The Louisburg boys track and field team finished as the Class 4A regional runner-up Friday at Eudora High School. The Wildcats also qualified for state in 14 events.

EUDORA — Defending a state championship isn’t easy and the Louisburg boys track and field team has found that out first hand at different times this season.

One of those times came Friday at the Class 4A regional meet in Eudora. The Wildcats were on the verge of their second straight regional title, only to have another team take it away in the final event.

Topeka-Hayden won the regional title with 131 points and the Wildcats finished as the regional runner-up with 128. Hayden won the 4×400-meter relay in the final race of the day to to take championship.

As tough as that was, there were still plenty of positives for Louisburg to take away, from what was a successful outing for the Wildcats.

Louisburg qualified for state in 14 events and had several athletes qualify in multiple events as they gear up for another state run this weekend in Wichita.

“The guys were definitely disappointed, but they were still happy with a runner up as tough as our regionals was, and the number of athletes there that will be on the podium at state,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “For the most part they did what was expected, and in some circumstances, even more.”

It was all led by Louisburg senior Tom Koontz as he qualified for four events, including two hurdle races and two relays.

Koontz was a regional champion in the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.8 seconds and was the regional runner-up in the 300 hurdles in 39.93 seconds. Koontz, who is the defending state champion in the 110s, lost to Hayden’s Jake Muller in the 300s, the same opponent he finished behind last year a state.

“Well, winning the 110s felt great, but my ultimate goal is state,” Koontz said. “It’s what I’ve been working for since December, since last year even. I knew it would be incredibly difficult to live up to those expectations, so winning regionals feels like a great step closer, but the 300s are a different story.

“Jake Muller is going to be my first real challenge this year. I only wish I could’ve gone against him more. I’ve spent all of the week leading up to state preparing mentally for the race against him. We are very equally matched, so it’s gonna come down to who runs their best race.”

Koontz was also a part of a regional championship relay as the 4×100 team of Koontz, Mason Dobbins, Caden Caplinger and Ethan Ptacek took gold in 43.64 seconds.

The Wildcat 4×400 relay will also make an appearance at state as Koontz, Ptacek, Colyer Wingfield and Hunter Heinrich finished third in 3 minutes and 28 seconds.

Dobbins also qualified for four events at the state meet. Along with his role in the 4×100, Dobbins won the regional championship in the high jump after clearing 6 feet.

The Louisburg junior will join Koontz in the 110 hurdles after he finished second in 15.15 seconds. He also qualified third in the 200 dash in a personal best time of 22.84 seconds.

“It meant a lot to win a regional title in high jump and qualify for state in four events,” Dobbins said. “It reassured me that all my hard work pays off. I expect to go to state and perform to the best of my abilities. I want to place in every event this weekend.”

Louisburg also earned a regional title in the field events as junior Nathan Vincent continues to improve in the javelin. Vincent recorded a personal-best throw of 178 feet, 4 inches, to win by almost four feet.

“It was a super cool experience going out there and competing against some great throwers,” Vincent said. “The conditions were pretty good which made for a good javelin day, and it just flew well for me and I came out on top, which was awesome. 

“I’m comfortable with my form right now, but the distances can always go up. I’m looking to pop out a big throw. It’s going to be tough with the Andale throwers but, as everyone says, it only takes one.”

The Wildcats also earned several more sprint spots at the state meet. 

Ptacek ran a personal-best time of 51.51 seconds in the 400 dash and finished as the regional runner-up and will compete in this race at state, along with the two relays.

Senior Cooper Hipp ran a personal best time of 22.99 seconds in the 200 dash and qualified fourth, while junior Nathan Apple was third Wildcat hurdler to qualify as he finished fourth in the 110s in 15.44.

“Ethan is coming along in the 400,” Wright said. “He is really working hard on his running form and race strategy. Mason and Cooper had good starts in the finals and I am so happy for Cooper Hipp. Very deserving and rewarding to see a guy that has worked for four years to accomplish a goal. To run in his very first regionals and PR by a second and half, and qualify for his first state track meet, is great to see.”

Louisburg also qualified in three distance races and it started with a difficult 1,600-meter run.

Senior Jaden Vohs finished third in 4:33 to qualify for state, while Jerynce Brings Plenty did the same in the 3,200-meter run as he finished fourth in 10:27.

Vohs and Brings Plenty also joined Heinrich and senior Hayden Ross to finish third in the 4×800 relay in 8:30 to qualify all three relays.

“The relays finished strong, while not our personal best, they ran smart and did what they needed to do to qualify,” Wright said. “Our 4×1 is still running low 43’s, 4×8 all ran a solid race and 4×4 just came short of winning regionals. The most exciting part is that all of the relays have a shot at a medal next week at state.”

In the field events, Wingfield qualified in a pair of jumps to go along with the 4×400 relay.

The Louisburg junior finished second in the long jump with a personal best mark of 21-5.25 and later took third in the triple jump at 39-2.75.

“Coming off an injury, Colyer was just trying to qualify so that we would have another week to get better,” Wright said. “He performed very well with a PR in the long jump, had 3-4 good jumps. Triple jump we wanted to jump as little as possible to qualify, and he took care of business.”

Caplinger qualified in his second event after he finished as the regional runner-up in the pole vault after he cleared 14 feet. 

The Wildcats will try for back-to-back state titles this weekend when they compete at the Class 4A state meet at Wichita State University. The meet is set to begin at 7:45 a.m. on Friday and run through Saturday evening.

“Most of the state qualifiers are returning from last year’s team, so the experience will help,” Wright said. “State is its own beast. You never know what is going to happen out there.”

The top eight in each event will earn a state medal.

