Koontz sweeps hurdles to lead Wildcats at league track

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. 

Louisburg junior Nathan Vincent won the league title in the javelin with a throw of 163-9 Thursday in Ottawa.

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.

(From left) Ethan Ptacek, Caden Caplinger, Mason Dobbins and Tom Koontz broke the school record in the 4×100 relay Thursday at the league meet in Ottawa.

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). 

Louisburg senior Jaden Vohs leans at the finish line with a Tonganoxie and Eudora runner at the conclusion of the 800-meter run.

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




Lady Cats win four golds at Frontier League meet

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 relay of (from left) Mackenzie Rooney, Emma Vohs, Emma Lohse and Delaney Wright won the league title in a photo finish over Baldwin.

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.”

Delaney Wright won the league title in the 400-meter dash in a season-best time of 59.93 seconds.

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.”

Louisburg senior Corinna McMullen won the league crown in the discus with a personal best throw of 127-3.

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




Wildcats win team title at Red Bud Classic

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.”

Louisburg junior Mason Dobbins won the high jump Friday in Wellsville and also finished second in the 200-meter dash.

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.” 

Louisburg senior Jaden Vohs finished second in both the 800 and 1,600-meter runs Friday in Wellsville.

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.

Louisburg sophomore Maddy Rhamy gets off to a good start in the first leg of the 4×800-meter relay Friday at the Red Bud Classic in Wellsville.

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.

Louisburg senior Corinna McMullen was fourth in the discus Friday at Wellsville with a personal best throw of 118-11.

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




Wildcat track puts strong showing together at competitive De Soto meet

Louisburg senior Tom Koontz clears a hurdle during a meet earlier this season. Koontz won the 300-meter hurdles Friday at the De Soto Invitational.

DE SOTO — In what was one of its toughest meets of the season, the Louisburg boys track and field team nearly came away with a team title.

Louisburg competed at the De Soto Invitational on Friday and went up against several bigger programs. The Wildcats went stride-for-stride with all of them as they finished second overall with 107 points, just one point behind champion De Soto.

“We knew coming into the meet, it was going to be challenging,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “We only placed first in one event, but competed very well in the second through sixth place positions. We ended up one point short out of first, and in a meet that tough, I was very pleased.”

The Wildcats competed with the likes of De Soto, Olathe West, Basehor Linwood and the top Frontier League programs in Piper, Eudora and Bonner Springs.

The Louisburg girls also had plenty of bright spots as the Lady Cats finished fifth out of 13 teams with 50 points.

Senior hurdler Tom Koontz continues to shine in his final season as a Wildcat, as are junior hurdlers Mason Dobbins and Nathan Apple. Koontz won the 300-meter hurdles in 40.36 seconds, while Dobbins (42.79) and Apple (42.81) took fifth and sixth, respectively.

All three Wildcat hurdlers had season-best times in the 110 race as Koontz was second at 14.72 seconds, losing out to Highland Park’s Keijuan Johnson, who ran a 14.69. Dobbins was third at 15.17 and Apple took fourth in 15.47.

“Tom continues to improve every week in the 110 and he works so hard at practice,” Wright said. “His 300 has been in the low 40’s for the last couple of meets, and he is competing amazingly.  If we can get some good weather, he should be ready to break 40 in the next week or two.”

Koontz, Dobbins, Caden Caplinger and Ethan Ptacek also put together a season-best time of 43.71 seconds in the 4×100 relay to finish second overall.

Hunter Heinrich, Jaden Vohs, Andrew Brown and Hayden Ross went on to take third in the 4×800 relay in 8:53, while the 4×400 team of Ptacek, Heinrich, Colyer Wingfield and Koontz were fifth in a season-best time of 3:33.

Ptacek went on to score points in a pair of sprints as well. The Louisburg junior was third in the 400 dash in 52.42 and seventh in the 200 dash in 23.29.

In the distance races, Vohs paced the Wildcats with a sixth place finish in the 800 run in 2:03 and freshman Jerynce Brings-Plenty was 8th in the 3,200 run.

The Wildcats got a pleasant surprise in the jumps from Wingfield as he set a new personal best in the long jump by more than a foot. The Louisburg junior took third with a mark of 21 feet, 1 inch, while fellow junior Jase Hovey was eighth with a personal best mark of 20-7.25

Wingfield also scored points in the triple jump as he took fifth at 39-3.

“Coyler is new to our track team this year and has brought with him an awesome work ethic,” Wright said. “He is starting to figure out his approach and jump technique. Colyer will definitely be able to be a threat in the jumps for placings and points at some of our bigger meets. Colyer is also a 40-plus in the Triple jump. 

“Along with Colyer we have Jase Hovey jumping 20-7, Hayden Feikert (19-11) and Isaiah Whitley (19-9) this season (who jumped 20-8 last year). By the end of the season, we could possibly have four jumpers in their 20s, and that kind of competition makes everyone better.”

For the second straight meet, Caplinger recorded a personal best in the pole vault. The Louisburg sophomore cleared 14 feet for the first time and finished second overall.

