Louisburg junior Chris Williams won the 400-meter dash Thursday at the Frontier League meet in Ottawa. Williams ran a season best time of 50.60 seconds.

OTTAWA – It was another week and another record broken for Louisburg sophomore Carlee Gassman.

For the second time in as many weeks, Gassman eclipsed her own record in the 300-meter hurdles Thursday at the Frontier League meet at Ottawa High School. She won a league title with a time of 45.78 seconds, which shattered her old mark of 47.07.

“Carlee is a competitor,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “It is no surprise that she has continued to improve her 300 hurdle time. Yes, she made a big jump in her time, but she also ran a great race and was rewarded for her effort. Keeping fingers crossed, but I think state is going to be fun for her.”

Gassman wasn’t the only Wildcat to find success at Ottawa as two other Wildcats also came home with league titles.

Senior Kailtyn Urban put together one of her best performances in the triple jump this season as she won with a leap of 33 feet, 9 inches. She captured the gold medal after winning the competition by almost foot.

“Kaitlyn won a well-deserved league title,” Reece said. “She works hard and is always up for even more when we push her at practice. She has competed at high level meets and is always up for a challenge and she rose to the top this meet. I expect the same at regionals.”

On the boys’ side, junior Chris Williams ran his best time of the season in the 400-meter dash and it was good enough for a league title. He recorded a time of 50.60 seconds as he edged out De Soto’s Graham Hudelson, who ran a 50.63.

As a team, the Louisburg girls finished fifth overall in the Frontier League standings with 65 points and Paola won the league crown with 188.5 points. The Wildcat boys took sixth with 53 points and De Soto won the league title with 134 points.

The Lady Cats finished in the top three in a number of different competitions, including a pair of field events.

Kaitlyn Urban stretches out in her attempt in the triple jump Thursday in Ottawa. Urban won the league title with a leap of 33-9.

Gassman picked up her second league medal in the long jump with a mark of 16-8, which tied league champion Carly Lindenmeyer from Baldwin, but lost the tiebreaker to finish second.

In the pole vault, senior Isabelle Holtzen continued her strong strings of vaults as she cleared 10-11 to take second, while sophomore teammate Avery Graham also earned points for the Lady Cats as she finished fourth after clearing 8-11. Paola’s Samantha VanHoecke broke the league record to win the event at 12-8.

Sophomore Sydni Keagle had another good performance in the 100-meter hurdles as she took third in 16.51 seconds.

Keagle also joined Gassman, Holtzen and Urban in the 4×100 relay and came in fourth in 51.69 seconds, while Gassman, Holtzen, Urban and Mikayla Quinn ran a season best time of 4:17 in the 4×400 relay to also take fourth.

“It was good to see that 4×400 team run their best time of the season,” Reece said. “They ran against great competition at league and they will have to bring it at regionals to qualify for state. The same goes for the 4×100 team. They will need to post a great race to punch their ticket to Wichita.”

Quinn scored points in the 400-meter dash in 1:07 and finished fourth, while junior Eileen Benne had a personal best mark in the high jump after she cleared 5-1 to also take fourth. Keagle finished seventh in the long jump at 15-3.

The Louisburg boys also had three runner-up finishers in their respective events.

Senior Wyatt Reece had one of his best performances of the season in the 3,200-meter run as he took second in 10:32. Reece also scored points in the 1,600-meter run as he finished sixth in 4:52.

Senior Wyatt Reece leads a pack of runners Thursday at the Frontier League meet in Ottawa.

Ben Wiedenmann, Blue Caplinger, Justin Collins and Charlie Koontz helped the 4×100-meter relay team to a second place finish in 44.25 seconds, while Caplinger also finished fourth in the 200-meter dash in 23.22 seconds.

Freshman Luke Faulkner continued his steady climb in the pole vault as he tied a personal-best 12-6 to take second in league and senior teammate Frankie Hurst was fifth at 12 feet.

In the 4×400 relay, the team of Williams, Wiedenmann, Caplinger and Collins finished fourth overall in 3:31.

Sophomore Michael Waldron scored points in the javelin as he took fifth with a throw of 147-7, while junior Kiefer Tucker was sixth in the discus with a throw of 134-2.

The season will wind down for several athletes Friday when Louisburg competes in the Class 4A regional meet at Eudora High School. Field events will get underway at 1 p.m. with the running events to follow.

The top four in each event will qualify for the state meet next weekend in Wichita.

“As I have emphasized since the start of the season, you go to every meet with the intention to better yourself and good things will happen,” coach Reece said. “Regardless of being top 4 at regionals, we go there to compete and to set personal records for ourselves. If we do that, we will have a successful last meet of the season and many of the girls will be going to state. We have put in the time and now it is time for us to show it.”

Other results from league are:

GIRLS

100 dash: Jordon Leach, 13^th, 13.70

200 dash: Leach, 10^th, 28.40

800 run: Shaylor Whitham, 10^th, 2:47; Payton Shaffer, 11^th, 2:53; Kennady Wilkerson, 13^th, 3:14

100 hurdles: Kristen Bell, 9^th, 19.37; Shelby Grandon, 11^th, 20.79

300 hurdles: Sydni Keagle, 8^th, 54.69; Grandon, 12^th, 58.76

4×800 relay: Sixth, 12:00

High jump: Grandon, 8^th, 4-8

Triple jump: Eileen Benne, 10^th, 29-7

Shot put: Shea O’Hara, 15^th, 26-9; Melia Rice, 16^th, 23-11; Lexie Reece, 17^th, 21-10

Discus: Lexie Reece, 8^th, 104-0; Kody Lowry, 14^th, 80-4; Rice, 15^th, 76-2

Javelin: Lakin Cunningham, 15^th, 70-3; Lowry, 17^th, 63-9

BOYS

100 dash: Justin Collins, 9^th, 11.66; Ben Wiedenmann, 10^th, 11.70

200 dash: Wiedenmann, 8^th, 23.75

800 run: Chris Williams, 8^th, 2:14

Long jump: Blue Caplinger, 14^th, 17-4

Triple jump: Kyle Allen, 14^th, 35-1

Shot put: Kiefer Tucker, 8^th, 42-7.5; Brayden White, 13^th, 39-10; Jonathan DePriest, 18^th, 35-7.5

Discus: Carter Anglin, 13^th, 114-2; Michael Waldron, 19^th, 91-3

Louisburg sophomore Carlee Gassman eyes the finish line in the 300-meter hurdles Friday during the Redbud Classic in Wellsville. Gassman broke her own school record in the event as she took first in 47.07 seconds.

WELLSVILLE – In just her second meet of the season, Louisburg sophomore Carlee Gassman broke a 29-year old school record in the 300-meter hurdles.

About a month later, Gassman saw that record fly out the window as she improved her own record time Friday at the Redbud Classic at Wellsville High School. She ran a time of 47.07 seconds to win the event comfortably and broke her old mark of 47.57.

