Tom Koontz was all smiles after he finished first in the 300-meter hurdles Saturday at the Class 4A state meet at Wichita State University. Koontz also won a state title in the 110 hurdles.

WICHITA — The look on Tom Koontz’s face said it all.

Shock. Excitement. Relief. And everything in between.

When Koontz crossed the finish line following the finals of the 300-meter hurdles Saturday at the Class 4A state meet in Wichita, he was speechless.

After the shock quickly wore off, Koontz fell to his knees on the track. He was spent. The Louisburg senior couldn’t even remember part of the race he ran just seconds earlier.

“I crossed the finish line and just snapped back into reality — I just couldn’t believe it,” Koontz said.

What he couldn’t believe was he had just won his first state title in the 300 hurdles and Koontz did so by breaking a 14-year-old school record. Koontz ran a time of 38.98 seconds to break R.J. Saunders’ record of 39.16 set in 2008 to earn the gold.

It turned out to be his second state title of the day as he also earned the gold medal in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 14.61 seconds. Koontz won the state in that event last season as well.

However, those weren’t the only state titles captured by Louisburg over the weekend. Sophomore Caden Caplinger took first in the pole vault after he cleared 14 feet, 6 inches, a new personal best, and helped the Wildcats to a third place team finish.

As for Koontz, his title in the 300 hurdles meant a lot to him. He finished second a year ago to Topeka-Hayden’s Jake Muller, and did the same this year at the regional meet.

“I woke up knowing it wasn’t going to be easy,” Koontz said of his Saturday events. “I have been thinking of these races since last year, especially the 300. I wanted to win it last year, but couldn’t quite get it. That is what I have been training for, and I was really nervous coming into it, but did what I needed to do. It was just a great day and I am exhausted.”

It was a busy day for Koontz that left him with four state medals around his neck, including two on a pair of relays — the second year in a row he accumulated four.

Still, it was his performance in the 300 that left a lasting impression on him. Koontz had wanted to unseat Muller since the end of last season’s state race and had been working hard to do so.

Koontz was trailing Muller heading into the final 100 meters, but the Louisburg senior was able to turn it on and pull away down the stretch.

“You could see it in my face, it was almost shock,” Koontz said of the finish. “It was a little bit of relief, amazement, just a lot of different emotions. I don’t even remember about a third of the race, I just remember needing to get faster. I worked on the final stretch all week because I knew that would be the most important part.”

HIs race in the 110s was also a memorable one as he got to share it with a pair of teammates. Louisburg dominated the race as juniors Mason Dobbins and Nathan Apple finished second and fourth, respectively, and both set personal records.

“I couldn’t be more thankful,” Koontz said of his teammates. “They have pushed me just as much as I have pushed them. To finish 1, 2 and 4 like we did was just amazing. I have developed a lot of friends over these few years and I consider them some of the best.”

Winning three state titles in the last three years is something Koontz will always remember, but he does leave Louisburg with a little bit of a regret.

“I really wanted Garrett Griffin’s record (110 hurdles), but beggars can’t be choosers,” Koontz said. “I am just happy to get one of them and leave my mark.”

Caplinger cleared a lot of his marks in the pole vault and did so in convincing fashion as he was able to win a state title in just his second year with the program.

Last season at state, Caplinger medaled eighth after he cleared 12-6. A year later, the Louisburg sophomore improved his mark by two feet and is a state champion.

The final vault came down between Caplinger and Eudora’s Kole Manley, and after Caplinger cleared 14-6 on his first attempt, Manley wasn’t able to get it on his three tries.

“I was really shocked, actually,” Caplinger said. “Kole is a really consistent vaulter and I thought he was going to make it for sure. Then when he didn’t, I just couldn’t believe it.”

It was an impressive showing from Caplinger as he didn’t miss an attempt until he tried for 15 feet at the end. He entered the competition at 12-6 and had five straight successful clearances. 

“At first I was really nervous, but then it just kind of turned into a routine thing,” Caplinger said. “I started going over heights consistently and the rest just kind of fell into place. I cleared 14-6 earlier this week twice in a row, so I knew I could do it. I was still a little nervous though.”

Those three state titles were worth 30 points to the Wildcats and accumulated for nearly half of the team’s points that led them to their second consecutive state plaque. 

Louisburg won the state championship a year ago and recorded 67 points this year to finish third.

“It is very exciting,” Caplinger said. “I just love this group. The group above us (juniors), and below us (freshmen), are going to make another good team next year. I hope that we get to do this again.”

Louisburg senior Delaney Wright captured three state medals last weekend in Wichita, including a state runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash.

WICHITA — Just like a year ago, Delaney Wright left Wichita with three medals following the Class 4A state meet Saturday.

It just wasn’t the ones she wanted.

Wright, who has been coming back from a severe injury for most of the season, finished as the state runner-up in the 400-meter dash, third place in the 200 dash and fifth in the long jump.

A season ago, Wright was the state champion in all three events, but couldn’t get the repeat she was hoping for.

“Going into state I knew I still wasn’t where I want to be due to my injury a couple months ago,” Wright said. “But I wanted to attack it still and give it all I had. I am blessed I was there to compete and earn three medals cause in the beginning I didn’t even know if I was going to compete my senior year.”

