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 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 12^th 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 10^th. 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 12^th in
the 300 hurdles in 42.21 seconds and senior Brandon Cooper was 13^th
in 11.45 in the 100 dash.

Junior Anthony Davis and freshman
Ryan Rogers finished 15^th and 16^th, respectively, in the 1,600-meter
run.

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.

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.”

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.

“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 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, 6^th,
13.23

200 dash: Jordon Leach, 10^th,
29.49

1,600 run: Shaylor Whitham, 10^th,
6:25

High jump: Eileen Benne, 5^th,
4-8; Shelby Grandon, 7^th, 4-6

Pole vault: Malee Rutherford, 11^th,
7-0

Long jump: Carlee Gassman, 5^th,
17-1; Sydni Keagle, 10^th, 15-7

Triple jump: Benne, 12^th,
29-5.5

Shot put: Shea O’Hara, 11^th,
32-0.50; Cayden Forrester, 13^th, 24-9

Discus: Rinny McMullen, 5^th,
100-11; Aiyana Penca, 8^th, 90-8; Melia Rice, 13^th, 81-2

Javelin: Davis Guetterman, 10^th,
91-7; Lakin Cunningham, 17^th, 71-3

Louisburg senior Chris Williams pumps his fists in the air after the Wildcat 4×400-meter relay won a regional championship and broke their own school record with a new time 3:23.76 on Friday during the Class 4A regional meet in Paola.

PAOLA – As Justin Collins, Blue Caplinger, Ben Wiedenmann and Chris Williams raced around the track in the 4×400-meter relay Friday at the Class 4A regional meet in Paola, they had only two thoughts in mind.

One was to qualify for state and
the other was to hold on to that No. 1 state ranking.

The Wildcats did both of those
things and then some. The Louisburg quartet easily won the regional
championship as they broke their own school record with a time of 3 minutes and
23.76 seconds after setting it last week at the Frontier League meet.

“I think we ran pretty well,”
Caplinger said. “We are looking forward to even tougher competition at state. I
think we compete harder as the competition gets tougher and it was very
satisfying to know that we can run good times consistently.”

Louisburg currently has the best
time in Class 4A heading into the state meet this weekend in Wichita.

“We are all pretty excited since
we are No. 1 in the state instead of No. 8,” Williams said. “It is always a
good thing to be at the top. At the same time, we are now the team to beat and
we are who everyone wants to catch. It is going to be a fun race. It is going
to be tough and we are going to do our best.”

It was a successful day for the Wildcat team as they qualified for state in nine events and will send 13 to Wichita this weekend. The end of the meet almost got even better for Louisburg as it was in the hunt for the regional runner-up trophy.

Louisburg finished with 82 points,
but unfortunately they finished one point behind Eudora for second place in the
team standings. Paola won the regional crown with 168 points.

Still, the Wildcats had a successful
regional meet that led them to qualifying for state in nine events and are
sending 13 athletes to Wichita in the process. The top four finishers in each
event get to compete at the state meet.

Along with his regional title in
the 4×400 relay, Williams, a senior, ran his best race of the season in the 400-meter
dash in 51.44 seconds to win a regional championship.

“I thought I ran it pretty slow,
but down the final stretch I decided to just go for it since it was my last one
and finally got below 52 seconds, which I had been struggling with all season,”
Williams said. “It was good to get that good time.”

Louisburg’s 4×100-meter relay of Charlie Koontz, Caplinger, Wiedenmann and Collins ran their best time of the season Friday. After tying the school record the week before at the league meet, the four athletes now have it all to themselves as the Wildcats ran a 43.34 to finish second overall to Paola, who ran a 43.17.

“It’s really awesome to get the
record to ourselves,” Caplinger said. “It was nice since we’ve been working for
that record for two years. If we make it to finals (at state), I think we’ll do
very well.”

In the discus, senior Kiefer Tucker almost finished as a regional champion as he put together a strong round of throws to take second overall with a toss of 148 feet, 6 inches.

Tucker led going into finals of
the competition, but in the second round of the finals, he was passed by Bishop
Miege’s Taylor Poitier with a 152-7.

“It feels to go out to state,
especially with it being my senior year,” Tucker said. “I am just glad I made
it and it will be my first time going so it will be a new experience, but I am
definitely excited for it.

“Going in, I was a little scared,
but once I got my warm-up throws in I felt good and I knew it was going to be a
good day. I’m just glad that I went out and competed and just got it.”

The Wildcats also had six athletes
that finished in either third or fourth place to earn a state bid.