Other results are: 

100 dash: Ashton Moore, 7th, 11.64

200 dash: Ethan Ptacek, 6th, 23.06

400 dash: Hunter Heinrich, 6th, 53.25

800 run: Jaden Vohs, 6th, 2:04; Andrew Brown, 11th, 2:14; Hayden Ross, 13th, 2:15

1,600 run: Jerynce Brings Plenty, 8th, 4:48; Leo Martin, 16th, 5:10

3,200 run: Noah Cotter, 7th, 10:58

300 hurdles: Nathan Apple, 5th, 41.69

High jump: Isaiah Whitley, 7th, 5-8

Long jump: Hayden Feikert, 11th, 19-10.5; Jase Hovey, 18-2, 16th

Triple jump: Trey Myers, 10th, 35-10.25

Shot put: J.R. Rooney, 5th, 46-8; Connor Lee, 11th, 41-5; Jaymes Melton, 16th, 39-6.5

Discus: Chase Pritchard, 8th, 114-4; Nathan Vincent, 10th, 109-4; Layne Ryals, 16th, 98-8

Javelin: Brecon Klugman, 8th, 135-11; Carson Wade, 10th, 132-6

The Louisburg girls track and field team finished as the Class 4A regional runner-up Friday at Eudora High School after they finished with 99 points. The Lady Cats also qualified for state in 11 events and broke three school records.

EUDORA — It had been more than a decade since the Louisburg girls track and field team came home with a plaque from regional competition. 

The Lady Cats took advantage of that opportunity Friday at the Class 4A regional meet at Eudora High School. For the first time in 11 years, Louisburg finished in the top two of the regional standings as it took runner-up with 99 points.

In all, the Lady Cats qualified for state in 11 events, won five of them and three runners broke school records in the process.

“Regionals is about qualifying for state,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “But being state runner-up was a huge bonus.”

Senior Delaney Wright ended her final regional meet with a bang as she won three regional titles and qualified for state in four events.

Wright opened her day with a victory in the long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 9.5 inches and then moved over to the track. She would next win the 400-meter dash in 1:00.21 and then the 200 in 26.11 seconds.

She ended her day as she joined Mackenzie Rooney, Emma Vohs and Emma Lohse to take third in the 4×400-meter relay in 4:19.

It was the perfect way for the defending state champion in those individual events to enter the state meet, after spending most of the season recovering from an injury.

“Last Friday definitely was a confidence boost for me that I needed to get in before state,” Wright said. “It has been a rough couple weeks, but I feel like I’m getting close to being back where I want to be.

“Qualifying for four events like I did my freshman year gives me hope and excitement for this upcoming weekend. I’m also extremely excited about our girls team getting a plaque and I think as a team we’ll make a dent at state.”

Lohse also had a big day for the Lady Cats as she qualified in three events, but none stood out more than the 100-meter dash. 

The Louisburg junior broke the school record with a time of 12.38 seconds to win the regional title. She broke the old record of 12.66, set by Jordan Leach in 2019.

On top of that and the 4×400 relay, Lohse also finished fourth in the 200 dash in 26.58.

“Winning the 100 meant everything to me,” Lohse said. “I went into the race knowing that I was running against one of my biggest competitors from this season, and I wanted this one so bad. After I passed the finish line I looked up at the scoreboard and saw 12.3, seeing that time, I knew I beat the record. 

“All season I’ve wanted to beat it so bad and worked so hard this season to accomplish that. Qualifying for state this year in all my events, and it also being my first year of track, was very exciting.”

Vohs also rewrote the Louisburg record book, but this time it came in the 1,600-meter run.

The Louisburg sophomore won the event in what was almost a photo finish as she broke the school record with a time of 5:35.17 as she edged out Eudora’s Hanna Keltner at the finish. She broke the 13-year-old record of 5:39 set by Shayla McElyea in 2009.

Along with the 4×400, Vohs is heading to state in two events.

“I knew I was running with one of the top runners in 4A and decided to stay with her during this run in order to qualify for state,” Vohs said. “On the last lap, she was ahead of me by about 50 meters and I knew I needed to make my move right at the end. 

“As we came near the finish line, I was right behind her and finished strong. I had no idea I broke the school record until coach Reece came over and asked me how I thought I ran.”

Sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross was responsible for the other regional title and qualified for state for the second straight year in the pole vault.

Carpenter-Ross cleared a personal best 10 feet to win the event as she edged out Eudora’s Alyssa Chapman.

“It felt good to PR again because I haven’t matched my 9’6 PR the previous two meets before regionals,” Carpenter-Ross said. “I’m glad that I was able to peak at the right time and not only match my old PR, but beat it in order to win regionals.”

Sophomore Maddy Rhamy became the third Lady Cat to break a record as she qualified for state in the 3,200 in 12:44 and finished fourth overall. She broke Andie Buffington’s old time of 12:51 set back in 2012.

“The two Emma’s and Maddy deserve to hold their respective records,” Reece said. “They are hard workers and they were rewarded for their efforts.”

Rooney qualified for two events at state — the 4×400 relay and also in the 300 hurdles. The Louisburg freshman eclipsed her previous personal best to finish runner-up in 49.98 seconds.

In the field events, the Lady Cats got two more state qualifiers.

Senior Corinna McMullen finished as the regional runner-up in the discus with a throw of 111-8.

Sophomore Katie Elpers punched her ticket in the javelin as she recorded a throw of 111-10 to take fourth overall.

The Class 4A state competition at Wichita State University begins Friday morning as the two-day event begins at 7:45 a.m. and will run through Saturday evenings. The top eight finishers in each event will earn a state medal.

Other results are: 

800 run: Emma Vohs, 5th, 2:29

1,600 run: Maddy Rhamy, 8th, 5:59

3,200 run: Nova Ptacek, 7th, 13:52; Erin Apple, 12th, 15:26

4×800 relay: Ptacek, Apple, Aubryn Berck, Ashley Branine, 5th, 11:45

100 hurdles: Kate Frederick, 11th, 18.31; Mackenzie Rooney, 13th, 18.93

300 hurdles: Frederick, 12th, 55.57

Discus: Emma Prettyman, 11th, 89-11

Shot put: Prettyman, 6th, 34-7

Javelin: Davis Guetterman, 7th, 109-9; Prettyman, 10th, 103-6

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

DELANEY WRIGHT, SENIOR, TRACK AND FIELD

Louisburg senior Delaney Wright, who has been recovering from an injury most of the season, put it all together Friday during the Class 4A regional meet at Eudora High School. Wright qualified for state in four events and won three regional titles in the process.

Wright won the long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 9.5 inches. She later won the 400-meter dash in 1:00 and the 200 dash in 26.11 seconds. To end the meet, she joined Mackenzie Rooney, Emma Lohse and Emma Vohs to take third in the 4×400-meter relay. When it was all complete, Wright helped the Lady Cats to their first regional plaque in more than a decade as they finished second overall.

