Louisburg’s Ben Hupp hands the baton off to teammate Michael Minster in the 4×800-meter relay Thursday during the Class 4A regional track meet at Prairie View High School. The 4×800 relay finished third and qualified for state.

LA CYGNE – Louisburg boys track and field coach Gary Griffin isn’t psychic, but he did have a good feeling about his team the day before the regional meet.

“I told them at practice that we are taking 11 guys to state,” Griffin said.

It was kind of a bold statement considering how there is so much unknown at any track meet, but during the Class 4A regional Thursday at Prairie View High School, his vision became a reality.

Louisburg qualified 11 athletes for the state meet and scored points in every event the Wildcats competed. Those athletes will travel to Wichita on Friday for the Kansas State Track and Field Championships at Wichita State University.

The Wildcats finished third in the team standings with 71 points. Paola won the team title with 92 points and Girard was a close second with 90.

Seniors Sean Dennis and Connor McMullen headlined the Louisburg qualifiers as both will be busy at the state meet this week. Dennis qualified in four events and McMullen qualified in three.

Dennis earned state berths in the 110-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash, 200 dash and was the anchor on the 4×100-meter relay. Dennis joined Mason Wilde, Kyle Green and Ben Minster to win the regional title in the 4×100 in 44.31 seconds.

“I didn’t think gold was in our view, but we really gave it our all,” Dennis said. “I am just so happy that I can help all those guys go out to state.”

By the time the meet was over, Dennis was spent. He ran preliminaries in three events and then ran finals in four events — all in a span of about three hours.

“It is awesome,” Dennis said. “It was my goal since the beginning of the season to qualify in four events and now that I have done that all that is left is to go and place.

“I did decent in the hurdles, and like always I could have done better, but the important thing is to qualify and now I have another chance out at state.”

Jarod Woodward releases a throw in the shot put Thursday. Woodward finished with a personal record toss of over 48 feet to take third and qualify for state.

Dennis finished second in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.24 seconds. He later took fourth in the 100 dash in 11.39 seconds and fourth in the 200 dash in 23 seconds.

“It was a tough day for Sean because he didn’t have a whole lot of recovery time, so his times weren’t great but the whole goal is to qualify and run fast at state,” Griffin said. “Your body isn’t used to it and it is taxing. I was happy he qualified in the 100 because that was literally five minutes after he ran the hurdles. He will run faster out at state and I think he has a chance to win two or three medals.”

McMullen had a good day in the throws for the Wildcats that included a regional title in the discus. Along with that, he also qualified for state in the javelin and the shot put.

McMullen won the discus with a throw of 169 feet, 3 inches to win the event by more than 25 feet and is considered one the favorites to capture the state crown in the event. The other two events were a little closer.

In the javelin, McMullen recorded a personal best throw in his first attempt with a mark of 159-01 and finished third. Not too bad for competing in the event for just the second time this year.

“I looked at the regional a couple weeks ago and the coaches and I didn’t see a lot of strong throws so I thought I would give it a try and qualify for state,” McMullen said. “I got two practices in before league and one practice before regionals and I was able to get third in both.”

McMullen was on the outside looking in for a state berth in the shot put as he was in fifth-place going into his final throw. That last throw of 47-01 was good enough to get him into state with a fourth-place finish.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes out and wins a medal in the javelin,” Griffin said of state. “The discus is his thing and I know he is looking forward to winning a state championship, but he is going to have to get off a good one to win it. Everyone has been gaining on him all year. He is a competitor and he has been there before.”

Junior Jarod Woodward will join McMullen at state in the shot put as he picked the perfect time to record a personal best throw. Woodward recorded a toss of 48-5.75 on his second throw to finish third.

“It felt pretty good,” Woodward said. “I was sick with a migraine so I missed practice but I got about 17 hours of sleep so I was definitely pretty rested. Coach (Greg) Darrington helped me throughout the week on technique that helped me throw the personal record and hopefully 50 (feet) during state.”

Along with the 4×100 relay, the Wildcats were also able to qualify its 4×400 and 4×800 relays as well. The 4×400 team of Wilde, Minster, Green and Dawson Christy ran a time of 3 minutes and 35 seconds to finish fourth.

It also a new personal record as they beat their previous time by five seconds. Wilde, who is also on the 4×100 team, will make his fourth trip to state.