Junior Michael Waldron will make
his trip to state in the javelin as he took third overall with a throw of 154-9
in windy conditions. Waldron is excited for his first opportunity in Wichita
after narrowly missing state a year ago.

“It feels great,” Waldron said. “This
is my first year going and last year I missed out on going to state by like a
few feet, so it is a nice to be able to get there.

“It was actually good throwing into
the wind, and I have actually had success this year doing that, so it was good
and I’m looking forward to state.”

Louisburg had a pair of pole vaulters qualify after both Trent Martin and Luke Faulkner both tied personal bests to finish third and fourth, respectively.

Martin cleared 13-6 for the second
consecutive week, while Faulkner was fourth at 13-0. A lot of their competition
was eliminated early on and knew they qualified shortly into the event, which made
it a little less stressful.

“I felt really good today,” Martin
said. “It was nice when the four of us found out early in the competition that
we had already qualified and that took a lot of the pressure off. It just let
us have fun.

“We are going to be putting in
work this week and going for PR’s at state and we will just see what happens.”

It will be the second trip to
state for both vaulters and Martin will try for his second state medal.

“I am just trying to go to state
all four years and I have been successful so far,” Faulkner said. “There was
great conditions and that helped with some of the high marks.

“It is fun having competition to
go up against at practice with Trent. Everyone is slowing getting better and it
makes the sport more fun.”

Louisburg got a pleasant surprise from freshman Tom Koontz in the 300 hurdles. Koontz ran a personal best time of 41.35 seconds to finish third overall and led to a celebration at the finish line.

The Wildcats also qualified a pair
of distance runners as junior Anthony Davis and freshman Ryan Rogers finished
third and fourth, respectively, in the 1,600-meter run. Davis ran a 5:00.48,
while Rogers sprinted toward to the finish to edge Osawatomie’s Bryce Filipin
in 5:03.

In the sprints, senior Brandon
Cooper was fourth in a difficult race in the 100-meter dash. Cooper ran a time
of 11.22 to punch his ticket to state.

Events for state will begin at 3
p.m., Friday at Cessna Stadium on the campus of Wichita State University and
the top eight in each events will earn state medals.

Other results:

100 dash: Justin Collins, 5^th,
11.33; Blue Caplinger, 6^th, 11.51

200 dash: Charlie Koontz, 10^th,
23.85; Ben Wiedenmann, 11^th, 23.95

800 run: Anthony Davis, 14^th,
2:24; Ryan Rogers, 15^th, 2:24

110 hurdles: Tom Koontz, 5^th,
16.88

Long jump: Hayden Feikert, 7^th,
19-10; Will Finestead, 8^th, 19-8.5; Weston Guetterman, 15^th,
16-10

Triple jump: Finestead, 5^th,
40-7.5; Isaac Guetterman, 10^th, 39-5.25; Indy Strumillo, 13^th,
38-5.75

Shot put: Kiefer Tucker, 12^th,
42-9.5; Jonathan DePriest, 15^th, 39-7.5

Discus: Carter Anglin, 8^th,
122-2

Javelin: Jay Scollin, 6^th,
148-7; Austin Moore, 7^th, 142-10

Louisburg junior Carlee Gassman glides her way to a Frontier League crown in the 300-meter hurdles last Friday in Paola. Gassman won with a time of 47.07 seconds.

PAOLA – Carlee Gassman and Delaney Wright had a Frontier League Invitational to remember for a few different reasons – one of which was they left with a league title in hand.

Gassman won the league crown in
the 300-meter hurdles and Wright took first place in the long jump as they
guided the Lady Cats to a fifth-place team finish Friday in Paola. The Wildcat
duo certainly wasn’t done scoring points.

Both athletes captured three
league medals and Gassman was also a part of history. Gassman, along with
Jordon Leach, Rain Pugh and Sydni Keagle, broke the school record in the
4×100-meter relay as they ran a time of 50.59 seconds to finish second overall.

They eclipsed the old mark of
50.96 that was set in 2000 by the quartet of Laura Gjerde, LaTasha Roberts, Megan
Howard and Libby Dean.

It was a competitive event as
Piper went on to set a new league record in a time of 49.15 seconds.

“The 4×100 did an awesome job,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “I was coaching when the 2000 team broke the record and again with this group. Yes, there are similarities between them, but only one difference – we only lose one from this relay due to graduation. I expect them to continue to improve on their time, not only this year, but next as well.”

Gassman continued to show improvement in the 300 hurdles as she
recorded a season-best time of 47.07 seconds to win the event going away.

The Louisburg junior broke the school record in the event last
year in 45.78 and Reece believe she is rounding into form for the postseason
run.