“With the competition we have in our league and regional, Caden doesn’t have a choice but to get better,” Wright said. “He will see his toughest competition every week for the next four weeks. Caden has been up to the challenge and has been improving every week.”

Also in the jumps, Dobbins cleared 6 feet to finish second in the high jump as he was one of five jumpers to reach the 6 foot mark. Junior Isaiah Whitley was eighth at 5-8.

In the throws, junior Nathan Vincent was second overall in the javelin with a mark of 160-7. Junior Layne Ryals scored points in the discus with a throw of 119-2 and finished sixth overall.

Junior J.R. Rooney was seventh in the shot put with a distance of 43-6.

On the girls side, senior Delaney Wright participated in three individual events for the first time this season as she is making her way back from an injury.

Wright was second in the long jump with a mark of 17-10.5. She also finished third in the 400-meter dash in 1:00.68 and was fifth in the 200 dash in 26.52 seconds.

Junior Emma Lohse scored points in a pair of sprints as she took fourth in the 100 dash in 12.86 seconds and sixth the 200 at 26.80.

In the distance races, sophomore Emma Vohs took seventh in the both the 1,600 meters (5:42) and the 3,200-meter run (13:00). Sophomore Maddy Rhamy was eighth in the 3,200 in 13:03.

Freshman Mackenzie Rooney scored points in the 300 hurdles as she finished sixth in 52.29 seconds.

Sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross continues to work her way up in the pole vault as she set a personal record for the second straight week. Carpenter-Ross took third after she cleared 9-6.

In the throws, senior Corinna McMullen was third in the discus with a throw of 106-4. Senior Davis Guetterman took sixth the javelin with a toss of 109.

Junior Emma Prettyman scored points in the shot put with a mark of 32-9.5 and finished eighth.

Louisburg will be back in action Friday when it travels to Wellsville for the Redbud Relays.

Other results are:

GIRLS

100 dash: Delaney Wieland, 19th, 13.60

800 run: Erin Apple, 15th, 2:47; Aubryn Berck, 17th, 2:50

1,600 run: Maddy Rhamy, 9th, 6:01

100 hurdles: Mackenzie Rooney, 9th, 18.24; Kate Frederick, 12th, 18.61

300 hurdles: Frederick, 14th, 56.81

Long jump: Wieland, 9th, 15-5.5

Discus: Emma Prettyman, 13th, 89-3

Javelin: Prettyman, 13th, 95-7

BOYS

100 dash: Hayden Feikert, 24th, 11.84

200 dash: Toby Espina-Roca, 22nd, 24.84

400 dash: Espina-Roca, 17th, 57.75

800 run: Hayden Ross, 14th, 2:13; Andrew Brown, 22nd, 2:20

1,600 run: Jerynce Brings Plenty, 12th, 4:46; Noah Cotter, 23rd, 5:19; Leo Martin, 25th, 5:26

Long jump: Feikert, 14th, 19-7.5

Discus: Nathan Vincent, 9th, 116-6; Chase Pritchard, 31st, 74-8

Javelin: Carson Wade, 9th, 127-7; Layne Ryals, 13th, 123-1

Shot put: Connor Lee, 9th, 41-10.5; Jaymes Melton, 19th, 37-3




Wildcats win Spring Hill Invitational; Lady Cats take second

Louisburg sophomore Caden Caplinger won the pole vault Monday after he cleared a personal best mark of 13 feet and 6 inches. The Wildcats won the team title with 125 points.

SPRING HILL — The Louisburg track and field team brought home a lot hardware Monday from the Spring Hill Invitational.

The Wildcat boys won the team title with 125 points and edged out runner-up Spring Hill by 18 points. As for the Lady Cats, they finished runner-up with 64 points and Spring Hill won the girls side with 99.

“We need as a team to continue to get better,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “Our next three track meets will be our bigger meets, and will truly give us a good idea where we are against some great competition. I’m looking forward to seeing where we are as a team, and who is going to rise to the occasion.”

Senior Jaden Vohs rose to the occasion for the Wildcats as he swept the distance races — winning the 800 (2:10), 1,600 (4:38) and 3,200-meter (10:26) runs. Freshman Jerynce Brings Plenty was runner-up in the 3,200 (10:28) and took third in the 800 (2:12) and 1,600 (4:52).

Senior Hayden Ross was fifth in the 800 run in 2:15, while sophomore Noah Cotter (11:02) and junior Andrew Brown (11:05) were fourth and fifth, respectively in the 3,200.

Another senior, Tom Koontz, won both hurdle races. He captured gold in the 110-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 14.76 seconds and also took first in the 300 hurdles in 41.28 seconds.

Junior Nathan Apple also set a personal best time of 15.5 seconds in the 110 hurdles to take third and teammate Mason Dobbins was fourth at 15.64. Dobbins went on to take third in the 300 hurdles in 42.99 and Apple was fourth at 43.81.

Ethan Ptacek scored points in a pair of distance races as he was third in both the 200 (23.70) and 400 (54.09) dashes. Sophomore Hunter Heinrich was fourth in the 400 in 54.84.

