumpy putts. I got off to a
slow start with my driver, so I switched to my 3-wood towards the end of the
front nine. That really helped me get things under control and finish well.”

Senior Noah Hill had his best
round of the season so far as he finished with an 88 to finish second on the
team. Junior Garrett Rolofson was third with a 91.

Junior Drake Varns and senior Ryan
Haight both carded a 92, while senior Cole Williams rounded out the Wildcat
team with a 106.

“Noah was very excited about his
round,” Dillon said. “He birdied his first hole, which was a good
representation of the rest of his day. He feels like he has more in the tank
too, which is a great sign.”

Louisburg was scheduled to compete
in the Anderson County Invitational today, but was rained out. The Wildcats
will compete at the Prairie View Invitational on Thursday at Deer Trace in
their final competition before regionals.

Louisburg junior Garrett Rolofson chips onto the green last Monday during the team’s home invitational at Metcalf Ridge Golf Course. Rolofson medaled seventh and then medaled again Thursday in Atchison.

ATCHISON – It couldn’t have been a
much better week for the Louisburg golf team, or for junior Calvin Dillon.

The Wildcats certainly had plenty
of medals to prove it.

Louisburg won the Atchison Invitational on Thursday at Bellevue Country Club with a 356 and earned their second team medal of the week. The Wildcats won the team title by two strokes over Kansas City Christian.

Dillon continued his tear through the 2019 season as he won his third consecutive tournament with a 78 on the Atchison course, in what was less than ideal conditions.

“The wind was very tough for the
guys at Atchison,” Louisburg coach Brian Burns said. “I was happy with their
scores considering all that.”

Junior Garrett Rolofson picked up
an individual medal, along with Dillon, as he finished ninth with a 92. Fellow
junior Drake Varns also carded a 92, but just missed out on the top 10 for
medal as he lost a scorecard playoff.

Another junior, Ryan Haight, had
one of his best scores of the season as he shot a 94. Senior Noah Hill (100)
and junior Luke Wickersham (107) was fifth and sixth on the Wildcat team,
respectively.

As great as the end of the week was for Louisburg, the beginning was almost as good as the Wildcats hosted the Louisburg Invitational last Monday at Metcalf Ridge Golf Course.

Louisburg finished second in the
team standings with a 340 and finished seven strokes behind champion Ottawa,
which had a 333.

Dillon was able to get the victory
on his home course, but it was a challenging one as he finished in a tie with
Ottawa’s Cade Gollier as both players carded a 77. However, Dillon won the
scorecard playoff as he was one of three Wildcats to medal.

“We shot the best we have all
year,” Burns said. “I am very proud of all the guys.”

Dillon had a rough start to his round as he had a triple bogey to open, but then followed with an eagle on No. 4 to get back into it. He nearly had another eagle a couple holes later, but his shot rimmed out and he settled for a birdie.

After that, Dillon was able to
settle in as he has now won all but one of this tournaments that he has
competed in this season.

Varns and Rolofson also earned medals for the Wildcats. Varns had a strong outing as he finished with an 83, which was good for fifth place.

Rolofson carded an 88, which was
his best round of the season for Louisburg, and he came in seventh overall.

Junior Ryan Haight and senior Noah
Hill also had their best rounds of the season on their home course as they shot
a 92 and 93, respectively. Junior Colin Cook rounded out the Louisburg scores
with a 98.

Louisburg returns to action today
when it travels to the Ottawa Invitational. Tee time is set for 2 p.m. at
Ottawa Country Club.

Louisburg junior Calvin Dillon watches his tee shot last Tuesday during the Osawatomie Invitational. On Thursday, Dillon won the Frontier League title with a 75 at Sycamore Ridge.

SPRING HILL – Calvin Dillon wasn’t
overly enthused about his round last Tuesday at Osawatomie Invitational, where
he finished third overall.

It wasn’t a bad round, but for Dillon, it was rough enough for him to want make amends in one of his biggest tournaments of the season.

Dillon and the Louisburg golf team
competed in the Spring Hill Invitational on Thursday at Sycamore Ridge, which
also doubled as the Frontier League Invitational. Needless to say after it was
all over, Dillon felt a lot better about his performance.

For the second consecutive season,
Dillon won the Frontier League title as he carded a 75 on the par 72 course.

“I am extremely happy to win
league again,” Dillon said. “Sycamore Ridge is an amazing venue and I just love
that golf course. It’s very challenging, but if you hit your spots right it’s
very scoreable.”

Dillon’s score also helped the
Wildcats to a third-place finish in the league portion of the tournament.
Dillon, Drake Varns, Garrett Rolofson, Ryan Haight, Noah Hill and Cole Williams
combined for a 358 and finished behind league champion Ottawa (321) and
runner-up Tonganoxie (346).

Down a stroke going into his final
hole, Dillon picked the perfect time to have his best hole of the day. He birdied
No. 18 to finish in a tie with Mill Valley’s Tanner Moore and Dillon won the
tiebreaker to capture the league and Spring Hill tournament titles.

“I was happy with the finish
considering the windy, cool and wet conditions,” Dillon said. “It was really a
day where you had to be mentally tough and grind through some tougher holes. I
had three bogeys on the front side and finished with a 39, where on the back I
had one bogey and the birdie on 18. It was a great feeling to head to the
clubhouse having birdies the last hole.”

Juniors Drake Varns, Garrett
Rolofson and Ryan Haight each finished in the top 20 of the league standings.
Varns shot a 90 to take 14^th overall and Rolofson carded a 96 to
finish 19^th. Haight shot a 97 and was 20^th.

Seniors Noah Hill and Cole
Williams rounded out the Wildcat team with a 101 and 114, respectively.

Louisburg will be back on its home
course today when the Wildcats host the Louisburg Invitational at Metcalf Ridge
Golf Course. Tee time is set for 1 p.m.

Wildcats finish second at Osawatomie

Louisburg started its week with a
stop at the Osawatomie Invitational and the Wildcats put together another
strong team performance.

The Wildcats finished second overall
with a 346 at the Osawatomie Golf Course and finished 13 strokes behind Ottawa,
which took first with a 346.

Louisburg had three medals on the day
as junior Calvin Dillon was third with a 78 and fellow junior Drake Varns
carded a 79 and finished fourth. Junior Garrett Rolofson shot a 94 and medaled
18^th overall.

“The team came in clutch and
played extremely well to finish second,” Dillon said. “We are gaining more and
more confidence as the season rolls on. I struggled a little bit, and the short
game wasn’t quite all there as it’s tough to score with the small greens.”

Junior Ryan Haight just missed a
medal as he carded a 95 and was 21^st. Seniors Noah Hill and Cole
Williams each shot a 99 as they took 29^th and 30^th,
respectively.