Michael Pickman (left) was hired as Louisburg High School’s new activities director and assistant principal last week following the USD Board of Education meeting. Current Louisburg AD, Scott Hinkle (right), will move to the middle school to serve in the same capacity starting next school year.

Louisburg High School will have a little different look to its activities department for the 2020-21 school year.

Following the USD 416 Board of Education meeting on April 13, Michael Pickman was hired to serve as the school’s new assistant principal and activities director. Pickman will replace Scott Hinkle, who has been in that position for the last two years.

Hinkle will remain in the district and will move over to the middle school to serve in the same capacity.

“I had known for a while that I wanted to continue my education by getting a second master’s degree, but I didn’t really know which area,” Pickman said. “I talked with current administration and was both inspired and encouraged to explore administrative leadership. This is the job I wanted because it meant staying in Louisburg and continuing to work with the staff and coaches who I know have, can and will achieve great things when it comes to our students and student athletes.

“We are a Louisburg family and I want my daughter in the Louisburg community and school system, so I wouldn’t have done this anywhere else. The atmosphere from district leadership to the building leadership is top notch and I am ready to grow as an educator and work alongside (principal) Jeremy (Holloway) and the administrative staff at the high school and the amazing coaches and support them.”

Pickman has taught English at the high school for the last seven years and has also worked in the Prairie View, West Franklin and Maur Hill Prep school districts.

He has also spent a lot of time in the athletic arena as he has served as the Wildcat boys and girls soccer assistant coach, alongside head coach Kyle Conley, for the last five-plus years.

“It will be tough to give up all aspects of it, but the magic of these soccer programs will be especially difficult,” Pickman said. “Kyle has been an amazing person to coach with and his passion is contagious. Getting to start the girls program with him and the immediate success has been amazing. State finals and big wins and the atmosphere – some don’t ever get to experience that – and lastly the players, both boys and girls who have graduated and those who remain to carry on the greatness are why I said yes to coaching. They make the whole experience amazing and fun.

“So it will be hard, but I would also not have gone anywhere else to do a different job and so I will still be able to support the soccer players and every other student and athlete through my new opportunity and to do so the Wildcat Way.”

As for Hinkle, he spent the last two years as the LHS activities director after coming from Liberal High School. He is excited that his new position at the middle school will allow him to spend more time with family.

“I really enjoyed my time at the high school, even though it was only two years,” Hinkle said. “I am leaving behind a great workplace with a great culture and an unbelievable staff. It was not an easy decision.  

“I made the move to the middle school to get back some evenings and weekends. I have been an athletic director for 11 years at the high school level in my career, and I was ready to free up some time. I know I am joining another great staff at LMS, and look forward to the new challenge ahead of me.”  

Louisburg junior Cade Holtzen reacts after winning his blood round match Saturday at the Class 4A state tournament in Salina. Holtzen finished fifth at 126 pounds.

SALINA – Ryan Owens and Cade Holtzen both had their own agendas going into the state wrestling tournament.

Owens, qualified for state last
year, but left without a win and he vowed to fix that this time around. As for
Holtzen, he came up short in his efforts for a second state medal as a
sophomore last season and had all the motivation not to come home empty-handed
again.

Both wrestlers more than made up
for their rough patches a year ago.

Owens and Holtzen left Salina with
a state medal during the Class 4A Kansas State Wrestling Championships on
Friday and Saturday at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center. Owens made it to the
semifinals and wound up earning a fourth-place medal at 120 pounds, while Holtzen
finished fifth at 126 pounds.

It also marked the first time
since 2016 that Louisburg finished the season with multiple state medalists,
when Nathan Keegan and Mason Koechner each brought home medals.

The Wildcats nearly had three
medalists as sophomore Brandon Doles finished one win shy of a state medal at
160 pounds with a 2-2 record.

“They
both have worked on their mindset training all season, and I’m so proud of how
it paid off this weekend at state,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “They
focused on their strengths and the variables that they control — their
attitude, their effort, and their aggression — while at the same time avoiding
the tendency to focus on things they can’t control. They both acted like they
belonged there at state and deserved a state medal. The only pressure they put
on themselves was to continue wrestling how they’ve been wrestling all season and
to do their very best. When kids focus like that, they stand a much greater
chance of accomplishing their goals.

