Louisburg junior Madelynn Yalowitz leads a pack of runners in the 1,600-meter run during a meet earlier this season. Yalowitz and the Lady Cats won the Prairie View Invitational last Thursday with 97 points.

LA CYGNE – Going into the final event of the night, the Louisburg girls track and field team found itself just out of first by a handful of points Thursday at the Prairie View Invitational.

The Lady Cat 4×400-meter relay team of Megan Lemke, Reilly Alexander, Kaitlyn Gaza and Mikayla Quinn had an opportunity to put the team on their back and get Louisburg’s first team title of the season.

They did just that.

Lemke, Alexander, Gaza and Quinn blew away the field by more than five seconds to win gold in 4 minutes and 33 seconds and vault ahead in the team standings to give Louisburg the team title with 97 points and finished 10 points ahead of runner-up Kansas City-Lutheran.

“The 4×400 team really came through with a good performance when we needed it and got us a win, which was great to see,” Louisburg coach Greg Darrington said.

Although the relay was the only event the Lady Cats won on the day, Louisburg scored points in 16 of the 18 events.

The Lady Cats got several points on the track and Quinn was second in the 400-meter dash in 1:05.63 and Gaza was right behind her in third in 1:05.73. Alexander came in fifth in 1:08.

Also in the sprints, Jordon Leach had a strong day as she took fourth in the 200 dash in 29.22, Gaza, was fifth in 29.26 and Hanna Becker came in sixth with a time of 29.46. Leach finished fifth in the 100 dash in 13.88 seconds.

In the distance races, Liz Hildreth was fourth (2:40) in the 800-meter run. Madelynn Yalowitz (14:10), Shaylor Whitham (14:27) and Alex Miller (14:57) finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 3,200-meter run. Yalowitz also scored points in the 1,600 run as she took sixth (6:26).

Klara Riester placed in both hurdle events as she came in fourth in the 300-meter hurdles in 53 seconds and was fifth in the 100 hurdles in 18.07. Teammate Lilly Mick also scored points in the 300 hurdles as she took fifth in 56.04 seconds.

The 4×800 relay team also scored some big points as it came in second in 10:59 and the 4×100 squad was third in 54.79.

“I’m really proud of our runners for competing and scoring in just about all our events,” Darrington said. “We may not have placed many in the top three but almost all of the running events we scored in. I really think Klara has a chance to be a state qualifier if she keeps improving in the hurdles.”

Junior Chloe Renner had a big day for Louisburg in the jumps as she scored points in all three of her events. Renner finished third in the high jump (4 feet, 8 inches) and long jump (16-0). Later she took fifth in the triple jump (31-4.5).

Sophomore Kaitlyn Urban led the way in the triple jump and finished third (31-8.5). Freshman Eileen Benne was fourth in the high jump (4-8) and Lemke came in sixth in the long jump (13-10.5).

In the throws, Lexie Reece scored points in the discus with a throw of 86-0.50 to take fifth and Zoie Gilliland was sixth in the javelin with a toss of 85-10.

“I was really proud of Renner and Urban as both girls really competed well,” Darrington said. “My throwers had a rough day, but they are going to keep working hard to improve.”

Although many of the varsity boys didn’t attend the meet, the Wildcats still scored points in a few events.

Freshman Ian Combs led the way as he took runner-up in the pole vault after he cleared 10-6 and senior Bradley Trageser was fourth in the shot put with a mark of 42-8.75. Senior Marshall Rooney was sixth in the triple jump (35-10).

The 4×400 relay came in fourth in 3:52 and the 4×800 relay was fifth in 9:38.

Louisburg will return to the track Friday when it competes at the Redbud Relays in Wellsville. Field events are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Other results from the meet are:

Girls

100 dash: Hanna Becker, 10^th, 14.34; Grayson Anderson, 15^th, 14.95

800 run: Lauren Becker, 8^th, 2:58

1,600 run: Shaylor Whitham, 7^th, 6:35

High jump: Makenna Allen, 7^th, 4-4

Long jump: Kaitlyn Urban, 10^th, 12-6

Triple jump: Eileen Benne, 11^th, 28-3

Shot put: Ellie Katzer, 11^th, 30-0.75; Morgan Strumillo, 13^th, 29-5.25; Zoie Gilliland, 21^st, 23-4.75

Javelin: Paige Buffington, 9^th, 77-7

Boys

100 dash: Austin Moore, 14^th, 12.63; Jackson Ewalt, 16^th, 12.65; Will Ridley, 17^th, 12.66

200 dash: Moore, 9^th, 25.25; Ewalt, 11^th, 25.54; Ridley, 13^th, 25.67

400 dash: Blue Caplinger, 9^th, 57.40; Scott Murphy, 11^th, 58.03; Owen Staver, 14^th, 59.17

800 run: Eddie Murphy, 13^th, 2:22; Austin Raetzel, 16^th, 2:26

1,600 run: Jacob Benne, 16^th, 5:42

3,200 run: Jacob Benne, 14^th, 12:41

4×100 relay: seventh, 48.47

Pole vault: Caplinger, seventh, 10-0

Long jump: Marshall Rooney, 12^th, 16-2.5

Shot put: Nathan Allen, 14^th, 36-3.75; Kiefer Tucker, 16^th, 32-10

Discus: Dalton Ribordy, 9^th, 107-6; Bradley Trageser, 15^th, 100-9; Matt Holloway, 18^th, 96-3

Javelin: Holloway, 10^th, 112-3; Allen, 12^th, 97-0; Ribordy, 13^th, 96-7

Louisburg freshman Brandon Cooper is all smiles after winning the 100-meter dash Thursday at the Louisburg Invitational at Wildcat Stadium. Cooper finished with four medals on the day and helped the Wildcat team to a first place finish. 

The Louisburg boys track and field team is filled with several young and inexperienced athletes, but that youth didn’t show during the Louisburg Invitational on Thursday.

Louisburg won its second meet of the season as it racked up 151 points to pull away from the rest of the competition. Blue Valley Southwest was second with 121 points and Prairie View was third with 96 points in the 8-team meet.

“It was a good all-around meet as a team,” Louisburg coach Gary Griffin said. “We got good performances in all areas and most of the kids had personal records in at least one of their events.”

One of those personal records came in the shot put. Senior Jarod Woodward beat his personal record by almost three feet as he won the shot put with a toss of 53 feet, which ranks as one of the top 10 throws in the state.