The Wildcats also finished second in a pair of relays. The 4×100 team of Koontz, Dobbins, Caden Caplinger and Ptacek ran a time of 44.39 to take the runner-up spot, while Colyer Wingfield, Heinrich, Ashton Moore and Cooper Hipp ran a 3:41 to second in the 4×400.

Louisburg junior J.R. Rooney took second in the shot put Monday in Spring Hill.

Louisburg also had a few personal bests in the field events.

Caplinger won the pole vault with a personal record clearance of 13 feet, 6 inches. Freshman Cooper Wingfield cleared 10-0 to take third and senior Remington Rice was fourth at 9-0.

Dobbins cleared 6-2 for the first time in the high jump and it was good for a first place finish in the event. Juniors Isaiah Whitley (5-8) and Trey Myers (5-6) took third and fifth, respectively.

Colyer Wingfield was runner-up in the triple jump with a mark of 39-3.25, while Jase Hovey (20-3.25) and Hayden Feikert (19-10.25) were third and fourth in the long jump. It was a personal-best mark for Hovey.

In the throws, junior Nathan Vincent continued his undefeated streak in the javelin and discus. He won the javelin with a throw of 145-10, while teammates Carson Wade (127-3) and Layne Ryals (127-1) were second and third.

Vincent recorded a mark of 132-8 to win the discus. Senior Chase Pritchard was fourth at 111-3 and Ryals was fifth at 111-1.

Junior J.R Rooney was runner-up in the shot put with a toss of 44-8.75.

The Lady Cats also found a lot of success as they won five events to go along with their runner-up team finish.

“The girls performed well,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “Finishing second as a team was awesome and the girls continue to improve in all aspects. All in all we are very happy with how the season is going and we will have the girls ready for the big meets as the season winds down.”

Sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross won the pole vault with a personal best clearance of 9 feet.

Louisburg shined in the field events as sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross started it off with a victory in the pole vault with a personal best clearance of 9 feet.

Senior Davis Guetterman won the javelin with a throw of 108-6 and teammate Katie Elpers was fourth at 104-2. Junior Emma Prettyman took fifth in the shot put (32-0) and discus (91-7).

In the jumps, senior Delaney Wright continued her success in the long jump with a mark of 18-1.5 to take gold as she also scored points on the track.

Wright was third in the 400-meter dash in and later helped Emma Lohse, Mackenzie Rooney and Emma Vohs to a runner-up finish in the 4×400-meter really with a big improvement time of 4:18.

Lohse also found success in the sprints as she won the 100-meter dash in 12.7 seconds and was second in the 200 dash in 27.09 — which were both season-best times.

Emma Vohs ran a time of 5:47 in the 1,600-meter run to finish second overall and was third in the 800 run in 2:33.

Sophomore Maddy Rhamy won the 3,200-meter run in 12:52, which was a personal best, and also finished fifth in the 800 run in 2:43.

Freshman Mackenzie Rooney (left) and sophomore Kate Frederick scored points in both hurdle events Monday in Spring Hill.

In the hurdles, both freshman Mackenzie Rooney and sophomore Kate Frederick scored points for the Lady Cats.

Rooney took second in the 300 hurdles in 53.50 and Frederick was fifth at 57.15. In the 100 hurdles, Rooney was third at 18.39 and Frederick was fourth at 18.48.

Most of the varsity is back in action today when the Wildcats travel to the De Soto Invitational. Events begin at 3:30 p.m.

Other results are: 

GIRLS

100 dash: Delaney Wieland, 10th, 13.70

200 dash: Wieland, 8th, 28.91

800 run: Aubryn Berck, 9th, 2:55; Nova Ptacek, 10th, 2:59

1600 run: Berck, 7th, 6:32; Ptacek, 8th, 6:41; Erin Apple, 9th, 6:47

3200 run: Apple, 6th, 15:16

Long jump: Wieland, 9th, 14-10.5

Discus: Davis Guetterman, 14th, 69-2

Javelin: Emma Prettyman, 6th, 96-6

BOYS

100 dash: Jase Hovey, 8th, 11.72; Ashton Moore, 10th, 11.79; Hayden Feikert, 12th, 11.91; Gavin York, 13th, 11.94; Michijah Pankau, 14th, 11.95; J’Lee Collins, 19th, 12.25; Toby Espina-Roca, 21st, 12.39; Ayden Deterding, 28th, 12.88

200 dash: Moore, 7th, 24.36; Cooper Hipp, 11th, 24.58; Pankau, 12th, 25.43; Elias Pugh, 13th, 25.59; Collins, 14th, 25.67; Deterding, 24th, 26.70

400 dash: Collins, 6th, 59.18; Hipp, 7th, 1:00

800 run: Espina-Roca, 10th, 2:22; Vitus Aagaard, 17th, 2:35

1,600 run: Andrew Brown, 7th, 5:07; Noah Cotter, 9th, 5:13; Hayden Ross, 11th, 5:19; Leo Martin, 12th, 5:25

3,200 run: Martin, 6th, 11:42

Long jump: Colyer Wingfield, 6th, 19-4.75; Isaiah Whitley, 9th, 18-10.75; Pugh, 10th, 18-7