“Carlee had a great start in the first 150 meters, which made
the others chase her,” Reece said. “Her conditioning continues to improve and
the best is yet to come.”

Wright, a freshman, had a big performance in her first ever
league meet as she won the long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 4 inches. She beat
out Baldwin senior, Carly Lindenmeyer, by one inch to take the top spot.

Gassman also scored points for the Wildcats in the long jump as
she was fifth at 16-5.75.

“Delaney is not a freshman when it comes to competition,” Wright
said. “She is a focused individual that will bring it every time. It is
impressive for a freshman to claim a league title, especially in our league.”

Wright and Gassman teamed up with Pugh and Keagle to run the
4×400-meter relay as well. The team medaled third overall with a personal best
time of 4:17.86.

In the sprints, the Wildcats picked up a couple more medals as
Wright took third in the 200-meter dash in 26.83 seconds, while Leach was third
in the 100 dash in 12.96. Wright also went on to score points in the 400 dash
with a season-best time of 1:01.26 and took fourth.

Louisburg also scored points in a pair of field events. Junior
Avery Graham cleared 8-6 to medal second in the pole vault and freshman Rinny
McMullen was fifth in the discus with a toss of 93-11.

As a team, the Wildcats were fifth overall with 65 points.
Baldwin won the league title with 112.5 points and Paola was second at 105.50.

The Lady Cats will be back in action Friday when it travels to
Paola for the Class 4A regional meet. Events start at 1 p.m. and the top four
finishers in each event will qualify for the state meet next week in Wichita.

“I believe we can qualify as many as 8 girls and be represented
in 11 events,” Reece said. “As always, we need to go and take care of what we
can control, our own performances, and good things will happen. If we go and
PR, the other teams will see the energy we create and they will feel the
pressure, not us. The best is yet to come.”

Other results are:

200 dash: Jordon Leach, 7^th,
29.99

800 run: Shaylor Whitham, 11^th,
2:52

1,600 run: Whitham, 10^th,
6:15

100 hurdles: Kristen Bell, 8^th,
18.90

300 hurdles: Bell, 14^th,
1:04

High jump: Shelby Grandon, 10^th,
4-8; Eileen Benne, 10^th, 4-8

Long jump: Sydni Keagle, 13^th,
14-3

Triple jump: Benne, 11^th,
29-5

Shot put: Shea O’Hara, 15^th,
29-2; Cayden Forrester, 20^th, 25-3; Eden Strumillo, 21^st,
24-6

Discus: Aiyana Penca, 12^th,
85-7; Melia Rice, 13^th, 81-9

Javelin: Alyse Moore, 10^th,
95-7; Davis Guetterman, 16^th, 74-8; Lakin Cunningham, 20^th,
68-0

The Louisburg 4×400 team of (from left) Justin Collins, Blue Caplinger, Ben Wiedenmann and Chris Williams broke at 19-year-old school record with a time of 3:25.10 to win a league title Friday in Paola.

PAOLA – It was a record-breaking
night for the Louisburg boys track and field team and the Wildcats picked a
good time to do it.

At the Frontier League Invitational at Paola High School, the Wildcats broke a school record, tied another and finished with two league champions Friday. Most of it was on the track as both relay teams were a part of history.

The 4×400-meter relay team of
Justin Collins, Blue Caplinger, Ben Wiedenmann and Chris Williams broke the
school record with a time of 3 minutes and 25.10 seconds and earned a league
title in the process. The old record of 3:25.60 was set in 2000 by the team of
Sauber, Brittingham, Johns and Hoppe.

Louisburg beat runner-up Eudora by
more than a second as the Wildcat quartet eased to a league championship in the
event. Their new school record time is currently the top mark in Class 4A this
season.

“They were on a mission and they
wanted the school record,” Louisburg coach Andy Wright said. “They ran with a
purpose and were determined to win. I don’t want them to be satisfied and I don’t
think they are. They are all competitors and compete with that mentality. I can’t
ask for more than that as a coach.”

The Wildcats’ 4×100 team of Charlie Koontz, Caplinger, Wiedenmann and Collins rose to the occasion as well. Louisburg tied a school record in the event with a time of 43.43 seconds as the Wildcats took third overall in a fast race that saw Piper win the league title at 43.20.

That mark of 43.43 tied the record set in 1996 by Hoppe, Burk, Jaccard and Antisdel.

“It was a well-deserved time,”
Wright said. “This crew works hard every day in practice. They show up and do
everything that is asked of them. They competed hard. All of the events,
including the relays, were state-medalist caliber at this meet.”