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

For his first three years in high school, Jaden Vohs was a soccer kid and enjoyed his time with the program.

Then, in the spring of 2021, he caught the running bug as he was one of the key figures in Louisburg’s state championship track and field team.

Vohs, who ran distance races for the Wildcats, decided to give up his final year of soccer and run cross country this past fall.

That move impacted Vohs’ college path in positive way.

Earlier this spring, Vohs signed to run cross country and track at Baker University and he made if official last month with a signing ceremony at the school in front of family and friends.

It was somewhat of an easy decision for Vohs as he already knows several people on the Baker team.

“Signing with Baker felt great knowing that I’ll be running with my friends,” Vohs said. “Over winter break I would meet up with some Baker runners and we ran everyday.”

Vohs was an integral part of the Wildcats’ state track team last season. In his first year out for track, Vohs earned three state medals — the 800, 1,600 and 4×800 relay.

It was that success that motivated him to get into cross country, and just like track, Vohs thrived in his first season with the sport.

The Louisburg senior qualified for state and finished 12th overall to earn a medal.

“Quitting soccer was a risky move, but in the end I know it was the right choice,” Vohs said. “I met my cross country goals and also got to experience an underrated sport. Doing cross country also helped me get a scholarship to continue my running career.”

The opportunity with the Baker program was hard to turn down and he will be looking forward to trying new events on the collegiate level.

“In my opinion the best thing about the Baker program is that the team is all very close, like family,” Vohs said. “All the guys truly care about running and each other. The whole program had a great connection. 

“I’m not aware of what I’ll be running for them in track, but I would assume I’ll be running the 5k and probably the 1500.”

Now the focus is on the conclusion of his high school career. Vohs is head back to state again this year in the 1,600-meter run and as apart of the 4×800 relay.

“I am very excited for what is left of my track season,” Vohs said. “My goal is to break the school record in the 1600.”

Louisburg senior Tom Koontz broke the Frontier League record in the 110 high hurdles and set a new personal record in the 300 hurdles on his way to two league titles Thursday at the Frontier League meet at Ottawa High School.

OTTAWA — They won league titles, set personal records and broke a league and school record, but despite all that, the Louisburg boys couldn’t quite get their ultimate goal — a league title.

The Wildcat track team competed in the Frontier League Invitational on Thursday at Ottawa High School and finished runner-up in the team standings with 122 points. Eudora won the league title with 144 points.

Despite that little disappointment, the Wildcats still won league titles in four events and finished in the top two in three more. 

“For the most part they all performed well due to the first time running in 90-plus degree temperatures and going against tough competition,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “We had some improvement throughout, and had guys gut it out by running multiple events in the heat.”

Senior Tom Koontz swept the hurdles to lead the Wildcats and did so in impressive fashion. 

Koontz broke the Frontier League record the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 14.59 seconds. He eclipsed the old time of 14.78 set by Paola’s Carson Eilts in 2018.

Junior Mason Dobbins finished runner-up in the event in 15.31 and junior Nathan Apple was fourth in 15.49.

Despite hitting a couple hurdles in the 300, Koontz set a new personal best time of 39.39 seconds to win a league crown there as well. Apple was sixth in 42.18.

“It was nice to see his hard work pay off by setting a new league record,” Wright said. “Tom ran a very clean race. In the 300s, after hitting a couple of hurdles, Tom was still able to improve his time. It’s scary to think what time he would have run if he had run a clean race.”

The Wildcats also won a pair of league titles in the field events. 

Junior Nathan Vincent held off the field with a throw of 163 feet, 9 inches in the javelin to win gold. Eudora’s Kole Manley was second, just six inches behind Vincent.

In the long jump, Hayden Feikert saved his best jump for last. The Louisburg senior won the event with a personal-best mark of 20-10.5. The Wildcats now have three athletes that have jumped more than 20 feet this season.

“Hayden has been stuck at high 19’s for the last three years,” Wright said. “It was nice to see him finally break 20 feet and win the league his senior year. We do have a good jumping core with three jumpers over 20-7 plus. It is never the same person winning week to week.”

Louisburg also had a pair of runner-up league finishes as Dobbins finished second in the high jump after he cleared 6-2. 

Sophomore Caden Caplinger finished in a tie for second in the pole vault with Eudora’s Kurtis McCormick as the two cleared 13-6.

The 4×100-meter relay made school history, but not with their league finish. The team of Koontz, Dobbins, Caplinger and Ethan Ptacek set a new school record time of 43.33 seconds, which was good for third overall.

They eclipsed the old mark of 43.34 that was set in 2019 by Charlie Koontz, Ben Wiedenmann, Blue Caplinger and Justin Collins.

“It’s hard to believe we got third place while breaking the school record,” Wright said. “That just shows how fast our league is. Our handoffs are getting better, but we have some room for improvements.”

The 4×400 relay of Hunter Heinrich, Colyer Wingfield, Koontz and Ptacek also knocked three seconds off their personal best and took third in 3:27.25.

Ptacek scored points in a pair of sprints as he finished fourth in the 400 in 52.02 and seventh in the 200 dash in 23.20. Dobbins also scored points in the 200 as he took fifth in 23.01.

In the distance races, senior Jaden Vohs raced against strong competition and finished well. Vohs was third in both the 800 (2:03) and 1,600 meters (4:41). 

Freshman Jerynce Brings Plenty was fourth in the 3,200-meter run in 10:47 and fifth the 1,600 in 4:46. Sophomore Noah Cotter was fifth in the 3,200 in 11:02.

The 4×800 relay of Cotter, Hunter Heinrich, Hayden Ross and Andrew Brown took seventh in 9:16.

In the field events, junior J.R. Rooney recorded a throw of 45-6 in the shot put to take third overall.

Senior Chase Pritchard led the Wildcats in the discus as he took fifth with a toss of 131-5 and Vincent was seventh at 129.

Junior Isaiah Whitley scored points in the high jump after he cleared 5-8 and took seventh.

Louisburg will now prepare for its most important competition of the season — the Class 4A regional meet in Eudora. Field events begin at 1 p.m. on Friday as the top four in each event qualify for the state meet next week in Wichita.