Mason Wilde (right) hands the baton to Kyle Green during the 4×100 relay Thursday. The Wildcat team won the regional title in 44.3 seconds.

“State is awesome,” Wilde said. “I have been lucky enough to go every year, so senior year is just like every year. All the hard work has finally paid off and it is a good feeling.”

Christy is also making a repeat trip to state and will do so with the 4×800 relay along with the 4×400. Christy, along with Michael Minster, Ben Hupp and Wyatt Reece came in third in 9:02.80.

“It does feel good,” Christy said. “It has been awhile since we had a good 4×800 team so it is great to be able to qualify in that. It won’t be my first time out at state, but for a lot of the other kids it will and hopefully I can be a leader for them.”

Junior Parker Cates will be making his second trip to the state meet in the pole vault as he finished fourth overall after he cleared 11-0. He was tied with Labette County at 11-0, but Cates won the tiebreaker to advance after he cleared 11 feet on his first attempt.

The Class 4A portion of the state meet will begin at 2 p.m. on Friday and will continue into Saturday.

Louisburg’s Hanna Becker hands off to anchor Bailey Belcher in the final leg of the 4×100-meter relay Thursday during the Frontier League meet in Spring Hill. The Lady Cat relay team finished third.

SPRING HILL – As just a freshman, Bailey Belcher continues to burn up the track for the Louisburg girls track and field team.

Belcher helped score 26 points for the Lady Cats during the Frontier League track meet Thursday in Spring Hill. She finished runner-up in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes and later helped the 4×100-meter relay to a third-place finish.

Belcher also scored a few points in the field events as she took fourth in the high jump when she cleared a season-best 4 feet and 10 inches.

Outside of the freshman, Louisburg had a little tougher time coming up with points as it finished sixth with 46.5 points. Baldwin won the meet the 198 points and Paola was second with 173.5.

In the preliminaries of the 100 dash, Belcher recorded the fastest time but was edged out in the finals by De Soto’s Tori Marshall. Belcher ran a time of 13.18 seconds to Marshall’s 13.08.

Marshall, a senior, once again got the better of Belcher, but not by much. Marshall won the 200 dash in 27.03 and Belcher was second in 27.33. The Louisburg freshman is posting strong finishes despite recovering from a foot injury three weeks ago.

Belcher joined Ashley Ruder, Megan Lemke and Hanna Becker to run the 4×100 relay. The Lady Cat team ran a time of 52.76 to take third.

Also on the track, the 4×400 relay of Kaitlyn Gaza, Lemke, Ruder and Makenzie Kallevig also took third in 4 minutes and 21 seconds. Kallevig, Liz Hildreth, Isabelle Holtzen and Lauren Becker ran the 4×800 relay in 11:26 and came in fifth.

In the sprints, Ruder also scored some points in the 200 dash as she took seventh in 29.78 and Gaza was seventh in the 400 dash in 1:05.

Holtzen continued her improvement in the pole vault as she cleared 8-6, which was a new personal record. The Louisburg freshman came in fourth and junior teammate McKinley Mathews was seventh as she cleared 8-0.

Freshman Haley Earl finished fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 30-4, and another freshman, Sophie McMullen had a throw of 99-8 in the discus to take sixth.

The Lady Cats will try and continue their season Thursday when they travel to Prairie View for the Class 4A regional meet. The meet begins at 3 p.m., and the top four placers in each event will qualify for state.

Louisburg senior Sean Dennis pulls away from the field in the 110-meter high hurdles Thursday at the Frontier League meet in Spring Hill. Dennis won four league titles on the day, including three individual races.

SPRING HILL – Sean Dennis had one of the best days in his track career Thursday, and quite possibly one of the best performances in Louisburg track history as far as the Frontier League meet goes.

Dennis, a senior, won three individual gold medals during the league meet at Spring Hill High School as he dominated the track. He then picked up a fourth as he helped the 4×100-meter relay to a first-place finish.

It was the perfect setup for Dennis as he, and the rest of the Wildcats, prepare for the regional meet Thursday.

“Sean had a great day,” Louisburg coach Gary Griffin said. “He competed hard, he ran prelims in all of his sprints and ran well in all the finals. The times were not great because we ran against the wind, but the performance was excellent. I am not sure the last time we had someone win three individual golds and four total.”