Junior Trent Martin had the best
day of his high school pole vaulting career as he won his first league crown.
Martin cleared a personal best mark of 13 feet and 6 inches and nearly cleared
14 feet in his final attempt.

Martin tied Paola’s Preston Martin
at 13-6, but Trent won based on number of misses. Louisburg sophomore Luke
Faulkner cleared 12-6 and finished fourth.

“Trent had some great attempts on
Friday,” Wright said. “It is nice to have him healthy and improving. He is
working very hard this week and I know he will be ready for regionals.”

 As a team, the Wildcats finished fifth in the
league standings with 55 points. Piper won the league championship with 122
points and Paola was second with 121.

On the track, Williams rounded out the Wildcat medalists as he was the league runner-up in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52 seconds.

Also in the sprints, Collins ran a
time of 11.47 seconds to take fifth in the 100-meter dash. Caplinger was fifth
in the 200 dash in 23.33.

Louisburg also scored points in
the 300 hurdles as freshman Tom Koontz was sixth in 42.81.

The Wildcats also scored points in
a few field events. Junior Michael Waldron recorded a throw of 156-6 to take
fifth in the javelin.

Junior Carter Anglin was sixth in
the discus with a toss of 131-5 and junior Indy Strumillo took sixth in the
triple jump with a mark of 39-4.

“The Frontier League meet is,
event for event, one of the toughest we will compete at,” Wright said. “In
several events, the top finishers are the leading event leaders in the state. I
was very proud of the way our team handled themselves and the level of
competition. They didn’t back down.”

Louisburg will be back in action
Friday when it travels back to Paola to compete in the Class 4A regional meet. The
top four finishers in each event will travel to Wichita next week to compete at
the state meet.

“Our regional is tough, and has
some very tough competition,” Wright said. “The mark coming into the Paola
regional are some of the best in 4A. I expect us to go out and give it our
best, and if we compete like we can, we hope to qualify in several events. It
should be very exciting on Friday.”

Other results are:

100 dash: Blue Caplinger, 8^th,
11.72; Charlie Koontz, 11^th, 11.91

200 dash: Ben Widenmann, 9^th,
23.41; Skylar Tinsley, 13^th, 24.31

400 dash: Dylan Armstrong, 12^th,
55.96; Weston Guetterman, 14^th, 56.92

800 run: Anthony Davis, 14^th,
2:19; Ryan Rogers, 17^th, 2:26; Caden Bradshaw, 18^th, 2:27

1,600 run: Davis, 7^th,
4:58; Rogers, 12^th, 5:12; Bradshaw, 13^th, 5:12

3,200 run: Gareth Baus, 18^th,
13:00

110 hurdles: Tom Koontz, 10^th,
17.84

Long jump: Will Finestead, 11^th,
18-4; Hayden Feikert, 12^th, 18-3; Guetterman, 18^th, 17-2

Triple jump: Isaac Guetterman, 8^th,
38-0.50; Finestead, 9^th, 37-6.5

Shot put: Kiefer Tucker, 10^th,
45-6; Brayden White, 17^th, 39-11; Jonathan DePriest, 22^nd,
37-6

Discus: Tucker, 16^th,
109-7; White, 18^th, 107-6

Javelin: Jay Scollin, 7^th,
142-2; Austin Moore, 9^th, 141-2

Carlee Gassman won the 300 hurdles, was second in the long jump and helped the Louisburg 4×100 relay to a first place finish Friday in Wellsville.

WELLSVILLE – The Louisburg track
and field teams took part in one of its toughest meets of the season Friday in
Wellsville.

Louisburg competed in the Red Bud
Relays and both the boys and girls teams had a fair amount of success as they
each took sixth in the team standings. The Lady Cats came in sixth with 45
points, while Baldwin won the meet with 91 and Paola was second with 79.

The Wildcat boys were also sixth
with 43 points. Paola took first in the team standings with 124 points and
Spring Hill was second with 104.5.

“The boys ran up against some good
competition,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “We had some athletes step
up and compete. As a team, I would like to see us refocus our goals and get
ready for league coming up.”

Carlee Gassman had a big meet for
the Lady Cats on the girls side as she earned a pair of gold medals and was
runner-up in another event as well.

Gassman won the 300-meter hurdles
in 48.53 seconds to pull away from the rest of the field. Earlier in the day,
Gassman, along with Jordon Leach, Rain Pugh and Sydni Keagle, put together a
season-best time in the 4×100-meter relay in 50.99 seconds.

The Louisburg junior would also go
on to finish second in the long jump with a mark of 15 feet and 6 inches.

Louisburg won one event on the boys
side and that came thanks to the arm of Kiefer Tucker. The Louisburg senior
captured the discus title for the second week in a row on a throw of 144-6.