“His throw of 53 feet is a big time throw,” Griffin said. “That puts him up there with the state leaders.”

Woodward was one of three Wildcats to win a field event Thursday.

Junior T.J. Dover won his first event of the season as he captured the discus title with a throw of 137 feet, 6 inches and he also took sixth in the shot put with a toss of 43-2.  Sophomore Garrett Lowry was third in the discus with a toss of 134-0 and junior Mason Koechner was fourth at 119-0.

Junior T.J. Dover finished sixth in the shot put Thursday at the Louisburg Invitational. Dover also won the discus with a throw of 137-6.

Sophomore Kristopher Light also had a big day as he won the high jump after he cleared 5-8 and Marshall Rooney came in fifth at 5-4. Freshman Ian Combs was fifth in the pole vault at 10-6.

“I really thought our throwers like Jarod, Garrett, T.J. and Mason all had a good day,” Griffin said. “Kris Light keeps scoring points in the high jump as well, which is great.”

Freshman Brandon Cooper won his first of four medals on the day in the triple jump with a mark of 37-3 and teammate Dalton Knipp was sixth at 36-3.

Cooper burned up the track in the sprints as he won the 100-meter dash in 11.19 seconds and later finished runner-up in the 200 dash in 23.81 seconds. He also helped Quinn Rigney, Ben Minster and Chris Williams to a gold in the 4×100 meter relay in 45.38 seconds.

Williams, another freshman, came up big for the Wildcats as he won three gold medals. Williams won the 400-meter dash with a season-best time of 52.23 seconds.

He also helped the 4×400 team of Michael Minster, Ben Minster and Rigney to a first place finish in 3:36. Williams also took fifth in the 200 dash in 24.28 seconds.

Rigney also scored points in the sprints as he took third in the 200 dash (23.91) and fourth in the 100 dash (11.69).

Freshman Ian Combs clears a height in the pole vault Thursday. Combs finished fifth in the event.

In the hurdles, freshman Jonathan Ventre had two strong races as well. Ventre was runner-up in the 300-meter hurdles in 43.72 seconds and third in the 100 hurdles in 17.42.

“Our freshmen continue to perform well,” Griffin said. “Brandon and Chris kind of dominated the sprints, along with Quinn. Jonathan keeps bringing his time down in the 300 hurdles and is figuring some things out in the high hurdles as well.”

The Wildcats’ 4×800-meter relay team of Wyatt Reece, Ben Hupp, Michael Minster and Tanner Belcher ran a solid time of 9:03 to finish second overall and several other distance runners scored points for Louisburg.

Michael Minster was third in the 800-meter run in 2:12, Tim Smith came in fourth in the 3,200-meter run in 11:11 and Reece was fifth in the 1,600-meter run in 5:09.

Louisburg will compete in two different meets later this week, as part of the team will travel to the Prairie View Invitational on Thursday, while other will go to the Gardner Relays on Friday.

Louisburg sprinter Jordon Leach races down the track in the 100-meter dash Thursday during Louisburg Invitational. Leach finished second overall and the Lady Cats finished runner-up in the team standings. 

For the second week in a row, the Louisburg High School girls track and field team found itself toward the top of the team standings and it picked a good time to do it.

The Lady Cats put on a good show in front of their home fans Thursday during the Louisburg Invitational. Louisburg finished second overall with 139.5 points and won three events during the 8-team meet at Wildcat Stadium.

Blue Valley Southwest won the team crown with 168.5 points and Spring Hill was third with 96 points.

“I was very proud of the girls this past week,” Louisburg coach Greg Darrington said. “It felt really nice to see a bunch of different girls step up.”

One of those girls was sophomore Isabelle Holtzen who earned points for the team in four events. The big event for Holtzen was the pole vault as she cleared 9 feet to win gold and captured her second consecutive title.

Holtzen, along with Liz Hildreth, Shaylor Whitham and Lauren Becker, helped the 4×800-meter relay to a runner-up finish in 11 minutes and 3 seconds. Holtzen later finished fourth in the 800-meter run in 2:45.

Louisburg’s Liz Hildreth leads a pack of runners in the 800-meter run Thursday at the Louisburg Invitational.

“Isabelle is another strength of our team and keeps scoring points and improving each week,” Darrington said. “I know she does a lot with the pole vault and 4×800 along with the open 800. I know at some point his season she will need to just focus on a couple of events.”

Another improvement for the Lady Cats has been Klara Riester in both hurdle events. Riester won the 100-meter hurdles for the first time all season in 17.96 seconds and later took third in the 300 hurdles 52.25 seconds.

Lilly Mick also scored points in the 300 hurdles to finish fourth (54.55) and McKinley Mathews was fifth in the 100 hurdles (21.61)

“Klara is really doing a great job,” Darrington said. “She keeps getting better each week and she is a very competitive person who just goes out and does her best. Klara is working harder at practice which is really helping her at the meets.”

The Lady Cats also fared well in the sprints as the 4×100 relay team of Kaitlyn Gaza, Hanna Becker, Megan Lemke and Mikayla Quinn won in 54.36 seconds.

Jordon Leach also got some big points for Louisburg as she took second in the 100-meter dash in 13.54 and third in the 200 dash in 28.7. Gaza also ran a strong 200 dash as she took second in 28.6 seconds and Quinn was fourth in the 400 dash in 1:07.

Louisburg’s 4×400 relay of Gaza, Lemke, Reilly Alexander and Quinn also ran well to take second in 4:36.

“I really feel that our relay teams are beginning to come together,” Darrington said. “I believe the 4×400 is one of the strengths of our track team. The 4×800 keeps improving with the girls getting better in each leg of the race.”

In the distance races, Hildreth finished high again in the 800 run. The Louisburg junior was third overall in 2:37 and Alex Miller was sixth in 2:48.

Madelynn Yalowitz (14:02) and Whitham (14:05) ran fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 3,200-meter run.

Junior Ellie Katzer launches the discus Thursday during the Lady Cats’ home meet. Katzer was second overall.

The Lady Cats also scored several points in the field events and Chloe Renner helped out in that regard as she came in second in the high jump after she cleared 4-10. She also finished third in the high jump with a mark of 14-6.5 and fifth in the triple jump with leap of 29-7.

Junior Ellie Katzer finished runner up in the discus with a toss of 99-0, while sophomore Sophie McMullen came in fourth with a toss of 95-11. McMullen also took sixth the javelin with a throw of 91-8.