“We are excited about regionals,” Wright said. “Our regional is hands down the toughest one in 4A.  If you come out in the top four in our regional, then you have a good shot at medaling next week in state. We have a lot of opportunities to be in the top four, and I hope we go out and compete.”

Other results are:

100 dash: Jase Hovey, 18th, 11.85; Hayden Feikert, 19th, 11.98; Isaiah Whitley, 22nd, 12.04

200 dash: Cooper Hipp, 16th, 23.84

400 dash: Hunter Heinrich, 8th, 53.84; Hipp, 14th, 58.56

800 run: Andrew Brown, 17th, 2:20

1,600 run: Leo Martin, 18th, 5:20

3,200 run: Martin, 10th, 11:44

Pole vault: Remington Rice, 10th, 10-6

Long jump: Colyer Wingfield, 8th, 19-7; Hovey, 12th, 18-5.5

Shot put: Connor Lee, 11th, 41-4; Jaymes Melton, 14th, 40-6

Discus: Layne Ryals, 9th, 124-7

Javelin: Carson Wade, 10th, 125-5; Ryals, 13th, 119-1

Louisburg junior Emma Lohse recorded the fastest time in Class 4A in the 200-meter dash Thursday during the Frontier League Invitational. She won the league title in 25.79 seconds.

OTTAWA — The Louisburg girls were burning up the track Thursday at the Frontier League meet at Ottawa High School.

The Lady Cats earned four league titles overall, including two sprints and a relay that allowed them to finish fourth the league standings with 86 points. Eudora won the league crown with 121.5.

“In a very competitive league, we ran, jumped and threw great and are setting ourselves up for a strong regional meet,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said.

Senior Delaney Wright won the league crown in the 400-meter dash and junior Emma Lohse won the 200 dash as the Lady Cats scored a bulk of their points in the sprints.

Another senior, Corinna McMullen, was the league champion in the discus. However, Louisburg might have saved its best performance for last.

The 4×400-meter relay of Mackenzie Rooney, Emma Vohs, Lohse and Wright shaved six seconds off their personal best time and found themselves in a dogfight with Baldwin.

The two teams were neck and neck through much of the race, and with Wright running the anchor, the Lady Cats edged out Baldwin in a photo finish in a time of 4 minutes and 12.33 seconds.

“The 4×4 was incredible,” Reece said. “The girls ran their best race to date and beat Baldwin in a photo finish. It is very exciting to see how we continue.”

While Lohse and Wright were helping each other in the relay, they were competitors in the 200-meter dash and they brought out the best in each other.

The sprinters recorded the two top times in Class 4A this season as Lohse won the league title with a time of 25.79 seconds. Wright was the league runner-up in 25.98.

Earlier in the day, Lohse was also a runner-up in the 100-meter dash in 12.68 seconds. Eudora’s Maya Pattison won it in 12.57.

“Emma is still on that learning curve for a first time high school track sprinter,” Reece said. “She pulled the field in the 100 but came up short and is still working on starting blocks. In the 200, she fired out of the blocks and never looked back to take the gold. She is going to do awesome as the season draws near.”

Wright put together a season-best performance in the 400-meter dash as she won the league crown in 59.93 seconds and nearly did the same in the long jump.

The Louisburg senior recorded a Frontier League record jump of 18 feet, 1 inch, only to have Paola’s Maggie Kauk eclipse it with a mark of 18-3.5 in the finals as Wright took second in the event.

Wright, who is still making her way back from a severe ankle injury, is starting to find her way in all three of her events.

“Delaney performed well at league,” Reece said. “She is in a great place physically and mentally to return to state and bring home some hardware.”

McMullen set a personal record in the discus on two different occasions — both coming in the prelims. Her second throw of 127-3 gave her the league title and momentum going into regionals later this week.

“Rinny has continued to work hard and that is really starting to show,” Reece said. “She had a huge PR at league and is poised to throw farther at regionals and then state.”

Vohs scored points for the Lady Cats in a pair of distance races. The Louisburg sophomore was third in the 1,600 meters in 5:45 and took sixth in the 800 in 2:29.

Junior Nova Ptacek was sixth in the 3,200 run in 14:31, while Ptacek joined Erin Apple, Aubryn Berck and Maddy Rhamy to take fifth in the 4×800 relay in 11:49.

Rooney also scored points on the track for the Lady Cats as she finished seventh in the 300 hurdles in 51.92 seconds.

In the field events, sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross was third in the pole vault after she cleared 9 feet. Senior Davis Guetterman scored points in the javelin as she took sixth with a throw of 110-3.

The Lady Cats will travel to Eudora this Friday for the Class 4A regional meet. Field events are set to begin at 1 p.m.

The top four finishers in each event qualify for the state meet next week in Wichita.

Other results are: 

100 dash: Delaney Wieland, 15th, 14.0

1,600 run: Maddy Rhamy, 10th, 6:18; Erin Apple, 13th, 7:13

100 hurdles: Kate Frederick, 10th, 18.34; Mackenzie Rooney, 11th, 18.68

300 hurdles: Frederick, 10th, 53.91

Long jump: Wieland, 11th, 14-4

Javelin: Katie Elpers, 8th, 99-7

Louisburg junior Ethan Ptacek scored points in four events for the Wildcats, who won the Red Bud Classic title Friday at Wellsville High School with 138.5 points.

WELLSVILLE — The Red Bud Classic at Wellsville High School is always one of the bigger meets of the season in the area and the Louisburg boys track and field team brought home top honors. 

The Wildcats won the team title with 138.5 points — 10 points ahed of runner-up Eudora. It was the type of finish Louisburg, the defending Class 4A state champion, was hoping for in its final regular season meet.

“I am extremely pleased with how the team is progressing,” Louisburg coach Andy Wright said. “They continue to put in the work every day at practice, and are seeing the results of the hard work at meets. I think the team is seeing what they could do, and are bought into what we are doing at practice, and the commitment to get better and compete each week.”

Louisburg senior Tom Koontz continues to improve as he swept both hurdle events. He won the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.98 seconds, while junior Mason Dobbins was right behind him in 15.53 seconds to take second and junior Nathan Apple was fourth at 15.79.