In all, the Lady Cats put together a strong state performance as they medaled in nine events and finished with 40 team points and took sixth overall. They were just eight points away from the third place spot, and a plaque.

“Once again the state qualifiers did an amazing job,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “They all performed well and most beyond expectations. To leave the meet finishing in sixth place was outstanding. We left with lots of medals and great memories.”

The Lady Cats had seven athletes that found their way to medal stand as Wright made three trips and nearly won her fourth state championship.

Wright finished just behind Andale’s Maddie Schrandt in the 400 dash as she took second in 59.52. Later on Saturday, Wright fell to Schrandt and Andale’s Betsy Reichenberger in 26.61 seconds to finish third.

On Friday, Wright competed in the long jump and medaled fifth with a mark of 16 feet, 2.75 inches.

In all, Wright ended her Wildcat career with 10 state medals and three state championships as she moves on to join the Kansas State University track team next season.

“The last four years of track has been a journey, but I’m going to miss every part of it,” Wright said. “My teammates and coaches were the best and I couldn’t be where I am without them.”

Senior Corinna McMullen put together a memorable ending to her track career as she finished third in the discus for her second consecutive state medal. McMullen recorded a throw of 117-4 and finished behind Andale’s McKenzie Fairchild and Emery May, threw 130-1 and 121-1, respectively.

Last season, McMullen took fourth at state and was happy to see some improvement this time around. 

“Leaving state track with a third place medal felt so accomplishing and ended a great high school career,” McMullen said. “Going into state, I knew I wouldn’t be a state champ due to my size. But I told myself I would place higher than I did last year. I didn’t throw my best, but I also didn’t throw terrible. With throwing, small technique changes can cause big results — good or bad. 

“Overall I’m so happy with my performance even though I wanted to throw just a little farther. I’m so happy I had all my friends and family with my for my last high school event.”

On the track, junior Emma Lohse earned a state medal in her first year of competing on the track. After not qualifying for the finals of the 200 dash, Lohse more than made up for it in the 100.

Lohse qualified for the finals in the 100 dash Saturday and came away with a fourth place medal with time of 12.49 seconds. Lohse, along with Maya Pattison from Eudora and Reichenberger, finished just thousandths of a second apart from second to fourth place.

“It felt good to come home with a medal in the 100,” Lohse said. “Overall I thought I ran well, especially in the 100. Medaling this year was such a good feeling and I’m so excited for next year and will have higher expectations for state.”

In the pole vault, sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross continued her memorable season as she found the state podium for the first time. Carpenter-Ross finished in a four-way tie for second after she cleared 10 feet, but took the fifth place medal based on number of misses.

Carpenter-Ross had improved throughout the season as she started out at 8 feet, but eventually progressed to a personal best 10-6 she achieved at regionals.

“It was awesome and felt rewarding to medal at state because my personal records have gone up 2 feet throughout this season to enable me to be up on the podium,” Carpenter-Ross said.

The Lady Cats recorded a personal best in the javelin on a couple of good throws from Katie Elpers. The Louisburg sophomore had a PR in her first throw of the event with a toss of 115-3.

Elpers qualified for the finals and opened with another personal best throw of 122-1 to medal sixth overall.

“I was very surprised with how far I threw,” Elpers said. “It felt awesome being able to leave with a medal and i can’t wait to try to earn another one next year.”

The Lady Cats earned two more medals on the track as sophomore Maddy Rhamy opened the meet strong on Friday morning. Rhamy earned her first state medal with a time of 12:28.98 in the 3,200 meter run and finished seventh.

To get that medal, she broke her own school record that she set just the week before at regionals.

“Maddy earning her first state medal and breaking her own school record in the last meet shows how strong she is,” coach Reece said. “She just ran her race and the field came back to her and finishing seventh was great.”

Also in the distance races, sophomore Emma Vohs found the state podium in the 1,600-meter run. Vohs finished seventh in 5:42 after winning a regional title the week prior.

“I felt very proud to leave Wichita with a state medal,” Vohs said. “I knew this race was going to be the hardest I’ve seen all season with the best runners in 4A, so I knew I had to show up and run my race. 

“Overall, I feel like I could’ve ran better, I did not PR but coach told me my strategy for the race was what he was looking for me to do. I can’t wait to be back next year.”

Vohs, Lohse, Wright and Mackenzie Rooney just missed out on the finals in the 4×400-meter relay as it took 10th in 4:17.

Rooney, also competed in the 300 hurdles, she she finished 15th in 53.77 seconds. Lohse missed the finals of the 200 dash by one spot as she took ninth in 26.65 seconds.

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week 10 of the spring sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.

TOM KOONTZ, SENIOR, TRACK AND FIELD

Louisburg senior Tom Koontz made Wildcat track and field history Saturday at the Class 4A state meet in Wichita. Koontz came home with four state medals, but more importantly, won titles in both hurdle races as he helped the Wildcats to a third place state finish.

His more impressive performance came in the 300-meter hurdles as he broke the school record in 38.98 seconds to win gold and knock off Hayden’s Jake Muller, who defeated Koontz at state a year ago. Earlier in the day, Koontz flew to a title in the 110 hurdles as he won gold in 14.61 seconds. In the same race, teammates Mason Dobbins and Nathan Apple medaled second and fourth, respectively.