Mathews was third in the pole vault (8-0), Kaitlyn Urban was fourth in the triple jump (29-11), Makenna Allen took fifth in the high jump (4-6) and Lexie Reece came in sixth in the discus (92-3) to round out the Lady Cat point scorers.

Louisburg will split off into two meets this week as some will travel to the Prairie View Invitational on Thursday, while others will go to the Gardner Relays on Friday.

Louisburg’s Kris Light lands in the pit to get a mark in the long jump competition Thursday at the Anderson County Invitational in Garnett. Light finished second in the high jump and fifth in the triple jump. As a team, the Wildcats took second overall.

GARNETT – Experience has been something the Louisburg High School boys track team lacked coming into the season, but following the Anderson County Invitational on Thursday, the young Wildcats seem to be coming into their own.

Louisburg finished second in the team standings with 105 points behind champion Spring Hill, which had 150.5. The Wildcats also won three events, including two from a pair of freshmen.

“I was pretty happy overall how we competed,” Louisburg coach Gary Griffin said. “Just like every meet we had some good and not so good, but I think all the runners are making some strides and the jumpers had a lot better day overall than last week.”

Freshman Brandon Cooper had his best day of the early season as he racked up four medals, including three on the track.

One of those was in the 100-meter dash as Cooper sprinted to a gold medal in 11.55 seconds, while teammates Quinn Rigney (11.71) and Ben Minster (11.72) came in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Cooper continued his success in the 200-meter dash as he was third in 24 seconds and helped the 4×100 team of Minster, Rigney and Chris Williams run a season-best time of 45.84 seconds to finish second.

“Brandon had a very good day and he improved on all of his events,” Griffin said. “He is very talented and has a very high ceiling and he will keep improving as his practice habits improve.”

Another freshman, Chris Williams, also finished strong on the track as he won the 400-meter dash for the first time this season in 53.02 seconds. Fellow freshman Jonathan Ventre came in fourth in the 300 hurdles in 44.25.

“The times for the sprinters are gradually getting to where they need to be and that comes with warmer weather,” Griffin said. “Chris has consistently performed well this year and his time was very good for a freshman.”

Louisburg also had a pair of medalists in the distance races. Wyatt Reece ran a 5:03 in the 1,600-meter run to finish third and Tim Smith was fourth in the 3,200 run in 11:30.

Senior Bradley Trageser follows through on an attempt in the shot put Thursday in Garnett.

Reece, Tanner Belcher, Michael Minster and Ben Hupp ran a season-best time of 8:57 in the 4×800 relay to come in third, while Rigney, Williams, Michael Minster and Scott Murphy took third in the 4×400 relay in 3:43.

In the field events, senior Jarod Woodward had another strong performance in the shot put as he recorded a toss of 49 feet, 8 inches to win the event by more than three feet.

Kris Light medaled in two field events for the Wildcats, including a runner-up finish in the high jump after he cleared 5-8. Teammate Andrew Goff, who took fourth in the high jump after he cleared 5-6, led Louisburg in the triple jump as he took third with a leap of 37-8.

Cooper also medaled in the event with a mark of 37-3 and Light came in fifth in 36-2.

“Kris has done a nice job in the high jump and is improving in the triple jump as well,” Griffin said. “Hopefully all three of the triple jumpers will reach the 40-foot mark by the end of the year.”

Freshman Ian Combs also had a strong performance in the pole vault after he cleared 11 feet to medal third overall.

Louisburg returns to the track Thursday when it hosts the Louisburg Invitational at Wildcat Stadium. Field events are set to start at 3:30 p.m.

Other Wildcat results are:

100 dash: Jackson Ewalt, 19^th, 12.65

200 dash: Quinn Rigney, 7^th, 24.41; Scott Murphy, 15^th, 26.14; Ewalt, 19^th, 26.86

400 dash: Murphy, 7^th, 56.69

800 run: Tanner Belcher, 7^th, 2:16; Michael Minster, 9^th, 2:16

1,600 run: Tim Smith, 7^th 5:19; Eddie Murphy, 13^th, 5:26; Devyn Small, 18^th, 5:33; Jacob Benne, 19^th, 5:34

3,200 run: Wyatt Reece, 7^th, 12:04; Small, 9^th, 12:25; E. Murphy, 10^th, 12:26; Benne, 15^th, 13:03

110 hurdles: Jonathan Ventre, 7^th, 17.79

300 hurdles: Ben Hupp, 8^th, 46.07

Long jump: Marshall Rooney, 14^th, 16-0; Andrew Goff, 15^th, 15-10.5; Kyle Allen, 18^th, 15-5.25; Kris Light, 19^th, 14-8.5

Triple jump: Rooney, 8^th, 35-0; Allen, 9^th, 34-9

Shot put: Bradley Trageser, 9^th, 39-1; Mason Koechner, 12^th, 37-0.5; Nathan Allen, 16^th, 35-11.25

Discus: Koechner, 14^th, 103-8; Dalton Ribordy, 15^th, 101-11; Trageser, 16^th, 101-10; Jarod Woodward, 17^th, 100-7; Matthew Holloway, 21^st, 94-5

Javelin: Jacob Jensen, 8^th, 129-5; Lyndon Smith, 13^th, 123-3; Dustyn Rizzo, 15^th, 118-6; Holloway, 16^th, 116-10; N. Allen, 18^th, 104-0

Louisburg’s Klara Riester clears a hurdle during the 100-meter hurdle race Thursday at the Anderson County Invitational in Garnett. Riester finished second in the 300 hurdles and third in the 100 hurdles. 

GARNETT – It seemed all the Louisburg High School girls track and field team needed was a warm Spring day to get itself back into a rhythm.

The Wildcats took advantage of the nice weather and showed big improvement in several areas during the Anderson County Invitational on Thursday in Garnett.

Louisburg finished second in the team standings won three events. The Lady Cats recorded 126 points to finish runner-up behind champion Anderson County (163 points) in the seven-team meet.

The Lady Cats picked up several medalists on the day and had a good outing in the field events.

Sophomore Isabelle Holtzen had her best performance of the season in the pole vault as she cleared 9 feet, 6 inches to win the event and senior teammate McKinley Mathews was third at 8-6.

Louisburg had its best day in the discus ring as it swept the top three placings. Sophomore Sophie McMullen had a season best throw of 105-8.5 to take first place. Junior Ellie Katzer was second with a toss of 96-7.25 and sophomore Lexie Reece was third at 95-4.5.