Koontz pulled out his best time of the season in the 300 hurdles as he won in 39.89 seconds and finished under 40 seconds for the first time this year. Apple was sixth in 43.21.

“Tom had two smooth races,” Wright said. “He didn’t run a 39 till regionals last year. We are two weeks ahead of that pace. He is sitting pretty good in league and regionals, but with how competitive both are, Tom will have to continue to improve throughout the next couple of weeks to stay at the top of both races.”

Along with his finish in the 110s, Dobbins was the other Wildcat to bring home a gold medal. Dobbins won the high jump after he cleared 6 feet, while teammate Isaiah Whitley was fifth at 5-8.

Dobbins found more success on the track as he competed in the 200-meter dash for the first time this season and finished second overall in 22.98 seconds.

“Mason asked if he could run the 200 instead of the 300 hurdles,” Wright said. “I was not surprised by the time he had in the 200. Mason is an athlete and continues to get better every week. He will continue to run the 200 for the next couple of weeks.”

Another sprinter, Ethan Ptacek, also racked up several points for the Wildcats — both individually and on the relays.

Ptacek finished fourth in the 200 dash (23.15) and 400 dash (51.86). Ptacek, Koontz, Dobbins and Caden Caplinger ran a personal best time of 43.63 in the 4×100 relay to take third overall.

Koontz, Hunter Heinrich, Colyer Wingfield and Ptacek also set a personal best time in the 4×400 relay in 3:30.59 and also took third.

“Ethan works hard at practice,” Wright said. “Before the Wellsville meet we talked about breaking 52 in the 400. He did break 52, but it was a fast race. I also see him getting in the 22’s for the 200 in the next couple of weeks.  

“Ethan had good role models to follow in the last couple of track seasons. He has stepped up to be one of the role models by setting the running pace in practices and he is the anchor of two of our relays. You can count on Ethan giving everything he has.” 

The Wildcats also had a three runner-up finishes in the distance races — two individual and one relay. Senior Jaden Vohs had season-best times in the 800 (2:02) and 1,600-meter (4:32) run and took second in both.

Vohs, along with Jerynce Brings Plenty, Heinrich and Hayden Ross, set a personal best time by 15 seconds in the 4×800 relay and finished second in 8:28. Brings Plenty also scored points in the 3,200 run as he was eighth in 10:34.

Despite soggy throwing conditions, junior Nathan Vincent thrived in the javelin. Vincent threw a season-best 176 feet, 9 inches to take second, and was one inch from tying his personal best last year at the state meet.

“It was the right type of conditions for Nathan,” Wright said. “He is more of a power thrower and doesn’t need a ton of speed. I wasn’t surprised he threw the way he did.”

Vincent also scored points in the discus with a mark of 135-5.5 to take seventh, while junior J.R. Rooney was sixth in the shot put with a toss of 44-11.

Sophomore Caden Caplinger finished second in the pole vault after he cleared 13-6 and senior Remington Rice was eighth at 10-6.

Wingfield scored points in both the long and triple jumps. He took third in the long with a mark of 20 feet and third in the triple at 40-3.

Lady Cats finish 8th at Wellsville

The Louisburg girls track and field team had five top four finishes and took eighth as a team with 42 points.

The Lady Cats had a pair of runner-up finishes in the sprints. 

Junior Emma Lohse ran a time of 13 seconds in the 100-meter dash to take the silver. 

Senior Delaney Wright also finished second in the 400 dash in 1:01.13.

Sophomore Emma Vohs had success in the distance races as she took third in 2:29, while the 4×800 relay of Vohs, Maddy Rhamy, Aubryn Berck and Erin Apple, took sixth in 10:52.

In the field events, sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross was second in the pole vault after she cleared 9-0.

Senior Corinna McMullen had her best day in the discus ring as she recorded a personal-beset throw of 118-11 to finish fourth overall.

Junior Emma Prettyman also scored points in the throws as she was eighth in the javelin with a mark of 100-8.

Louisburg is back in action Thursday when it travels to the Frontier League Invitational in Ottawa. Events are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Other results are:

GIRLS

100 dash: Delaney Wieland, 21st, 14.24

200 dash: Emma Lohse, 11th, 28.30

800 run: Aubryn Berck, 17th, 2:50

1,600 run: Maddy Rhamy, 9th, 5:55; Nova Ptacek, 25th, 6:29

3,200 run: Ptacek, 12th, 14:45; Erin Apple, 14th, 15:08

100 hurdles: Kate Frederick, 13th, 18.51; Mackenzie Rooney, 19th, 19.75

300 hurdles: Rooney, 10th, 51.79; Frederick, 16th, 54.46

Long jump: Wieland, 13th, 14-1; Delaney Wright, 16th, 13-11

Shot put: Emma Prettyman, 13th, 31-3

Discus: Prettyman, 15th, 95-3; Davis Guetterman, 29th, 71-4

Javelin: Guetterman, 12th, 93-4

BOYS

100 dash: Ashton Moore, 19th, 12.16; Isaiah Whitley, 31st, 12.57

200 dash: Cooper Hipp, 14th, 24.22

400 dash: Hipp, 25th, 58.97

800 run: Hayden Ross, 12th, 2:13; Andrew Brown, 23rd, 2:19

1,600 run: Jerynce Brings Plenty, 12th, 4:49; Brown, 19th, 4:59; Noah Cotter, 27th, 5:07; Leo Martin, 30th, 5:14

3,200 run: Cotter, 15th, 11:01; Martin, 17th, 11:33

300 hurdles: Moore, 15th, 46.90

High jump: Trey Myers, 12th, 5-6

Pole vault: Cooper Wingfield, 11th, 10-0

Long jump: Whitley, 11th, 18-11

Triple jump: Myers, 14th, 36-0; Elias Pugh, 27th, 33-5

Shot put: Connor Lee, 20th, 37-10.5; Jaymes Melton, 24th, 35-2.5

Discus: Layne Ryals, 12th, 121-2; Chase Pritchard, 15th, 114-8.5

Javelin: Carson Wade, 10th, 131-1; Ryals, 14th, 124-9

Louisburg senior Tom Koontz clears a hurdle during a meet earlier this season. Koontz won the 300-meter hurdles Friday at the De Soto Invitational.