“These
guys (and Brandon included) demonstrated to their teammates that there’s a
process they need to work through in order to achieve their long-term goals.
Everyone wants to be a state qualifier, a state placer, or state champion, but
so many kids don’t know how to set process goals or are committed to staying
the course along the way. These guys are living proof that the process works.”

Owens
caught some people off-guard to start the tournament Friday as he opened with a
pin against Abilene’s Kaleb Stroda in just over a minute.

His
biggest upset came in the quarterfinals as he pinned Osawatomie’s Chance
Mitzner in one minute to advance to the semifinals and assure himself a medal.
Mitzner, who defeated Owens earlier in the season, was ranked fourth going into
the state tournament and Owens was unranked at the time.

In the semifinals, Owens went up
against No. 2 Chadwick Stahl from Mulvane and lost a 5-0 decision, but he had
already made a statement with his good start to the tournament.

“Starting off the state tournament with two pins was my ideal start,” Owens said. “I got into a position that I had a good feel for and threw both my opponents to their backs in the first period. I’ve been hitting that move since I was six, so I have a lot of confidence in that position. After my semifinals match Friday, the mindset was that ‘we weren’t finished yet’ and there was still a chance to get the next best thing (third place).”

The upsets continued for Owens on Saturday as he outlasted
the No. 5-ranked wrestler, Chanute’s Trey Dillow, in the consolation semifinals
in an 8-5 decision to advance to the third place match. That set up a rematch
between Owens and Mitzner, but this time Mitzner got revenge as he pinned the
Louisburg junior in the second period.

Despite that, Owens was thrilled with his state tournament performance
and is already looking forward to next year.

“It felt unreal to stand on the podium,” Owens said. “I had
started off my freshman year on JV, and my sophomore year I had gone 0-2 at
state, so being able to lock up a state medal, especially fourth place, was an
amazing feeling.

“That state performance let me know where I was at in that
weight class and I was very happy with it. However it’s given me more motivation
to do more offseason work than ever and it let me know I have a good shot at
the championship next year.”

As for Holtzen, he also put together a strong state
tournament run, that included a busy Saturday after going 1-1 on Friday. He
opened the tournament with a pin of Wamego’s Nick Cruickshank in the third
period.

Holtzen, who was ranked No. 6 at 126 pounds coming into the
tournament, squared off with No. 3 Braden Ledford of Winfield. Ledford, who
went on to finish second overall, defeated Holtzen in a close 3-0 decision.

That loss sent Holtzen to Saturday to look for a state medal.
He began consolation action as he edged out Anderson County’s Ryland Wright in
a 3-2 decision.

Then in the blood round, Holtzen captured a 2-0 decision over
Pratt’s Kaiser Pelland to assure himself a state medal and it put last year’s
disappointment behind him.

“My win in the blood round was a moment of pure elation,”
Holtzen said. “That was everything I’ve worked for this past year after I
promised myself I would never feel the disappointment I felt after losing in
the blood round my sophomore year.

“I
thought I wrestled pretty well. I wish I was able to score more points
throughout the tournament especially in my quarterfinals match. But that’s
something I can work on.”

Holtzen then met No. 4 Isaac Novotny from Marysville in the
consolation semifinals, and nearly had an upset win himself, but lost a 4-3
decision late in the match. The Louisburg junior responded well in the
fifth-place match as he pinned Chanute’s Colton Seely in the first period

After finishing sixth as a freshman, Holtzen was proud to see
himself take another step forward and he is looking forward to have another
chance next season.

“To stand on the podium meant everything to me,” Holtzen
said. “That was my goal coming into the season and to accomplish that shows
that all of my hard work paid off.

“This performance this
year has made me realize how close I am to the top wrestlers in the state. It’s
all a point or two difference. That difference has made me understand that I am
capable of being a state champion and that will be my goal for my senior year.
It is the one thing I have never accomplished in wrestling and something I want
to happen before my career is over.”

Doles
also made a run at a state medal but found himself on the wrong-side of a
loaded 160-pound class.

The
Louisburg sophomore lost a difficult match to start the tournament as he was
pinned by Rock Creek’s Drew Burenheide, which meant he had a long journey to a
state medal wrestling on the back side.

Doles responded with a 7-2 decision over Winfield’s Trevin Biddle and then pulled off an upset of Independence’s Ian Lawson with a 3-2 victory. Lawson, who was ranked No. 4 coming in to the tournament, had defeated Doles three times this season.

That
put Doles in the consolation quarterfinals match against No. 3 Cael Johnson of
Burlington and Doles was pinned in the second period.