Dennis won the 110-meter high hurdles in 16.41 seconds as he pulled away from the competition. He later won the 100-meter dash in 11.44 seconds and the 200-meter dash in 23.20, which was close to a personal best.

Mason Wilde, Kyle Green, Ben Minster and Dennis brought home another league title in the 4×100 relay as they ran to a gold medal in 44.1 seconds to edge Paola at the finish line.

“The 4×100 ran well,” Griffin said. “We still have a little work to do on handoffs, which I think can cut some more time off. They may have to run that fast to qualify for state.”

Senior Connor McMullen joined Dennis as a league champion after he recorded a throw of 175 feet, 3 inches to win the discus. He also scored points in two other events for Louisburg.

Connor McMullen lets the discus fly Thursday at the Frontier League meet in Spring Hill. McMullen won the league title in the discus with a throw of 175-3.

For the first time this season, McMullen competed in the javelin and all he did was come away with a third place finish. He finished with a throw of 154-8 to give the Wildcats some big team points.

In the shot put, McMullen came in fifth with a toss of 46-5. He would have finished fourth, but teammate Jarod Woodward surpassed McMullen by one inch on his final throw with a mark of 46-6.

“Connor had a great day scoring big points for us,” Griffin said. “I was happy he started throwing the javelin and he has a great chance to qualify for state in that event at regionals. He has been really consistent the last three weeks in the discus, which leads me to believe that he has a big one in him the next two weeks.”

In the team standings, the Wildcats finished fifth overall with 83 points. Baldwin won the league crown with 145 points and Paola was second with 108.

Also on the track, Green finished fifth in the 400-meter dash as he ran a time of 52.96. Green, Wilde, Quinn Rigney and Michael Minster ran a 3:42 in the 4×400 to take sixth.

In the 100-meter dash, Wilde and Ben Minster finished sixth and seventh, respectively, to also score points in the sprints.

The 4×800 relay of Wyatt Reece, Ben Hupp, Dawson Christy and Minster finished fifth in 9:22.

Junior Parker Cates, along with freshman Frankie Hurst, had a good day in the pole vault. Cates cleared 11-0 to take fifth overall. Hurst also cleared 11-0 to tie a personal best and took eighth.

Andrew Goff cleared 5-6 in the high jump to take sixth and rounded out the Wildcat point-getters.

Louisburg will now get ready to compete in its most important meet of the season Thursday as it travels to Prairie View for the Class 4A regional meet. The top four finishers in each event qualify for the state meet in Wichita.

“I think we have the chance to qualify a lot of kids in a lot of events, but they are going to have to perform well on Thursday,” Griffin said. “This is the highest pressure meet of the year. A lot of these kids have been in this situation before and have performed well, but for some of them it is a new experience and hopefully they can relax and perform well.”

Louisburg High School freshman Isabelle Holtzen springs up to go over the bar in the pole vault Friday at the Redbud Relays at Wellsville High School. Holtzen set a personal-best in the pole vault as she cleared 8 feet and took sixth overall.

WELLSVILLE – Missing a week with an injury didn’t seem to bother freshman Bailey Belcher.

All Belcher did was score in all four of her events Friday during the Redbud Relays at Wellsville High School. Those points helped the Louisburg girls track and field team to a fifth place finish with 33 points.

Belcher finished fourth in two of her individual events and joined Megan Lemke, Ashley Ruder and Hanna Becker in the 4×100-meter relay to finish third in 53 seconds.

In the 100-meter dash, Belcher ran a time of 13.63 seconds to take fourth and also finished fourth in the 200 dash in 27.59. She also scored points in the high jump after she cleared 4 feet, 8 inches to finish fifth.

“I felt the girls competed well,” Louisburg coach Greg Darrington said. “I thought Bailey did well for missing a week of practice. She will only get better as she gets into shape again.”

In the team standings, no team could come close to the race Paola and Baldwin put together. Paola edged Baldwin to win the team title with 162 points and Baldwin finished with 148. Spring Hill took third with 39 points.

Like Belcher, another freshman came through for the Lady Cats.

Freshman jumper Haley Earl had the best individual finish for Louisburg as she came in third in the triple jump with a mark of 31-7.25. Earl also came in seventh in the long jump with a leap of 14-7.

“I really like how Haley Earl is competing and getting better each week,” Darrington said. “I think as long as she works hard she has a chance in competing for a spot in the state track meet.”