DE SOTO — In what was one of its toughest meets of the season, the Louisburg boys track and field team nearly came away with a team title.

Louisburg competed at the De Soto Invitational on Friday and went up against several bigger programs. The Wildcats went stride-for-stride with all of them as they finished second overall with 107 points, just one point behind champion De Soto.

“We knew coming into the meet, it was going to be challenging,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “We only placed first in one event, but competed very well in the second through sixth place positions. We ended up one point short out of first, and in a meet that tough, I was very pleased.”

The Wildcats competed with the likes of De Soto, Olathe West, Basehor Linwood and the top Frontier League programs in Piper, Eudora and Bonner Springs.

The Louisburg girls also had plenty of bright spots as the Lady Cats finished fifth out of 13 teams with 50 points.

Senior hurdler Tom Koontz continues to shine in his final season as a Wildcat, as are junior hurdlers Mason Dobbins and Nathan Apple. Koontz won the 300-meter hurdles in 40.36 seconds, while Dobbins (42.79) and Apple (42.81) took fifth and sixth, respectively.

All three Wildcat hurdlers had season-best times in the 110 race as Koontz was second at 14.72 seconds, losing out to Highland Park’s Keijuan Johnson, who ran a 14.69. Dobbins was third at 15.17 and Apple took fourth in 15.47.

“Tom continues to improve every week in the 110 and he works so hard at practice,” Wright said. “His 300 has been in the low 40’s for the last couple of meets, and he is competing amazingly.  If we can get some good weather, he should be ready to break 40 in the next week or two.”

Koontz, Dobbins, Caden Caplinger and Ethan Ptacek also put together a season-best time of 43.71 seconds in the 4×100 relay to finish second overall.

Hunter Heinrich, Jaden Vohs, Andrew Brown and Hayden Ross went on to take third in the 4×800 relay in 8:53, while the 4×400 team of Ptacek, Heinrich, Colyer Wingfield and Koontz were fifth in a season-best time of 3:33.

Ptacek went on to score points in a pair of sprints as well. The Louisburg junior was third in the 400 dash in 52.42 and seventh in the 200 dash in 23.29.

In the distance races, Vohs paced the Wildcats with a sixth place finish in the 800 run in 2:03 and freshman Jerynce Brings-Plenty was 8th in the 3,200 run.

The Wildcats got a pleasant surprise in the jumps from Wingfield as he set a new personal best in the long jump by more than a foot. The Louisburg junior took third with a mark of 21 feet, 1 inch, while fellow junior Jase Hovey was eighth with a personal best mark of 20-7.25

Wingfield also scored points in the triple jump as he took fifth at 39-3.

“Coyler is new to our track team this year and has brought with him an awesome work ethic,” Wright said. “He is starting to figure out his approach and jump technique. Colyer will definitely be able to be a threat in the jumps for placings and points at some of our bigger meets. Colyer is also a 40-plus in the Triple jump. 

“Along with Colyer we have Jase Hovey jumping 20-7, Hayden Feikert (19-11) and Isaiah Whitley (19-9) this season (who jumped 20-8 last year). By the end of the season, we could possibly have four jumpers in their 20s, and that kind of competition makes everyone better.”

For the second straight meet, Caplinger recorded a personal best in the pole vault. The Louisburg sophomore cleared 14 feet for the first time and finished second overall.

“With the competition we have in our league and regional, Caden doesn’t have a choice but to get better,” Wright said. “He will see his toughest competition every week for the next four weeks. Caden has been up to the challenge and has been improving every week.”

Also in the jumps, Dobbins cleared 6 feet to finish second in the high jump as he was one of five jumpers to reach the 6 foot mark. Junior Isaiah Whitley was eighth at 5-8.

In the throws, junior Nathan Vincent was second overall in the javelin with a mark of 160-7. Junior Layne Ryals scored points in the discus with a throw of 119-2 and finished sixth overall.

Junior J.R. Rooney was seventh in the shot put with a distance of 43-6.

On the girls side, senior Delaney Wright participated in three individual events for the first time this season as she is making her way back from an injury.

Wright was second in the long jump with a mark of 17-10.5. She also finished third in the 400-meter dash in 1:00.68 and was fifth in the 200 dash in 26.52 seconds.

Junior Emma Lohse scored points in a pair of sprints as she took fourth in the 100 dash in 12.86 seconds and sixth the 200 at 26.80.

In the distance races, sophomore Emma Vohs took seventh in the both the 1,600 meters (5:42) and the 3,200-meter run (13:00). Sophomore Maddy Rhamy was eighth in the 3,200 in 13:03.

Freshman Mackenzie Rooney scored points in the 300 hurdles as she finished sixth in 52.29 seconds.

Sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross continues to work her way up in the pole vault as she set a personal record for the second straight week. Carpenter-Ross took third after she cleared 9-6.

In the throws, senior Corinna McMullen was third in the discus with a throw of 106-4. Senior Davis Guetterman took sixth the javelin with a toss of 109.

Junior Emma Prettyman scored points in the shot put with a mark of 32-9.5 and finished eighth.

Louisburg will be back in action Friday when it travels to Wellsville for the Redbud Relays.

Other results are:

GIRLS

100 dash: Delaney Wieland, 19th, 13.60

800 run: Erin Apple, 15th, 2:47; Aubryn Berck, 17th, 2:50

1,600 run: Maddy Rhamy, 9th, 6:01

100 hurdles: Mackenzie Rooney, 9th, 18.24; Kate Frederick, 12th, 18.61

300 hurdles: Frederick, 14th, 56.81

Long jump: Wieland, 9th, 15-5.5

Discus: Emma Prettyman, 13th, 89-3

Javelin: Prettyman, 13th, 95-7

BOYS

100 dash: Hayden Feikert, 24th, 11.84

200 dash: Toby Espina-Roca, 22nd, 24.84

400 dash: Espina-Roca, 17th, 57.75

800 run: Hayden Ross, 14th, 2:13; Andrew Brown, 22nd, 2:20

1,600 run: Jerynce Brings Plenty, 12th, 4:46; Noah Cotter, 23rd, 5:19; Leo Martin, 25th, 5:26

Long jump: Feikert, 14th, 19-7.5

Discus: Nathan Vincent, 9th, 116-6; Chase Pritchard, 31st, 74-8

Javelin: Carson Wade, 9th, 127-7; Layne Ryals, 13th, 123-1

Shot put: Connor Lee, 9th, 41-10.5; Jaymes Melton, 19th, 37-3

Louisburg sophomore Caden Caplinger won the pole vault Monday after he cleared a personal best mark of 13 feet and 6 inches. The Wildcats won the team title with 125 points.

