Faulkner sets personal record at national pole vault meet
Louisburg junior Luke Faulkner stands with his pole vault coaches after setting a personal record in January at the National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev. A week later, Faulkner would set a new mark at a meet at the University of Kansas.
Track and field season is still
more than a month away from starting, but Louisburg junior Luke Faulkner is
already in midseason form when it comes to the pole vault.
Last month, Faulkner participated in two different meets, including a national meet in Reno, Nev., and another at the University of Kansas. At both, he soared to new heights as he set personal records each time.
On Jan. 18, Faulkner traveled to
train and compete at the National Pole Vault Summit. He learned from some of
the top instructors in the country and then got a chance to compete.
In his group, Faulkner finished
third overall where he set a then-personal best of 13 feet and 10 inches, breaking
his old mark of 13-6.
“It was an amazing event to compete
at,” Faulkner said. “On that Friday, I learned from elite vaulters and got
coached by professional level coaches about new technique work for pole vault
and how to get better and I competed the next day.
“I
was excited to get results from what I’ve been doing in practice at the gym I
go to, Xtreme Athletics, and was happy to place high in my group. It was more
important to me to show that I got a new personal record then placing because
it showed that I’m improving.”
Luke Faulkner clears a height at the Pole Vault Summit back in January in Reno, Nev.
Although
he enjoyed setting a new personal record, Faulkner had a chance to learn from
his coaches and from some of the best vaulters in the country.
“I learned a lot from my coach, things
like top hand extension, extending the top arm to get more pressure on the
pole, jump angles and being tall jumping into the swing and getting connected
to the pole at the top when finishing,” Faulkner said. “It was amazing meeting
and talking to professional vaulters like Mondo Duplantis, Andrew Irwin, Chris
Nilsen, Cole Walsh, and many more that I got to watch that night compete.”
A week later, Faulkner attended at the meet at the University of Kansas and set a new personal best by vaulting nearly 14 feet. He recorded a clearance of 13-11.25.
As a sophomore, Faulkner earned his first state medal at the Class 4A meet in Wichita as he cleared 13-6 to finish fourth and is hoping for even bigger things this season. It is an event that he has grown to love.
“I’ve
been vaulting since seventh grade track season in the spring,” Faulkner said. “It
became a passion of mine as I got into high school. I really enjoy following
the pros and how they’re doing each year and looking up to them.”
Top 10 Louisburg Sports Stories of 2019
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.
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.
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 11th 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.
“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.”
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 10th pitch
of the at-bat, Diederich got what she was looking for – a swing and miss.
“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.
“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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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 10th 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.”
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.
KSHSAA releases classifications for 2019-20 school year
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.
Stiles, Lohse, Burk and Bowes to be inducted into LHS Hall of Fame
Dennis Stiles (top left), John Lohse (top right), Jason Burk (bottom left) and Krystal (Bowes) Grojean will be inducted into the Louisburg High School Athletic Hall of Fame this fall.
It has been 11 years since
Louisburg High School had inducted a class into its athletic hall of fame, but
the wait for a new class is finally over.
The USD 416 Endowment Association, which oversees the LHS Athletic Hall of Fame, has announced a new 4-member class. Dennis Stiles (Class of 1969), John Lohse (1995), Jason Burk (1999) and Krystal (Bowes) Grojean (2001) were the top four vote getters in this year’s hall of fame voting and will be honored in an induction ceremony sometime this fall.
“Louisburg has a history of great athletes,” said Damon Dennis, a USD 416 Endowment Association board member. “We had a good cross-section of both young and older voters this year that really took their job seriously. The four athletes chosen represent several generations of former Wildcats and each one were dominant in their particular era and sports. The Endowment Association is excited to get the Hall of Fame going again and plan on some big things in the future.”
More than two dozen voters, that includes current members of the hall of fame, long-time Louisburg residents, teachers and coaches, voted on the class in June. Each voter was asked to submit their top four choices for the hall and votes were then tabulated.
To be eligible for the hall of fame, the inductee must wait at least 10 years following graduation to be nominated.
The last class that was inducted was in 2008 and Dennis, and the rest of the Endowment Association, is committed to making this a yearly occurrence moving forward.
Here
are the accomplishments of each of the newest hall of fame inductees. Look for
more information on an induction ceremony in the coming weeks.
Dennis Stiles
Dennis Stiles – Class of 1969 – Football, Basketball, Track
Stiles
lettered 4 years in football and
track and 3 years in basketball. His senior year he was named all-league and
all-state in football and was co-captain on the Wildcat team that finished the
year 4-4.
As sophomore, he played on the varsity basketball team which was 12-0 in
league play, finished the year 19-3 and were district champions. He earned
honorable mention all-state honors his sophomore and junior seasons and was
second-team all-state his senior year. Stiles was at one time the school’s
career scoring leader.
Stiles competed at the state
track meet as a junior and senior where he placed fourth in the discus his
senior year. He previously held school records in the discus and triple jump.
He also received a football scholarship to Kansas State University.