Gassman was lone Lady Cat to win an event, while junior Kiefer Tucker won the discus with a throw of 138 feet, 8 inches and was only Wildcat to win gold on the boys side.

Both teams finished fifth in the team standings as boys totaled 48 points and the girls had 45 in the 13-team meet. Paola won the girls title with 181 points and Spring Hill won the boys with 101.

“We did a great job as a team at a tough meet,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “It definitely readies us for the league meet. Carlee got out well in the 300 hurdles and finished strong which led to another record breaking race.”

Louisburg senior Isabelle Holtzen had another strong outing in the pole vault as she finished runner up after clearing 11 feet. Paola’s Samantha Van Hoecke set a meet record in the event after she cleared 13-1.5.

Before competing in the hurdles, Gassman was less than inch from winning another event. She took third in the long jump with a season-best mark of 16-8, which was just a half-an-inch behind the champion Carly Lindenmeyer from Baldwin.

Eileen Benne also scored points in the field events as she was fifth in the high jump after clearing 4-10 and senior Kaitlyn Urban was sixth in the triple jump at 31-11.

On the track, sophomore Sydni Keagle finished third in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.93 seconds.

The Lady Cat relays also placed as the 4×100 team of Jordon Leach, Holtzen, Urban and Gassman took third in 51.99 seconds. Holtzen, Urban, Mikayla Quinn and Gassman also ran a season best time in the 4×400 relay as they took fifth in 4:19.

“Sydni ran an awesome 100 hurdles race to take third and she really competed well,” Reece said. “Our 4×400 relay ran strong as always and improved their season best time. I hope to see the team rise to the challenge of our league meet as to prepare us for regionals.”

Quinn also scored points for the Lady Cats in the 400-meter dash as she finished fourth in 1:08, while Quinn, Payton Shaffer, Shaylor Whitham and Kennady Wilkerson took seventh in the 4×800 relay in 11:30.

Louisburg junior Kiefer Tucker lets the shot fly Friday in Wellsville. Tucker won the discus competition and set a personal record in the shot.

Tucker led the Wildcat boys in the throws as he won the discus competition for the first time this season and later set a personal record in the shot put with a toss of 41-9, which was good for eighth overall.

Sophomore Michael Waldron got off a good first throw in the javelin of 155-11 to take fifth overall.

The throwers then did some damage on the track as Tucker, Waldron, John DePriest and Austin Moore set a new meet record in the thrower’s relay with a time 47.83 seconds. That time ranks them third in the nation according to milesplit.com

Also in the field events, sophomore Trent Martin had a solid performance after he cleared 12-6 to take third. Freshman teammate Luke Faulkner also cleared 12-6 and finished fourth. That mark for Faulkner was also a personal best.

Junior Chris Williams helped lead the Wildcats on the track as he took second in the 400-meter dash in 51.66 seconds. He also took fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:05.

Williams later joined Ben Wiedenmann, Justin Collins and Blue Caplinger to take second in the 4×400 relay in a season best time of 3:28.56.

The boys 4×100 relay of Charlie Koontz, Wiedenmann, Collins and Caplinger came in third in 44.20 seconds. Brandon Cooper (100 dash) and Wiedenmann (200 dash) took seventh and eighth, respectively.

Louisburg will begin postseason action at 3:30 p.m. Thursday when it travels to Ottawa for the Frontier League meet.

Other results are:

GIRLS

High jump: Shelby Grandon, 10^th, 4-6

Long jump: Sydni Keagle, 10^th, 14-1

Triple jump: Eileen Benne, 13^th, 28-3.5

Discus: Lexie Reece, 9^th, 107-6; Melia Rice, 13^th, 88-11; Aiyana Penca, 19^th, 79-3

Shot put: Shea O’Hara, 13^th, 29-2.5; Reece, 21^st, 25-9; Rice, 22^nd, 25-4

Javelin: Lakin Cunningham, 27^th, 61-9; Rice, 29^th, 58-7; Kody Lowry, 30^th, 57-7

100 dash: Jordon Leach, 13^th, 14.29; Andrea Gaza, 17^th, 15.09

200 dash: Leach, 17^th, 31.62; Gaza, 19^th, 32.06

800 run: Payton Shaffer, 13^th, 2:44; Shaylor Whitham, 14^th, 2:45; Kennady Wilkerson, 18^th, 3:04

100 hurdles: Kristen Bell, 11^th, 19.58

300 hurdles: Sydni Keagle, 11^th, 58.67; Grandon, 13^th, 59.56

BOYS

High jump: Jack Mick, 12^th, 5-4

Long jump: Charlie Koontz, 11^th, 17-9; Blue Caplinger, 13^th, 17-2

Discus: Carter Anglin, 19^th, 99-0; Michael Waldron, 22^nd, 94-11

Shot put: Brayden White, 15^th, 38-2.25; John DePriest, 21^st, 35-8.5

Javelin: Austin Moore, 16^th, 121-0; Jay Scollin, 25^th, 108-6

100 dash: Koontz, 11^th, 12.0; Justin Collins, 12^th, 12.06

200 dash: Collins, 15^th, 25.03; Brandon Cooper, 22^nd

800 run: Jackson Staab, 25^th, 2:56

1,600 run: Wyatt Reece, 13^th, 5:06

300 hurdles: Daulton Davis, 14^th, 48.22

Louisburg senior Kaitlyn Urban sticks a landing in the triple jump during a meet earlier this season. Urban won the triple jump and helped the Lady Cats to a team title as well.

LA CYGNE – The Louisburg track and field teams found a lot of success during the Prairie View Invitational on Thursday at Prairie View High School.

The Wildcat boys and girls finished atop the team standings as they each won their first team title of the season. The Louisburg girls racked up 105 points to win the 11-team meet and the boys totaled 103.33 points to take first out of 13 teams.

“It was great to win the Prairie View meet,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “The girls did an outstanding job competing in their events and relays. We did not win many events, but scored points in almost all of them, which is how you win a meet as a team.”

Seniors Isabelle Holtzen and Kaitlyn Urban, along with sophomores Carlee Gassman and Sydni Keagle, were a part of several bright spots for the Lady Cats.

Gassman had a big day for Louisburg as she captured four gold medals, including two individual events. She won the long jump with a mark of 16 feet, 1 inch and also took first in the 200-meter dash for the first time this season in 27.03 seconds.

“Carlee is a competitor and would do well in most events,” Reece said. “I think we have found a few events that suit her and she is a crucial part of two relays that have the potential to qualify for state, so we will wait and see how the next two meets go. She is very strong in the 300-meter hurdles and she will for sure be running them at the regional meet.”

Holtzen, Urban, Jordon Leach and Gassman teamed together to win the 4×100-meter relay in 52.83 seconds, while Holtzen, Urban, Gassman and Mikayla Quinn captured the 4×400 relay title in 4:21.