Triple jump: Trey Myers, 6th, 37-0.25; Pugh, 7th, 34-7.75

Shot put: Connor Lee, 6th, 38-7; Scott Thornton, 7th, 38-5; Jaymes Melton, 10th, 37-6.5; Chase Pritchard, 13th, 35-10.5; Ben O’Bryan, 17th, 33-5; Brayton Brueggen, 18th, 33-2; Reid Justesen, 21st, 30-9.5; Gavin Whisenhunt, 23rd, 27-3

Discus: J.R. Rooney, 6th, 107-7; O’Bryan, 8th, 105-4; Thornton, 10th, 102-5; Lee, 17th, 92-10; Brueggen, 20th, 86-9; Justesen, 26th, 73-9; Melton, 27th, 72-9

Javelin: Thornton, 8th, 118-5; Brecon Klugman, 9th, 118-5; Lane Cunningham, 12th, 102-2; Ayden McKain, 14th, 100-7; Brayden Yoder, 17th, 98-8; Brueggen, 18th, 98-1




Wildcat boys grab Louisburg Invitational title, win 10 individual events

Louisburg junior Layne Ryals finished third in both the javelin and the discus Thursday during the Louisburg Invitational.

The Louisburg boys track and field team put on a show in front of its home fans Thursday.

The Wildcats won their second meet of the season, this time at the Louisburg Invitational, as they took first in the team standings going away with 254 points in the 7-team event. Spring Hill was runner-up at 156.

Senior Tom Koontz continues to lead the Wildcat track team this season and he did so again Thursday by winning three events.

Koontz won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.26 seconds and was followed by teammates Mason Dobbins (15.93) and Nathan Apple (16.21) who took second and third, respectively.

Next was the 300 hurdles for Koontz and he took gold once again in 40.33 seconds. Apple was third in the event in 42.13 and Dobbins was fourth at 42.81.

Koontz, Dobbins, Caden Caplinger and Ethan Ptacek blazed the track in the 4×100-meter relay in 44.34 seconds to take the top spot in that event.

Junior Nathan Apple clears a hurdle Thursday during the 110-meter high hurdles. He finished third in both hurdle races.

Also in the sprints, Ptacek was second in both the 200 (24.01) and 400-meter (52.59) dashes. Senior Cooper Hipp was third in the 200 in 24.05, while freshman Ashton Moore was fourth at 24.20.

Moore (12.01), senior Hayden Feikert (12.28) and sophomore J’Lee Collins (12.29) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 100 dash.

Ptacek, Hunter Heinrich, Colyer Wingfield and Koontz took second in the 4×400 relay in 3:38.

Senior Jaden Vohs led the Wildcat distance runners as he took gold in the 800 with a time of 2 minutes and 4 seconds and senior teammate Hayden Ross took third at 2:13.

Vohs, Ross, Andrew Brown and Hunter Heinrich also won the 4×800-meter relay in 8:44.

Freshman Jerynce Brings Plenty had runner-up performances in both the 1,600 run (4:53) and 3,200 (10:37). Brown (11:21) and junior Leo Martin (12:14) were fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 3,200 run, while sophomore Noah Cotter was sixth in the 1,600 in 5:13.

Junior Nathan Vincent continues his success in the javelin and discus as he won both events for the fourth consecutive time to start the season.

Vincent recorded a throw of 139 feet, 2 inches to win the discus and also had a mark of 166-10 to take gold in the javelin. 

Senior Hayden Feikert sprints to the finish in the 100-meter dash Thursday. Feikert also finished second in the long jump.

In fact, the Wildcats dominated the javelin event as they took five of the six top places. Junior Carson Wade (144-3) was second, while junior Layne Ryals was third (134-0). Scott Thornton (127-6) and Brecon Klugman (124-5) finished fifth and sixth.

Ryals also scored points in the discus along with Vincent and finished third with a throw of 123-2.

Junior J.R. Rooney continued the Wildcats’ success in the shot put as he recorded at toss of 45-1 to take gold and Connor Lee was fifth at 40-1.

Dobbins led the Wildcat jumpers as he won the high jump after he cleared 6 feet and junior teammates Isaiah Whitley (5-8) and Trey Myers (5-6) finished third and fourth.

Caplinger also won the pole vault for Louisburg after he cleared 13 feet and freshman Cooper Wingfield took fourth.

Feikert recorded a personal-best mark in the long jump as he was runner-up with a mark of 19-11. Colyer Wingfield was fourth in the triple jump at 38-1 and Elias Pugh took sixth at 37-5.

The Wildcat throwers also had a little fun for the 4×100 throwers relay as the quartet of Vincent, Wade, Rooney and Ryals took second in 49.59 seconds.

Louisburg is back in action today as the Wildcats travel to the Spring Hill Invitational.