John Lohse
John Lohse – Class of 1995 – Football, Basketball and Baseball
Lohse lettered all four years in baseball and was selected to represent
Kansas in the all-star baseball classic his senior year. He was an all-league
pitcher and centerfielder for the Wildcats his sophomore through senior years.
He had a .510 average his junior and senior seasons with 10 home runs his
junior year and 12 more his senior season.
In football, Lohse was a 3-year letterwinner. He was an all-league wide
receiver his junior and senior seasons. In his senior year, he had 850 yards
receiving and 11 touchdowns and was later selected to represent Kansas in the
Metro Classic All-Star Game.
Lohse was also a 3-year letterwinner in basketball and was an
all-league selection his junior and senior seasons. He averaged a double-double
his junior and senior years.
Post-graduation, Lohse attended Pittsburg State on a baseball
scholarship and played on the Gorilla team for four years. He was selected to
the all-MIAA team his sophomore and junior seasons before injuring his shoulder
his senior year. He had a .315 average his junior and senior seasons. In his
first collegiate at-bat his freshman year, Lohse hit a game-winning grand slam
to give Pitt State its first win over Missouri Southern in five years.
Jason Burk
Jason Burk – Class of 1999 – Track and Football
Burk was a 4-year letterwinner for the Louisburg track and field team
and qualified for state in all four years in four events. He accumulated 12
state medals, 16 regional track medals and 14 Frontier League medals. Burk was
selected to the Kansas City All-Metro track team in 1998 and 1999.
During his senior season, Burk was a state champion in both the triple
and long jump. He won the triple jump with a leap 48 feet and the long jump
with a mark of 22-5. He also finished fifth in the 100-meter dash and sixth in
the high jump. As a junior, Burk won a state championship in the triple jump
with mark of 46 feet and won three more state medals. He took second long jump,
fourth in the 100 dash and sixth in the 200 dash. As a sophomore, Burk won
state medals in the triple jump (second), long jump (fourth) and 4×100 relay
(third). He was a member of the 4×100 team that took second at state as a
freshman in 1996.
At one time, Burk held seven school records. He currently holds school
records in the triple jump, high jump and long jump. Burk holds the school
record for most points in a season with 326.
Burk also played football, where he was a part of bi-district, district
and regional championship teams.
Krystal (Bowes) Grojean
Krystal (Bowes) Grojean – Class of 2001 – Volleyball, Basketball, Track
Bowes was a 4-year letterwinner in track before she was offered a
scholarship on the Wichita State track and field team.
In her senior season at Louisburg, Bowes earned three state medals,
including a second-place finish in the javelin with a throw of 145-10. She was
also third in the discus with a toss of 126-9 and fifth in the shot put at
37-5. As a sophomore and junior, she finished sixth in the discus at state. In
all, Bowes racked up five state medals in her high school career before moving
on to Wichita State. She is the current Louisburg record holder in the javelin
(146-10) and discus (137-11).
At Wichita State, she earned academic All-American honors and was a
team captain all four years. Bowes was a two-time NCAA national qualifier and
finished fifth in the javelin and was second in the Missouri Valley Conference
in 2006. In 2004, Bowes took first in the MVC in the javelin and fourth in the
discus. In 2003, she won the Missouri Valley Conference discus title, was
second in the javelin and fourth in the hammer throw. Bowes was also a member
two Shocker teams that won conference titles.
In volleyball and basketball at LHS, Bowes was a 3-year letterwinner in each sport and earned first-team all-Frontier League honors each season.
Current members of the LHS Hall of Fame
Class of 2005:
Tom
Stevens – 1934 – Track and Field (High Jump)
1947/48
Undefeated Football Teams
Richard
Meiers – 1949 – Basketball/Football
Don
Meek – 1965-1998 – Coach/Administrator
Larry
Harding – 1976-1994 – Volleyball/Golf Coach
Amy
Dodson Goode – 1986 – Volleyball/Basketball
Class of 2006:
Jim
Wells – 1936 – Track and Field (Pole Vault)/Football
Doug
Eaton – 1971 – Wrestling
Sue
Truman Apple – 1974 – Track and Field/Volleyball/Basketball
Mike
Meek – 1985- Football/Wrestling/Track and Field
Jamie
Waite – 1991 – Track and Field (Pole Vault)/Football/Basketball
Blue Caplinger selected as 2019 Louisburg Sports Zone Male Athlete of the Year
Blue Caplinger made history in a few different ways for Louisburg High School during the 2018-19 season.
Caplinger, along with fellow LHS student Alyse Moore, became the first Wildcat athlete in recent memory – if ever – to participate in two sports during the same season. All that led up to what was a spectacular finish to his senior year.
Caplinger helped the 4×400-meter
relay to a state championship in late May, which was the school’s first individual
track title since 2015. When all was said and done, Caplinger lettered in four
sports this past year.
These are just a couple of the
reasons why Caplinger was chosen as the 2019 Louisburg Sports Zone Male Athlete
of the Year.