Sophomore Isabelle Holtzen vaults over the bar during the pole vault Thursday at the Anderson County Invitational. Holtzen won the event after she cleared 9-6.

“Isabelle just keeps getting better and I’m really excited to see where she ends this year,” Louisburg girls coach Greg Darrington said. “The discus throwers are all working hard and are finally getting into a rhythm. I really feel like they are going to begin to make some nice gains. They do have a long ways to go to catch some other girls in our league but I feel like they will get there with a couple more weeks of practice.”

In the triple jump, Kaitlyn Urban finished second overall with a leap of 31-3.5 to earn several points for the Lady Cats.

Eileen Benne (4-6), Shae Murphy (4-4) and Makenna Allen (4-4) took fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the high jump. Paige Buffington rounded out the field event point getters as she finished fifth (84-0) in the javelin.

Sophomore Mikayla Quinn had a season-best time in the 400-meter dash to lead the Lady Cats on the track as she ran a time of 1 minute and 5.4 seconds to take first place. Teammates Reilly Alexander (1:09) and Kaitlyn Gaza (1:10) came in fourth and sixth.

Klara Riester had a personal-best finish in both hurdles as she took second in the 300-meter hurdles in 52.20 and third in the 100 hurdles in 18.13. Lilly Mick came in fifth in the 300 hurdles in 55 seconds.

In the distance races, Madelynn Yalowitz was runner-up in the 3,200-meter run in 13:57, while Shaylor Whitham (14:34) and Alex Miller (14:39) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

Liz Hildreth medaled third in the 800-meter run in 2:43 for a season-best finish. Hanna Becker was sixth in the 200 dash in 29.84.

“I felt the girls on the track did a great job,” Darrington said. “Liz and Madelynn did a good job and was nice to see them compete and medal. Klara is a good competitor with guts and some raw talent. It was nice to see her have some success as well.”

The Lady Cat relay teams also placed high and started with the 4×800 team. Hildreth, Holtzen, Whitham and Lauren Becker finished runner-up in 11:07, while Alexander, Quinn, Gaza and Lemke helped the 4×400 to a second-place finish as well in 4:36.

Gaza, Lemke, Quinn and Hanna Becker ran a time of 54.44 seconds in the 4×100 relay to take third overall.

Louisburg returns to the track Thursday when it hosts the Louisburg Invitational at Wildcat Stadium. The meet is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Other Louisburg results are:

100 dash: Grayson Anderson, 11^th, 14.86

200 dash: Mikayla Quinn, 9^th, 30.08; Anderson, 10^th, 30.66

400 dash: Megan Lemke, 7^th, 1:11

800 run: Isabelle Holtzen, 9^th, 2:57; Lauren Becker, 10^th, 2:58

1,600 run: Madelynn Yalowitz, 8^th, 6:29; Shaylor Whitham, 9^th, 6:31; Alex Miller, 10^th, 6:32

Long jump: Lemke, 9^th, 13-6; Eileen Benne, 15^th, 12-11.5; Kaitlyn Urban, 16^th, 12-8; Shae Murphy, 19^th, 11-0

Triple jump: Makenna Allen, 9^th, 27-10.5; Benne, 10^th, 27-7.5

Shot put: Morgan Strumillo, 9^th, 28-4.5; Ellie Katzer, 10^th, 28-4; Zoie Gilliland 20^th, 25-7.5; Ainsley Vance, 24^th, 18-11.5

Discus: Holly Turner, 10^th, 77-6; Ryann Kramer, 14^th, 69-9.25

Javelin: Kramer, 8^th, 83-5; Gilliland, 9^th, 82-0; Turner, 12^th, 69-3; Lexie Reece, 17^th, 63-10

Louisburg senior Megan Lemke hands the baton off to sophomore Mikayla Quinn during the 4×100-meter relay Thursday at the Paola Invitational. The Louisburg girls finished sixth overall with 42 points and the boys were fifth with 38 points.

PAOLA – Usually this far into the season, the Louisburg High School track coaches can start to get some sort of an idea of what they have and who fits best in a certain event.

Now they are almost three weeks into the season and there are still plenty of questions to be answered thanks to Mother Nature. In the three meets the Wildcats have competed in, they have run, or thrown into a stiff, brisk wind each time.

During the Paola Invitational on Thursday, it was much of the same as the Wildcats faced tough competition to match the rough weather.

The Louisburg boys finished fifth in the team standings with 38 points and the Lady Cats took sixth with 42 points in the 11-team meet. Paola won the boys team title with 139.5 points and the girls with 215 points.

“I thought overall we kind of took a step backwards in some events,” Louisburg boys coach Gary Griffin said. “I didn’t think we competed great. We have not had a good day yet for a meet so we are still trying to figure out what we have. I think overall our runners are improving and we will find out how much when we get a good day. Our young kids are still showing improvement and that is what I would expect from everyone on the team. We just need to be more consistent from week to week.”

The Lady Cats earned points in eight events on both the track and field events.

Louisburg’s 4×400-meter relay led the way as Megan Lemke, Kaitlyn Gaza, Reilly Alexander and Mikayla Quinn finished runner-up in 4 minutes and 34 seconds. Alexander was a late addition to the team

“Reilly Alexander did a great job stepping in with only five minutes to warm up and ran a great leg for the conditions in the 4×400,” Louisburg girls coach Greg Darrington said. “She showed me she had a lot of guts and earned some respect from her teammates.”

The Lady Cats 4×800 relay of Liz Hildreth, Lauren Becker, Isabelle Holtzen and Shaylor Whitham came in fourth in 11:41. It would be the first of three events that Holtzen scored in.

Following the relay, Holtzen went on to finish third in the pole vault after she cleared 9 feet, which was her best of the season. The Louisburg sophomore also took fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:47.

“I really believe our best performer this meet was Isabelle, who came home with three medals,” Darrington said. “She did well in the pole vault and 800 run. She was very instrumental in the 4X800 relay to finish third.”

Along with Holtzen’s mark in the pole vault, the Lady Cats also scored points in the discus. Junior Ellie Katzer was fifth overall with a toss of 95-7.

Sophomore Wyatt Reece (left) rounds the curve at the start of the 4×800-meter relay in Paola.

Hanna Becker, Lemke, Gaza and Quinn came in sixth in the 4×100-meter relay in 56.09. Quinn and Gaza both ran a time of 1:08 in the 400-meter dash to take fifth and sixth, respectively.