“Brandon
wrestled really tough at state,” Bovaird said. “He was in total control his
first match, and about to add to his lead when he got caught. If that hadn’t
happened, there’s a very good chance he could have come through on the back side
for a state medal. As it was, Brandon had a tough road in front of him and he
gave it everything he had. He got a revenge win against an Independence senior
who’d beaten him three times this season and then ran into a tough senior who’s
committed to wrestle at Baker University next year.”

With
two state medalists, the Wildcat wrestling program is looking for even bigger
things next season as they return all but one senior from their team and they
hope to make another run at multiple state medals.

“Next year is going to be an exciting year,” Bovaird said. “We’re only
losing one senior — Sam Kratochvil — and his leadership will be missed. We’re
returning two state medalists and a two-time state qualifier. There are two
others who had been ranked throughout the season (Kaven Bartlett and Ben
Wiedenmann), as well as two others who made solid runs at regionals (Aiden
Barker, who lost in the blood round, and AJ Reed, who was two matches from
qualifying). Their experience and leadership will be a solid model for the new
and returning wrestlers to follow.

“We’ll be working to
continue building our numbers and to further develop our girls wrestling
program next year. There’s a big number of middle school wrestlers who will be
joining the program in the next two years, and I’m excited to see what they can
do with the foundation that’s being set by our current wrestlers.”

Louisburg wrestlers (from left) Ryan Owens, Cade Holtzen and Brandon Doles qualified for the Class 4A state wrestling tournament after all three made it to the regional finals Saturday in Louisburg.

Three Louisburg wrestlers advanced
to the biggest tournament of the season and did so in front of their home fans.

Ryan Owens (120 pounds), Cade
Holtzen (126) and Brandon Doles (160) qualified for the Class 4A state
tournament Saturday during the 4A regional tournament held at Louisburg High
School. All three had solid performances against some tough competition.

Holtzen captured the 126-pound
regional title, while Owens and Doles both finished as the regional runner-up.
All three will compete at the state tournament beginning this Friday in Salina.

“With
all the craziness of hosting the regional tournament, I’m very proud of how the
team performed overall,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “It was great
having three guys make the finals.”

Holtzen
(35-3), who is heading to state for the third consecutive year, won his first
regional crown with a dominant performance in his bracket. He opened the
tournament with pin of Tonganoxie’s Logan Wake and then pinned Baldwin’s Lucas
Hopper in just 54 seconds in the semifinals.

All
that set up a championship match against Piper’s Nick Lawson, and Holtzen was
control of the match from the opening whistle as he recorded a 13-1 major
decision.

“Being a regional champ is a really good feeling,” Holtzen said. “I haven’t been able to accomplish that my first two years so to be able to get that was almost a weight off my chest and going to state again is a huge deal. You almost start to take it for granted and last year at state I was definitely humbled, so I am ecstatic about going to state this year, but I’m not done yet.

“I feel I wrestled pretty well overall. There are a couple of
areas I can touch up on, so I’ll be doing that in practice this week. But you
can always get better so you can never be complacent. And the competition at
state is always the best that there is so you have to be at your best.”

As for Owens (35-6), the Louisburg junior opened with a 15-0
technical fall over Ottawa’s Trevor Kaub and then defeated Baldwin’s Jesse
Hopper by a 9-4 decision in the semifinals to earn a spot in the championship match
and secured a state berth.

Owens faced off with Tonganoxie’s Grayson Sonntag in the
finals. Sonntag, who is ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, defeated Owens by a 12-4
major decision. Despite the runner-up finish, Owens is excited for his second
trip to the state tournament.

“Being able to go to state again is a great opportunity for
me to compete against the best in the state,” Owens said. “I had worked harder
this year than any other year in order to go back to state. The past couple
years of my high school career had not gone as planned, but this year I have a
great shot at winning some matches.

“Overall, I was able to make it into the finals and face off
against the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the state, which I was really excited
about. I had lost my semis matches in the past couple meets and was finally
able to pull off a semifinals win when it really mattered for regionals.”

Doles (31-9) faced a similar road
to Owens as he opened with a pin of Paola’s Corey Holub and then recorded a
15-0 technical fall over Baldwin’s William Damet. That set up a championship
match against another top-ranked wrestler.

Doles was matched up against Piper’s
Anthony Ferguson, who is the No. 1 wrestler in 4A at 160 pounds. Ferguson
pinned Doles in the second period, but the Wildcat sophomore earned his second
consecutive trip to state.