The award, which is in its second
year, is to recognize an outstanding LHS student athlete. Louisburg Sports Zone
asked the head coaches at LHS to submit nominations and those nominations were
then organized and submitted back to the coaches for a vote.
The coaches then submitted their
top three choices and the number of votes were added up, which decided the
winner.
Caplinger was one of the leaders
of the Wildcat football team that reeled off 10 straight wins to start the season
and captured a regional championship before falling to eventual state champion
Bishop Miege.
He was an All-Frontier League player on both sides of the ball as he earned first team defensive honors from the safety spot with 31 tackles, two fumble recoveries and an interception.
Blue Caplinger poses for picture with his coaches (from left), boys track coach Andy Wright, head football coach Robert Ebenstein and baseball coach Joel McGhee. Not pictured is wrestling coach Bobby Bovaird.
Caplinger played a couple different positions offensively and earned second team all-league honors as a multi-purpose player. He had 310 yards rushing and four touchdowns to go along 234 yards receiving and two more scores.
He was also the lead blocker on a
lot of the big runs that teammate Austin Moore – who was a first-team
all-league and all-state running back – had during the season.
“Blue was the most all-purpose player we had,” Louisburg football coach Robert Ebenstein said. “He was the ideal teammate who put the team first all the time. He always did anything that was asked of him. He was a tough competitor and a great all-around person.”
During the wrestling season, Caplinger was a state-ranked
wrestler at 170 pounds for much of the year. He ended his season with a team-high
33-5 record and was a regional champion.
At the Class 4A state tournament, Caplinger finished one win shy of his first state medal. In all, Caplinger finished with a team high in wins and also holds the school record for most career reversals (72) and most career escapes (86). He ended his Wildcat career with a 111-57 record.
“Anyone who knows Blue understands what a great young man he
is,” Louisburg wrestling coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Blue embodies so much
about what wrestling is all about. I wanted him to get that state medal so
badly, and he came so close not once, but twice. With these sorts of setbacks,
Blue has demonstrated that he’s gained the resilience to be a champion in life.”
In the spring, Caplinger became a dual-sport athlete as he
participated in both baseball and track and field.
Although his focus was on track, Caplinger helped out the
Wildcat baseball team as a pinch-runner as he stole five bases in eight games.
However, Caplinger did a lot of his damage on the track as he was one of the Wildcats’ top sprinters. He joined Justin Collins, Ben Wiedenmann and Chris Williams to win the Class 4A state title in the 4×400-meter relay.
Caplinger, along with Charlie Koontz, Wiedenmann and Collins, also medaled fifth at state in the 4×100 relay. Both relays broke school records this past season in the Frontier League and regional meets.
Caplinger will continue his athletic career this fall as he plans to attend Benedictine College on a football scholarship.
2019 Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Year nominees
For the past three years, Louisburg Sports Zone has given out Athlete of the Week awards during each of the three sports seasons. I do it to recognize special athletic achievements and to highlight the athletes.
For the second straight year, Louisburg Sports Zone will be handing out an Athlete of the Year honor to a male and female athlete at Louisburg High School. I wanted the opportunity to recognize those who exemplify what it means to be an “athlete.”
Although I am giving out the award, I wanted the process to be subjective, so I asked the head coaches at LHS to help me out. I asked each coach to send me nominations of who they thought exemplified the Athlete of the Year honor. They will then vote for their top 3 male and female athletes and then I will tabulate the results and determine the winner. In the next week, I will announce this year’s recipients.
Below are the nominees for this year’s award in alphabetical order by last name. Congrats to all those who were nominated and best of luck!
Carson was a 3-time letter winner in her senior season and
was named as a team captain in volleyball, basketball and soccer.
In volleyball, Buffington earned second team All-Frontier
League honors as she helped lead the Lady Cats to a Class 4A state runner-up
performance. She also moved from her starting setter position to the outside
hitter spot and had a lot of success for the Lady Cats as she tallied 130 kills
in her new position. With all that success, Buffington was also selected to the
Greater Kansas City Volleyball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Match.
Buffington also wrapped up a strong career for the Louisburg
basketball team as she averaged eight points and seven rebounds to go along
with three steals a contest. She was named as a Frontier League honorable
mention this past season, and she also was selected as an all-state honorable
mention.
In girls soccer, Buffington was the starting goalie for Louisburg in all 20 games. She posted 13 shutouts, which is a school record and had a .952 goals against average, which is also a school record. Buffington had 90 saves on the season that ended as a Class 4-1A state runner up for the second consecutive year. For her efforts, she was also selected second team All-Frontier League. Buffington was also named first team all-state goalie and was named Goalkeeper of the Year.
ANNA DIXON – SENIOR – VOLLEYBALL
Anna wrapped up her fourth volleyball season as a varsity starter for the Lady Cats and guided Louisburg to its second consecutive Class 4A-state runner-up finish.
Dixon, who is currently with the Kansas State volleyball
team, ended her senior season with 584 kills and had a hitting percentage of
.260. She also added 325 digs, 50 aces and 42 blocks as she played all six
rotations. With those lofty numbers, Dixon earned several big time honors in
her final season.