Also in the field events, junior McKinley Mathews continues to score points for the Lady Cats. Mathews came in fourth in the pole vault after she cleared 8-6, but another teammate was right behind her.

Freshman Isabelle Holtzen set a personal record in the pole vault after she cleared 8-0 and finished sixth. Sophomore Chloe Renner was sixth in the high jump after she cleared 4-6.

On the track, the Lady Cats also scored points in two other relays. The 4×400 relay team of Kaitlyn Gaza, Makenzie Kallevig, Ruder and Lemke ran a time of 4:23 to finish fourth.

Liz Hildreth, Lauren Becker, Kallevig and Holtzen ran the 4×800 relay to a fifth-place finish in 11:08.

Louisburg will compete in one of its final meets of the season Thursday at the Frontier League meet at Spring Hill. Field events are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Louisburg senior Connor McMullen lets the discus fly during the Redbud Relays on Friday at Wellsville High School. McMullen won the event with a throw of 187 feet and 3 inches.

WELLSVILLE – A year ago, Connor McMullen set a Louisburg High School and Redbud Relays record in the discus with a throw of 187 feet, 3 inches.

On Friday, McMullen returned to Wellsville to try and duplicate, or even exceed his mark. Although he didn’t quite get there, McMullen still won the event with a toss of 175-4 at the Redbud Relays.

“Connor has a big one in him and I think it is just a matter of time,” Louisburg coach Gary Griffin said. “We have some big meets coming up, and he will have some good competition the rest of the year.”

McMullen’s victory in the discus was the Wildcats’ lone win on the day as they finished ninth in the team standings with 28 points. Baldwin won the meet going away with 101 points and Osawatomie was second with 69.

Louisburg senior Sean Dennis recorded team points in two events and nearly came away with a victory in the 100-meter dash. He was second in the event in 11.72 seconds and Wellsville’s Zach Strom won in 11.53. Dennis finished fourth in the 200-meter dash in 23.65.

Dennis was scheduled to go up against Osawatomie’s Jacoby Greenwood in the 110-meter hurdles as they both hold two of the top times in Class 4A this season. Instead, Dennis was disqualified for a false start.

“Sean was a little amped up for the race and I think he knew he needed to get out quick,” Griffin said. “It was one of those things that happen to sprinters once in a while, but he came back and ran a good 100. I hope it does not happen again.”

The Wildcats also put together some points and personal best in several field events.

Louisburg senior Mason Wilde (left) takes the handoff from senior teammate Zach Knox during the 4×100-meter relay Friday at the Redbud Relays in Wellsville.

McMullen, before winning the discus, was in the shot put ring and finished fourth with a mark of 46-8. Teammate Jarod Woodward was seventh with a throw of 45-2.

For the first time this season, freshman Frankie Hurst cleared 11 feet in the pole vault, which is a new personal best and placed sixth overall in the process. Teammate Parker Cates took eighth after he cleared 10-6.

“Frankie has a chance at regionals if he can make 11 or higher to make it to state, so it was nice to see him make that height,” Griffin said.

Although they didn’t score points, both of the Wildcat javelin throwers set new personal bests. Jacob Jensen recorded a toss of 133-6 to take 11th and Dustyn Rizzo had a throw of 130-1 to take 13th.

On the track, the Wildcats are dealing with some injuries as senior sprinter Mason Wilde was held out of the 100 and 200 dashes, but still ran the 4×100 and 4×400-meter relays.

Zach Knox, Wilde, Ben Minster and Dennis finished sixth in the 4×100 in 45.43 seconds. The 4×400 team of Wyatt Reece, Quinn Rigney, Wilde and Dawson Christy was seventh in 3 minutes and 41 seconds.

Christy later went on to finish seventh in the 800 run in 2:10 and Minster took seventh in the 100 dash in 11.95 seconds.

Reece, Christy, Michael Minster and Ben Hupp ran the 4×800 for Louisburg and came in 8th in 8:59.

Michael Minster and Bobby Hargis also ran personal bests in their respective distance races. Minster ran a 2:16 in the 800 run and 11:35 in the 3,200-meter run, while Hargis came in 13th in the 3,200 run in 11:31 and ran a 5:17 in the 1,600 run.