“Both Ryan and Brandon had tough
match-ups in the regional finals, but I’m proud of how they battled against
their opponents,” Bovaird said.

The Wildcats nearly had two more
earn a trip to state as freshman Kaven Bartlett and sophomore Aiden Barker each
found themselves one win from a state berth.

At 113 pounds, Bartlett (28-12)
made his way to the blood round despite a tough 6-4 loss in the first round to
Atchison’s Archer Willis. Bartlett battled back to the consolations semifinals,
where he eventually fell in a 3-1 decision to Paola’s Charlie Zeller.

As close as that match was, Barker’s
consolation semifinal match was even more dramatic. Barker found himself in a back
and forth match against Paola’s Ben Timpe and nearly had a 2-point takedown at
the buzzer.

Barker put Timpe on his back as
the buzzer sounded, but was ruled just out of bounds as time expired and lost a
9-8 decision.

“I’m
super proud of those two and how much of a fight they put up,” Bovaird said. “They
both truly took on a predator mindset, which we’ve been talking about all year.
Some of the best wrestling I’ve ever seen from those two happened this weekend.
It is heartbreaking, but some good came of those tough losses. Both of them
have been at practice this week helping their teammates, and I think they’re
both willing to commit to even more off-season wrestling to help them get to
their goals.”

The
Kansas Class 4A State Wrestling Championships begin at 10 a.m. on Friday at the
Tony’s Pizza Event Center in Salina and the top six in each weight class will
earn a medal.

Louisburg junior Cade Holtzen works for a pin Saturday during the Frontier League Tournament on Saturday at Ottawa High School. Holtzen finished second at 126 pounds.

OTTAWA – Three Louisburg wrestlers
found their way to the podium during the Frontier League Tournament on Saturday
at Ottawa High School.

Cade Holtzen, Ryan Owens and
Brandon Doles each placed in the top three of their respective weight classes
to help lead the Wildcats in the nine-team tournament. Holtzen made his way to
the championship before finishing second, while Owens and Doles each took third
place.

In all, six wrestlers placed in
the top five and the Wildcats finished ninth overall with 107 points. Bonner
Springs won the league title with 234 points and Paola was second with 180.5.

“Competition
at league was pretty tough this year, and our league has only gotten stronger
with the addition of Piper, Tonganoxie, and Bonner, but I was initially
disappointed with how we finished up as a team,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird
said. “Then I remember that there’s a reason why we have a full season leading
up to regionals and state. We face tests every week at every tournament, and
the focus is on growth and progress. No match should define a season, and we’re
not going to let our league performance define the team’s season.

“Last
week was Homecoming, which was full of all sorts of activities and distractions,
and we also had a snow day when we couldn’t even practice. A lot of things
provided obstacles, but in the end, we walked out of league with a specific
insight into where we need to work on improving for regionals and state.”

Holtzen
(29-3) earned a spot in the championship match of the 126-pound class. The
Louisburg junior opened with pin over Paola’s Sheldon Martin and then pinned Piper’s
Nick Lawson in the semifinals.

All
that set up a rematch of last season’s 113-pound league final between Holtzen
and Bonner Springs’ Cassius Vanderpool. Unfortunately for Holtzen, who is currently
ranked No. 6 in Class 4A, the result wasn’t the same as he lost a close 3-2
decision to finish runner-up.

“Cade
wrestled a really tough match, and I loved seeing his confidence early in the
match,” Bovaird said. “As it progressed, though, I wonder if he got to thinking
too much and let his focus shift from his wrestling to the end of the match. It
was a momentary lapse where his opponent was able to get an escape and score
the winning point.

“Overall,
he had a pretty dominant day. He had a rematch against the Piper kid. The last
time they wrestled, Cade wasn’t able to get the pin and he only scored a tech
fall; on Saturday, he not only repeated his dominance on top, but he also got a
pretty solid pin out of it.”

Owens
(30-5) had a strong start to his league tournament at 120 pounds as he opened
with an 18-8 major decision over Paola’s Steven Yeager and then battled Bonner
Springs’ Peyton Richardson in the semifinals. It was a back and forth match,
but Owens was eventually pinned late in the third period.

The
Louisburg junior responded with a pin of Ottawa’s Trevor Kaub on the backside
of the bracket and then pinned Yeager in the third-place match.