She was selected as an All-Frontier League first team player
and was also named to the 4A State All-Tournament Team. Those honors continued
as she was named the Kansas Volleyball Coaches Association Class 4A Player of the
Year and earned a spot on KVA All-State First Team.
Following the season, Dixon was also named as an
Under-Armour All-American also earned MaxPreps/American Volleyball Coaches
Association Player of the Week honors.
ALYSE MOORE – SOPHOMORE – BASKETBALL, SOFTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD
Alyse is a 3-sport varsity letter-winner this past year as she earned letters for the basketball, softball and track and field teams. This past spring season, Moore went to state in two different sports and became the first Wildcat athlete in recent memory to do so.
In her first season in track and field, Moore threw the
javelin for the Lady Cats and went on to become regional champion as she
eclipsed her personal best throw by almost 25 feet in just her third
competition of the season. The following week, she medaled fourth at the Class
4A state tournament with a personal best throw of 131 feet and 9 inches.
Moore was also the starting shortstop for the Lady Cats as
she helped Louisburg to its first regional championship since 2014.
During the basketball season, Moore was a starter for the
Lady Cats and averaged six points, five rebounds and three steals a game.
TRINITY MOORE – JUNIOR – CROSS COUNTRY, SOCCER
Trinity is 2-sport letter-winner for Louisburg this past
year as she had state performances in both cross country and soccer.
During the fall, Moore was the top runner on the Louisburg girls cross country team as she helped the Lady Cats to a regional runner-up finish and qualified for state as a team for the first time in school history. Moore medaled fourth at the Class 4A state meet in Wamego and currently holds the school record for the fastest time in program history. She also earned first-team All-Frontier League honors for her third place finish at the league meet.
In soccer, Moore was a starter on the Wildcat team that recently finished as the Class 4-1A state runner-up for the second consecutive year. At the midfield spot, she finished the season with 12 goals and six assists and was also named to the All-Frontier League first team.
DELANEY WRIGHT – FRESHMAN – BASKETBALL, CROSS COUNTRY, TRACK AND FIELD
Delaney is a 3-sport letter-winner as she took part in cross country, basketball and track and field and competed at the state level in two of those.
Wright found most of her success in track and field as she
earned four medals at the Class 4A Kansas State Track and Field Championships
in Wichita this past month. She medaled in the long jump, 400-meter-dash,
200-meter dash and as a member of the 4×400-relay.
During the regional meet, Wright broke two school records
(long jump, 400 dash) and earned a regional and Frontier League title in the
long jump. She also earned a medal in the long jump at the Kansas Relays
earlier in the season.
In cross country, Wright was a member of the Louisburg team
that finished as a Class 4A regional runner-up and qualified for the state meet
as a team for the first time in school history. In basketball, Wright saw
playing time at the varsity level as a freshman at different points throughout
the season.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
BLUE CAPLINGER – SENIOR – BASEBALL, FOOTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD, WRESTLING
Blue is a 4-sport letter-winner in football, wrestling,
baseball and track and field and competed at the state level in two of the
sports.
In football, Caplinger was an All-Frontier League player on
both sides of the ball as he was named to the first team defense as a defensive
back and second team offense as a multi-purpose player. On defense, Caplinger,
who helped Louisburg to a 10-1 record and a regional championship, had 31
tackles from the safety spot and also had two tackles for a loss, two fumble
recoveries and an interception. Offensively, he had 544 total yards and six touchdowns.
On the wrestling mat, Caplinger was a regional champion at
170 pounds and finished his season with a 33-5 record. The Louisburg senior
fell one match short of state medal with a 2-2 record at the Class 4A state
tournament. He currently holds the school record for most career reversals (72)
and most career escapes (86). Following the season, he was also named to the
KWCA Academic All-State first team.
Caplinger split time between baseball and track and field in
the spring. Although he spent time as a reserve and pinch-runner on the
baseball team, Caplinger found a lot of success on the track.
He qualified for state as a member of two relays. Caplinger was a member of the 4×400 relay team that won the Class 4A state championship in 3 minutes and 25 seconds. Caplinger also helped the 4×100 relay to a fifth place finish and went on to garner two state medals.
Caplinger will join the Benedictine football team this fall.
AUSTIN MOORE – SENIOR – FOOTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD, WRESTLING
Austin is a 3-sport letter winner in football, wrestling and
track and field and was among the state’s best in two of the sports.
Moore thrived on the football field for the Wildcats as he helped Louisburg to a 10-1 record and a regional championship. Moore was a first team All-Frontier League player on both sides of the ball and was the league’s leading vote-getter. He went on to rack up all-state awards as the Louisburg senior earned Class 4A first team all-state honors as a running back from the Topeka Capital-Journal and the Kansas Football Coaches Association. Moore was also named as a Class 4A first team all-state linebacker from the Wichita Eagle.
When the season was all said and done, Moore tallied 1,554
total yards from the running back spot, including 1,428 yards on the ground,
and had 21 touchdowns before he broke his collarbone during the regional
championship game.