On the boys side, senior Jarod Woodward had another strong performance in the shot put. Woodward took second overall with a toss of 49-2 to lead the Wildcat point-getters.

Freshman Chris Williams ran a strong 400-meter dash in 53.9 seconds to come in fourth. Williams, along with Scott Murphy, Quinn Rigney and Michael Minster, came in fourth in the 4×400-meter relay in 3:42.

In the high jump, Christopher Light also took fourth after clearing 5-6.

Minster, Wyatt Reece, Ben Hupp and Tanner Belcher helped the 4×800 relay take fifth in 9:22. In the 4×100 relay, Jackson Ewalt, Rigney, Brandon Cooper and Williams came in sixth (47.07).

Jacob Jensen rounded out the Wildcat point scorers as he took sixth in the javelin with a toss of 131-0.

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

Louisburg senior Michael Minster rounds the curve during the 4×800-meter relay at the Leavenworth Invitational on March 29. On Friday, the Wildcat boys team won the Show Me Showdown meet at Belton High School.

BELTON, Mo. – The Louisburg High School track team crossed state lines last Friday as it took part in the Show Me Showdown, which was held at Belton (Mo.) High School.

It was the first time the Wildcats had participated in the event, but they were certainly happy they made the trip – especially on the boys side.

Louisburg finished first in the boys team standings with 167 points in the 12-team meet and held off runner-up Clinton (Mo.), which finished with 161 points.

“I was proud of the way we competed,” Louisburg boys coach Gary Griffin said. “The weather was not good. It was cold and windy and our times were not great, but we competed well and scored enough points to win.”

The meet was a different one for Louisburg as it competed in seven relay events, when normally it is only three. It gave the Wildcats the chance to rack up more points, however.

Louisburg finished first in the 400- and 800-meter medley relays. Will Ridley, Ben Minster, Quinn Rigney and Chris Williams won the 400 medley in 1 minute and 45 seconds, while Brandon Cooper, Minster, Rigney and Williams ran a 4:17 in the 800 medley to come out on top.

The Wildcats also had a pair of runner-up finishes in the 4×100 and 4×200-meter relays. Cooper, Minster, Rigney and Williams came in second in the 4×100 in 47.24, while Ridley, Michael Minster, Rigney and Williams finished second at 1:40 in the 4×200.

Austin Moore, Scott Murphy, Kennedy Unthank and Jonathon Ventre came in third in the 4×400 in 4:02. Tanner Belcher, Ben Hupp, Michael Minster and Wyatt Reece also took third in the 4×800 in 9:16.

Ridley, Michael Minster, Murphy and Owen Staver came in fourth in the distance medley with a time of 13:30. All seven relays provided Louisburg with key points in its team victory.

Louisburg also racked up a lot of points in the individual track events.

Ben Minster (11.66) and Brandon Cooper (11.91) finished third and fifth, respectively in the 100-meter dash. Reece came in third in the 3,200-meter run in 12 minutes and teammate Devyn Small (12:45) was fifth. Reece (5:17) also took fourth in the 1,600-meter run.

Ventre, a freshman, ran a time of 46.29 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles to take fourth. Hupp came in right behind him in fifth. Eddie Murphy (2:29) and Austin Raetzel (2:30) rounded out the point-getters on the track as they finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 800-meter run.

The Wildcats also had a lot of success in the field events.

Junior Jacob Jensen won the javelin with a throw of 135-4 and teammate Dustyn Rizzo was second with a toss of 114-8.

Fellow junior Andrew Goff also earned top high jump honors after he cleared 5-8 and his teammate Chris Light was second with a clearance of 5-6.

Senior Jarod Woodward also stood out in a tough shot put competition as he took second. Woodward set a new personal record for the second time in a week as he recorded a toss of 50-8, more than a foot farther than his first toss of the season at the Leavenworth Invitational.

“Woody had another good day,” Griffin said. “I think he can get even better when the weather warms up and I believe he can get an even bigger throw.”

Teammate Bradley Trageser also had a toss of 44-3.5, which was good for fourth. Sophomore Garrett Lowry came in sixth in the discus with a toss of 110-10.

A pair of freshman also scored points for the Wildcats in the pole vault. Ian Combs and Blue Caplinger came in second and third, respectively, after both cleared 9-6.

“Our young kids like Chris Williams, Austin Moore, Ian, Blue, Brandon and Tanner Belcher have all competed well so far and they are not intimidated by being in a varsity meet,” Griffin said.

Girls finish strong at Belton

The Louisburg girls track team also had their fair share of highlights Friday as the Lady Cats finished fifth in the team standings with 96 points and won two events.

One of those events came in the relays when Reilly Alexander, Julianne Finley, Megan Lemke and Mikayla Quinn won the 4×400-meter relay in 4:43.

“I really believe our 4×400 is our best relay,” Louisburg girls coach Greg Darrington said. “The girls are all strong in the 400 meter race. I was pleased with our competitive effort. I wish I could have taken the full team, but understand girls have choices to make during spring seasons. Otherwise, I think we could have had a chance to win the meet.”

The other victory for Louisburg came in the pole vault as sophomore Isabelle Holtzen made a big improvement from just three days earlier in her first meet. Holtzen cleared 8-6 to win the event.

“I think Isabelle is a great competitor and will only get stronger as the season continues,” Darrington said. “I also think I will have some freshman jumpers that will help score points as the season continues.”

In other field events, sophomore Sophie McMullen came in second in the javelin with a toss of 90-09 in her first outing of the year and junior Zoie Gilliland took third with a toss of 80-02. McMullen also scored points in the discus with a throw of 92-11 to take third and fellow sophomore Lexie Reece was fifth at 89-03.

Junior Chloe Renner came in fourth in the high jump after she cleared 4-6 and Finley was sixth with a clearance of 4-4. Lemke finished fourth in the long jump with a mark of 13-5.5.

On the track, Quinn ran a 1:08 in the 400-meter dash to take fourth and later went on to take fifth in the 200 dash in 31.36. Freshman Shaylor Whitham scored points in the 800 (2:53) and 1,600-meter run (6:27) to take fourth and fifth, respectively.

The Lady Cats also finished strong in several other relays.

Carson Buffington, Finley, Holtzen and Klara Riester came in runner-up in the 800 medley relay in 5:04, while Buffington, Finley, Jordon Leach and Riester were fourth in the 400 medley in 2:14.