Several of those girls also did well in the individual events. Holtzen won the pole vault competition after she cleared 11 feet to finish first by three feet.

Urban set a new season-best leap in the triple jump with a mark of 33-4.5 to win that event by more than two feet. Keagle won the 100-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 16.47 seconds and also went on to finish second in the long jump with a mark of 15-4.5.

Keagle also scored points for the Lady Cats in the 300 hurdles as she took sixth in 56.29, while Quinn placed fourth in the 400-meter dash in 1:07. Payton Shaffer, Shaylor Whitham, Kennady Wilkerson and Quinn placed fourth in the 4×800 relay in 11:28.

In the field events, senior Lexie Reece took runner-up for the second straight week in the discus as she recorded a toss of 99-10.5. Eileen Benne (4-8) and Shelby Grandon (4-6) were third and fourth, respectively, in the high jump.

On the boys side, junior Chris Williams had a nice day for the Wildcats as he won a pair of events. Williams took gold in the 400-meter dash in 51.34 seconds and then later joined the 4×400 relay team of Justin Collins, Ben Wiedenmann and Blue Caplinger to take first in 3:29, which is a personal best time.

Collins, Wiedenmann, Caplinger and Charlie Koontz also found gold in the 4×100 relay as they won with a time of 44.41 seconds.

Sophomore Trent Martin had the Wildcats’ other lone individual gold as he won the pole vault competition for the second straight week. Martin cleared 12 feet to take first overall and just edged out teammate Luke Faulkner, who was second at 11-6.

“It was really nice to see the team compete with overall success,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “We had a nice balance of points from both the field events and on the track. It really was a collective team effort to get the win. I was very proud of how we competed and hopefully we can take that momentum into the big meets we have coming up.”

Freshman Justin Collins sprints toward the finish line in the 100-meter dash during a meet earlier this season.

Louisburg scored several points on the track as Koontz finished runner-up in the 100 dash in 11.67 seconds and Collins was fourth at 11.83. Wiedenmann (24.05) and Collins (24.38) also finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 200-meter dash.

Senior Wyatt Reece finished toward the top of the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs. Reece ran a 4:35 in the 1,600 to medal second and later ran a 10:30 in the 3,200 to finish third.

In the field events, junior Kiefer Tucker had a good showing the shot put and discus. Tucker took second in the discus with a personal best throw of 130-6.5. He recorded another PR in the shot put as he took fifth with a toss of 41-3.5.

Sophomore Michael Waldron was runner-up in the javelin with a throw of 142-5, while senior Matt Holloway also scored points in the event as he was sixth with a toss of 121-0.5. Sophomore Jack Mick was sixth in the high jump after he cleared 5-4.

Louisburg returns to action Friday when it travels to Wellsville for the Redbud Relays. The meet is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Other meet results are

GIRLS

100 dash: Kaitlyn Urban, 11^th, 14.50; Andrea Gaza, 12^th, 14.70

200 dash: Jordon Leach, 13^th, 31.13; Gaza, 16^th, 31.85

400 dash: Gaza, 12^th, 1:15

800 run: Shaylor Whitham, seventh, 2:45; Payton Shaffer, eighth, 2:46; Kennady Wilkerson, 11^th, 3:02

100 hurdles: Kristen Bell, eighth, 19.53; Shelby Grandon, 11^th, 20.35

300 hurdles: Grandon, ninth, 1:00; Bell, 12^th, 1:05

Triple jump: Eileen Benne, seventh, 29-2

Shot put: Lexie Reece, 11^th, 28-2; Melia Rice, 15^th, 25-5.25; Eden Strumillo, 20^th, 22-5

Discus: Rice, 12^th, 79-1.5; Kody Lowry, 15^th, 69-10.5

Javelin: Rice, 17^th, 58-9; Lowry, 18^th, 57-5.5

BOYS

800 run: Cade Holtzen, 16^th, 2:31

1,600 run: Holtzen, 10^th, 5:42

3,200 run: Gareth Baus, eighth, 12:26

300 hurdles: Daulton Davis, 10^th, 49.16

Pole vault: Frankie Hurst, seventh, 10-6

Long jump: Charlie Koontz, eighth, 18-2.5; Blue Caplinger, 11^th, 17-9

Triple jump: Kyle Allen, 11^th, 35-1.5

Shot put: Brayden White, ninth, 38-2.5

Discus: Michael Waldron, 10^th, 105-0; Carter Anglin, 16^th, 89-2

Javelin: Austin Moore, ninth, 120-2.5

Louisburg junior Chris Williams gets off to a good start in the 400-meter dash Friday during the Kansas Relays at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence. Williams competed in both the 400 and 800-meter run. 

LAWRENCE – Several members of the Louisburg High School track and field team had a chance to compete against some of the best athletes – not only from the Kansas City area – but surrounding states as well, at the Kansas Relays on Friday and Saturday in Lawrence.

Two Wildcats brought home medals from the event and one of them added a new school record to their resume.

Senior Wyatt Reece set a new school record Saturday morning in the 2,000-meter steeplechase and Reece put together a strong showing as he finished seventh in 6 minutes and 43 seconds to earn a KU Relays medal.

Reece broke his own record of 6:45 that he set earlier in the year at the Baldwin Invitational and he did it in rainy, cool weather.

“Wyatt had a great race in some crummy conditions,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “He was able to improve his school record and was rewarded with a medal.”

Fellow senior Isabelle Holtzen also left Lawrence with a medal as she finished eighth overall in a difficult pole vault competition. Holtzen cleared 11 feet, which is six inches off her school record.

Senior Isabelle Holtzen clears a height in the pole vault Friday during the Kansas Relays.

Paola’s Samantha VanHoecke won the competition after she cleared 12 feet and the two vaulters will be in the same regional together in late May.

Holtzen wasn’t the only Lady Cat to find success as sophomore Carlee Gassman nearly broke her own school record in the 300-meter hurdles. Gassman won her heat with a time of 47.89 seconds and finished 12^th overall in an event that featured 42 athletes.

Senior Kaitlyn Urban also competed in the triple jump for Louisburg and took 27^th with a leap of 31 feet, 9.5 inches.

“Isabelle, Carlee and Kaitlyn did great at KU,” coach Reece said. “They all enjoyed the opportunity to compete at the Relays and I hope this helps them as we get to the end of season. The pressure that comes with the big meets will not be an issue because they have competed at a high level at KU.

“Carlee ran a strong 300m hurdles and was only beat by one other 4A girl. Isabelle vaulted great and brought home some hardware for her effort.”

Louisburg sophomore Carlee Gassman won her heat in the 300-meter hurdles and took 12th overall Friday at the KU Relays.

On the boys side, junior Brandon Cooper came in 26^th out of 38 runners in the 100-meter dash in 11.31 seconds. Cooper, along with Charlie Koontz, Ben Wiedenmann and Blue Caplinger, also competed in the 4×100 relay and came in 47^th in 45.16 seconds.