SPRING HILL — The Louisburg track and field team brought home a lot hardware Monday from the Spring Hill Invitational.

The Wildcat boys won the team title with 125 points and edged out runner-up Spring Hill by 18 points. As for the Lady Cats, they finished runner-up with 64 points and Spring Hill won the girls side with 99.

“We need as a team to continue to get better,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “Our next three track meets will be our bigger meets, and will truly give us a good idea where we are against some great competition. I’m looking forward to seeing where we are as a team, and who is going to rise to the occasion.”

Senior Jaden Vohs rose to the occasion for the Wildcats as he swept the distance races — winning the 800 (2:10), 1,600 (4:38) and 3,200-meter (10:26) runs. Freshman Jerynce Brings Plenty was runner-up in the 3,200 (10:28) and took third in the 800 (2:12) and 1,600 (4:52).

Senior Hayden Ross was fifth in the 800 run in 2:15, while sophomore Noah Cotter (11:02) and junior Andrew Brown (11:05) were fourth and fifth, respectively in the 3,200.

Another senior, Tom Koontz, won both hurdle races. He captured gold in the 110-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 14.76 seconds and also took first in the 300 hurdles in 41.28 seconds.

Junior Nathan Apple also set a personal best time of 15.5 seconds in the 110 hurdles to take third and teammate Mason Dobbins was fourth at 15.64. Dobbins went on to take third in the 300 hurdles in 42.99 and Apple was fourth at 43.81.

Ethan Ptacek scored points in a pair of distance races as he was third in both the 200 (23.70) and 400 (54.09) dashes. Sophomore Hunter Heinrich was fourth in the 400 in 54.84.

The Wildcats also finished second in a pair of relays. The 4×100 team of Koontz, Dobbins, Caden Caplinger and Ptacek ran a time of 44.39 to take the runner-up spot, while Colyer Wingfield, Heinrich, Ashton Moore and Cooper Hipp ran a 3:41 to second in the 4×400.

Louisburg also had a few personal bests in the field events.

Caplinger won the pole vault with a personal record clearance of 13 feet, 6 inches. Freshman Cooper Wingfield cleared 10-0 to take third and senior Remington Rice was fourth at 9-0.

Dobbins cleared 6-2 for the first time in the high jump and it was good for a first place finish in the event. Juniors Isaiah Whitley (5-8) and Trey Myers (5-6) took third and fifth, respectively.

Colyer Wingfield was runner-up in the triple jump with a mark of 39-3.25, while Jase Hovey (20-3.25) and Hayden Feikert (19-10.25) were third and fourth in the long jump. It was a personal-best mark for Hovey.

In the throws, junior Nathan Vincent continued his undefeated streak in the javelin and discus. He won the javelin with a throw of 145-10, while teammates Carson Wade (127-3) and Layne Ryals (127-1) were second and third.

Vincent recorded a mark of 132-8 to win the discus. Senior Chase Pritchard was fourth at 111-3 and Ryals was fifth at 111-1.

Junior J.R Rooney was runner-up in the shot put with a toss of 44-8.75.

The Lady Cats also found a lot of success as they won five events to go along with their runner-up team finish.

“The girls performed well,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “Finishing second as a team was awesome and the girls continue to improve in all aspects. All in all we are very happy with how the season is going and we will have the girls ready for the big meets as the season winds down.”

Louisburg shined in the field events as sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross started it off with a victory in the pole vault with a personal best clearance of 9 feet.

Senior Davis Guetterman won the javelin with a throw of 108-6 and teammate Katie Elpers was fourth at 104-2. Junior Emma Prettyman took fifth in the shot put (32-0) and discus (91-7).

In the jumps, senior Delaney Wright continued her success in the long jump with a mark of 18-1.5 to take gold as she also scored points on the track.

Wright was third in the 400-meter dash in and later helped Emma Lohse, Mackenzie Rooney and Emma Vohs to a runner-up finish in the 4×400-meter really with a big improvement time of 4:18.

Lohse also found success in the sprints as she won the 100-meter dash in 12.7 seconds and was second in the 200 dash in 27.09 — which were both season-best times.

Emma Vohs ran a time of 5:47 in the 1,600-meter run to finish second overall and was third in the 800 run in 2:33.

Sophomore Maddy Rhamy won the 3,200-meter run in 12:52, which was a personal best, and also finished fifth in the 800 run in 2:43.

In the hurdles, both freshman Mackenzie Rooney and sophomore Kate Frederick scored points for the Lady Cats.

Rooney took second in the 300 hurdles in 53.50 and Frederick was fifth at 57.15. In the 100 hurdles, Rooney was third at 18.39 and Frederick was fourth at 18.48.

Most of the varsity is back in action today when the Wildcats travel to the De Soto Invitational. Events begin at 3:30 p.m.

Other results are: 

GIRLS

100 dash: Delaney Wieland, 10th, 13.70

200 dash: Wieland, 8th, 28.91

800 run: Aubryn Berck, 9th, 2:55; Nova Ptacek, 10th, 2:59

1600 run: Berck, 7th, 6:32; Ptacek, 8th, 6:41; Erin Apple, 9th, 6:47

3200 run: Apple, 6th, 15:16

Long jump: Wieland, 9th, 14-10.5

Discus: Davis Guetterman, 14th, 69-2

Javelin: Emma Prettyman, 6th, 96-6

BOYS

100 dash: Jase Hovey, 8th, 11.72; Ashton Moore, 10th, 11.79; Hayden Feikert, 12th, 11.91; Gavin York, 13th, 11.94; Michijah Pankau, 14th, 11.95; J’Lee Collins, 19th, 12.25; Toby Espina-Roca, 21st, 12.39; Ayden Deterding, 28th, 12.88

200 dash: Moore, 7th, 24.36; Cooper Hipp, 11th, 24.58; Pankau, 12th, 25.43; Elias Pugh, 13th, 25.59; Collins, 14th, 25.67; Deterding, 24th, 26.70