Alexander, Buffington, Leach and Lemke took fourth in the 4×200 relay (2:05). Quinn, Alexander, Leach and Leach took sixth in the 4×100 relay (58.5) to round out the point-getters.

Louisburg returns to action at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday in Paola for the Paola Relays.

Other Wildcat results are:

Boys

200 dash: Owen Staver, seventh, 27.09; Dustyn Rizzo, eighth, 27.23

400 dash: Austin Moore, seventh, 1:00

Discus: T.J. Dover, seventh, 107-04

Long jump: Andrew Goff, 10^th, 16-00; Chris Light, 13^th, 13-9.5

Triple jump: Tanner Belcher, 12^th, 33-6.50; Brandon Cooper, 15^th, 33-0.25

Girls

100 dash: Jordon Leach, 10^th, 14.59; Reilly Alexander, 15^th, 15.61

100 hurdles: Klara Riester, 9^th, 19.94

Shot put: Lexie Reece, 16^th, 20-8

Louisburg junior Kaitlyn Gaza finds her stride during the start of the 400-meter dash Tuesday during the Leavenworth Invitational at Mill Valley High School. The Wildcat boys and girls teams finished fifth and sixth, respectively. 

SHAWNEE – It was windy, cool and the times and distances weren’t where they wanted them to be.

Those are all the markings of the first track and field meet of the season and the Louisburg High School track team fit right into that category – except for one.

Wildcat senior Jarod Woodward looked in midseason form during the Leavenworth Invitational on Tuesday. On his first throw of the season, Woodward set a personal record in the shot put with a toss of 49 feet, 7 inches to win the event and was the Wildcats’ lone gold medalist on the day.

“It was great for Jarod to have a good throw like that in the first meet of the year,” Louisburg boys coach Gary Griffin said. “He could have a great year if he continues to work hard. Hopefully it is a starting point to some big throws.”

In the team standings, the Wildcats finished toward the bottom of the seven-team meet. Against bigger schools like Leavenworth, Topeka High, Mill Valley and Bishop Miege, the Louisburg boys totaled 34 points on the day to finish fifth.

The girls team also finished with 34 points and came in sixth place during the meet that was held at Mill Valley High School.

Senior Jarod Woodward releases an attempt in the shot put Tuesday. Woodward won the event with a personal best throw of 49-7

The Louisburg boys scored points in eight different events, including all three relays, which turned out to be one of the highlights on the day.

Wyatt Reece, Tanner Belcher, Ben Hupp and Michael Minster ran a strong opening 4×800-meter relay to take third in 9 minutes and 18 seconds. The Wildcat 4×400 team of Ben Minster, Michael Minster, Quinn Rigney and Chris Williams ended the meet on a positive note as they came in third in 3:42.83.

Ben Minster, Will Ridley, Rigney and Williams ran a time of 47.42 seconds in the 4×100 relay to finish fourth overall.

Freshman Jonathon Ventre also scored some points on the track for Louisburg. Ventre took fifth in the 300-meter hurdles in 46.56 seconds

“I was pretty happy overall,” Griffin said. “There wasn’t great conditions, but we competed hard and now we have a starting point and hopefully we show improvement throughout the season.

“The 4×400 and 4×800 teams both ran good times for the conditions we had and the fact that we are still not in great shape yet. I thought they competed really well and will continue to get better.”

In the field events, junior Andrew Goff scored points in two events for Louisburg. Goff came in fourth in the high jump after he cleared 5-8 and later finished sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 37-3.

Junior Ellie Katzer lets the discus fly Tuesday at the Leavenworth Invitational. Katzer finished fifth overall.

Junior Jacob Jensen rounded out the Wildcat point-getters as he was fifth in the javelin with a toss of 143-9.

Sophomore Isabelle Holtzen scored points in three events to lead the Lady Cats and it started in the pole vault after she cleared 7-0 to come in third.

During the pole vault, Holtzen had to leave to run the 4×800-meter relay along with Lauren Becker, Liz Hildreth and Madelynn Yalowitz. The Lady Cat team ran strong as they took third in 11:28.

Later in the meet, Holtzen finished fourth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:45.79.

Also on the track, Mikayla Quinn came on strong in the 400-meter dash and the Louisburg sophomore took fourth in 1:05.29. Junior Kaitlyn Gaza ran a 30.03 to take sixth in the 200-meter dash and sophomore Lilly Mick was sixth in the 300 hurdles in 55.55.

Julianne Finley, Gaza, Megan Lemke and Quinn teamed in the 4×400 relay to end the meet strong as they took fourth in 4:33.97. Gaza, Hanna Becker, Jordon Leach and Quinn ran the 4×100 relay and finished fifth in 55.58.

In the field events, sophomore Kaitlyn Urban had a good first outing in the triple jump as she took fourth at 31-11. Junior Ellie Katzer later came in fifth in the discus with a throw of 94-4.

Louisburg junior Andrew Goff clears a mark in the high jump Tuesday at Mill Valley High School. Goff took fourth overall.

Junior Chloe Renner scored in two events for Louisburg as she was sixth in the high jump (4-4) and long jump (15-4).

“I really feel we have some good young competitive girls,” Louisburg girls coach Greg Darrington said. “I really think the jumpers did well and feel good about our 4×400 team. I really feel the girls have a lot of potential and I’m excited as to where we will finish this year in the league.”

Louisburg returns to the track Friday when it travels to the Show-Me Invitational in Belton, Mo. Field events are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Other Wildcat results from Tuesday are:

Girls

100-meter dash: Hanna Becker, 15^th, 15.34; Klara Riester, 16^th, 15.40

200 dash: Mikayla Quinn, 11^th, 30.76; Riester, 12^th, 30.96; Julianne Finley, 14^th, 31.09

400 dash: Kaitlyn Gaza, 8^th, 1:08; Megan Lemke, 9^th, 1:09; Finley, 12^th, 1:10

800 run: Liz Hildreth, 9^th, 2:53.27; Lauren Becker, 13^th, 3:00

1,600 run: Shaylor Whitham, 11^th, 6:33

3,200 run: Madelynn Yalowitz, 9^th, 14:17; Whitham, 10^th, 14:34

Long jump: Haley Earl, 14^th, 14-6.5; Lemke, 16^th, 14-2; Kaitlyn Urban, 17^th, 13-10

Triple jump: Earl, 7^th, 31-1.5; Chloe Renner, 8^th, 30-11

Shot put: Morgan Strumillo, 9^th, 27-11; Carson Buffington 14^th, 24-7; Lexie Reece, 16^th, 21-6.5; Ainsley Vance, 17^th, 20-2.5