Koontz was a part of the 4×400 relay team of Hunter Heinrich, Colyer Wingfield and Ethan Ptacek that medaled fourth overall. Koontz, Dobbins, Caden Caplinger and Ptacek also teamed up to medal in the 4×100 as they finished sixth.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the spring season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous Winners

Week 1: Lexi Hampton

Week 2: Sabra Brueggen

Week 3: Emma Lohse

Week 4: Nathan Vincent

Week 5: Mia Wilson

Week 6: Reese Johnson

Week 7: Kolby Kattau

Week 8: A.J. Arriola

Week 9: Delaney Wright

The Louisburg boys track and field team finished as the Class 4A regional runner-up Friday at Eudora High School. The Wildcats also qualified for state in 14 events.

EUDORA — Defending a state championship isn’t easy and the Louisburg boys track and field team has found that out first hand at different times this season.

One of those times came Friday at the Class 4A regional meet in Eudora. The Wildcats were on the verge of their second straight regional title, only to have another team take it away in the final event.

Topeka-Hayden won the regional title with 131 points and the Wildcats finished as the regional runner-up with 128. Hayden won the 4×400-meter relay in the final race of the day to to take championship.

As tough as that was, there were still plenty of positives for Louisburg to take away, from what was a successful outing for the Wildcats.

Louisburg qualified for state in 14 events and had several athletes qualify in multiple events as they gear up for another state run this weekend in Wichita.

“The guys were definitely disappointed, but they were still happy with a runner up as tough as our regionals was, and the number of athletes there that will be on the podium at state,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “For the most part they did what was expected, and in some circumstances, even more.”

It was all led by Louisburg senior Tom Koontz as he qualified for four events, including two hurdle races and two relays.

Koontz was a regional champion in the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.8 seconds and was the regional runner-up in the 300 hurdles in 39.93 seconds. Koontz, who is the defending state champion in the 110s, lost to Hayden’s Jake Muller in the 300s, the same opponent he finished behind last year a state.

“Well, winning the 110s felt great, but my ultimate goal is state,” Koontz said. “It’s what I’ve been working for since December, since last year even. I knew it would be incredibly difficult to live up to those expectations, so winning regionals feels like a great step closer, but the 300s are a different story.

“Jake Muller is going to be my first real challenge this year. I only wish I could’ve gone against him more. I’ve spent all of the week leading up to state preparing mentally for the race against him. We are very equally matched, so it’s gonna come down to who runs their best race.”

Koontz was also a part of a regional championship relay as the 4×100 team of Koontz, Mason Dobbins, Caden Caplinger and Ethan Ptacek took gold in 43.64 seconds.

The Wildcat 4×400 relay will also make an appearance at state as Koontz, Ptacek, Colyer Wingfield and Hunter Heinrich finished third in 3 minutes and 28 seconds.

Dobbins also qualified for four events at the state meet. Along with his role in the 4×100, Dobbins won the regional championship in the high jump after clearing 6 feet.

The Louisburg junior will join Koontz in the 110 hurdles after he finished second in 15.15 seconds. He also qualified third in the 200 dash in a personal best time of 22.84 seconds.

“It meant a lot to win a regional title in high jump and qualify for state in four events,” Dobbins said. “It reassured me that all my hard work pays off. I expect to go to state and perform to the best of my abilities. I want to place in every event this weekend.”

Louisburg also earned a regional title in the field events as junior Nathan Vincent continues to improve in the javelin. Vincent recorded a personal-best throw of 178 feet, 4 inches, to win by almost four feet.

“It was a super cool experience going out there and competing against some great throwers,” Vincent said. “The conditions were pretty good which made for a good javelin day, and it just flew well for me and I came out on top, which was awesome. 

“I’m comfortable with my form right now, but the distances can always go up. I’m looking to pop out a big throw. It’s going to be tough with the Andale throwers but, as everyone says, it only takes one.”

The Wildcats also earned several more sprint spots at the state meet. 

Ptacek ran a personal-best time of 51.51 seconds in the 400 dash and finished as the regional runner-up and will compete in this race at state, along with the two relays.

Senior Cooper Hipp ran a personal best time of 22.99 seconds in the 200 dash and qualified fourth, while junior Nathan Apple was third Wildcat hurdler to qualify as he finished fourth in the 110s in 15.44.

“Ethan is coming along in the 400,” Wright said. “He is really working hard on his running form and race strategy. Mason and Cooper had good starts in the finals and I am so happy for Cooper Hipp. Very deserving and rewarding to see a guy that has worked for four years to accomplish a goal. To run in his very first regionals and PR by a second and half, and qualify for his first state track meet, is great to see.”

Louisburg also qualified in three distance races and it started with a difficult 1,600-meter run.

Senior Jaden Vohs finished third in 4:33 to qualify for state, while Jerynce Brings Plenty did the same in the 3,200-meter run as he finished fourth in 10:27.

Vohs and Brings Plenty also joined Heinrich and senior Hayden Ross to finish third in the 4×800 relay in 8:30 to qualify all three relays.

“The relays finished strong, while not our personal best, they ran smart and did what they needed to do to qualify,” Wright said. “Our 4×1 is still running low 43’s, 4×8 all ran a solid race and 4×4 just came short of winning regionals. The most exciting part is that all of the relays have a shot at a medal next week at state.”

In the field events, Wingfield qualified in a pair of jumps to go along with the 4×400 relay.