Junior Chris Williams also competed in a pair of events Friday. Williams ran in the 400-meter dash and took 28^th in 53.18. He later took 31^st in the 800-meter run in 2:08.

“It was great for our athletes to compete with and be around the level competition at KU,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “I think it helped us see what we need to work on, and what we need to do to be prepared against great competitors.”

Louisburg junior Payton Shaffer gets off to a good start in the 4×800-meter relay Thursday during the Louisburg Invitational. Shaffer won the 800-meter run for the first time this season and the Lady Cats finished second as a team. 

In their one chance to compete in front of their home fans, the Louisburg boys and girls track teams made the most of it.

Both the Wildcat teams took second in the team standings of the Louisburg Invitational on Thursday, behind champion Spring Hill, and won a combined 12 events.

Juniors Brandon Cooper and Chris Williams were responsible for six of those victories to lead the Wildcat boys. Cooper won the 100-meter dash in 11.39 seconds and later won the 200 dash in 23.46 seconds.

Cooper later joined Charlie Koontz, Blue Caplinger and Ben Wiedenmann to win the 4×100-meter relay in 43.78 seconds. In fact, all three Louisburg relays found their way to a gold medal.

Caplinger, Collins, Wiedenmann and Chris Williams won the 4×400-meter relay in 3 minutes and 33 seconds, while Williams, Cade Holtzen, Jackson Staab and Dylan Knipp won the 4×800 relay in 9:27. Williams also won the 400-meter dash in 51.69 seconds.

All relays set personal bests, as did sophomore Trent Martin, who won the pole vault after he cleared 13 feet to win that competition.

“It was nice to finally have the weather cooperate with us at a track meet,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “The track team as a whole did really well and we had multiple personal records.  I was excited to see Trent Martin go 13’ in pole vault, and all three of our relays PR as well. If everyone can stay healthy, I hope to continue to see improvement in all three relays.”

Blue Caplinger takes a handoff from teammate Charlie Koontz during the 4×100-meter relay Thursday.

The Wildcat boys scored several points on the track as Collins finished right behind Cooper in the 100 dash as he took runner-up in 11.79 seconds. Sophomore Michael Waldron took fourth in the 400 dash in 58.15 and Knipp was sixth in the 800-meter run in 2:30.

Louisburg also scored several points in the throws as sophomore Brayden White led a group of Wildcats in the shot put as he took third with a toss of 37 feet, 11.75 inches. Junior Kiefer Tucker (37-10.25), senior Matt Holloway (37-10) and junior Jonathan DePriest (37-7) finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

Waldron continued his strong season in the javelin as he threw 154-7 to take third overall, while junior Austin Moore recorded a toss of 134-1 to take fourth. Waldron also finished fourth in the discus with a throw of 115 feet and sophomore Carter Anglin was sixth at 112-4.

“The throwers have been working really hard in practice and it shows through their improvement in competition,” Wright said. “Brayden has been pretty consistent on his throws in shot, but I would like to see him get one out there. Kiefer has been improving his distances every week, and continues to work hard.

“Micheal Waldron is an awesome surprise. He is working very hard, and is finding a natural fit with the javelin. It is his first year throwing javelin and is currently one of the top six in our regional.”

Senior Matt Holloway lets the shot put fly Thursday during the Louisburg Invitational.

Along with his win in the pole vault, Martin also scored points in the long jump with a mark of 18-1 to take sixth overall, while Jack Mick was fourth in the high jump with a clearance of 5-6. As a team, the Wildcats were second with 132 points and Spring Hill won the seven team meet with 149.

The Lady Cats also found a lot of success on the track. Sophomore Carlee Gassman, sophomore Sydni Keagle and senior Isabelle Holtzen led the way as they each took gold in two different events.

Gassman won the long jump with a mark of 16-4.5 and later helped the 4×100 team of Holtzen, Kaitlyn Urban and Keagle to a first place finish in 52.09 seconds.

“The 4×100 ran great,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “We cannot wait for a good warm day to see what they are capable of doing. There is always work to be done with handoffs to get them just right, and when we do, we will hit a good time.

“Carlee continues to improve each meet in long jump. She has been working hard on popping off the board and when she gets that down, she is going to post a big jump.”

Keagle continued her success in the 100-meter hurdles as she set a personal best time of 16.52 seconds to win the event. Holtzen also won the pole vault after she cleared 9-6.

Louisburg also had a champion in the 800-meter run for the first time this season as junior Payton Shaffer won the event in 2:46 and teammate Shaylor Whitham was second in 2:48.

“Payton and Shaylor are two competitors,” Reece said. “To see them go one and two in the 800 was awesome. They were rewarded for the hard work that they put in each practice.”

Also on the track, the 4×400 meter relay of Mikayla Quinn, Urban, Holtzen and Gassman finished runner-up in a time of 4:28. The 4×800 relay of Shaffer, Whitham, Kennady Wilkerson and Quinn also took second in 11:30.

Senior Mikayla Quinn helped the Lady Cat 4×800 relay to second place finish and also took fourth in the 400 dash.

Quinn finished fourth in the 400 dash in 1:07.80, while Kristen Bell (18.97) and Shelby Grandon (19.78) took third and sixth, respectively in the 100 hurdles. In the 300 hurdles, Keagle took third in 54.51, Grandon was fifth in 59.68 and Bell was sixth in 1:00. Jordon Leach came in sixth in the 100 dash in 14.07.

In the field events, Urban had a good performance in the triple jump as she took second at 31-9 and teammate Eileen Benne was fourth at 30-9.25. Benne also came in third in the high jump after she cleared 4-8.

Senior Lexie Reece also recorded her best throw of the season in the discus with a toss of 102-3 to take second. As a team, the Lady Cats tallied 126 points to finish second to Spring Hill, which totaled 200.

“The girls did an awesome job at the meet,” coach Reece said. “They finished second as a team with a great effort by all girls. It is always great to compete in-front of the home crowd and it was nice to recognize our senior athletes.”