Discus: Reece, 9^th, 85-7; Holly Turner, 13^th, 74-9; Strumillo, 17^th, 65-6

Javelin: Paige Buffington, 7^th, 91-9; Zoie Gilliland, 8^th, 86-8; Reece, 15^th, 67-2

Boys

100 dash: Ben Minster, 15^th, 12.62; Will Ridley, 20^th, 13.18; Jonathon Ventre, 23^rd, 13.35

200 dash: Minster, 10^th, 24.75; Quinn Rigney, 14^th, 24.96; Chris Williams, 18^th, 25.59

400 dash: Williams, 8^th, 55.47; Rigney, 11^th, 56.40

800 run: Tanner Belcher, 9^th, 2:20.04; Michael Minster, 10^th, 2:20.11

1,600 run: Wyatt Reece, 11^th, 5:32.80; Devyn Small, 15^th, 5:46.67; Jacob Benne, 16^th, 5:49.82

3,200 run: Reece, 14^th, 12:15; Small, 17^th, 12:50; Benne, 20^th, 13:19

300 hurdles: Ben Hupp, 9^th, 48.05

High jump: Marshall Rooney, 10^th, 5-2

Long jump: Andrew Goff, 17^th, 17-8.5; Rooney, 22^nd, 16-11; Dalton Knipp, 23^rd, 16-5; Will Ridley, 24^th, 16-4

Triple jump: Knipp, 8^th, 35-9.5; Rooney, 9^th, 35-0

Shot put: Bradley Trageser, 11^th, 41-1.5; Garrett Lowry, 12^th, 39-6.5

Discus: Lowry, 7^th, 118-6; Jarod Woodward, 10^th, 98-0; Trageser, 12^th, 90-03

Javelin: Dustyn Rizzo, 11^th, 127-5

Louisburg senior Jarod Woodward is looking to make his second straight trip to the state track meet this season after qualifying in the shot put a season ago. The Wildcats open their season Tuesday at Mill Valley High School.

The Louisburg High School track and field team is going to have to replace some key pieces from last season’s team that competed at the state meet.

Gone is Connor McMullen, a state champion in the discus and medalist in the javelin, along with state medalist hurdler Sean Dennis. Despite that, however, the Wildcats return several state qualifiers from a season ago.

Louisburg returns many key pieces from relays that qualified from state a season ago, along with qualifiers in the field events.

On the boys side, the Wildcats have approximately 60 out for track this year according to coach Gary Griffin, including 38 freshmen and sophomores.

Last season, Louisburg qualified all three relays for the state track meet, but did lose quite a few participants. In the 4×100 and 4×400-meter relays, sophomore Ben Minster is the lone member from both teams to return, while senior Michael Minster, junior Ben Hupp and sophomore Wyatt Reece come back to help the 4×800 team.

Along with those four runners, Griffin hopes other runners such as Quinn Rigney and Chris Williams will be able to fill those gaps.

“Ben, Michael, Quinn, Chris and Wyatt will be the mainstays on our relays, but we are not sure about how the teams are going to look yet,” Griffin said. “It will probably be a fluid situation for the first few weeks.”

Reece will also be looked to lead the Wildcats in the distance races as he is slated to compete in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs, while Hupp is the team’s lone returning hurdler.

As for the sprints, Louisburg will have youth on its side as the Wildcats will count on several underclassmen. Ben Minster, Rigney and Jackson Ewalt are the most experienced runners and Griffin hopes several freshmen progress as the season goes in the field events.

In the field events, senior Jarod Woodward is the lone state qualifier to return as he hopes to build off his state appearance in the shot put. Senior Bradley Trageser, junior T.J. Dover and sophomore Garrett Lowry will give the Wildcats some depth in the shot put and discus.

Juniors Jacob Jensen and Dustyn Rizzo also hope to give the Wildcats some points in the javelin.

“I hope Jarod steps up because he needs to be the leader of the throwers,” Griffin said. “I am expecting all those other guys to score some points in the throws as well.”

The Louisburg girls team also had a good season a year ago, including state appearances in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays and the pole vault.

Coach Greg Darrington has seen a rise in numbers this season as he has 43 girls out this year and believes the Lady Cats will be able to do some good things.

Sophomore Isabelle Holtzen will try for her second straight trip to state this season in the pole vault.

“This is more girls than we have had in several years,” Darrington said “So far it has gone well in practice. I am looking forward to this year and I really feel these girls will step up and be competitive by the end of the year.”

The Lady Cats return two members from their 4×400 relay team in senior Megan Lemke and junior Kaitlyn Gaza. Sophomore Mikayla Quinn will look to fill one of those spots after having a solid year in the 400-meter dash a year ago.

They also hope to score some points in the distance races as well as Madelynn Yalowitz, Lauren Becker, Liz Hildreth and Isabelle Holtzen all return to strengthen the 4×800 relay team, along with the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs.

Louisburg’s strong suit, however, might be in the jumps – specifically in the pole vault. Holtzen returns after qualifying for state a year ago in the pole vault, while teammate McKinley Mathews will also be a strong vaulter for the Lady Cats as she vies for a spot at state this year.

In the long and triple jumps, Kaitlyn Urban, Haley Earl and Chloe Renner will look to improve off last year’s marks. Also, Ellie Katzer and Lexie Reece are making strides in the throws.

“I think the jumpers could be one of our strong areas this year,” Darrrington said. “Coach (Kyle) Littrell is doing a great job with those girls. I think in pole vault, Holtzen will push Mathews this year and both girls could qualify for state. Also Urban, Earl, and Renner have all been working really hard.

“All my throwers are young, but Ellie is looking good out of the gate. Lexie is showing signs of progress and is working very hard on her form to be able to hit some of her goals this year.”

Louisburg will begin its season Tuesday when it travels to the Leavenworth Invitational, which is held at Mill Valley High School. Field events are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

2016 LOUISBURG HIGH SCHOOL TRACK SCHEDULE

Mar. 29                       at Leavenworth Invitational                         3:30 p.m.

Apr. 7                           at Paola                                                            3:30 p.m.

Apr. 14                         at Anderson County                                       3:30 p.m.

Apr. 21                         Louisburg Invitational                                    4 p.m.

Apr. 28                         at Prairie View                                                 3:30 p.m.