With those numbers, he was named the Kansas Small Class
Player of the Year by 810 Varsity and was All-Purpose Player of the Year by
Kpreps.com. Earlier this year, Moore was also named to the Kansas Shrine Bowl
roster.
On the wrestling mat, Moore missed more than half of the
season with his broken collarbone, but came back in a big way. Moore won his
first 14 matches when coming back at 220 pounds, which included a regional
championship. He went on to earn his first state medal as he finished fourth at
the Class 4A state tournament with a 3-2 record. He was also named to the KWCA
Academic All-State first team.
During the spring, he was a member of the Louisburg track and field team and threw the javelin for the Wildcats. He was also on the throwers relay that ranked Top 5 nationally at one point in the season.
Moore will join the Kansas State football team this fall.
KIEFER TUCKER – SENIOR – FOOTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD, WEIGHTLIFTING
Kiefer is a 2-sport letter winner in football and track and
field and also went to state competition in two activities.
Tucker was a presence on the line of scrimmage for the
Louisburg football team as he was a first team All-Frontier League player on
both sides of the ball and helped the Wildcats to a 10-1 record and a regional
championship.
The Louisburg senior was among on the leaders on the
offensive line as he helped pave the way for more than 3,500 yards of total
offense. On defense, Tucker recorded 55 tackles from the defensive end spot,
including three tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and
a sack. Those numbers helped earn him honorable mention all-state honors and was
also named to the all-state team by the Kansas Football Coaches Association.
The honors kept coming for Tucker as he was recently selected to participate in
the Kansas Shrine Bowl.
During the winter, Tucker was a member of the Louisburg
powerlifting team and certainly made his mark there as well. Tucker won the Class
4A state championship in the 220-pound class and broke a 24-year-old record in
the bench press with a lift of 375 pounds.
In track and field, Tucker qualified for state for the first time in the discus. He finished as a regional runner-up and went on to take ninth at the Class 4A state meet in Wichita, just one spot away from earning a state medal.
Tucker will join the Emporia State football team this fall.
Wright earns four medals to lead Lady Cats at state track
Louisburg freshman Delaney Wright reaches out for the sand pit during the long jump Saturday at the Kansas State Track and Field Championships in Wichita.
WICHITA – Coming of an impressive
regional performance where she qualified in four events and broke two schools
records, Louisburg’s Delaney Wright was busy last weekend at the Kansas State
Track and Field Championships.
Wright may have not gotten the
times or marks she had hoped, but she left Wichita with a lot of decoration
around her neck. The Louisburg freshman medaled in all four events at Wichita
State’s Cessna Stadium.
In all, the Lady Cats medaled in eight events and racked up 28 points to finish 10th in the team standings. The finish left a good impression with the Louisburg athletes as almost all of its state qualifiers are underclassmen.
It wasn’t easy for Louisburg
either as the Wildcats had to deal with numerous weather delays and didn’t get
to compete till Saturday. The meet wrapped up a day later and the athletes in
running events didn’t get to run in any preliminaries, while jumpers and
throwers only got four attempts with no finals.
“Delays are always tough, but we weathered
the storm and performed well,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “It was an
awesome long weekend. On paper, I was hoping for a little more, but with the
youth we took, I could not be happier. They did great.”
Wright’s best individual event came in the 400-meter dash Saturday as she finished fourth overall in 1:00.74 and Ottawa’s Summer Spigle won the race in 59.51 seconds.
“To be able to qualify for four
events was super cool and I will definitely remember my first season as a
freshman,” Wright said. “Running the 400 was very difficult, but I was so
nervous that I barely remember a lot of it. The competition was tough and I
didn’t think I would do as well as I did. Running with all the girls from 4A
was so fun and such a good experience.”
The Lady Cats saved their best performance for last as the 4×400-meter relay of Wright, Carlee Gassman, Rain Pugh and Sydni Keagle ran a personal best time of 4:12.74 to take fourth overall and was just .10 seconds behind third place Andale.
The Louisburg 4×400 relay of (from left) Carlee Gassman, Rain Pugh, Sydni Keagle and Delaney Wright ran a personal best time to medal fourth.
“I’m so proud of my 4×400 team,”
Gassman said. “We had to deal with a lot of chaos, but we still stayed strong.
We have so much talent and we fought for that fourth place finish. I can’t wait
to see what we do next year.”
Wright would also go on to finish
seventh in the 200-meter dash in 27.07 seconds. In her first event on Saturday,
she was eighth in the long jump with a mark of 15 feet and 10.5 inches.
“I feel like it was rough in my
two other events,” Wright said. “It was such a great experience to go to state
and learn how things work as a freshman. After not competing how I wanted to in
the long jump, I had to change my mindset because I had three other events.
“Our 4×400 was so fun to be a part
of. We have a great team and we worked so hard this season. I was grateful to
be a part of that team and stand with them on the podium.”
Gassman, a junior, also had a big
meet for the Lady Cats she came away with three medals, including an individual
one in the 300-meter hurdles. Gassman ran a time of 47.52 seconds to finish
fourth overall.