Other results are: 

100 dash: Toby Espina-Roca, 14th, 12.67

200 dash: J’Lee Collins, 12th, 25.36; Espina Roca, 14th, 25.41

400 dash: Michijah Pankau, 9th, 56.87; Collins, 11th, 57.93; Cooper Hipp, 12th, 57.96

800 run: Noah Cotter, 10th, 2:23; Vitus Aagaard, 15th, 2:36

1,600 run: Leo Martin, 7th, 5:17; Landan Henry, 11th, 5:38; Ben Proctor, 12th, 5:43

3,200 run: Henry, 7th, 12:20; Proctor, 8th, 12:25

Long jump: Colyer Wingfield, 7th, 19-4; Isaiah Whitley, 8th, 18-11.75; Elias Pugh, 12th, 17-3

Triple jump: Trey Myers, 7th, 36-9

Shot put: Scott Thornton, 8th, 37-9; Jaymes Melton, 10th, 37-5; Chase Pritchard, 16th, 34-1

Discus: Ben O’Bryan, 8th, 106-3; Connor Lee, 9th, 105-10; Pritchard, 15th, 89-0




Wright, Lohse, Vohs win two events to lead Lady Cats at home meet

Louisburg senior Delaney Wright cruised to a victory in the 400-meter dash Thursday at the Louisburg Invitational.

Slowly making her way back from an injury suffered during basketball season, Delaney Wright is on her way to returning to form that she showed last season when she won state titles in three different events.

Wright participated in two of those Thursday during the Louisburg Invitational and took first in both the long jump and 400-meter dash.

In all, the Lady Cats finished third out of seven teams with 119 points and put together a strong performance at their home meet.

Wright scratched on three of her four attempts in the long jump, but she recorded one of 17 feet, which earned her the gold medal there. In the 400-meter dash, Wright blew away the competition in 1:01.62 and won by four seconds.

Junior Emma Lohse also won a pair of events for the Lady Cats in the sprints. She took gold in the 100 dash in 13.24 seconds as she edged out Prairie View’s Kinley Baker.

In the 200 dash, Lohse edged Spring Hill’s Gavyn Hurley to win that event in 27.36 seconds. Lohse also helped Delaney Wieland, Mackenzie Rooney and Emma Vohs to a third place finish in the 4×400 relay in 4:31.

Louisburg junior Emma Lohse sprints her way to the finish line Thursday in the 200-meter dash.

Wieland (14.26) and Annmarie Walton (30.83) finished sixth in the 100 and 200, respectively.

Rooney scored points in both hurdle events for Louisburg as she took second in the 300 hurdles with a time of 52.28 and sixth in the 100 hurdles in 19.12.

Vohs led the Lady Cats in the distance races as she won the 800 run in 2 minutes and 31 seconds. Junior Ashley Branine was fourth at 2:47 and senior Aubryn Berck took fifth in 2:48.

Vohs, Branine, Berck and Maddy Rhamy also won the 4×800 relay in 10:48.

Ashley Branine hands the baton to teammate Emma Vohs during the 4×800-meter relay Thursday at the Louisburg Invitational.

Rhamy was third in the 3,200-meter run in 13:13 and sophomore Erin Apple was sixth in 15:28. Junior Nova Ptacek was fifth in the 1,600 run in 6:42.

In the field events, Katie Elpers recorded her best throw in the javelin with a mark of 110 feet, 9 inches to win the event for the first time this season. Teammate Emma Prettyman was sixth at 94-4 and also finished sixth in the shot put at 31-4

Louisburg also took gold in the pole vault when sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross cleared a personal best mark of 8-11.

Wieland scored points in the long jump as she took fourth at 15-7.75 and Walton was fifth in the high jump at 4-6.

Louisburg is back in action today when the Lady Cats travel to the Spring Hill Invitational. Events are set to begin at 4 p.m.

Other results are: 

100 dash: Katherine Carter, 18th, 16.74

200 dash: Carter, 17th, 35.15

800 run: Nova Ptacek, 8th, 3:01

1,600 run: Erin Apple, 7th, 6:48

100 hurdles: Kate Frederick, 8th, 19.64

300 hurdles; Frederick, 10th, 57.29

Long jump: Annmarie Walton, 14th, 13-5

Shot put: Maddy Fuller, 19th, 22-11

Discus: Emma Prettyman, 7th, 82-4

Javelin: Aspen Coulter, 10th, 81-0; Frederick, 16th, 74-10; Ella Lancaster, 20th, 63-8




Wildcat boys take second in Garnett; Lady Cats finish third

Louisburg junior Mason Dobbins clears a height in the high jump Thursday at the Anderson County Invitational in Garnett. Dobbins finished second overall after clearing 6 feet.

GARNETT — The Louisburg boys track and field team has competed at a high level since the start of the season and that continued last Thursday at the Anderson County Invitational.

The Wildcats finished second in the team standings with 151 points and finished less than 10 points behind Eudora for the top spot.

The Louisburg girls also had a strong finish despite having small numbers as the Lady Cats were third with 85 points. Eudora won the meet with 183 and Spring Hill was second at 125.

Louisburg won seven events on the boys side, while seniors Tom Koontz, Jaden Vohs and junior Nathan Vincent each won a pair of individual events.

“We are hitting the middle of the season,” Louisburg coach Andy Wright said. “Some of the boys are settling in and figuring out what events they will excel at. We performed well and got a small glimpse of what our regionals could look like. We didn’t have our best marks of the season, but we competed in each event.”

