Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week nine of the fall sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.

CADE GASSMAN, SENIOR, BOYS SOCCER

Louisburg senior Cade Gassman has been the glue that held the Wildcat boys soccer team together throughout the season. He came up big for the Wildcats last Thursday during the team’s regional championship match at Bishop Ward. Gassman scored the game tying goal in the second half that eventually forced overtime.

Although the Wildcats eventually fell in three overtimes, 2-1, Gassman was a key cog in the Wildcats’ attack. In his career as a four-year starter for Louisburg, he is second in program history with 47 goals and third with 26 assists.

“He has been an integral part of the team,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “He’s like a coach on the field — the guys look up to him, they follow his lead, and they play more cohesively because of him.”

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

Previous winners:

Week 1: Layne Ryals

Week 2: Nathan Vincent

Week 3: Emma Vohs

Week 4: Claire Brown

Week 5: Ashton Moore

Week 6: Colin McManigal

Week 7: Allie Kennedy

Week 8: Declan Battle

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week eight of the fall sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.

DECLAN BATTLE, JUNIOR, FOOTBALL

Louisburg junior quarterback Declan Battle helped the Wildcat football team to a big victory in their final regular season game of the year. Battle drove the Wildcats 80 yards, and completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Caden Caplinger in under a minute to give Louisburg a 20-17 come-from-behind win over Spring Hill. The victory gave the Wildcats their first Frontier League championship since 2018.

Battle had a pair of big touchdowns in the game. He scored the team’s first touchdown in the third quarter on a 27-yard run that tied the game at 10-all and then followed with the game-winning pass late in the fourth. In all, Battle finished with 205 total yards on the night and guided the Wildcats to their seventh straight victory.

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

Previous winners:

Week 1: Layne Ryals

Week 2: Nathan Vincent

Week 3: Emma Vohs

Week 4: Claire Brown

Week 5: Ashton Moore

Week 6: Colin McManigal

Week 7: Allie Kennedy

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

ALLIE KENNEDY, SENIOR, VOLLEYBALL

Louisburg senior Allie Kennedy has been a force in the middle for the Louisburg volleyball team this season and Kennedy has led the Wildcats to a strong finish to their regular season. The Wildcats have won six of their last seven matches going into the postseason, and last Thursday against Olathe North and Wamego, Kennedy led Louisburg with 15 kills and four blocks.

On the season, Kennedy leads the team in kills with 254 from her middle blocker spot and has a hitting percentage of .302. She is tied for the team lead in blocks with 49. Kennedy also has 22 aces in 35 matches played.

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

Previous winners:

Week 1: Layne Ryals

Week 2: Nathan Vincent

Week 3: Emma Vohs

Week 4: Claire Brown

Week 5: Ashton Moore

Week 6: Colin McManigal

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week six of the fall sports season, sponsored by IronHorse Family and Cosmetic Dentistry.

COLIN MCMANIGAL, SENIOR, SOCCER

Louisburg senior Colin McManigal helped give the Wildcat boys soccer team the lift it had been looking for last week against Spring Hill. Louisburg, which lost to Spring Hill 6-2 earlier in the season, upset the Broncos, 2-1, and handed them their first Frontier League loss. McManigal was a big part of that as he scored the game-winning goal in the second half to help knock off the No. 7-ranked team in Class 5A.

On the season, McManigal has led Louisburg in scoring from his forward spot as he has nine goals on the year and has helped the Wildcats to a 6-5-2 record.

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

Previous winners:

Week 1: Layne Ryals

Week 2: Nathan Vincent

Week 3: Emma Vohs

Week 4: Claire Brown

Week 5: Ashton Moore

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week five of the fall sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.

ASHTON MOORE, SOPHOMORE, FOOTBALL

Louisburg sophomore Ashton Moore was all over the field for the Wildcat football team in their 28-27 overtime victory Friday over previously undefeated Eudora. Moore made an impact in all three phases of the game and it started on defense. The Wildcat linebacker led Louisburg with 18 tackles on the night, including 11 solo stops.

On offense, Moore scored one of the Wildcats’ four touchdowns on the night on a 7-yard run in the first half. Then on special teams, Moore recovered a muffed punt late in the fourth quarter to give the Wildcats a chance to win the game in regulation.

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

Previous winners:

Week 1: Layne Ryals

Week 2: Nathan Vincent

Week 3: Emma Vohs

Week 4: Claire Brown

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

CLAIRE BROWN, SENIOR, VOLLEYBALL

The Louisburg volleyball team had a successful stretch of matches last week and senior Claire Brown was a big reason for that. Brown helped the Wildcats to a runner-up finish Saturday at the Louisburg Invitational as they won five straight matches to secure second place. Along with wins over Girard and Fort Scott on Thursday, Brown helped the Wildcats to an 7-2 record on the week.

Brown finished her week with a team-high 74 kills and also finished tied for the team best with 12 aces. Defensively, Brown was second on Louisburg with 77 digs as she plays all six rotations.

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

Previous winners:

Week 1: Layne Ryals

Week 2: Nathan Vincent

Week 3: Emma Vohs

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

EMMA VOHS, JUNIOR, CROSS COUNTRY

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

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

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

Previous winners:

Week 1: Layne Ryals

Week 2: Nathan Vincent

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

NATHAN VINCENT, SENIOR, FOOTBALL

Louisburg senior Nathan Vincent played a big role, on both sides of the ball, in the Wildcats; 35-14 win over rival Paola on Friday. As a defensive end, Vincent led the Wildcats with 13 tackles on the night. He also recorded a sack and had a fumble recovery.

Vincent is also the starting left tackle for the Wildcats. He helped lead an offensive line that paved the way for nearly 350 yards of total offense against the Panthers, including 225 yards on the ground.

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

Previous winners:

Week 1: Layne Ryals

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week one of the fall sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.

LAYNE RYALS, SENIOR, FOOTBALL

Louisburg senior Layne Ryals kept the Wildcat football team in the game with his leg last Friday during the team’s trip to Heritage High School in Rogers, Ark. Ryals converted both of his field goal attempts from 25 and 32 yards in the team’s 20-16 setback.

As the team’s punter, he pinned the opposition inside the 20 on four of his six punts. Ryals also made an impact as the team’s starting safety. He finished the game with nine tackles and had a fumble recovery.

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.

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week 10 of the spring sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.

TOM KOONTZ, SENIOR, TRACK AND FIELD

Louisburg senior Tom Koontz made Wildcat track and field history Saturday at the Class 4A state meet in Wichita. Koontz came home with four state medals, but more importantly, won titles in both hurdle races as he helped the Wildcats to a third place state finish.

His more impressive performance came in the 300-meter hurdles as he broke the school record in 38.98 seconds to win gold and knock off Hayden’s Jake Muller, who defeated Koontz at state a year ago. Earlier in the day, Koontz flew to a title in the 110 hurdles as he won gold in 14.61 seconds. In the same race, teammates Mason Dobbins and Nathan Apple medaled second and fourth, respectively.

Koontz was a part of the 4×400 relay team of Hunter Heinrich, Colyer Wingfield and Ethan Ptacek that medaled fourth overall. Koontz, Dobbins, Caden Caplinger and Ptacek also teamed up to medal in the 4×100 as they finished sixth.

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

Previous Winners

Week 1: Lexi Hampton

Week 2: Sabra Brueggen

Week 3: Emma Lohse

Week 4: Nathan Vincent

Week 5: Mia Wilson

Week 6: Reese Johnson

Week 7: Kolby Kattau

Week 8: A.J. Arriola

Week 9: Delaney Wright