The Louisburg junior finished second in the long jump with a personal best mark of 21-5.25 and later took third in the triple jump at 39-2.75.

“Coming off an injury, Colyer was just trying to qualify so that we would have another week to get better,” Wright said. “He performed very well with a PR in the long jump, had 3-4 good jumps. Triple jump we wanted to jump as little as possible to qualify, and he took care of business.”

Caplinger qualified in his second event after he finished as the regional runner-up in the pole vault after he cleared 14 feet. 

The Wildcats will try for back-to-back state titles this weekend when they compete at the Class 4A state meet at Wichita State University. The meet is set to begin at 7:45 a.m. on Friday and run through Saturday evening.

“Most of the state qualifiers are returning from last year’s team, so the experience will help,” Wright said. “State is its own beast. You never know what is going to happen out there.”

The top eight in each event will earn a state medal.

Other results are: 

100 dash: Ashton Moore, 7th, 11.64

200 dash: Ethan Ptacek, 6th, 23.06

400 dash: Hunter Heinrich, 6th, 53.25

800 run: Jaden Vohs, 6th, 2:04; Andrew Brown, 11th, 2:14; Hayden Ross, 13th, 2:15

1,600 run: Jerynce Brings Plenty, 8th, 4:48; Leo Martin, 16th, 5:10

3,200 run: Noah Cotter, 7th, 10:58

300 hurdles: Nathan Apple, 5th, 41.69

High jump: Isaiah Whitley, 7th, 5-8

Long jump: Hayden Feikert, 11th, 19-10.5; Jase Hovey, 18-2, 16th

Triple jump: Trey Myers, 10th, 35-10.25

Shot put: J.R. Rooney, 5th, 46-8; Connor Lee, 11th, 41-5; Jaymes Melton, 16th, 39-6.5

Discus: Chase Pritchard, 8th, 114-4; Nathan Vincent, 10th, 109-4; Layne Ryals, 16th, 98-8

Javelin: Brecon Klugman, 8th, 135-11; Carson Wade, 10th, 132-6

The Louisburg girls track and field team finished as the Class 4A regional runner-up Friday at Eudora High School after they finished with 99 points. The Lady Cats also qualified for state in 11 events and broke three school records.

EUDORA — It had been more than a decade since the Louisburg girls track and field team came home with a plaque from regional competition. 

The Lady Cats took advantage of that opportunity Friday at the Class 4A regional meet at Eudora High School. For the first time in 11 years, Louisburg finished in the top two of the regional standings as it took runner-up with 99 points.

In all, the Lady Cats qualified for state in 11 events, won five of them and three runners broke school records in the process.

“Regionals is about qualifying for state,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “But being state runner-up was a huge bonus.”

Senior Delaney Wright ended her final regional meet with a bang as she won three regional titles and qualified for state in four events.

Wright opened her day with a victory in the long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 9.5 inches and then moved over to the track. She would next win the 400-meter dash in 1:00.21 and then the 200 in 26.11 seconds.

She ended her day as she joined Mackenzie Rooney, Emma Vohs and Emma Lohse to take third in the 4×400-meter relay in 4:19.

It was the perfect way for the defending state champion in those individual events to enter the state meet, after spending most of the season recovering from an injury.

“Last Friday definitely was a confidence boost for me that I needed to get in before state,” Wright said. “It has been a rough couple weeks, but I feel like I’m getting close to being back where I want to be.

“Qualifying for four events like I did my freshman year gives me hope and excitement for this upcoming weekend. I’m also extremely excited about our girls team getting a plaque and I think as a team we’ll make a dent at state.”

Lohse also had a big day for the Lady Cats as she qualified in three events, but none stood out more than the 100-meter dash. 

The Louisburg junior broke the school record with a time of 12.38 seconds to win the regional title. She broke the old record of 12.66, set by Jordan Leach in 2019.

On top of that and the 4×400 relay, Lohse also finished fourth in the 200 dash in 26.58.

“Winning the 100 meant everything to me,” Lohse said. “I went into the race knowing that I was running against one of my biggest competitors from this season, and I wanted this one so bad. After I passed the finish line I looked up at the scoreboard and saw 12.3, seeing that time, I knew I beat the record. 

“All season I’ve wanted to beat it so bad and worked so hard this season to accomplish that. Qualifying for state this year in all my events, and it also being my first year of track, was very exciting.”

Vohs also rewrote the Louisburg record book, but this time it came in the 1,600-meter run.

The Louisburg sophomore won the event in what was almost a photo finish as she broke the school record with a time of 5:35.17 as she edged out Eudora’s Hanna Keltner at the finish. She broke the 13-year-old record of 5:39 set by Shayla McElyea in 2009.

Along with the 4×400, Vohs is heading to state in two events.

“I knew I was running with one of the top runners in 4A and decided to stay with her during this run in order to qualify for state,” Vohs said. “On the last lap, she was ahead of me by about 50 meters and I knew I needed to make my move right at the end. 

“As we came near the finish line, I was right behind her and finished strong. I had no idea I broke the school record until coach Reece came over and asked me how I thought I ran.”

Sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross was responsible for the other regional title and qualified for state for the second straight year in the pole vault.

Carpenter-Ross cleared a personal best 10 feet to win the event as she edged out Eudora’s Alyssa Chapman.