“Kiefer really competed,” Wright
said. “He lost the lead in the finals and I was proud of how he responded by
putting his last throw out there to regain the lead and win it.”

Although it didn’t count in the
team standings, Tucker also took part in the thrower’s relay with Austin Moore,
Michael Waldron and Jonathan DePriest. The team took first in 48.37 seconds and
their time is the fourth fastest in the nation according to milesplit.com

Two other relays also had
season-best times as the 4×400-meter relay of Chris Williams, Justin Collins,
Blue Caplinger and Ben Wiedenmann finished second in 3 minutes and 28 seconds
to take second overall.

The 4×100 relay of Brandon Cooper,
Caplinger, Wiedenmann and Collins found themselves in a competitive race, but
came in fourth in 43.98 seconds.

“The 4×400 set a PR by two seconds
and they ran a solid race, even without everyone running their best split,”
Wright said. “When we get everyone’s best in the same race we are going to be
right at the top of the mix in league and regionals.

“The 4×100 also got a PR, but we
just have to keep improving every week. We are getting down to the end and we
need to stay focused on improving with the races we have left.”

In the sprints, Cooper led the way in the 100-meter dash as he took third in 11.49 seconds and Caplinger was sixth in 11.70. Caplinger was also sixth in the 200 dash in 23.87.

Williams ran a 52.82 to take
fourth overall in the 400 dash and freshman Tom Koontz was sixth in the 300
hurdles in 44 seconds to complete the point-getters on the track.

In the field events, Waldron earned a medal in the javelin with a throw of 152-5 to take third and sophomore Jay Scollin was fifth at 148-4.

On the girls side, Leach had a successful day as she was runner-up in the 200-meter dash in 27.50 and was fifth in the 100 dash in 13.54.

Keagle earned points for Louisburg
in the 100 hurdles as she finished fifth in 17.06 seconds. Keagle, Pugh,
Gassman and Shaylor Whitham was sixth in the 4×400 relay in 4:28.

The girls 4×100 thrower’s relay, although they didn’t earn points, took gold in 1:03.

A pair of throwers also placed for the Lady Cats. Sophomore Alyse Moore finished fifth with a toss of 104-4 and freshman Rinny McMullen was sixth in the discus at 93-1.

Senior Eileen Benne and sophomore
Shelby Grandon tied for sixth in the high jump after clearing 4-6.

Louisburg will begin its
postseason slate Friday when it travels to Paola for the Frontier League
Invitational. Events are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Other results are:

GIRLS

400 dash: Andrea Gaza, 19^th,
1:14

1,600 run: Shaylor Whitham, 14^th,
6:21

100 hurdles: Kristen Bell, 11^th,
19.59

Long jump: Sydni Keagle, 10^th,
13-6

Triple jump: Eileen Benne, 11^th,
28-5

Shot put: Shea O’Hara, 16^th,
26-10; Eden Strumillo, 18^th, 25-6; Cayden Forrester, 24^th,
22-9

Discus: Aiyana Penca, 15^th,
87-0; Melia Rice, 22^nd, 77-4

Javelin: Davis Guetterman, 23^rd,
73-5

BOYS

100 dash: Justin Collins, 9^th,
11.79

200 dash: Ben Wiedenmann, 8^th,
24.27; Brandon Cooper, 10^th, 23.90

400 dash: Dylan Armstrong, 21^st,
56.69; Weston Guetterman, 25^th, 59.39

800 run: Anthony Davis, 18^th,
2:20; Ryan Rogers, 21^st, 2:25; Sawyer Richardson, 24^th,
2:28

1,600 run: Davis, 12^th,
5:01; Rogers, 15^th, 5:14; Richardson, 17^th, 5:24

110 hurdles: Tom Koontz, 7^th,
17.54

Pole vault: Trent Martin, 8^th,
11-6; Caleb Shaughnessy, 12^th, 9-6

Long jump: Will Finestead, 9^th,
18-4; Hayden Feikert, 12^th, 18-0

Triple jump: Finestead, 8^th,
37-4; Indy Strumillo, 9^th, 36-11; Guetterman, 13^th, 34-10

Shot put: Kiefer Tucker, 9^th,
42-3.5; Jonathan DePriest, 13^th, 39-8; Brayden White, 19^th,
38-3

Discus: Carter Anglin, 7^th,
121-7; White, 14^th, 111-8

Javelin: Austin Moore, 12^th,
125-11

Louisburg junior Carter Anglin finished third overall in the discus Thursday at the Prairie View Invitational.