Vohs shined in the 1,600-meter run as he took first in 4 minutes and 46.93 seconds and held off a late charge from Eudora’s Cody Loganbill, who finished just .07 seconds behind Vohs.

The Louisburg senior also captured the title in the 3,200 run in 10:21. His teammate, freshman Jerynce Brings Plenty, took second in the 3200 in 10:26 and also place fourth in the 1,600 in 4:50.

“Jaden has now run the 800, 1600 and 3200 with good times,” Wright said. “Now we have to decide which races to run at the end of the year. With the weather hopefully getting better, I only see his times improving.”

Hurdles continue to be a strength for the Wildcats as Koontz won both the 110-meter hurdles (15.38) and 300 hurdles (40.13). 

Juniors Mason Dobbins and Nathan Apple also scored points in the event. Dobbins (15.78) and Apple (16.5) took second and third, respectively, in the 110s. Dobbins finished third in the 300 hurdles in 42.59 and Apple was fifth at 43.74.

Koontz, Dobbins, Caden Caplinger and Ethan Ptacek ran to gold in the 4×100-meter relay in 44.26 seconds.

Koontz, Ptacek, Hunter Heinrich and Colyer Wingfield were third in the 4×400 relay. In the 4×800 relay, Heinrich, Hayden Ross, Andrew Brown and Noah Cotter were also third in 9:17.

Louisburg’s Hunter Heinrich sprints to handoff to teammate Noah Cotter in the 4×800 relay Thursday in Garnett.

“The 4×100 did set a personal record, but still have room to improve,” Wright said. “The 4×4 didn’t run their best times and will only get better the more races they run. In the 4×8, we are moving some runners around and should have a solid four in the next meet or two.”

Ptacek also scored points for the Wildcats in the 400-meter dash as he took third in 52.40. Freshman Ashton Moore was sixth in the 200 dash in 24.83.

In the field events, Vincent continues to take the top spot in the discus and javelin. He has won the two events in all of the meets so far this season.

On Thursday, Vincent won the javelin with a throw of 153 feet, 11 inches, just eight inches in front of Eudora’s Conor Dunback, who took second. Louisburg’s Scott Thornton (131-1) and Carson Wade (130-7) also scored points in fifth and sixth, respectively.

Vincent also took the top spot in the discus with a toss of 143-4.

“Nathan keeps improving every week,” Wright said. “His marks are not where he would want them to be, but he is throwing far enough to win his events.”

Dobbins cleared 6 feet for the first time this season as he took second in the high jump, while teammate Isaiah Whitley was fourth at 5-8. Whitley also went on to record a season-best in the long jump, 19-9.5, to also take fourth. Junior Trey Myers was sixth in the high jump at 5-8.

Caplinger, a sophomore, took third in the pole vault after he cleared 13 feet. Junior J.R. Rooney was fifth in the shot put at 42-8.

Although the girls did not win any events, the Lady Cats still brought home plenty of medals and it was evident with their third place finish.

Louisburg sophomore Emma Vohs sprints to the finish of the 1,600-meter run Thursday at the Anderson County Invitational.

“We had a strong showing at Anderson County with questionable weather conditions again,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “Who knows what will happen when we have a nice day.

“Even though we did not win an event, we brought home more medals than we have in a long time. We continue to show improvement in all areas of the track and the field.”

The Lady Cats scored a lot points in the distance races as sophomore Emma Vohs finished third in both the 800 (2:32) and 1,600-meter (5:44) runs.

Sophomore Maddy Rhamy took third in the 3,200 run in 13:24 and sixth in the 1,600 in 6:06. Sophomore Erin Apple was also sixth in the 3,200 in 14:49.

Apple, Nova Ptacek, Aubryn Berck and Ashley Branine finished runner-up in the 4×800 relay in 11:40.

In the sprints, junior Emma Lohse had another strong performance as she was second in the 200 dash in 28.06 and third in the 100 dash in 13.48.

Freshman Mackenzie Rooney scored points in both hurdle races. Rooney was second in the 300 hurdles in 52.93 and fifth in the 100 hurdles at 18.66.

Lohse, Rooney, Emma Vohs and Delaney Wieland also took fourth in the 4×400 relay in 4:32.

Louisburg’s Katie Elpers finished fifth in the javelin Thursday in Garnett.

In the field events, sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross set a personal record in the pole vault after she cleared 8-6 and took second overall.

Senior Corinna McMullen recorded a throw of 113-11 in the discus to finish second and junior Emma Prettyman was fifth at 98-4. 

Another senior, Davis Guetterman, took third in the javelin with a toss of 108-1. Katie Elpers (97-10) and Prettyman (95-7) finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Prettyman was also fifth in the shot put at 30-3.5.

Louisburg is back in action this Thursday when it hosts the Louisburg Invitational. Events are set to begin at 4 p.m.