“It felt good to PR again because I haven’t matched my 9’6 PR the previous two meets before regionals,” Carpenter-Ross said. “I’m glad that I was able to peak at the right time and not only match my old PR, but beat it in order to win regionals.”

Sophomore Maddy Rhamy became the third Lady Cat to break a record as she qualified for state in the 3,200 in 12:44 and finished fourth overall. She broke Andie Buffington’s old time of 12:51 set back in 2012.

“The two Emma’s and Maddy deserve to hold their respective records,” Reece said. “They are hard workers and they were rewarded for their efforts.”

Rooney qualified for two events at state — the 4×400 relay and also in the 300 hurdles. The Louisburg freshman eclipsed her previous personal best to finish runner-up in 49.98 seconds.

In the field events, the Lady Cats got two more state qualifiers.

Senior Corinna McMullen finished as the regional runner-up in the discus with a throw of 111-8.

Sophomore Katie Elpers punched her ticket in the javelin as she recorded a throw of 111-10 to take fourth overall.

The Class 4A state competition at Wichita State University begins Friday morning as the two-day event begins at 7:45 a.m. and will run through Saturday evenings. The top eight finishers in each event will earn a state medal.

Other results are: 

800 run: Emma Vohs, 5th, 2:29

1,600 run: Maddy Rhamy, 8th, 5:59

3,200 run: Nova Ptacek, 7th, 13:52; Erin Apple, 12th, 15:26

4×800 relay: Ptacek, Apple, Aubryn Berck, Ashley Branine, 5th, 11:45

100 hurdles: Kate Frederick, 11th, 18.31; Mackenzie Rooney, 13th, 18.93

300 hurdles: Frederick, 12th, 55.57

Discus: Emma Prettyman, 11th, 89-11

Shot put: Prettyman, 6th, 34-7

Javelin: Davis Guetterman, 7th, 109-9; Prettyman, 10th, 103-6

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week nine of the spring sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.

DELANEY WRIGHT, SENIOR, TRACK AND FIELD

Louisburg senior Delaney Wright, who has been recovering from an injury most of the season, put it all together Friday during the Class 4A regional meet at Eudora High School. Wright qualified for state in four events and won three regional titles in the process.

Wright won the long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 9.5 inches. She later won the 400-meter dash in 1:00 and the 200 dash in 26.11 seconds. To end the meet, she joined Mackenzie Rooney, Emma Lohse and Emma Vohs to take third in the 4×400-meter relay. When it was all complete, Wright helped the Lady Cats to their first regional plaque in more than a decade as they finished second overall.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the spring season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous Winners

Week 1: Lexi Hampton

Week 2: Sabra Brueggen

Week 3: Emma Lohse

Week 4: Nathan Vincent

Week 5: Mia Wilson

Week 6: Reese Johnson

Week 7: Kolby Kattau

Week 8: A.J. Arriola

For his first three years in high school, Jaden Vohs was a soccer kid and enjoyed his time with the program.

Then, in the spring of 2021, he caught the running bug as he was one of the key figures in Louisburg’s state championship track and field team.

Vohs, who ran distance races for the Wildcats, decided to give up his final year of soccer and run cross country this past fall.

That move impacted Vohs’ college path in positive way.

Earlier this spring, Vohs signed to run cross country and track at Baker University and he made if official last month with a signing ceremony at the school in front of family and friends.

It was somewhat of an easy decision for Vohs as he already knows several people on the Baker team.

“Signing with Baker felt great knowing that I’ll be running with my friends,” Vohs said. “Over winter break I would meet up with some Baker runners and we ran everyday.”

Vohs was an integral part of the Wildcats’ state track team last season. In his first year out for track, Vohs earned three state medals — the 800, 1,600 and 4×800 relay.

It was that success that motivated him to get into cross country, and just like track, Vohs thrived in his first season with the sport.

The Louisburg senior qualified for state and finished 12th overall to earn a medal.

“Quitting soccer was a risky move, but in the end I know it was the right choice,” Vohs said. “I met my cross country goals and also got to experience an underrated sport. Doing cross country also helped me get a scholarship to continue my running career.”

The opportunity with the Baker program was hard to turn down and he will be looking forward to trying new events on the collegiate level.

“In my opinion the best thing about the Baker program is that the team is all very close, like family,” Vohs said. “All the guys truly care about running and each other. The whole program had a great connection. 

“I’m not aware of what I’ll be running for them in track, but I would assume I’ll be running the 5k and probably the 1500.”

Now the focus is on the conclusion of his high school career. Vohs is head back to state again this year in the 1,600-meter run and as apart of the 4×800 relay.

“I am very excited for what is left of my track season,” Vohs said. “My goal is to break the school record in the 1600.”

Louisburg senior Tom Koontz broke the Frontier League record in the 110 high hurdles and set a new personal record in the 300 hurdles on his way to two league titles Thursday at the Frontier League meet at Ottawa High School.

OTTAWA — They won league titles, set personal records and broke a league and school record, but despite all that, the Louisburg boys couldn’t quite get their ultimate goal — a league title.

The Wildcat track team competed in the Frontier League Invitational on Thursday at Ottawa High School and finished runner-up in the team standings with 122 points. Eudora won the league title with 144 points.

Despite that little disappointment, the Wildcats still won league titles in four events and finished in the top two in three more. 