LA CYGNE – On one of the more windy days of the season, the Louisburg boys track and field team was still able to put together some of its best performances of the year.

The Wildcats recorded several personal
bests Thursday during the Prairie View Invitational and blew away the
competition. Louisburg captured its second consecutive team title as they
racked up 164 points and won by nearly 100 points. Central Heights was second
with 65.

Louisburg won eight events on the day, including five on the track. The Wildcats won three field events in which each of them had a personal record.

“We
came out did what we were supposed to do,” Louisburg coach Andy Wright said. “I
knew our athletes had been working and was not surprised to see a few personal
records, even with the conditions.”

Senior
Blue Caplinger had a big day in the sprints as he won two individual events and
was a part of two gold-medal winning relays.

Caplinger
won the 100-meter dash in 11.30 seconds and edged senior teammate Brandon
Cooper, who was second in 11.31. Sophomore Justin Collins was third in 11.44.

In
the 200 dash, Caplinger edged Louisburg sophomore Ben Wiedenmannn in 23.25
seconds to win gold. Wiedenmann was second in 23.50.

The
Wildcat 4×100 and 4×400-meter relays couldn’t be stopped as the 4×100 team of Wiedenmann,
Collins, Caplinger and Cooper took first in 44.19 seconds. Caplinger,
Wiedenmann, Collins and Chris Williams ran a 3:38 to win the 4×400.

Williams, a senior, also won the 400-meter dash in 53.86 and edged Drexel’s Aaron Woods by .01 seconds.

“I thought all of the
kids handled the competition solidly and ran their races,” Wright said. “It was
great to have personal records across the board in the 100, and to win out in
the sprints. It was a total team effort and I am excited about the next part of
our season.”  

Louisburg also struck gold in the field events as three athletes earned personal records on their way to a first-place finish.

Senior
Kiefer Tucker had a strong day in the discus with a personal best throw of 153
feet and .75 inches and won his first discus competition of the season.
Teammates Carter Anglin (124-5.75) and Brayden White (117-10.75) took third and
fifth, respectively.

Tucker
also scored points in the shot put as he was third with a toss of 41-9.5 and
White was fifth at 40-2.

“Kiefer
has been focusing on discus at practice and it really showed at Prairie View,”
Wright said. “Three out of the four throws were over his PR. This week with his
confidence built up in discus he is going to focus a little more on shot and I
think we will see the benefit from that focus at the next meet.”

Sophomore Luke Faulkner and junior Trent Martin battled it out for the top spot in the pole vault as both cleared 13 feet. However, it was Faulkner who took gold based on the number of misses as 13 feet was also a personal best for him.

“The great part of it is that Luke and Trent watch each other compete and are each other’s best fans, cheering and encouraging each other,” Wright said. “It was nice seeing Luke get away from 12-6 and move up to the 13-0 mark. He has been clearing 12-6 at every meet, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before he clears 13-0.”

The
success for Louisburg continued in the javelin as sophomore Jay Scollin had his
best throw of the season with a mark of 146-7 to win the event for the first
time this season. Junior Michael Waldron was second at 143-9 and freshman A.J.
Reed was sixth at 129-3.5.

“Jay
has been down the last couple of meets, so it was great for his confidence to
come out and compete, and PR in the process,” Wright said.

The
Wildcats were also able to score a few points in the jumps as freshman Hayden
Feikert was fourth at 17-11 and Martin was sixth at 17-5.5 in the long jump. In
the triple jump, junior Indy Strumillo was fourth at 37-6.5 and sophomore
Weston Guetterman took sixth with a mark of 35-2.5.

Back
on the track, freshman Tom Koontz scored points for the Wildcats in both hurdle
events. Koontz was runner-up in the 300-meter hurdles in 44.50 seconds and
fourth in the 110 hurdles in 17.49.

Junior
Anthony Davis earned a medal in the 1,600-meter run as he took third in 5:06.
Freshman teammate Ryan Rogers was sixth in 5:26.

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

Other results are:

400 dash: Dylan Armstrong, 9^th,
59.39; Weston Guetterman, 10^th, 1:00

800 run: Anthony Davis, 9^th,
2:21; Ryan Rogers, 11^th, 2:25; Sawyer Richardson, 17^th,
2:37

1,600 run: Richardson, 10^th,
5:41

Long jump: Indy Strumillo, 10^th,
16-8

Triple jump: Isaac Guetterman, 8^th,
34-9.75

Louisburg’s Sydni Keagle takes the handoff from teammate Jordan Leach during the 4×100-meter relay Thursday at the Prairie View Invitational.