Other results are:

GIRLS

100 dash: Delaney Wright, 8th, 13.74; Delaney Wieland, 17th, 14.88

800 run: Ashley Branine, 9th, 2:50; Aubryn Berck, 12th, 2:54; Nova Ptacek, 14th, 3:03.65

Long jump: Wieland, 8th, 14-7

Discus: Davis Guetterman, 21st, 68-5.5

BOYS

100 dash: Ashton Moore, 7th, 12.31; J’Lee Collins, 12th, 12.48; Gavin York, 13th, 12.60; Hayden Feikert, 19th, 12.78; Toby Espina-Roca, 24th, 13.01; Ayden Deterding, 41st, 13.73

200 dash: Cooper Hipp, 10th, 25.02; Collins, 16th, 25.85; Espina-Roca, 19th, 26.08; Deterding, 34th, 27.03

400 dash: Hunter Heinrich, 7th, 56.20; Hipp, 18th, 1:00; Michijah Pankau, 23rd, 1:01

800 run: Hayden Ross, 8th, 2:16; Leo Martin, 20th, 2:37

1,600 run: Andrew Brown, 11th, 5:14; Martin, 16th, 5:23

3,200 run: Noah Cotter, 9th, 11:16; Landan Henry, 13th, 12:30

Pole vault: Remington Rice, 8th, 10-0

Long jump: Feikert, 8th, 18-11; Colyer Wingfield, 9th, 18-10; Elias Pugh, 13th, 18-4

Triple jump: Wingfield, 8th, 37-7.25; Pugh, 9th, 36-7.50; Trey Myers, 13th, 35-3.5

Shot put: Jaymes Melton, 11th, 38-5.75; Conner Lee, 12th, 38-4.25; Scott Thornton, 19th, 35-5.75; Chase Pritchard, 20th, 35-4.5; Reid Justesen, 23rd, 33-3.5; Ben O’Bryan, 30th, 29-6; Will Hutsell, 37th, 26-10.5

Discus: Layne Ryals, 7th, 121-7; Pritchard, 8th, 121-5; J.R. Rooney, 13th, 110-9; O’Bryan, 15th, 106-10; Hutsell, 23rd, 96-7; Thornton, 24th, 94-6; Justesen 27th, 83-10; Melton, 41st, 66-4

Javelin: Ryals, 11th, 124-6; Brecon Klugman, 12th, 123-2; Brayden Yoder, 13th, 116-3




Week 4 Athlete of the Week: Nathan Vincent

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week four of the spring sports season, sponsored by Louisburg Family Dental.

NATHAN VINCENT, JUNIOR, TRACK AND FIELD

Louisburg junior Nathan Vincent has dominated the javelin and the discus ring so far this season. Through three meets, Vincent has won the two events each time out and that included his performance Thursday at the Anderson County Invitational.

Vincent won the javelin with a throw of 153 feet, 11 inches to help the Wildcats to a second place team finish. He also found success in the discus as he took first with a toss of 143-4. Vincent is a returning state medalist in the javelin for the Wildcats.

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




Wildcat boys win Paola Invite; Lohse wins pair of events to lead Lady Cats

Louisburg freshman Jerynce Brings Plenty runs the 3,200-meter run during a meet earlier this season. Brings Plenty won the 3,200 run Thursday in Paola and recorded a personal best time in the process.

PAOLA — Bone-chilling temperatures. Forty-plus mile-per-hour wind gusts. Not exactly the ideal conditions for a track and field meet.

Despite that, Louisburg traveled to the Paola Invitational on Thursday and the cold, windy temperatures didn’t seem to bother the Wildcats much.

The Louisburg boys won the team title with 198 points — 50 points ahead of runner-up Spring Hill. The Lady Cats also finished strong as they won four events and finished fourth overall with 86 points.

In all, the Wildcat boys won eight events, including a sweep of the distance races and hurdles.

“The conditions were not the greatest, all we asked from them to do was to complete and they did.,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “We actually had a few personal bests from the meet. So, I was really proud of all of them.”

On the track, the Wildcats took first in all three distance races, led by Jaden Vohs. The Louisburg senior won the 800-meter run in 2:13 and the 1,600 run in 4:53.

Freshman Jerynce Brings Plenty recorded a season-best time in the 3,200 run, despite the conditions, and took first in 10:33.

Vohs, Brings Plenty, Hayden Ross and Andrew Brown also took second in the 4×800 relay in 9:09.

“With the weather they were all about running a smart race,” Wright said. “Both were mentally prepared to run the conditions. It wasn’t his best time, but Jaden did what was needed to win both races. Jerynce actually ran his personal best time of the season, which was impressive due to the wind, cold and being a half a lap ahead of everyone.”

In the hurdles, senior Tom Koontz continued his success in both the 110 and the 300. Koontz recorded a time of 15.10 seconds and finished first in the 110, and later won the 300 hurdles in 42.17.

Junior Nathan Apple ran a personal best time of 15.74 seconds in the 100 hurdles to finish third, and he later took sixth in the 300 hurdles in 45.87.

Koontz won three events on the day as helped Mason Dobbins, Caden Caplinger and Ethan Ptacek to a win in the 4×100 really in 45.36. Koontz, along with Hunter Heinrich, Colyer Wingfield and Ptacek took runner-up in the 4×400 in 3:44.

Also on the track, senior Cooper Hipp finished third in the 200 dash in 24.58 and sophomore J’Lee Collins was seventh in 25.14. 