Other results from the Louisburg Invitational are:

Girls

100 dash: Andrea Gaza, 13^th, 15.05; Gabbie Nichelson, 14^th, 15.53; Hannah Cook, 15^th, 15.80; Shayla Aye, 18^th, 17.51

200 dash: Jordon Leach, 7^th, 29.74; Eileen Benne, 14^th, 31.56; Cook, 16^th, 33.14; Nichelson, 17^th, 33.45; Aye, 20^th, 37.51

400 dash: Gaza, 9^th, 1:17

800 run: Lakin Cunnigham, 8^th, 3:12

Long jump: Shelby Grandon, 8^th, 13-0.75; Cook, 16^th, 10-11.5

Shot put: Shea O’Hara, 10^th, 26-8.75; Eden Strumillo, 14^th, 24-7; Lexie Reece, 16^th, 23-6.5; Melia Rice, 18^th, 23-4.75; Aiyana Penca, 19^th, 22-9

Discus: Rice, 11^th, 76-8; Strumillo, 13^th, 68-1; Kody Lowry, 15^th, 67-1; Penca, 21^st, 52-8

Javelin: Cunningham, 11^th, 75-7; Rice, 15^th, 66-4; Lowry, 17^th, 56-4; Strumillo, 18^th, 53-9

Boys

100 dash: Jay Scollin, 7^th, 12.65; Indy Strumillo, 13^th, 13.32

200 dash: Daulton Davis, 11^th, 28,43; Thomas Arnett, 14^th, 31.24

400 dash: Dylan Armstrong, 12^th, 1:05; Arnett, 17^th, 1:13

800 run: Cade Holtzen, 7^th, 2:34; Jackson Staab, 10^th, 2:41

1,600 run: Jones Reece, 10^th, 6:08

Long jump: Charlie Koontz, 8^th, 17-2; Justin Collins, 10^th, 16-5; Armstrong, 19^th, 13-10

Triple jump: Kyle Allen, 7^th, 33-9

Shot put: Brian Houck, 15^th, 31-8.25

Discus: Jonathan DePriest, 7^th, 107-0

Javelin: Scollin, 8^th, 125-3; Matt Holloway, 9^th, 124-8; Carter Anglin, 22^nd, 78-7

Louisburg senior Isabelle Holtzen is ready to take the next step in her pole vaulting career as she recently signed her letter of intent to pole vault at Northern Iowa next season. 

Isabelle Holtzen has already broken the school record in the pole vault and earned a state medal, and for most athletes, that would be enough.

Not for Holtzen, in fact, she is ready to take another big leap forward.

On April 11, in front of a big gathering of family and friends, the Louisburg High School senior made it official as she signed her letter of intent to pole vault at the University of Northern Iowa – a Division I program.

“I am really excited to be able to sign because I just love pole vault so much,” Holtzen said. “I can’t really put into words how much fun it is for me, so it is really exciting to be able to continue to do something that I love so much. Northern Iowa is a great school and the coaches and my teammates are great as well. It is a great atmosphere and I think it is going to be an awesome experience.”

Holtzen took up the sport in the eighth-grade and has fallen in love with it. It has shown.

Last season as junior, Holtzen broke the 15-year-old school record with a mark of 11 feet, 1 inch, and last week broke her own record at the Anderson County Invitational when she cleared 11-6.

She has qualified for state in each of her three years of high school and medaled seventh at state last season. Holtzen hopes to possibly break her record again and add to her medal collection.

“I am really hoping to get 12 foot this year, and I know that is a high goal, but I am hoping I can achieve that,” she said. “Even without that, I want to go back to state and place again.”

Senior Isabelle Holtzen signed her letter of intent with the Northern Iowa track program on April 11 in front of family and friends. Sitting next to Isabelle are her parents Michelle and Craig Holtzen. Standing (from left) are Louisburg track coaches Andy Wright and John Reece.

It was following her junior season where Holtzen decided she wanted to take her pole vaulting career to another level, which is when she began looking at places that, not only fit her athletically, but academically as well.

As a business major, she wanted the chance to achieve both dreams and found that Northern Iowa was the perfect fit for her.

“That happened for me after the last track season, over the summer,” Holtzen said. “There was a moment where I realized where I loved pole vaulting and I realized that I am not ready to be done with it. I still wanted to go to a bigger school, and there were a lot of things I still wanted to consider.

“The business school has really high placement rate for kids graduating, so getting both the track and school was really what sealed the deal for me. I know there aren’t a lot of kids that have the opportunity or chance that I have. I am really blessed to have this opportunity.”

Although she has yet to complete her high school season, Holtzen is looking forward to the opportunity to vaulting for the Panthers. She had a chance visit the campus and enjoyed the coaching staff, including the team’s vault coach.

“What stood out the most to me was that the coach there was a really experienced vaulter, and he has vaulted 18-foot plus,” Holtzen said. “This year he had a freshman who improved a lot and was a conference champion. He is a good coach and he knows what he is talking about.

“I showed the coaches a video of me pole vaulting and he said there were a lot of areas that I can improve on and that is going to help me get new heights and I am excited to see what I can do.”

Louisburg senior Isabelle Holtzen clears a height in the pole vault during a meet earlier this season. Holtzen cleared 11 feet, 6 inches on Thursday at the Anderson County Invitational, which broke her own school record of 11-1, that was set last year.

GARNETT – Isabelle Holtzen’s name was already on the Louisburg High School girls track record board – it is just going to have a new number by it now.

Holtzen broke her own school record in the pole vault Thursday at the Anderson County Invitational after she cleared 11 feet, 6 inches and eclipsed her old mark of 11-1 that she set last year.

“Isabelle is doing some great things in pole vault,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “Breaking her school record was inevitable and I feel this is just the beginning. She has been moving up onto bigger poles and she continues to vault well when this is sometimes a difficult transition for a few meets.”

The Louisburg senior won the event going away and picked up three gold medals on the day, as did with senior teammate Kaitlyn Urban as the Lady Cats finished fifth in the team standings with 75 points.

On the boys side, junior Brandon Cooper propelled himself to three golds in the sprints and fellow junior Chris Williams added another first place finish to help the Wildcats to third place in the team standings with 96.5 points.

Along with her victory in the pole vault, Holtzen helped the 4×100-meter relay of Sydni Keagle, Urban and Carlee Gassman to a first place finish with a time of 53.25 seconds. Urban, Holtzen and Gassman also teamed up with Mikayla Quinn to win the 4×400 relay in 4 minutes and 28 seconds.

Urban picked up her third gold of the day as she won the triple jump with a mark 31-3.5.

“Kaitlyn is a hard worker and she earns everything she accomplishes,” Reece said. “She is staying consistent right now with interesting weather, so she will be ready to pop a great jump when the conditions are right.”

In other field events, Gassman finished runner-up in the long jump with a leap of 16-1, while Eileen Benne took fourth in the triple jump (30-2) and high jump (4-8). Avery Graham tied a personal best in the pole vault as she took third after clearing 9-6.

On the track, the Lady Cats also placed in the 4×800 relay as Quinn, Lakin Cunningham, Shaylor Whitham and Payton Shaffer took third in 11:50.

Quinn and Gassman scored points in the 400 dash as they finished fifth (1:09) and sixth (1:10), respectively. Shaffer recorded a fifth-place finish in the 800 run in 2:52, while Kristen Bell was fifth in the 100 hurdles in 20.46.

“The girls did a great job at Anderson County,” Reece said. “They are really competing well and have stepped up when needed and have run different races than they are used to. Competition creates stronger athletes both mentally and physically.

“Our relays are doing well. One of these days we will get a warm day with little to no wind and we will really see them fly. Maybe this Thursday.”