LA CYGNE – The Louisburg girls
track team ran right past its competition Thursday during the Prairie View
Invitational.

Louisburg won seven events on the day, including a sweep of the sprints and two relay victories. However, the most important one came later as the Lady Cats won the team title with 135 points and edged runner-up Prairie View, which finished with 111.

It was the third consecutive team title victory for the Lady Cats as they continue to see their times and distances improve.

“It was nice to get another team victory,”
Louisburg coach John Reece said. “All in all it was a good meet with a few
athletes improving upon their best marks. I can’t wait to get in a meet that
does not have a 20-plus mph wind and/or cool temperatures. But the conditions
are the same for all so there can be no excuses.”

Freshman Delaney Wright continued her
success on the track as she finished the day with three golds. Wright won both
the 200 and 400-meter dashes and later helped the 4×400-meter relay of Carlee
Gassman, Rain Pugh and Shaylor Whitham to a first-place finish in 4 minutes and
30 seconds.

Wright recorded a season-best time of
1:02 in the 400-meter dash and also had a season-best mark in the 200 dash in
26.52.

Senior Jordon Leach also had a strong performance in the sprints. Leach took gold in the 100-meter dash in 12.82 seconds and was second in the 200 in 27.37. Pugh, a freshman, was third in the 100 in 13.31.

“Jordon again improved on her personal
record in the 100 and is setting herself up to make a run at qualifying for
state as an individual,” Reece said. “Her 200 time is also getting better and
that is great to see.”

Leach, along with Pugh, Sydni Keagle and
Gassman, won the 4×100-meter relay in 52.10 seconds to complete the Lady Cats’ dominance
on the track.

In the hurdles, Louisburg had two runner-up
finishes. Keagle recorded a time of 16.36 in the 100-meter hurdles to take
second, while Gassman was second in the 300 hurdles in 49.14.

Louisburg also won a pair of field events
and scored points in several others.

Gassman won the long jump for the first time this season as she recorded a mark of 16 feet, 2.5 inches as the participants jumped in to stiff wind most of the day. Wright was second in the event in 15-9.5 and Keagle was sixth at 14-5.5.

“Carlee did not let the headwind stop her
from winning the long jump,” Reece said. “It was her best mark, but she was
very consistent in tough conditions.”

Junior Avery Graham also had another good
showing in the pole vault as she took gold after clearing 9-6.

Senior Eileen Benne had a pair of
runner-up finishes for the Lady Cats in the high jump (4-6) and triple jump
(28-8.5).

Louisburg also scored points in
the throws as sophomore Shea O’Hara was fourth in the shot put with a toss of
29-11. Sophomore Aiyana Penca (88-1.25) and senior Melia Rice (85-10.75) were
fourth and fifth, respectively, in the discus.

The Lady Cats will see their competition
rise Friday when they travel to the Redbud Relays in Wellsville. The meet is
set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

“The best is yet to come with these girls and our efforts are showing it,” Reece said. “Wellsville is a big meet that will give us a good barometer on how we will do as league and regionals draw near. We are in a good spot in many events, but we are not content with that. We are working to be the best and doing so, I hope we make some noise when we get to state.”

Other results are:

100 dash: Andrea Gaza, 10^th,
14.54

200 dash: Gaza, 11^th,
31.60

400 dash: Gaza, 8^th,
1:15

1,600 run: Shaylor Whitham, 8^th,
6:27

100 hurdles: Kristen Bell, 10^th,
18.80

300 hurdles: Sydni Keagle, 7^th,
58.97; Bell, 9^th, 1:05

Shot put: Cayden Forrester, 9^th,
27-5; Eden Strumillo, 12^th, 26-2.25

Discus: Forrester, 12^th,
74-8.5;

Javelin: Davis Guetterman, 8^th,
76-8.5; Forrester, 15^th, 55-8; Lexi Rogers, 18^th, 43-9

Louisburg senior Eileen Benne won both the high jump and triple jump titles last Thursday during the Louisburg Invitational.

Delaney Wright continued to show,
while she may be a freshman in grade level, she is performing like an
experienced veteran on the track.

Wright had a big day at the Louisburg Invitational last Thursday as she racked up three gold medals and helped the Lady Cats to a first-place team finish.

Louisburg finished with 144 points
and held off runner-up Prairie View, who had 129. As a team, the Lady Cats won
10 events.

“The first place finish was awesome
considering we held out a few athletes from normal events due to going to
Kansas Relays,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “With that said, it
shows how much all of our runners and jumpers compete at their highest level.
We had four seniors compete in their final home meet and all four received two
medals each, which is great.”