Ptacek (55.45) and Heinrich (56.24) took third and fourth, respectively, in the 400 dash.

In the field events, junior Nathan Vincent won a pair of events for the second straight week. Vincent won the javelin with a throw of 141-1 and took first in the discus with a toss of 134-5.

Junior Layne Ryals was fifth in the javelin at 128 feet and sophomore Scott Thornton was sixth at 126-1. Ryals also finished sixth in the discus at 109-7.

Another junior, J.R. Rooney, took third in the shot at 42-9.5, while sophomores Connor Lee and Jaymes Melton each had personal-best throws. Lee (40-2) and Melton (40-0), were sixth and seventh, respectively. 

Louisburg junior Colyer Wingfield finished second in the long and triple jump Thursday in Paola.

Wingfield got the Wildcats a lot of points in the jumps as he was second in the triple at 39-8 and runner-up in the long jump with a personal-best mark of 20-1.5.

Hayden Feikert finished fifth in the long jump at 19-8. Trey Myers and Elias Pugh finished seventh and eighth, respectively, at 36-3 and 34-9.

“Colyer is starting to figure out the jumps,” Wright said. “In the triple jump, Colyer and another jumper were going back and forth for the first place spot. He came up short for first place in triple jump, but it was fun seeing him compete and go for it. It is still early in the season, we have some technique to work on, so I only see him becoming more exciting as the season moves forward.  

“It also helps having two teammates (Isaiah Whitley, Hayden Feikert) that are right behind him in long jump. It’s going to be exciting to watch these three compete with each other this season.”

In the high jump, junior Isaiah Whitley cleared 6 feet, which was a personal best mark, and took second overall. Junior teammate Mason Dobbins took fourth at 5-10 and Myers finished sixth at 5-6.

Caplinger led the Wildcats in the pole vault as he took second at 12-6 and senior teammate Remington Rice was sixth after he cleared 9 feet.

On the girls side, Emma Lohse gave the Lady Cats a big boost in the sprints as she recorded a pair of first place finishes.

Lohse won the 100-meter dash in 12.98 seconds, after being seeded fifth coming into the race. The Louisburg junior later went on to win the 200 dash in 27.46 and held off Eudora’s Madison Karten (27.89) for the win.

At the end of the meet, Lohse went on to team up with Mackenzie Rooney, Delaney Wieland and Emma Vohs to take third in the 4×400 relay in 4:38.

“The girls overall competed well,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “In the cold, wet, windy conditions, it is more about controlling what you can control and be your best on the day. By looking at how they competed, that is exactly what they did. Times and distance do not show their effort.

“Emma ran very well and what some may not realize is how she held off the second place sprinter in the 200. She is a competitor.”

In the field events, senior Corinna McMullen won the discus for the second week in a row as she took first with a throw of 102-11 and junior Emma Prettyman was eighth at 86-8. Prettyman also took seventh in the shot put at 32 feet.

Sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross clears a height earlier this season. Carpenter-Ross won the pole vault Thursday in Paola.

Sophomore Maddy Carpenter-Ross won the pole vault based on number of misses after she tied with Prairie View’s Jane Hough and Fort Scott’s Ellie Trim at 8 feet.

Senior Davis Guetterman was runner-up in the javelin with a toss of 111 feet and sophomore Katie Elpers’ throw of 95-5 was good for eighth.

The Lady Cats also scored points in the distance races as sophomore Emma Vohs was third in the 800 run in 2:37. Sophomore Maddy Rhamy took third in the 3,200 run in 13:25 and fellow sophomore Erin Apple was sixth at 15:18.

Louisburg sophomore Maddy Rhamy finished third in the 3,200 meter run Thursday and helped the 4×800 relay to a second place finish.

Rhamy, Vohs, Aubryn Berck and Ashley Branine also finished runner-up in the 4×800 relay in 11:38.

Freshman Mackenzie Rooney scored points in the hurdles for Louisburg as she took fourth in the 300 hurdles in 56 seconds.

Louisburg is back in action Thursday when it travels to Garnett for the Anderson County Invitational. Events are set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Other results are: 

GIRLS

100 dash: Delaney Wieland, 12th, 14.13

800 run: Aubryn Berck, 9th, 2:59

1,600 run: Erin Apple, 9th, 6:31; Nova Ptacek, 10th, 6:53

100 hurdles: Mackenzie Rooney, 9th, 19.85

Long jump: Wieland, 9th, 13-8.5

Javelin: Aspen Coulter, 21st, 71-9

BOYS

100 dash: J’Lee Collins, 9th, 12.01; Hayden Feikert, 13th, 12.23; Toby Espina-Roca, 15th, 12.35

200 dash: Hunter Heinrich, 9th, 25.22

400 dash: Cooper Hipp, 13th, 1:04

800 run: Hayden Ross, 12th, 2:27; Andrew Brown, 15th, 2:36

1,600 run: Noah Cotter, 10th, 5:31; Leo Martin, 12th, 5:38

3,200 run: Martin, 11th, 12:07

110 hurdles: Mason Dobbins, 10th, 29.91

300 hurdles: Dobbins, 9th, 48.53

Long jump: Isaiah Whitley, 10th, 19-3