Junior Carlee Gassman left Wichita with three state medals last weekend.
“In all honesty, I was very
disappointed with my 300 race,” Gassman said. “I know I can do so much better,
and knowing my time from last year was faster than first place at state this
year, just tells me that I didn’t work hard enough. I am going to keep my head high
and work for it next year.”
A second Louisburg relay also made
its way to the medal stand. Gassman, along with Jordon Leach, Pugh and Keagle,
ran a time of 50.69 seconds in the 4×100 relay to take eighth overall.
“It was great being able to go on
the medal stand with the people I love and getting a medal for the 4×100 is
amazing,” Gassman said. “Getting to run against girls that are so much faster
than us just pushed us even more.”
In the field events, the Lady Cats earned two more medals as both Alyse Moore and Avery Graham both captured their first state medal.
In the javelin, Moore recorded a
personal best for the second week in a row as she had a toss of 131-9. The
Louisburg sophomore went on to finish fourth in her first state meet.
Louisburg sophomore Alyse Moore and javelin coach Alex Gentges get a picture with her state medal.
Graham also found her way to the
medal stand in the pole vault. The Louisburg junior tied a personal best mark
of 10 feet to take fifth overall.
“It was really nice to see both of
them medal,” Reece said. “I think that is going to be a huge confidence builder
for them.”
Keagle, a junior, just missed out
on her first state medal by one place in the 100 hurdles. On Saturday morning,
she ran a time of 16.67 seconds to take ninth overall.
Leach, a senior, competed in her
final meet for the Lady Cats and came in 12th in the 100-meter dash
in 12.81 seconds.
Louisburg 4×400 relay sprints way to state championship
The Louisburg 4×400-meter relay (from left) of Justin Collins, Blue Caplinger, Ben Wiedenmann and Chris Williams pose with their state championship medals Sunday at Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium. The Wildcat quartet won the state title in 3:25.39.
WICHITA – 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
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.
“I felt we ran well,” Wiedenmann
said. “Our coach (Andy Wright) had told us that individually there would be
kids faster than us, but that as a team they couldn’t’ beat us as long as we
ran our best race.”
Collins opened the relay, and the
Louisburg sophomore was a little nervous, knowing there was more than just a
state championship on the line.
“It was a relief because right
before I went out there to run, coach Wright told us he had never had anyone
win a state championship and we wanted to make sure to do that,” he said.
Collins then handed the baton to
Caplinger, who also helped keep the Wildcats toward the front of the pack and
the Louisburg senior was happy to do his part.
“I think it was cool to win state,”
Caplinger said. “It is something everyone hopes for and actually accomplishing
it is pretty awesome. I think I ran a decent leg, but it wasn’t my best. The
competition was tough and much different than anything we saw during the
regular season.”
Caplinger then gave the baton to Wiedenmann and the Louisburg sophomore remembered something he told Williams two days prior to the race.
“I told Chris that I would do my
best to give him a 20-meter lead, and even after all the delays, I made sure to
stick to my promise,” Wiedenmann said. “When I handed it off to him, I thought
I was pretty close to accomplishing my goal.”
Williams then took the final leg
of his high school career and made it count as he left the other seven teams
behind him.
“Once I crossed the line, I knew
that I used all the effort that Justin, Blue and Ben gave to get me the baton
in first and to finish the race like they started,” Williams said. “It was a
great feeling that we were able to provide coach Wright with his first state
championship in his coaching career.”
The rest of the team felt the same
as they came together to celebrate on the infield as Williams crossed the
finish line.
“I had mixed feelings watching
Chris cross the finish line,” Wiedenmann said. “One part of me was stoked that
we had finished first, but the other half of me was glad that it was finally
over and that our hard work had finally paid off.”
Louisburg’s 4×400-meter relay was one of two relays to earn state medals for the Wildcat boys. Louisburg medaled in four events overall as the top eight in each event make their way to the medal stand.
Charlie Koontz, Caplinger,
Wiedenmann and Collins worked their way to the medal stand for the 4×100 relay
as the Wildcats finished fifth in 43.68, just behind rival Paola who ran a
43.66.
“Getting a medal was really cool
in the 4×100,” Caplinger said. “We were ranked seventh coming in and we were
just .02 seconds off of third place. I think we ran well against this
competition, even though it wasn’t our best time.”
Sophomore Luke Faulkner cleared a personal best of 13-6 in the pole vault to earn his first state medal after he finished fourth overall.
Sophomore Luke Faulkner picked the
perfect time to have his best performance in the pole vault as he cleared a
personal best 13 feet, 6 inches to finish fourth overall and earned his first
state medal. Teammate Trent Martin was 12th in the event after
clearing 12-6.
Williams also earned an individual
state medal for the second straight season in the 400-meter dash. The Louisburg
senior finished seventh in 52.52 seconds.
“To be honest, the one race I
cared about was the 4×400, but once the race started I decided to just go for
it,” Williams said. “I was just wanted to make my last individual race in high
school a good one and it is nice to get another medal.”