Louisburg returns to action Thursday when it travels to Spring Hill for the Frontier League track meet. Field events are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Louisburg’s Andrew Goff flies through the air during an attempt in the triple jump Friday at the Trailblazer Invitational at Gardner. Goff set personal records in all three jump events.

GARDNER – Medals were at a premium for the Louisburg track and field teams, but the Wildcats still showed improvement even though they don’t have the hardware to show it.

During the Trailblazer Invitational on Friday in Gardner, the Wildcats won just one event but set numerous personal records in several others competing against bigger schools including Olathe East, Olathe Northwest and Mill Valley.

“I thought we did some good things,” Louisburg boys coach Gary Griffin said. “We are kind of banged up right now though. We have a lot of aches and pains.”

Louisburg senior Connor McMullen continued to tear through his discus competition as he won his third meet of the season. McMullen recorded a throw of 171 feet, 9 inches to win by almost 30 feet.

Junior Jarod Woodward and McMullen scored points in the shot put as well. Woodward came in third with a toss of 44-11 and McMullen was right behind him in fourth with a mark of 43-5.

Fellow senior Sean Dennis went up against some tough competition in the hurdles and both sprint races. Dennis ran a personal best time in the 200-meter dash in 23.14 seconds to take fourth. He went on to finish third in the 110-meter high hurdles in 15.3 and seventh in the 100 dash in 11.35.

“Sean had some tough competition,” Griffin said. “He ran his best 200 time, but did not run great in the hurdles and 100. He has been pretty consistent all year, so he will bounce back fine.”

Kyle Green put together his best performance in the 400-meter dash as he set a personal record of 52.94 seconds to finish third against some strong runners. Teammate Dawson Christy also ran a personal best 55.11 in the event.

“Kyle’s PR was good to see and I hope he continues to get better,” Griffin said. “The competition was good, but we are striving to get better at every meet, and I think overall we did that.”

Several jumpers had personal bests for the Wildcats. Andrew Goff had personal record marks in the high jump (5-6), triple jump (38-7) and long jump (18-8). Triple jumpers Will Ridley (35-6.5) and Kyle Allen (35-4.5) also had new highs.

Parker Cates cleared 11-6 in the pole vault, which is a new top mark for him, and Frankie Hurst cleared 10-6 to tie his personal best.

“I thought Andrew Goff had a great day,” Griffin said. “I think he had season PRs in all his events and the other triple jumpers had PRs as well. Parker and Frankie competed well also.”

The Lady Cats didn’t have the same type of success, but junior pole vaulter McKinley Mathews had another good outing. Mathews cleared 9 feet to finish fourth overall.

Louisburg returns to the track Friday for the Redbud Relays in Wellsville. The meet is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Louisburg freshman Bailey Belcher crosses the finish line in the 200-meter dash Thursday during the Louisburg Invitational. Belcher won both the 100 and 200-meter dashes to help the Lady Cats win the team title.

It had been a while since the Louisburg girls track and field team had a chance to win its home meet, but on Thursday the Lady Cats came through.

The Lady Cats captured the Louisburg Invitational team crown as they racked up 162 points to hold off Spring Hill, which had 156. Louisburg got points from several different athletes and won six events in the process.

“I believe winning our home meet the first time in a few years was great for us,” Louisburg coach Greg Darrington said. “The thing I was most proud of is the fact that we scored points in almost every event. I was really proud of the girls’ effort Thursday.”

Believe it or not, it was four freshmen who won five of those six events for Louisburg and each played big roles in that team title.

Freshman sprinter Bailey Belcher had one of her best meets of the season as she won the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Belcher won the 100 in 12.6 seconds and held off Osawatomie’s Saige Weaver.

It was also the first time Belcher had run the 200 this season and couldn’t have asked for a better start as she ran a time of 27.3 seconds.

Another freshman, Mikayla Quinn, completed the sweep of the sprints for Louisburg. Quinn won the 400 dash as she ran a time of 1 minute and 6 seconds. Teammates Makenzie Kallevig (1:07) and Hanna Becker (1:10) also finished second and fourth, respectively.

“Bailey is doing a great job this year,” Darrington said. “Thursday was the first time she ran the 200 for us and won. She was a team player giving up one of her events to do the 200. Quinn did an awesome job as well. I believe this would be her third meet that she has won the 400.”

Freshman jumper Haley Earl captured the long jump with a leap of 15 feet, 5 inches and later finished fourth in the triple and high jumps with a mark of 31-7 and 4-4, respectively.