Wright continued her success in the long
jump as she recorded a leap of 17 feet, 3.75 inches to take first and the Lady
Cats swept the medals in that event. Junior Carlee Gassman was second with a mark
of 16-10.5 and Sydni Keagle was third at 16-3. Freshman Rain Pugh also scored points
as she was fifth at 15-4.75.

On the track, Wright blew away her competition in the 200 and 400-meter dashes. She won the 200 in 26.88 seconds and the 400 in 1 minute and 3 seconds. Teammate Andrea Gaza was sixth in the 400 in 1:14 to also score points for Louisburg.

“Delaney is a competitor,” Reece said. “Each
meet she comes to win, and if not, she pushes those who beat her. It is almost
expected out of her to do well even with her being a freshman.”

The Lady Cats swept the sprints as senior Jordon Leach won the 100-meter dash in 12.88 seconds and Pugh medaled third in 13.23.

Keagle put together a strong time
in the 100-meter hurdles as she took gold in 16.32 seconds and senior teammate
Kristen Bell was third in 20.18. Bell also medaled third in the 300 hurdles in
1:02.

The 4×100-meter relay team of
Gassman, Keagle, Pugh and Leach also finished first in 51.93 seconds.

In the field events, senior Eileen
Benne was successful in her final home outing. Benne finished the day with two
gold medals.

Benne opened with a gold medal
performance in the triple jump with a mark 29-11.5 and also won the high jump
after she cleared 4-8.

“Eileen winning both the high jump
and triple jump as outstanding,” Reece said. “She was all smiles when the
medals were handed out afterward”

It was also a big day at the pole
vault for Avery Graham. The Louisburg junior set a new personal record as she
cleared 10 feet to take gold and freshman Malee Rutherford also scored points
as she was fourth after clearing 6-6.

“Avery is doing great,” Reece
said. “I’m proud of her for clearing 10 feet. The PR monkey is now off her back
and I hope she continues to go higher.”

Back on the track, senior Shaylor
Whitham medaled in both of her distance races. Whitham was third in the 800 run
in 2:55 and teammate Bailey Hallas was fifth at 3:02.

In the 1,600 run, Whitham medaled
third in 6:22 and freshman Lacie Kallevig was sixth overall in 7:03.

The Lady Cats ended the meet on a strong note as the 4×100 throwers relay of Shea O’Hara, Mable Graham, Aiyana Penca and Eden Strumillo won in 1:09.

Louisburg is back in action today
when it travels to the Prairie View Invitational. The meet is set to begin at
3:30 p.m.

“There will be some shuffling of athletes through the next few
meets so that we get a good look at all of our options,” Reece said. “There
will be some asked to step up as we near the end of the season and look to the
future and it looks bright.”

Other results are:

100 dash: Andrea Gaza , 9^th,
14.58; Hannah Cook, 11^th, 15.45; Gabbie Nichelson, 14^th,
15.59

200 dash: Gaza, 9^th,
31.51; Nichelson, 12^th, 32.62; Cook, 16^th, 34.0

400 dash: Lakin Cunningham, 7^th,
1:20

800 run: Lacie Kallevig, 7^th,
3:17

Shot put: Shea O’Hara, 8^th,
28-4.5; Cayden Forrester, 9^th, 25-7; Eden Strumillo, 10^th,
24-10; Aiyana Penca, 14^th, 24-2; Mable Graham, 17^th,
23-1.5

Discus: Penca, 7^th,
84-6; Forrester, 10^th, 79-10; Graham, 11^th, 72-8; Strumillo,
12^th, 68-8; O’Hara, 15^th, 54-11

Javelin: Lexi Rogers, 18^th,
43-2

Wright medals at KU Relays

With all the success she had at her home meet, Louisburg
freshman Delaney Wright didn’t stop there.

Wright competed in the long jump Saturday at the Kansas Relays
in Lawrence and it was a loaded field. Wright, who was the lone freshman in the
event, was the first one to go and her mark of 16 feet and 10 inches was good
for ninth overall to earn a medal.

“Her ninth place finish at the Kansas Relays in the long jump is
a prime example of her grit and determination to her best,” coach John Reece
said.

Wright recorded her medal-winning mark in her final attempt of
the preliminaries, which helped her get to the finals.

On Friday, junior Carlee Gassman also competed in a tough field
in the 300-meter hurdles. Gassman had a season-best time of 48.05 seconds to
take 22^nd overall.

“Carlee is getting back to her form and getting in better shape
for the 300’s,” Reece said. “She is a hard worker, worked out Sunday evening on
her own at the track with dad and brother and sister, and she will be ready
come regional and state meets.”