400 dash: Collins, 6th, 59.18; Hipp, 7th, 1:00

800 run: Espina-Roca, 10th, 2:22; Vitus Aagaard, 17th, 2:35

1,600 run: Andrew Brown, 7th, 5:07; Noah Cotter, 9th, 5:13; Hayden Ross, 11th, 5:19; Leo Martin, 12th, 5:25

3,200 run: Martin, 6th, 11:42

Long jump: Colyer Wingfield, 6th, 19-4.75; Isaiah Whitley, 9th, 18-10.75; Pugh, 10th, 18-7

Triple jump: Trey Myers, 6th, 37-0.25; Pugh, 7th, 34-7.75

Shot put: Connor Lee, 6th, 38-7; Scott Thornton, 7th, 38-5; Jaymes Melton, 10th, 37-6.5; Chase Pritchard, 13th, 35-10.5; Ben O’Bryan, 17th, 33-5; Brayton Brueggen, 18th, 33-2; Reid Justesen, 21st, 30-9.5; Gavin Whisenhunt, 23rd, 27-3

Discus: J.R. Rooney, 6th, 107-7; O’Bryan, 8th, 105-4; Thornton, 10th, 102-5; Lee, 17th, 92-10; Brueggen, 20th, 86-9; Justesen, 26th, 73-9; Melton, 27th, 72-9

Javelin: Thornton, 8th, 118-5; Brecon Klugman, 9th, 118-5; Lane Cunningham, 12th, 102-2; Ayden McKain, 14th, 100-7; Brayden Yoder, 17th, 98-8; Brueggen, 18th, 98-1

Louisburg junior Layne Ryals finished third in both the javelin and the discus Thursday during the Louisburg Invitational.

The Louisburg boys track and field team put on a show in front of its home fans Thursday.

The Wildcats won their second meet of the season, this time at the Louisburg Invitational, as they took first in the team standings going away with 254 points in the 7-team event. Spring Hill was runner-up at 156.

Senior Tom Koontz continues to lead the Wildcat track team this season and he did so again Thursday by winning three events.

Koontz won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.26 seconds and was followed by teammates Mason Dobbins (15.93) and Nathan Apple (16.21) who took second and third, respectively.

Next was the 300 hurdles for Koontz and he took gold once again in 40.33 seconds. Apple was third in the event in 42.13 and Dobbins was fourth at 42.81.

Koontz, Dobbins, Caden Caplinger and Ethan Ptacek blazed the track in the 4×100-meter relay in 44.34 seconds to take the top spot in that event.

Also in the sprints, Ptacek was second in both the 200 (24.01) and 400-meter (52.59) dashes. Senior Cooper Hipp was third in the 200 in 24.05, while freshman Ashton Moore was fourth at 24.20.

Moore (12.01), senior Hayden Feikert (12.28) and sophomore J’Lee Collins (12.29) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 100 dash.

Ptacek, Hunter Heinrich, Colyer Wingfield and Koontz took second in the 4×400 relay in 3:38.

Senior Jaden Vohs led the Wildcat distance runners as he took gold in the 800 with a time of 2 minutes and 4 seconds and senior teammate Hayden Ross took third at 2:13.

Vohs, Ross, Andrew Brown and Hunter Heinrich also won the 4×800-meter relay in 8:44.

Freshman Jerynce Brings Plenty had runner-up performances in both the 1,600 run (4:53) and 3,200 (10:37). Brown (11:21) and junior Leo Martin (12:14) were fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 3,200 run, while sophomore Noah Cotter was sixth in the 1,600 in 5:13.

Junior Nathan Vincent continues his success in the javelin and discus as he won both events for the fourth consecutive time to start the season.

Vincent recorded a throw of 139 feet, 2 inches to win the discus and also had a mark of 166-10 to take gold in the javelin. 

In fact, the Wildcats dominated the javelin event as they took five of the six top places. Junior Carson Wade (144-3) was second, while junior Layne Ryals was third (134-0). Scott Thornton (127-6) and Brecon Klugman (124-5) finished fifth and sixth.

Ryals also scored points in the discus along with Vincent and finished third with a throw of 123-2.

Junior J.R. Rooney continued the Wildcats’ success in the shot put as he recorded at toss of 45-1 to take gold and Connor Lee was fifth at 40-1.

Dobbins led the Wildcat jumpers as he won the high jump after he cleared 6 feet and junior teammates Isaiah Whitley (5-8) and Trey Myers (5-6) finished third and fourth.

Caplinger also won the pole vault for Louisburg after he cleared 13 feet and freshman Cooper Wingfield took fourth.

Feikert recorded a personal-best mark in the long jump as he was runner-up with a mark of 19-11. Colyer Wingfield was fourth in the triple jump at 38-1 and Elias Pugh took sixth at 37-5.

The Wildcat throwers also had a little fun for the 4×100 throwers relay as the quartet of Vincent, Wade, Rooney and Ryals took second in 49.59 seconds.

Louisburg is back in action today as the Wildcats travel to the Spring Hill Invitational.

Other results are: 

100 dash: Toby Espina-Roca, 14th, 12.67

200 dash: J’Lee Collins, 12th, 25.36; Espina Roca, 14th, 25.41

400 dash: Michijah Pankau, 9th, 56.87; Collins, 11th, 57.93; Cooper Hipp, 12th, 57.96

800 run: Noah Cotter, 10th, 2:23; Vitus Aagaard, 15th, 2:36

1,600 run: Leo Martin, 7th, 5:17; Landan Henry, 11th, 5:38; Ben Proctor, 12th, 5:43

3,200 run: Henry, 7th, 12:20; Proctor, 8th, 12:25

Long jump: Colyer Wingfield, 7th, 19-4; Isaiah Whitley, 8th, 18-11.75; Elias Pugh, 12th, 17-3

Triple jump: Trey Myers, 7th, 36-9

Shot put: Scott Thornton, 8th, 37-9; Jaymes Melton, 10th, 37-5; Chase Pritchard, 16th, 34-1

Discus: Ben O’Bryan, 8th, 106-3; Connor Lee, 9th, 105-10; Pritchard, 15th, 89-0