“For the most part they all performed well due to the first time running in 90-plus degree temperatures and going against tough competition,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “We had some improvement throughout, and had guys gut it out by running multiple events in the heat.”

Senior Tom Koontz swept the hurdles to lead the Wildcats and did so in impressive fashion. 

Koontz broke the Frontier League record the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 14.59 seconds. He eclipsed the old time of 14.78 set by Paola’s Carson Eilts in 2018.

Junior Mason Dobbins finished runner-up in the event in 15.31 and junior Nathan Apple was fourth in 15.49.

Despite hitting a couple hurdles in the 300, Koontz set a new personal best time of 39.39 seconds to win a league crown there as well. Apple was sixth in 42.18.

“It was nice to see his hard work pay off by setting a new league record,” Wright said. “Tom ran a very clean race. In the 300s, after hitting a couple of hurdles, Tom was still able to improve his time. It’s scary to think what time he would have run if he had run a clean race.”

The Wildcats also won a pair of league titles in the field events. 

Junior Nathan Vincent held off the field with a throw of 163 feet, 9 inches in the javelin to win gold. Eudora’s Kole Manley was second, just six inches behind Vincent.

In the long jump, Hayden Feikert saved his best jump for last. The Louisburg senior won the event with a personal-best mark of 20-10.5. The Wildcats now have three athletes that have jumped more than 20 feet this season.

“Hayden has been stuck at high 19’s for the last three years,” Wright said. “It was nice to see him finally break 20 feet and win the league his senior year. We do have a good jumping core with three jumpers over 20-7 plus. It is never the same person winning week to week.”

Louisburg also had a pair of runner-up league finishes as Dobbins finished second in the high jump after he cleared 6-2. 

Sophomore Caden Caplinger finished in a tie for second in the pole vault with Eudora’s Kurtis McCormick as the two cleared 13-6.

The 4×100-meter relay made school history, but not with their league finish. The team of Koontz, Dobbins, Caplinger and Ethan Ptacek set a new school record time of 43.33 seconds, which was good for third overall.

They eclipsed the old mark of 43.34 that was set in 2019 by Charlie Koontz, Ben Wiedenmann, Blue Caplinger and Justin Collins.

“It’s hard to believe we got third place while breaking the school record,” Wright said. “That just shows how fast our league is. Our handoffs are getting better, but we have some room for improvements.”

The 4×400 relay of Hunter Heinrich, Colyer Wingfield, Koontz and Ptacek also knocked three seconds off their personal best and took third in 3:27.25.

Ptacek scored points in a pair of sprints as he finished fourth in the 400 in 52.02 and seventh in the 200 dash in 23.20. Dobbins also scored points in the 200 as he took fifth in 23.01.

In the distance races, senior Jaden Vohs raced against strong competition and finished well. Vohs was third in both the 800 (2:03) and 1,600 meters (4:41). 

Freshman Jerynce Brings Plenty was fourth in the 3,200-meter run in 10:47 and fifth the 1,600 in 4:46. Sophomore Noah Cotter was fifth in the 3,200 in 11:02.

The 4×800 relay of Cotter, Hunter Heinrich, Hayden Ross and Andrew Brown took seventh in 9:16.

In the field events, junior J.R. Rooney recorded a throw of 45-6 in the shot put to take third overall.

Senior Chase Pritchard led the Wildcats in the discus as he took fifth with a toss of 131-5 and Vincent was seventh at 129.

Junior Isaiah Whitley scored points in the high jump after he cleared 5-8 and took seventh.

Louisburg will now prepare for its most important competition of the season — the Class 4A regional meet in Eudora. Field events begin at 1 p.m. on Friday as the top four in each event qualify for the state meet next week in Wichita.

“We are excited about regionals,” Wright said. “Our regional is hands down the toughest one in 4A.  If you come out in the top four in our regional, then you have a good shot at medaling next week in state. We have a lot of opportunities to be in the top four, and I hope we go out and compete.”

Other results are:

100 dash: Jase Hovey, 18th, 11.85; Hayden Feikert, 19th, 11.98; Isaiah Whitley, 22nd, 12.04

200 dash: Cooper Hipp, 16th, 23.84

400 dash: Hunter Heinrich, 8th, 53.84; Hipp, 14th, 58.56

800 run: Andrew Brown, 17th, 2:20

1,600 run: Leo Martin, 18th, 5:20

3,200 run: Martin, 10th, 11:44

Pole vault: Remington Rice, 10th, 10-6

Long jump: Colyer Wingfield, 8th, 19-7; Hovey, 12th, 18-5.5

Shot put: Connor Lee, 11th, 41-4; Jaymes Melton, 14th, 40-6

Discus: Layne Ryals, 9th, 124-7

Javelin: Carson Wade, 10th, 125-5; Ryals, 13th, 119-1

Louisburg junior Emma Lohse recorded the fastest time in Class 4A in the 200-meter dash Thursday during the Frontier League Invitational. She won the league title in 25.79 seconds.

OTTAWA — The Louisburg girls were burning up the track Thursday at the Frontier League meet at Ottawa High School.

The Lady Cats earned four league titles overall, including two sprints and a relay that allowed them to finish fourth the league standings with 86 points. Eudora won the league crown with 121.5.

“In a very competitive league, we ran, jumped and threw great and are setting ourselves up for a strong regional meet,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said.