Apr. 29                         at Gardner-Edgerton                                     3:30 p.m.

May  6                         at Wellsville Redbud Relays                          3:30 p.m.

May 12                        at Frontier League (Eudora)                         3:30 p.m.

May 20                        at Regionals (TBA)                                          TBA

Last October, Paola activities director Jeff Hines went to a Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) regional meeting to get updates on classification issues.

Six months later, Hines found himself in Topeka, in front of the Kansas Senate Education Committee to talk about a bill that could change the way schools are classified.

On Thursday, Hines sat in front of the committee to discuss Senate Bill 464 – a bill that he proposed with guidance of Sen. Caryn Tyson.

Statute 72-130 establishes specific guidelines pertaining to the organizational structure and functions of KSHSAA. Senate Bill 464 would change one part of the statute and strike the line which allows schools to be classified only by student enrollment.

“The total number of students in schools is a great starting point for classifying them,” Hines said.  “It makes sense that the largest schools should play the largest schools and the smallest schools should play the smallest schools, but there are other things that need to be considered.”

For several months, KSHSAA has had a classification committee discuss different ways to have a competitive balance with its member schools. They came up with ideas of reducing the number of classifications or changing the number of schools in a division.

“There were no other factors being considered and that bothered me,” Hines said, “All that would do was reshuffle the schools just a little bit but we would have the same problem.”

The problem for the committee was its hands were tied thanks to the wording in Statute 72-130 that specifically states schools can only be classified by enrollment numbers and nothing else.

So Hines went to work and helped create Senate Bill 464, which does not give a specific solution to the problem, but rather would take wording out of the statute to allow KSHSAA to figure out how to classify schools on its own.

Hines gave a 15 minute testimony in front of the committee and then answered questions from the committee members for more than 30 minutes afterward. Before the hearing, Hines received support from every member in the Frontier League, Pioneer League and all but two schools in the Kaw Valley League, as those two didn’t respond before the hearing.

Following Hines’ testimony, Sen. Vicki Schmidt, R-Topeka, had concerns as to why KSHSAA did not come in front of the committee itself to ask for changes.

Hines informed the committee that it would be redundant for KSHSAA to endorse the plan, because if approved, member schools would still have to vote on it. He believes Bill 464 would let KSHSAA come up with a system and let schools improve it, instead of the legislature.

“KSHSAA wants to be neutral because this proposal would affect different schools in different ways,” Hines said. “It could be very beneficial to some schools and others may not like it because they might have to move up a class. So, why should KSHSAA have to pick sides in it and pit member against member? It doesn’t have to be that way in my opinion.

“Yes, a school that has to move up a classification might not like it, but is it the best thing overall for the association? They can’t look themselves in the mirror and say ‘No, this isn’t the right thing to do?’

A major problem for some member schools in KSHSAA is they do not believe it is competitively equal the way it is currently structured.

“I am not a believer in participation medals,” Hines said. “If they are kindergartners, sure, but when you start playing, part of being successful later in life is learning how to compete. We all competed for a job when you have gone in for an interview and that is good. You need to have that skillset and I am not saying that we need to give more trophies out and give everyone a shot, but I just want a system in place that is equitable for all so that some don’t have an unfair advantage at the expense of the rest and I think that is what is happening.”

One of the problems is the lack of balance between championships won between public and private high schools. Hines did research and presented numbers at the hearing at the number of state championships won between private and public schools from 2004 to 2014.

Here is what he found.

• Private schools make up slightly less than 8 percent of the KSHSAA membership.
• Private schools have won slightly less than 32 percent of the state championships.
• Based on membership percentage, private schools should only win approximately 8 percent of the titles, not nearly 32 percent.
• Private schools are winning four times more state titles than should be expected based on their memberships.
• Private schools are nine times more likely to win five or more state titles than their public school peers.

“In that period of time, I looked for who has won five or more state titles,” Hines said. “That is a difficult feat. You look at Paola’s history and we have won like seven and Louisburg has won three in 100-plus years. During those 10 years, 37 percent of those private schools won five or more during that time and public schools had 4 percent win five or more. Private schools are nine times more likely to become a dynasty or a successful program with strong tradition. You tell me how we are all the same?”

Another problem they are facing is schools with a high percentage of low socioeconomic status (SCS) students, cannot compete against fellow schools in their own classification in many activities, including football.

“There is a whole bunch of schools in the Kansas City, Kansas school district that are 6A or 5A that have no business competing against those really hard schools,” Hines said. “They don’t have resources, they don’t have the students, there is no interest and they have all those things working against them and I feel bad for those kids. Who wants to trot out against some of those bigger schools and know you are going to get your ears boxed in? That is not fun. Moreover, it is not challenging for the kids those schools are playing against.”

Hines believes competition is important when it comes to the growth of the student athlete and it is beneficial for the school and its community.

“Not only what it does for grades, but for what it does for the human spirit,” Hines said.
“When I was the FFA advisor in Paola, we won 10 state championships in nine years and you could tell the interest by the students and the community went through the roof. You can say the same thing about Louisburg and what Jim Morgan does with his FFA kids. People flock to success.

“Naturally, when they are there they feel better about themselves, they want to work harder in the classroom to stay eligible and kids that want to stay involved are going to be more successful in life. It is all about having the chance to be successful.”

During Hines’ testimony in front of the Senate Education Committee, not all of the legislatures seemed open to the idea. Molly Baumgardner, R-Louisburg, asked Hines if he would be willing to relinquish state funding if the legislature agrees to release oversight of how KSHSAA classifies schools.

“If we relinquished the funding behind it, (high school activities) would disappear,” Hines said at the hearing.

No action was taken following the hearing, but the committee chairman spent 15 minutes with him and Tyson to help them strategize on what to do next.

One option is to amend the bill to include more specifics that could include a multiplier or a separate division for private schools and a low SCS school de-multiplier.

Another option, Hines said, would be to have the classification committee draft a letter to the Senate Education Committee that states they would like to study these other factors as part of a proposal for revamping the classification system, but not until they feel the legislature is open to changing the law.

Whatever decision comes next, however, Hines wants it to be decided by multiple people within KSHSAA on how to proceed.

“I don’t feel comfortable making that change because I feel a committee needs to do the work,” Hines said. “I shouldn’t be doing it, nor should 11 legislators, you need more. We should let the classification committee work on it and hopefully we can get some things accomplished.

“The only way to allow this to happen is to remove the barrier in place that exists due to the state statute.”