Cooper dominated the sprints on the boys side as he won the 100-meter dash in 11.95 seconds and later won the 200 dash in 24.52. In between the two races, Cooper picked up another gold – this time as the anchor of the 4×100 relay – and helped Charlie Koontz, Blue Caplinger, Ben Wiedenmann to a first place finish in 44.39 seconds.

Also on the track, Williams ran his way to a gold in the 400-meter dash in 52.49 seconds and later joined Wyatt Reece, Collins and Wiedenmann to a runner-up finish in the 4×400 relay in 3:38. Williams, Reece, Gareth Baus and Jackson Staab took third in the 4×800 relay in 9:48.

Koontz, Collins and Wiedenmann also scored points in the sprints. Koontz (12.47) and Collins (12.56) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 100-meter dash and Wiedenmann (25.10) was fifth in the 200 dash.

In the field events, sophomore Michael Waldron put together a record day for himself in the javelin. Waldron threw a personal best 157 feet to finish second overall and had his best day as a Wildcat.

The pole vault provided more drama for Louisburg as that event was the last to be completed and had to finish with car lights shining on the runway. Despite that, Frankie Hurst, Trent Martin and Luke Faulkner all finished with season best heights.

Hurst cleared 12-6 for the first time this season and took third, while Martin was fourth at 12-0.25. Faulkner was fifth with a personal best 12 foot clearance.

Louisburg also got some big points in the high jump and shot put as Jack Mick and Brayden White had their best days of the season. Mick cleared 5-4 to take third in the high jump, while White threw 40-5.5 to take fourth overall.

The Wildcats will hit the track again this Thursday when they host the Louisburg Invitational, their lone home meet of the season.

On Friday and Saturday, several Wildcats will also compete in the 2018 Kansas Relays at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence. Wyatt Reece (steeplechase), Chris Williams (400, 800), Brandon Cooper (100, 4×100), Blue Caplinger (4×100), Ben Wiedenmann (4×100), Charlie Koontz (4×100), Isabelle Holtzen (pole vault), Kaitlyn Urban (triple jump) and Carlee Gassman (300 hurdles) will participate in the two day event.

Other results are:

GIRLS

100 dash: Jordon Leach, ninth, 14.81; Kaitlyn Urban, 16^th, 15.19; Andrea Gaza, 23^rd, 16.24; Shayla Aye, 29^th, 18.48

200 dash: Isabelle Holtzen, 10^th, 30.47; Leach, 11^th, 30.49; Aye, 23^rd, 38.62

400 dash: Gaza, 18^th, 1:15; Eileen Benne, 19^th, 1:15; Hannah Cook, 23^rd, 1:30

800 run: Shaylor Whitham, seventh, 2:56; Lakin Cunningham, 16^th, 3:23

100 hurdles: Sydni Keagle, eighth, 21.43

300 hurdles: Keagle, ninth, 56.93; Kristen Bell, 12^th, 1:03; Shelby Grandon, 13^th, 1:04

Long jump: Grandon, 17^th, 13-0.50

Shot put: Shea O’Hara, 13^th, 25-7.5; Lexie Reece, 17^th, 23-11; Aiyana Penca, 18^th, 23-10.25; Eden Strumillo, 19^th, 22-10.5; Melia Rice, 23^rd, 22-0

Discus: Reece, 10^th, 83-5; Rice, 13^th, 78-9; Kody Lowry, 14^th, 74-3; Strumillo, 17^th, 68-9; Penca, 20^th, 62-0

Javelin: Rice, 12^th, 68-0; Cunningham, 14^th, 67-9; Lowry, 16^th, 64-9; Strumillo, 24^th, 49-9

BOYS

100 dash: Jack Mick, 22^nd, 14.20

200 dash: Mick, 15^th, 27.25; Daulton Davis, 18^th, 28.49

400 dash: Dylan Armstrong, 13^th, 1:01; Jay Scollin, 16^th, 1:02

800 run: Wyatt Reece, 10^th, 2:22; Dylan Knipp, 16^th, 2:33; Cade Holtzen, 17^th, 2:39; Jackson Staab, 22^nd, 3:16

1,600 run: Knipp, 10^th, 5:49; Holtzen, 12^th, 5:55; Reece Jones, 15^th, 6:29

3,200 run: Gareth Baus, 11^th, 13:06

300 hurdles: Davis, 10^th, 48.84

High jump: Indy Strumillo, 11^th, 5-0

Pole vault: Logan Faulkner, 10^th, 10-0; Caleb Shaughnessy, 12^th, 9-6

Long jump: Scollin, 20^th, 15-5; Luke Faulkner, 23^rd, 14-5.5; Armstrong, 24^th, 13-11.5

Triple jump: Kyle Allen, seventh, 34-0.50

Shot put: Matt Hollloway, 11^th, 37-2; Jonathan DePriest, 14^th, 36-4.5; Kiefer Tucker, 19^th, 33-10.25; Brian Houck, 27^th, 27-9

Discus: Carter Anglin, 8^th, 113-9; Michael Waldron, 10^th, 109-7; Brayden White, 20^th, 96-2; Hunter Day, 28^th, 70-2

Javelin: Scollin, 10^th, 124-1; Holloway, 12^th, 119-9; Anglin, 28^th, 87-0

Louisburg junior Brandon Cooper leans at the finish line to finish first in the 100-meter dash Thursday at the Paola Invitational. Cooper won the 100 dash, helped the 4×100 relay to a first place finish and took second in the 200.

PAOLA – There weren’t many runners who could keep up with Louisburg junior Brandon Cooper last Thursday in Paola.

Cooper turned out to be one of the fastest on the track as he had two gold medal performances and nearly had a third during the Paola Invitational. Louisburg also added three runner-up and third place finishes on the track and in the field.

Those performances helped the Wildcats to a fifth place team finish with 69.5 points and Lamar, Mo., won the meet with 124.5. De Soto was second with 112.5 points.

Cooper won the 100-meter dash with a personal-best time of 11.06 seconds as he edged out De Soto’s Exavier Jackson, who ran an 11.09. He wasn’t done as Cooper set another personal best in the 200 dash with a time of 22.98 seconds in the prelims and took second in the finals with a time of 23.55.

“Brandon ran very smart races during the Paola meet,” Louisburg coach Andy Wright said. “It was our first meet that had prelims, and he knew how to conserve his energy for the finals. Brandon had a great start in the finals of the 100 to win, and he had his personal best times in the 100 and 200.”

Cooper continued to score points for the Wildcats as he helped the 4×100-meter relay team of Charlie Koontz, Ben Wiedenmann and Justin Collins to a first place finish in 44.04 seconds. Wiedenmann also scored points in the 200 dash as he took eighth overall.

“The 4×100 relay took off almost a whole second from their previous time,” Wright said. “We had to make some adjustments due to an athlete being out for an injury, and I couldn’t be prouder of how the group responded.”

Louisburg junior Chris Williams earned a medal in the 400-meter dash as he took second in 51.69 seconds, despite leading for a majority of the race.