“Haley has really stepped up this season,” Darrington said. “Her improvement has let us move Bailey into the 200 which has helped our team. I am excited to see where Haley can finishes this season as long as she keeps improving and working hard.”

Sophie McMullen had a strong start for her first varsity of the season in the throws. McMullen a freshman, won the discus with a throw of 105-6 and later finished second in the javelin with a mark of 86-2.

Ellie Katzer came in third in the discus (92-3) and Lexie Reece (87-0) was fifth to score points for Louisburg as well. Sophomore Paige Buffington was third in the javelin (85-3) and Katzer (73-11) came in sixth.

Louisburg sophomore Paige Buffington rears back to throw the javelin Thursday during the Louisburg Invitational. Buffington finished third in the event.

“I think all our throwers are starting to improve,” Darrington said “The last couple of meets Ellie Katzer has earned some team points for us finishing third the last two meets. I think if Sophie, Ellie and Lexie Reece keep working hard at the discus, one of them could place in league meet for us.”

Junior McKinley Mathews continues to improve in the pole vault as she cleared a season-best 9-0 to finish runner-up and teammate Isabelle Holtzen was third at 7-6.

Chloe Renner placed in three events in the jumps. Renner was second in the high jump (4-6) and sixth in the long jump (14-4) and triple jump (30-3.5). Belcher (14-5) came in fifth in the long jump.

On the track, Louisburg 4×800-meter relay team of Isabelle Holtzen, Savannah Reinhart, Liz Hildreth and Lauren Becker took first in 11:38. Hanna Becker, Belcher, Megan Lemke and Ashley Ruder ran a good 4×100 relay to take second in 53.5, while Kallevig, Lemke, Quinn and Ruder were third in the 4×400 relay in 4:30.

In the 800 run, Reinhart led Louisburg in fourth place with a time of 2:48. Hildreth (2:49) and Holtzen (2:50) were fifth and sixth, respectively.

Madelynn Yalowitz picked up some points in the 3,200-meter run as was fourth in 14:12. Louisburg also had a slew of other fifth-place finishes including Lemke in the 100 (13.5) and 200 (28.4), McKinley Mathews in the 300 hurdles (59.7) and Holtzen in the 1,600 run (6:20).

Louisburg returns to the track for two meets this week. The Lady Cats will travel to Prairie View on Thursday and then to the Gardner Invitational on Friday.

Louisburg’s Parker Cates clears a height in the pole vault Thursday during the Louisburg Invitational. The Wildcat boys team finished second overall with 151 points.

In front of his home fans, Sean Dennis showed a lot of people what his team already knew – he is pretty fast.

The Louisburg senior sped his way to top honors in the 100-meter dash with a personal best time and also won the 200 dash Thursday at the Louisburg Invitational. He also anchored the 4×100-meter relay to a gold medal and nearly won his fourth event, but took second in the 110-meter hurdles.

His success helped pave the way for the Wildcat track and field team as they finished second in the team standings with 151 points. Spring Hill won the title with 170 points.

Dennis’ most competitive race was the hurdles as he went up against Osawatomie’s Jacoby Greenwood. Both hurdlers have two of the top times in Class 4A this season and the race didn’t disappoint.

Although Dennis finished second, he still recorded a personal best time of 14.83 seconds to Greenwood’s 14.47, and will get his fair share of rematches with him down the road.

“Sean had a great day,” Louisburg coach Gary Griffin said. “In the hurdles, he is one of the tops in the state and he and Greenwood are going to have to compete several more times this year. They bring out the best in each other.

“The goal for a sprinter is to run sub 11 seconds in the 100 and he did that, and under 23 in the 200 and he has a chance to do that.”

Dennis finished with a personal-best time in the 100-meter dash in 10.89 seconds and won the 200 in 23.4 seconds. In practice, and in the meets, Dennis has been pushed by senior Mason Wilde who finished third in the 100 dash (11.46) and second in the 200 (23.9).

“Mason and Sean work really hard in practice and compete with each other and the other sprinters feed off of them, so the entire group is showing improvement,” Griffin said.

Jarod Woodward rears back for a throw in the shot put Thursday during the Louisburg Invitational. Woodward was second with a throw of 47 feet.