Senior Kiefer Tucker was just one
spot away from earning his first state medal, but the Louisburg senior took
ninth with a throw of 141-3, just three feet behind the eighth-place finisher.
Junior Michael Waldron recorded
his best throw of the season Saturday in the javelin as he recorded a toss of
165-3 and took 10th. Waldron was a little more than a foot behind
eighth-place.
In other events, freshman Tom
Koontz had a good time in his first state meet as he took 12th in
the 300 hurdles in 42.21 seconds and senior Brandon Cooper was 13th
in 11.45 in the 100 dash.
Junior Anthony Davis and freshman
Ryan Rogers finished 15th and 16th, respectively, in the 1,600-meter
run.
Moore to compete at state in two sports in same season
Louisburg sophomore Alyse Moore is competing at state this weekend in both softball and track this weekend and is the first Wildcat athlete to do so in recent memory.
Alyse Moore was filled with
excitement after she and the Louisburg softball team qualified for state last
week.
As the team’s starting shortstop on the 5-win team, it was an unexpected, yet a fantastic feeling for the Wildcat sophomore. Just three days later, however, Moore’s excitement level reached a new level.
Moore qualified for state in the
javelin after she won a regional title in the event last Friday in Paola. So,
for the first time in recent school history, she is the first Wildcat athlete
to head to state in two sports in the same season.
“It is such an honor,” Moore said.
“I am so thankful because I couldn’t imagine do it without my teammates in
softball and my coaches in track. I am just very thankful and it is a great
opportunity for me.”
After the Lady Cat softball team won the regional title on May 14, Moore took to the javelin runway last Friday in Paola during regional track and she had an outside shot of earning a spot at the state track meet.
She knew she was going to have to have her best throw of the season to have a chance. Moore had competed in just two meets all season prior to regional due to her softball schedule.
So in her final throw of prelims, Moore let it fly and she shattered her old personal record by 25 feet with a throw of 129 feet, 11 inches. That mark jumped her to the top of the leaderboard and it was good enough win regionals by three feet.
She held off Baldwin senior Kayla Kurtz, who recently signed with the University of Oklahoma. When Moore’s personal record mark was read out, her javelin coach, Alex Gentges, got a little excited himself.
“I knew she was capable of a big throw but 129-11 exceeded expectations so I let out some excitement after they read off the distance, that’s for sure,” Gentges said. “The great thing is that she is capable of more, but walking away a regional champ after the first year ever throwing is incredible.”
Alyse Moore was all smiles after she won regionals with a personal best throw of 129-11.
The idea of participating in two sports was brought to Moore’s attention before the start of the season, and after talking with coaches from both sports, she was given the go-ahead to compete in both, with softball being the priority.
It made for some busy afternoons and evenings after school as she would attend softball practice and then made her way over for track workouts.
“It is definitely a challenge sometimes, but at the same
time it is super fun and it is fun to be around different people,” Moore said. “Most
of the time I will go to softball first, practice there, and then Gentges comes
over and we will put in the time after softball practice working on throwing. It
means a lot that he created extra time for me to get better.”
Alyse Moore, the Lady Cat starting shortstop, competed in the state tournament Thursday in Salina.
Moore grew up playing softball and the thought of throwing javelin hadn’t even entered her mind until before the season when the Wildcat track coaches brought the idea to her parents. They knew she had a strong arm as a shortstop, and they thought it would translate well into the javelin.
Although there were some growing
pains early, Moore has taken off with the javelin as she threw over 100 feet in
just her second meet earlier this month at Wellsville. She then followed it up
with the regional-winning throw.
“I’m very impressed about her success in both sports,” Gentges
said. “She comes to practice with a great attitude and takes criticism well.
She is a competitor and anyone that watches her compete knows that. This is the
first time in a long time that someone has played two sports at once and to
have this success this early is a special thing.”
Moore and the Lady Cats softball team competed in Salina on
Thursday and left with a 10-0 loss to No. 1 seed Andale-Garden Plain. It is
just the first part of what is a busy weekend as Moore will throw the javelin
at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday in Wichita at the state meet.
Whatever happens, Moore has enjoyed the experience of being able
to participate in two sports and is hoping for good things on Saturday.
“Although this is my first year throwing javelin, I am
expecting to go out there and place,” Moore said. “There are a lot of good
throwers out at state, but hopefully I can go out there and throw well. It will
be a lot of fun.”
Lady Cats qualify in 10 events, break 4 records, win 4 regional titles
Louisburg freshman Delaney Wright lands in the sand put after breaking the school record in the long jump with a mark of 17-11.75 on Friday at the Class 4A regional meet in Paola. Wright qualified for state in four events.
PAOLA – Delaney Wright was already
having a great season for the Louisburg girls track and field team as a
freshman.
On Friday, she took it to even
bigger heights.
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.
Wright began her historic day in the long jump as she was sitting third going into the finals when she popped her best jump of the season in her first attempt in the finals. Wright had a mark of 17 feet, 11.75 inches, which won her a regional championship and broke a school record in the process.