Senior Delaney Wright won the league crown in the 400-meter dash and junior Emma Lohse won the 200 dash as the Lady Cats scored a bulk of their points in the sprints.

Another senior, Corinna McMullen, was the league champion in the discus. However, Louisburg might have saved its best performance for last.

The 4×400-meter relay of Mackenzie Rooney, Emma Vohs, Lohse and Wright shaved six seconds off their personal best time and found themselves in a dogfight with Baldwin.

The two teams were neck and neck through much of the race, and with Wright running the anchor, the Lady Cats edged out Baldwin in a photo finish in a time of 4 minutes and 12.33 seconds.

“The 4×4 was incredible,” Reece said. “The girls ran their best race to date and beat Baldwin in a photo finish. It is very exciting to see how we continue.”

While Lohse and Wright were helping each other in the relay, they were competitors in the 200-meter dash and they brought out the best in each other.

The sprinters recorded the two top times in Class 4A this season as Lohse won the league title with a time of 25.79 seconds. Wright was the league runner-up in 25.98.

Earlier in the day, Lohse was also a runner-up in the 100-meter dash in 12.68 seconds. Eudora’s Maya Pattison won it in 12.57.

“Emma is still on that learning curve for a first time high school track sprinter,” Reece said. “She pulled the field in the 100 but came up short and is still working on starting blocks. In the 200, she fired out of the blocks and never looked back to take the gold. She is going to do awesome as the season draws near.”

Wright put together a season-best performance in the 400-meter dash as she won the league crown in 59.93 seconds and nearly did the same in the long jump.

The Louisburg senior recorded a Frontier League record jump of 18 feet, 1 inch, only to have Paola’s Maggie Kauk eclipse it with a mark of 18-3.5 in the finals as Wright took second in the event.

Wright, who is still making her way back from a severe ankle injury, is starting to find her way in all three of her events.

“Delaney performed well at league,” Reece said. “She is in a great place physically and mentally to return to state and bring home some hardware.”

McMullen set a personal record in the discus on two different occasions — both coming in the prelims. Her second throw of 127-3 gave her the league title and momentum going into regionals later this week.

“Rinny has continued to work hard and that is really starting to show,” Reece said. “She had a huge PR at league and is poised to throw farther at regionals and then state.”

Vohs scored points for the Lady Cats in a pair of distance races. The Louisburg sophomore was third in the 1,600 meters in 5:45 and took sixth in the 800 in 2:29.

Junior Nova Ptacek was sixth in the 3,200 run in 14:31, while Ptacek joined Erin Apple, Aubryn Berck and Maddy Rhamy to take fifth in the 4×800 relay in 11:49.

Rooney also scored points on the track for the Lady Cats as she finished seventh in the 300 hurdles in 51.92 seconds.

In the field events, sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross was third in the pole vault after she cleared 9 feet. Senior Davis Guetterman scored points in the javelin as she took sixth with a throw of 110-3.

The Lady Cats will travel to Eudora this Friday for the Class 4A regional meet. Field events are set to begin at 1 p.m.

The top four finishers in each event qualify for the state meet next week in Wichita.

Other results are: 

100 dash: Delaney Wieland, 15th, 14.0

1,600 run: Maddy Rhamy, 10th, 6:18; Erin Apple, 13th, 7:13

100 hurdles: Kate Frederick, 10th, 18.34; Mackenzie Rooney, 11th, 18.68

300 hurdles: Frederick, 10th, 53.91

Long jump: Wieland, 11th, 14-4

Javelin: Katie Elpers, 8th, 99-7

Louisburg junior Ethan Ptacek scored points in four events for the Wildcats, who won the Red Bud Classic title Friday at Wellsville High School with 138.5 points.

WELLSVILLE — The Red Bud Classic at Wellsville High School is always one of the bigger meets of the season in the area and the Louisburg boys track and field team brought home top honors. 

The Wildcats won the team title with 138.5 points — 10 points ahed of runner-up Eudora. It was the type of finish Louisburg, the defending Class 4A state champion, was hoping for in its final regular season meet.

“I am extremely pleased with how the team is progressing,” Louisburg coach Andy Wright said. “They continue to put in the work every day at practice, and are seeing the results of the hard work at meets. I think the team is seeing what they could do, and are bought into what we are doing at practice, and the commitment to get better and compete each week.”

Louisburg senior Tom Koontz continues to improve as he swept both hurdle events. He won the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.98 seconds, while junior Mason Dobbins was right behind him in 15.53 seconds to take second and junior Nathan Apple was fourth at 15.79.

Koontz pulled out his best time of the season in the 300 hurdles as he won in 39.89 seconds and finished under 40 seconds for the first time this year. Apple was sixth in 43.21.

“Tom had two smooth races,” Wright said. “He didn’t run a 39 till regionals last year. We are two weeks ahead of that pace. He is sitting pretty good in league and regionals, but with how competitive both are, Tom will have to continue to improve throughout the next couple of weeks to stay at the top of both races.”

Along with his finish in the 110s, Dobbins was the other Wildcat to bring home a gold medal. Dobbins won the high jump after he cleared 6 feet, while teammate Isaiah Whitley was fifth at 5-8.

Dobbins found more success on the track as he competed in the 200-meter dash for the first time this season and finished second overall in 22.98 seconds.