Wilde and Dennis, along with Ben Minster and Kyle Green, ran a time of 45.3 seconds to win the 4×100, but the Wildcats weren’t done winning. Green ran a strong 400-meter dash in 53.9 seconds to take the top spot.

Minster was fourth in the 200 dash (24.3) and sixth in the 100 (11.66), while Dawson Christy was sixth in the 400 (56.4). Also on track, Ben Hupp came in sixth in the 300 hurdles (47.47).

The 4×400-meter relay of Wilde, Green, Christy and Wyatt Reece came in runner-up to Osawatomie in 3:40, while the 4×800 relay of Hupp, Reece, Christy and Michael Minster also took second in 9:16.

In the field events, senior Connor McMullen won two events for the first time this season as he picked a good time for his best throw in the shot put. McMullen recorded a toss of 48 feet, 7 inches, which is a personal record, to win the shot and later threw 148-6 to win the discus.

Not to be outdone, teammate Jarod Woodward also hit a personal record throw of 47 feet in the shot to finish second.

“Connor’s shot was something that I knew he could do and I hope he continues to build on that,” Griffin said. “I think he is definitely capable of throwing 50 feet. Jarod also made a nice jump and I think he is also capable of throwing 50 feet.”

Also in the throws, freshman Garrett Lowry had a throw of 113-10 in the discus to take third. Jacob Jensen (127-10) and Dustyn Rizzo (115-4) took fourth and sixth, respectively, in the javelin.

Parker Cates led Louisburg in the pole vault as the Wildcats placed four. Cates cleared 10-6 to take third and Frankie Hurst did the same, but was fourth based on number of misses. Christian Scholtz (10-0) and Lyndon Smith (9-6) came in fifth and sixth in the event.

Andrew Goff was fourth in the long jump with a leap of 17-9, and his teammates Will Ridley (17-0) and Cates (16-11), were fifth and sixth. Goff was also fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 36-8 and Kyle Allen was sixth at 33-11.

“We scored some nice points in the pole vault and got some points in the javelin as well,” Griffin said. “We had a lot of PRs again and we are progressing each week and that is the goal.”

Louisburg returns to the track Thursday at the Prairie View Invitational and then again on Friday in Gardner.

Louisburg’s Mason Wilde (left) and Sean Dennis sprint to the finish line in the 100-meter dash Thursday at the Anderson County Invitational in Garnett. Dennis won the event in 11.1 seconds and Wilde was third.

GARNETT – Louisburg senior Sean Dennis continues to shave time for the Louisburg boys track and field team and he is becoming harder to beat – especially in the 110-meter hurdles.

Dennis won his third straight hurdles race of the year Thursday during the Anderson County Invitational in Garnett. He breezed to victory as he tied a personal best time of 15 seconds and he didn’t stop there.

The Louisburg senior ran his best time of the season in the 100-meter dash in 11.1 seconds to win two events for the Wildcats. He helped Louisburg to a fourth-place finish with 86 points. Paola won the meet with 159.5 points and Eudora was second with 125.5.

The Wildcats also got several points from sprinter Mason Wilde, who scored in all three sprints. Wilde’s best performance came in the 200 dash when he posted a personal best time of 23.5 seconds, which was good for second.

Wilde was third in the 100 dash in 11.5 seconds and fifth in the 400 dash in 55.9.

“We competed pretty well,” Louisburg boys coach Gary Griffin said. “Sean’s time were good times regardless of the competition and Mason Wilde ran well also.”

Wyatt Reece heads down the straightaway during Thursday’s Anderson County Invitational. Reece won the 1,600-meter run in 5:07.

Louisburg also got some big points from a freshman distance runner. Wyatt Reece led the way in the 1,600-meter run as he ran a time of 5 minutes and 7.9 seconds to win his first race of the season.

“Wyatt ran a really good 1,600 meters and can run faster,” Griffin said. “He is just learning about pace and getting in shape, so I think he has a pretty bright future.”

The personal record times continued on the track as senior Bobby Hargis ran a personal best time in the 3,200-meter run. Hargis crossed the finish line in 11:38 and took fourth overall. Michael Minster finished seventh (12:24) and Curtis Staver was ninth (12:54) to also score points for Louisburg.

Minster also went on to take seventh in the 800 run (2:18) and Kennedy Unthank was seventh in the 400 dash (58.7). Ben Hupp rounded out the point getters on the track as he took eighth in the 300 hurdles (49.5).