In the distance events, senior Wyatt Reece ran a pair of strong races in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs. Reece took third in both events as he ran a 4:46 and 10:33, respectively.

“Wyatt ran a solid race,” Wright said. “He was not satisfied with his times, but it was his first time running the 1600 and 3200 this season and I felt he gave it his very best. I only look for him to become even more competitive as the season advances.”

Freshman Luke Faulkner clears a height in the pole vault Thursday in Paola. Faulkner cleared a personal best 11-6 to take seventh.

In the field events, the Wildcats placed three in the pole vault, including two in the top three. Senior Frankie Hurst cleared 12 feet to take second overall, while sophomore Trent Martin tied for third after he cleared 12 feet, as well.

Freshman Luke Faulkner set a new personal best with a mark of 11-6 and finished seventh.

“I was very happy with the outcome of the vaulters,” Wright said. “All 3 of our boys made adjustments from our last meet and continue to improve. The highlight was Luke setting a PR with an 11-6 vault. I think the sky is the limit with this group, and I am excited about the potential success this group of vaulters could have.”

Sophomore Michael Waldron and junior Austin Moore also scored points for Louisburg in the javelin. Waldron recorded a toss of 144 feet to take fifth overall. Moore finished eighth with a mark of 136-4.

Louisburg returns to action this Thursday when it travels to Garnett for the Anderson County Invitational. The meet is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.
 

Other results are:

100 dash: Justin Collins, 9^th, 11.73; Charlie Koontz, 13^th, 11.93

400 dash: Michael Waldron, 16^th, 58.10

800 run: Cade Holtzen, 20^th, 2:37

1,600 run: Dylan Knipp, 20^th, 5:36; Holtzen, 23^rd, 5:45

3,200 run: Knipp, 19^th, 12:40

Long jump: Koontz, 14^th, 17-9.5; Collins, 16^th, 17-4

Triple jump: Kyle Allen, 13^th, 33-4.5

Shot put: Brayden White, 15^th, 38-6; Matt Holloway, 20^th, 36-7; Kiefer Tucker, 21^st, 35-3.5

Discus: Tucker, 9^th, 113-2.25; Jonathan DePriest, 19^th, 92-8; Hunter Day, 24^th, 81-10.75

Javelin: Holloway, 14^th, 124-4

Louisburg sophomore Carlee Gassman distances herself from the rest of the pack in the 300-meter hurdles Thursday at the Paola Invitational. Gassman set a school record time of 47.57 seconds in the event and finished first.

PAOLA – As Carlee Gassman crossed the finish line in the 300-meter hurdles, she had a big smile on her face as she won the event by almost three seconds.

Her smile got even bigger just moments later.

Gassman recorded a time of 47.57 seconds Thursday at the Paola Invitational and broke a 29-year-old school record in just her second meet as a Wildcat. The Louisburg sophomore eclipsed Elizabeth Nicks’ record of 48.1 in 1989 and head girls coach John Reece was at the finish line to tell her.

“Carlee had a great race,” Reece said. “It was neat to see her excitement when I told her the time and that she broke the record. ‘I love this race’ was her reaction as she jumped around in the infield. I hope this record stands for 29-plus years as well.”

After finishing second in the event in her first meet of the season at Leavenworth, Gassman knew that setting a new record was doable.

“I was very excited to find out that I broke the record,” Gassman said. “I noticed the record earlier in the school year and thought I could beat it. I ran in the 400 hurdles in Iowa before moving here, so I didn’t have a time to compare it to coming into the season. Then when Reece told me I was a second off the school record after my first meet, I knew I could beat it after that.”

Gassman’s record-breaking performance was one of many positives for her and the rest of her Lady Cat teammates in Paola.

Louisburg finished fifth in the team standings with 61 points, while Paola won the team title with 195.5 points and Spring Hill was second with 104.

Although Gassman’s run was the lone victory for the Lady Cats, Louisburg recorded three runner-up finishes.

Senior Kaitlyn Urban had a strong performance in the triple jump as she took second with a mark of 32 feet, 5 inches. Junior teammate Eileen Benne set a personal best attempt at 30-7 to take seventh.

Gassman would also go on to finish fourth in the long jump with a mark of 16 feet and Benne also scored points in the high jump after she cleared 4-8 to come in sixth.

“Kaitlyn is another one of those hard workers who will continue to improve because of her work ethic,” Reece said. “She jumped well at Paola and I hope the trend continues. Eileen also did great at Paola and set a PR to help with team points.”

In the pole vault, senior Isabelle Holtzen had another high finish for the Lady Cats. Holtzen cleared 10 feet to finish second overall. Her teammate, sophomore Avery Graham, also finished strong after she cleared a personal best mark of 9-6 to take fourth.

Louisburg’s Kaitlyn Urban sprints down the straightaway during the 4×100-meter relay Thursday in Paola. The Lady Cats finished second in the event.

Holtzen, Urban, Gassman teamed up with sophomore Sydni Keagle to record its third, second-place finish of the day. The Louisburg 4×100 relay ran a time of 52.45 seconds to take runner-up and finished right behind Paola, which ran a 52.17.

Louisburg’s 4×400 and 4×800 relays also scored points. Mikayla Quinn, Gassman, Holtzen and Urban took fourth in the 4×400 in 4:25 and the 4×800 team of Payton Shaffer, Kennady Wilkerson, Shaylor Whitham and Quinn was seventh in 11:29.

“The 4×100 is starting to find their groove and the girls are getting the baton around the track which is sometimes half the battle,” Reece said. “All the relays are showing improvement but we still have work to do.”

Keagle also scored points for the Lady Cats in the 100-meter hurdles as she recorded a personal best time of 16.77 seconds to take fourth overall.

“Sydni continues to improve her competitiveness which in-turn leads to running PR’s,” Reece said. “She is training well and it is showing. I feel that she will take on any race I put her in and do well.”

Louisburg returns to the track Thursday when it travels to the Anderson County Invitational in Garnett. The meet is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Other results are:

100 dash: Jordon Leach, 10^th, 14.01; Kaitlyn Urban, 17^th, 14.35; Andrea Gaza, 20^th, 15.06

200 dash: Leach, 19^th, 30.45

400 dash: Mikayla Quinn, 11^th, 1:09; Gaza, 16^th, 1:15

800 run: Payton Shaffer, 12^th, 2:44; Shaylor Whitham, 15^th, 2:51; Kennady Wilkerson, 18^th, 3:10

100 hurdles: Kristen Bell, 11^th, 19.59

300 hurdles: Sydni Keagle, 12^th, 59.06; Bell, 16^th, 1:05

Shot put: Shea O’Hara, 18^th, 26-1; Lexie Reece, 20^th, 25-1.5; Aiyana Penca, 21^st, 24-7.5

Discus: Reece, 12^th, 85-2.75; Melia Rice, 14^th, 83-6.5; Kody Lowry, 18^th, 68-7

Javelin: Rice, 16^th, 64-8; Lakin Cunningham, 17^th, 60-5; Lowry, 19^th, 53-0

Louisburg’s Blue Caplinger hands the baton off to teammate Ben Wiedenmann on Tuesday during the 4×100-meter relay at the Leavenworth Invitational. The 4×100 relay team finished second overall, while the boys finished fifth in the team standings and the girls took fourth.