“Mason asked if he could run the 200 instead of the 300 hurdles,” Wright said. “I was not surprised by the time he had in the 200. Mason is an athlete and continues to get better every week. He will continue to run the 200 for the next couple of weeks.”

Another sprinter, Ethan Ptacek, also racked up several points for the Wildcats — both individually and on the relays.

Ptacek finished fourth in the 200 dash (23.15) and 400 dash (51.86). Ptacek, Koontz, Dobbins and Caden Caplinger ran a personal best time of 43.63 in the 4×100 relay to take third overall.

Koontz, Hunter Heinrich, Colyer Wingfield and Ptacek also set a personal best time in the 4×400 relay in 3:30.59 and also took third.

“Ethan works hard at practice,” Wright said. “Before the Wellsville meet we talked about breaking 52 in the 400. He did break 52, but it was a fast race. I also see him getting in the 22’s for the 200 in the next couple of weeks.  

“Ethan had good role models to follow in the last couple of track seasons. He has stepped up to be one of the role models by setting the running pace in practices and he is the anchor of two of our relays. You can count on Ethan giving everything he has.” 

The Wildcats also had a three runner-up finishes in the distance races — two individual and one relay. Senior Jaden Vohs had season-best times in the 800 (2:02) and 1,600-meter (4:32) run and took second in both.

Vohs, along with Jerynce Brings Plenty, Heinrich and Hayden Ross, set a personal best time by 15 seconds in the 4×800 relay and finished second in 8:28. Brings Plenty also scored points in the 3,200 run as he was eighth in 10:34.

Despite soggy throwing conditions, junior Nathan Vincent thrived in the javelin. Vincent threw a season-best 176 feet, 9 inches to take second, and was one inch from tying his personal best last year at the state meet.

“It was the right type of conditions for Nathan,” Wright said. “He is more of a power thrower and doesn’t need a ton of speed. I wasn’t surprised he threw the way he did.”

Vincent also scored points in the discus with a mark of 135-5.5 to take seventh, while junior J.R. Rooney was sixth in the shot put with a toss of 44-11.

Sophomore Caden Caplinger finished second in the pole vault after he cleared 13-6 and senior Remington Rice was eighth at 10-6.

Wingfield scored points in both the long and triple jumps. He took third in the long with a mark of 20 feet and third in the triple at 40-3.

Lady Cats finish 8th at Wellsville

The Louisburg girls track and field team had five top four finishes and took eighth as a team with 42 points.

The Lady Cats had a pair of runner-up finishes in the sprints. 

Junior Emma Lohse ran a time of 13 seconds in the 100-meter dash to take the silver. 

Senior Delaney Wright also finished second in the 400 dash in 1:01.13.

Sophomore Emma Vohs had success in the distance races as she took third in 2:29, while the 4×800 relay of Vohs, Maddy Rhamy, Aubryn Berck and Erin Apple, took sixth in 10:52.

In the field events, sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross was second in the pole vault after she cleared 9-0.

Senior Corinna McMullen had her best day in the discus ring as she recorded a personal-beset throw of 118-11 to finish fourth overall.

Junior Emma Prettyman also scored points in the throws as she was eighth in the javelin with a mark of 100-8.

Louisburg is back in action Thursday when it travels to the Frontier League Invitational in Ottawa. Events are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Other results are:

GIRLS

100 dash: Delaney Wieland, 21st, 14.24

200 dash: Emma Lohse, 11th, 28.30

800 run: Aubryn Berck, 17th, 2:50

1,600 run: Maddy Rhamy, 9th, 5:55; Nova Ptacek, 25th, 6:29

3,200 run: Ptacek, 12th, 14:45; Erin Apple, 14th, 15:08

100 hurdles: Kate Frederick, 13th, 18.51; Mackenzie Rooney, 19th, 19.75

300 hurdles: Rooney, 10th, 51.79; Frederick, 16th, 54.46

Long jump: Wieland, 13th, 14-1; Delaney Wright, 16th, 13-11

Shot put: Emma Prettyman, 13th, 31-3

Discus: Prettyman, 15th, 95-3; Davis Guetterman, 29th, 71-4

Javelin: Guetterman, 12th, 93-4

BOYS

100 dash: Ashton Moore, 19th, 12.16; Isaiah Whitley, 31st, 12.57

200 dash: Cooper Hipp, 14th, 24.22

400 dash: Hipp, 25th, 58.97

800 run: Hayden Ross, 12th, 2:13; Andrew Brown, 23rd, 2:19

1,600 run: Jerynce Brings Plenty, 12th, 4:49; Brown, 19th, 4:59; Noah Cotter, 27th, 5:07; Leo Martin, 30th, 5:14

3,200 run: Cotter, 15th, 11:01; Martin, 17th, 11:33

300 hurdles: Moore, 15th, 46.90

High jump: Trey Myers, 12th, 5-6

Pole vault: Cooper Wingfield, 11th, 10-0

Long jump: Whitley, 11th, 18-11

Triple jump: Myers, 14th, 36-0; Elias Pugh, 27th, 33-5

Shot put: Connor Lee, 20th, 37-10.5; Jaymes Melton, 24th, 35-2.5

Discus: Layne Ryals, 12th, 121-2; Chase Pritchard, 15th, 114-8.5

Javelin: Carson Wade, 10th, 131-1; Ryals, 14th, 124-9