Junior Jarod Woodward continued his success in the shot put as he was runner-up in the event with a toss of 45-7.25.

Andrew Goff set personal records as he was seventh in the high jump (5-4) and triple jump (36-2) to score points for Louisburg. Will Ridley also had a personal best in the triple jump (34-2) to take eighth.

In the pole vault, Parker Cates had his best vault of the season as he cleared 11-0 to finish third. Lyndon Smith cleared 9-6 to take seventh.

Louisburg will try and see even more improvement in front of its home fans Thursday when it hosts the Louisburg Invitational at Wildcat Stadium. The meet is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

McMullen, Dennis compete at Kansas Relays

Louisburg seniors Connor McMullen and Sean Dennis ventured to Lawrence on Friday for the 2015 Kansas Relays to compete against some of the area’s best athletes.

McMullen ran up against a strong discus field, but still finished sixth overall with a throw of 167 feet, 6 inches. Blue Springs’ (Mo.) Carlos Davis won with a throw of 194-7.

As for Dennis, he entered in the 110-meter hurdles and finished in the middle of the pack. Dennis was 17th with a time of 15.42 seconds. Liberty North’s (Mo.) Andrew Madison won in 14.35.

Louisburg junior McKinley Mathews clears the bar in the pole vault Thursday at the Anderson County Invitational in Garnett. Mathews was second in the event after she cleared 8 feet, 6 inches.

GARNETT – The Louisburg girls track and field team took another step forward Thursday at the Anderson County Invitational.

The Lady Cats won an event and finished in the top three in six others as they racked up 84.5 points to take third – their highest finish of the season. Louisburg got several of those points on the track.

Louisburg continued to fare well in the sprints and did so thanks to two freshmen.

Freshman Mikayla Quinn won her second straight 400-meter dash in a season best time of 1 minute and 4 seconds. Fellow freshman Bailey Belcher nearly won the 100-meter dash as she ran a time of 12.7 seconds to take second in a neck-and-neck finish with Paola’s Rylie Edwards.

“I felt the girls on the track did a great job,” Louisburg girls coach Greg Darrington said. “Mikayla and Bailey are doing good things in the sprints. I am very excited to see how they progress the rest of the year.”

The Lady Cats also scored several points on the track as junior McKinley Mathews had a strong performance in the pole vault. Mathews cleared 8 feet, 6 inches to take second overall, while freshman Isabelle Holtzen was sixth with a personal best 7-6.

“McKinley is doing well in the pole vault and feel she has a chance to qualify for state as long as she keeps working hard and making improvements,” Darrington said. “Isabelle did a great job competing and getting team points.”

Another freshman got the Lady Cats several points in the jumps. Haley Earl had her best meet of the season as she took third in the triple jump with a mark of 31-5 and was fourth in the long jump with a mark of 14-8.

Freshman Haley Earl lands in the pit following her attempt in the triple jump Thursday. Earl was third in the event and fourth in the long jump.

Belcher went on to take fifth in the long jump (14-6.5) and eighth in the high jump (4-8). Chloe Renner was sixth in the triple jump (31-1)

Louisburg also scored points in two throwing events. Ellie Katzer came in fifth in the discus with a toss of 85-5 and Paige Buffington was seventh in the javelin at 76-2.

The Lady Cats’ relay teams also fared well with two third-place finishes and a fourth. The 4×100-meter relay of Hanna Becker, Belcher, Megan Lemke and Ashley Ruder was third in 52.9 seconds.

Makenzie Kallevig, Lemke, Quinn and Ruder ran a time of 4:25 in the 4×400, while Lauren Becker, Liz Hildreth, Holtzen and Savannah Reinhart came in third in 11:08.

“The 4×400 girls have done a great job improving each week,” Darrington said. “Ruder, Kallevig, Quinn and Lemke have been working very hard this year. I feel our 4×800 team is making strides to compete and qualify this year for state. Our team keeps improving each week and I am proud of them.”

Madelynn Yalowitz competed well in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 13:51 and finished in fourth, which is a season best. Holtzen finished ninth in the 800 run (2:46) to also score some points.

In the sprints, Kallevig finished fifth overall in the 400 dash in 1:06 and Lemke led the Lady Cats in the 200 dash in sixth with a time of 28.2 seconds.

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