LEAVENWORTH – In the midst of a gloomy, windy and cold day, the Louisburg High School track and field teams hand plenty of positives shine through in their first meet of the season.

Louisburg competed in the Leavenworth Invitational on Tuesday that featured several Class 5A and 6A programs and both Wildcat teams more than held their own. They recorded three first place finishes and the Wildcats placed 13 in the top three.

It was a strong day on the girls’ side as the Lady Cats won two events and finished fourth in the team standings with 59.33 points. Mill Valley won the girls title with 138.33 points and St. James Academy was second with 121.83.

“The girls did a great job for the first meet,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “They all competed well for the cold, wet conditions that we had. We had several girls score those important points from second to sixth place and that makes a huge difference in the team scores.”

Sophomore Sydni Keagle got the Lady Cats started in the 100-meter hurdles as she won with a time of 17.57 seconds to score 10 points.

Louisburg continued that success in the pole vault as senior Isabelle Holtzen cleared 10 feet, 6 inches to win her first competition of the season. Holtzen just missed on clearing 11-2 in her next attempt, which would have broken her school record of 11-1.

Louisburg sophomore Sydni Keagle gets out to a lead in the 100-meter hurdles Tuesday in Leavenworth.

It was a 1-2 finish in the pole vault for the Lady Cats as sophomore Avery Graham cleared 9 feet to grab the runner-up spot.

“Isabelle picked up where she left off from last year and vaulted great,” Reece said. “She will be fun to watch this year. Avery also vaulted well and will score points all season for us.”

Sophomore Carlee Gassman also provided the Lady Cats with a spark on the track and in the field events. Gassman put together a strong race in the 300-meter hurdles as she took second in 49.19 seconds.

Gassman also came through in the field events as she finished third in the long jump with a mark of 15-2.

“Carlee had a great 300 hurdle race from lane 8,” Reece said. “She was on her own until lane 4 caught up and gave her someone to compete against. She is already moving in on the school record and with more races will put up some great times. She can and will be used in many different events as we make our way through the season.”

The Wildcat boys also provided some bright moments and some of those were in the pole vault. Senior Frankie Hurst tied for first with Topeka High’s Connor Harris after he cleared 12 feet and teammate Trent Martin was third after he cleared 11-6.

Louisburg senior Frankie Hurst clears a height in the pole vault Tuesday.

“It was very cold and the little bit of a head wind made it difficult to jump,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “Frankie had a rough start, but after overcoming the conditions, he made some adjustments and finished strong. Everyone at the meet had the same conditions, so I was proud of how Frankie just went out and competed.”

As a team, the Wildcats finished fifth overall with 61.50 points. Mill Valley won the team title with 138.5 and Leavenworth was second with 91.

“Even though the weather wasn’t the best, it was nice to start competing in track meets,” Wright said. “The guys did a good job competing, but we aren’t satisfied, and we know there is still some work we need to do as a team to get better.”

Louisburg had a pair of relays that finished toward the top as the 4×100 and 4×400-meter relays each came in runner-up.

The 4×100 team of Charlie Koontz, Blue Caplinger, Ben Wiedenmann and Brandon Cooper was second in 45.08 seconds, while Caplinger, Justin Collins, Wiedenmann and Chris Williams helped the 4×400 squad do the same in 3:37.39.

“Competing against some good programs and finishing second in both relays was a great way for us to start the season,” Wright said. “We still need to work on some of our exchanges, and improve our running shape for the 4×4. Both relays did just go out and compete, and that’s what I was looking for in the first meet.

Cooper also had a pair of strong finishes in the sprints as he finished third in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. He ran a time of 11.36 in the 100 and 23.79 in the 200.

Williams also finished third in two races as he performed in the 400-meter dash and 800-meter runs. He ran the 400 in 52.93 seconds and recorded a time of 2:10 in the 800.

Louisburg returns to action Thursday when it competes in the Paola Invitational. Events are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Other results from the meet are:

GIRLS

100 meter dash: Kaitlyn Urban, 11^th, 14.00; Andrea Gaza, 22^nd, 15.28

200 dash: Gaza, 21^st, 32.16

400 dash: Mikayla Quinn, 5^th, 1:09

800 run: Payton Shaffer, 9^th, 2:52; Shaylor Whitham, 11^th, 3:03

1,600 run: Shaffer, 15^th, 6:33

100 hurdles: Kristen Bell, 9^th, 21:37

300 hurdles: Sydni Keagle, 9^th, 58.57; Bell, 16^th, 1:09

4×100 relay: Urban, Isabelle Holtzen, Keagle, Carlee Gassman, 4^th, 51.32

4×400 relay: Quinn, Holtzen, Urban, Gassman, 4^th, 4:35

4×800 relay: Quinn, Whitham, Kennady Wilkerson, Shaffer, 6^th, 11:43

High jump: Eileen Benne, 4^th, 4-8

Triple jump: Urban, 4^th, 30-8

Shot put: Lexie Reece, 12^th, 24-11.75; Shea O’Hara, 13^th, 23-2; Aiyana Penca, 14^th, 22-6.5

Discus: Reece, 6^th, 87-11; Melia Rice, 12^th, 70-8; Kody Lowry, 14^th, 63-11

Javelin: Lowry, 12^th, 49-10; Lakin Cunningham, 13^th, 49-4.5; Rice, 14^th, 45-11.5

BOYS

100 dash: Charlie Koontz, 15^th, 11.99; Justin Collins, 16^th, 12.00

200 dash: Ben Wiedenmann, 5^th, 24.04; Koontz, 10^th, 24.95

400 dash: Blue Caplinger, 9^th, 55.04; Michael Waldron, 24^th, 1:01

High jump: Waldron, 7^th, 5-2

Long jump: Koontz, 6^th, 17-11; Collins, 11^th, 17-2; Caplinger, 12^th, 17-1

Shot put: Kiefer Tucker, 13^th, 37-4.5; Brayden White, 14^th, 37-3; Matt Holloway, 14^th, 37-3

Discus: Tucker, 5^th, 113-3; John DePriest, 11^th, 98-9; Hunter Day, 15^th, 84-4

Javelin: Waldron, fifth, 137-9.5; Holloway, 8^th, 126-8.5; Austin Moore, 11^th, 121-7.25

Reece wins steeplechase at Baldwin Invitational

Louisburg senior Wyatt Reece competed on his own Thursday at the Baldwin Invitational and won gold in an event, while scoring points in another.

Reece won the 2,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 6 minutes and 45 seconds. He also had a strong performance in the 800-meter run as he took fifth in 2:07.