She eclipsed the old record of 17-10.5 set by Carolyn Burk in 1995 and Wright currently has the best jump in Class 4A heading into the state meet.
“I was so surprised,” Wright said.
“Carlee (Gassman) and I said a prayer right before finals and we both just went
for it. It was a great jump and I am just really happy.”
Her record-breaking streak
continued in the 400 dash as she was second overall in 1 minute, just .05
seconds behind Ottawa’s Summer Spigle. Wright finished .28 seconds ahead of
Baldwin’s Carly Lindemeyer as all three runners reached for the finish line.
Wright’s time broke Sue Truman’s 44-year-old
record of 1:00.30 that was set in 1975.
“It was just a battle,” Wright
said. “It was all about who had the most heart and we all wanted to go to
state. It was a great race. This season has really exceeded my expectations. I
just wanted to come out and do my best and do what it takes to win.”
She later qualified in her third event as she took second in the 200-meter dash in 26.45 seconds. In the last event of the night, Wright, Gassman, Pugh and Keagle recorded a season-best time of 4:15.28 to take second overall in the 4×400 relay.
Junior Carlee Gassman clears the final hurdle Friday at the Class 4A regional meet in Paola. Gassman won the regional title in the event in a time of 46.69.
As for Gassman, she is heading to
state in three events. The Louisburg junior won the regional championship in
the 300-meter hurdles in a season-best time of 46.69 seconds and has the
second-best time going into the state meet this weekend.
“I’m blessed to have gotten the
regional title,” Gassman said. “Honestly, I started out the season a little
rocky and to know that I’ve been working hard enough to keep improving my time,
makes me extremely happy.”
Gassman also helped the
4×100-meter relay earn a trip to state as she joined Pugh, Keagle and Jordon
Leach to finish second overall in 50.70 seconds. Bishop Miege was first at
50.54.
“I’m so proud of both the relay
teams,” Gassman said. “We have so much talent and determination. I think out at
state we are going to run our hearts out and good things will come from that”
Leach continued the historic day
for the Lady Cats she broke the school record in the 100-meter dash with a time
of 12.66 second and broke LeAnn Rhoten’s mark set in 1980. Her time was also
good enough to win her first regional title as she heads into state with one of
the top times.
“The prelims were pretty tough and
I didn’t think that I ran all that well,” Leach said. “Coach (John) Reece told
me I was ranked first going in so that they are chasing me. I knew that I
needed to step up in the finals and I just went for it. I was so nervous
though. I have raced a lot of these girls before, and it is always a toss-up on
who wins and after I crossed I almost cried. It felt so good.”
Senior Jordan Leach sprints after taking the handoff in the 4×100 relay. Leach won regionals in the 100 dash and broke the school record in the process.
Sophomore Alyse Moore provided the
Lady Cats with their biggest surprise of the day as Moore, who had thrown in
just two meets prior to regionals, finished her day as a regional champion.
Moore set a new personal record by
almost 25 feet as she finished with a mark of 129 feet, 11 inches, which came
in her final throw of the prelims. She is now headed to state in two different
sports as she is also the starting shortstop on the softball team.
Sophomore Alyse Moore won the regional championship in the javelin Friday in Paola with a new personal best mark of 129-11.
“I’ve worked all week on it and I’ve
been focusing a little more,” Moore said. “Whenever I let it go, it just felt
really natural for me and I was so excited to be able to go to state in track
too, along with softball.
“It definitely surprised me that I
was able to win it. It all has to do with Coach G (Alex Gentges) because he has
really worked with me and put in extra time whenever I have to come late
because of softball. It is definitely all because of him helping me out and it
feels awesome to be able to win.”
Keagle competed in a difficult field of the 100-meter hurdles, but the Louisburg junior rose to the occasion as she recorded a time of 15.99 seconds to set a new school record and earned her first state bid in the process as she came in fourth.
She broke the 40-year-old mark of 16 seconds that was set by Barbara Spies in 1979.
Junior Sydni Keagle races down the straightaway and clears the final hurdle Friday in Paola. Keagle was fourth in the 100 hurdles and broke a 40-year-old school record.
Junior Avery Graham also earned her first state bid in the pole vault as she took fourth overall after she finished at 8-6. Graham cleared that mark early in the competition, but sustained an ankle injury after and wasn’t able to vault.
Louisburg will begin their journey
to a state medal Friday afternoon at Cessna Stadium on the campus of Wichita
State University. The top eight in each event will earn a medal.
“Having so many people qualify for
state just proves how much talent we have on our team,” Gassman said. “I’m so
proud of everyone who made it and I know everyone is going to do their absolute
best this weekend.”
Other results are:
100 dash: Rain Pugh, 6th,
13.23
200 dash: Jordon Leach, 10th,
29.49
1,600 run: Shaylor Whitham, 10th,
6:25
High jump: Eileen Benne, 5th,
4-8; Shelby Grandon, 7th, 4-6
Pole vault: Malee Rutherford, 11th,
7-0
Long jump: Carlee Gassman, 5th,
17-1; Sydni Keagle, 10th, 15-7