Doles
(26-8) also won his first match of the day as he pinned Paola’s Corey Holub,
but then came up against Spring Hill’s Jakob Stovall in the semifinals. It was
a low-scoring, tight match, but Stovall scored late to take the 3-2 decision.

Doles
responded on the backside to pin Baldwin’s William Damet and then pinned Bonner
Springs’ Jackson McArthur in the third place match.

“They both wrestled solid matches throughout the day,” Bovaird said of
Owens and Doles. “I think their semifinals losses, along with several other key
losses for the team that day, really showed us how much we need to focus on
conditioning this week. Brandon was aggressive throughout the semis match with
Spring Hill, but unable to capitalize on his scoring attempts.

“Ryan showed a lot of
dominance in his semis match against Bonner Springs, but ultimately ran out of
gas in the third. They were tied up before he got turned. Overall, I’m pretty
happy with their ability to bounce back and score some big points in the
consolation rounds.”

Sophomore Johnathan
Keegan-Childs just missed out on the medal stand as he finished fourth at 195
pounds after recording two pins.

Freshman Kaven Bartlett
also earned two pins at 113 pounds and finished fifth overall. Sophomore Aiden
Barker also took fifth at 170 pounds after he finished with two pins and a 2-2
record on the day.

Louisburg will continue
its postseason action this Friday and Saturday as it hosts the Class 4A
regional tournament. The top four finishers in each weight class will earn a
spot at the state tournament next week in Salina.

 “I think the whole team is pretty stoked to be
hosting regionals,” Bovaird said. “It’s a big deal to have our regional
tournament on our home mats, and our gym seems to have been made to host an
event like this. We should have a nice crowd cheering on the team, but I think
with the smooth practices we’ve been having and the team’s ability to reset and
refocus, we should have a pretty solid tournament this year.”

Junior Ryan Owens works for some back points against an opponent during a 120-pound match Tuesday during the Wildcat Duals at Louisburg High School.

Thanks to Mother Nature, the
Louisburg High School wrestling schedule was a little bit shorter than in year’s
past.

A couple different events,
including the Wildcats’ home tournament last month, had to be cancelled due to
weather and head coach Bobby Bovaird was looking to add something to his
schedule to give his wrestlers more mat time.

Bovaird was able to find something
right before the start of the postseason as Louisburg invited Blue Valley West,
Anderson County and Girard to compete in the Wildcat Duals on Tuesday at
Louisburg High School.

Although the Wildcats didn’t get
the results they wanted, as they went 1-2 on the evening, it was a good way to
get ready for the important tournaments ahead.

“We
lost 4-5 matches with our home invitational being canceled, then the next week
we lost one more match with the Spring Hill dual being canceled,” Bovaird said.
“It’s tough trying to make-up matches with wrestling. A game can be easily
rescheduled, but not an entire tournament. I’m very thankful that my
administration was willing to let us host this meet to make up some competition
points, plus it gave us one more chance to showcase our wrestlers at home.”

It
didn’t get off to the start the Wildcats were hoping for as they fell to Blue
Valley West (54-24) and Anderson County (42-32). Louisburg did end the night on
a positive note as it defeated Girard, 45-21, in its final dual of the season
as the Wildcats now focus on the Frontier League Tournament this Saturday.

Louisburg
got victories from Kaven Bartlett (113 pounds), Ryan Owens (120), Cade Holtzen
(126), Brett Rangel (145), Brandon Doles (160), Aiden Barker (170), Jonathan
Keegan-Childs (195) and Elijah Eslinger (285) to secure the win over Girard.

“We didn’t wrestle our best Tuesday night, but that’s all right,”
Bovaird said. “It gave us some ideas of where we really need to focus as we get
ready for the end of the season. I especially am proud of the guys for
finishing our dual season with a victory. We have a lot of opens and a lot of
younger and lighter kids bumping up to fill our varsity weights. That’s
something that really impresses me, that we have the ability to fill those
weights with kids who can compete.”

Owens, Holtzen and Doles
each finished the night with a 3-0 record, while Bartlett, Holtzen and Doles
are each currently ranked No. 6 in Class 4A in their respective weight classes.

Senior Sam Kratochvil
(220) got a win against Blue Valley West, while Barker, Keegan-Childs and Eslinger
also picked up victories over Anderson County.

The Wildcats will now
turn their attention to the Frontier League Invitational. The Frontier League
currently has two teams (Tonganoxie and Piper) ranked in the top 10 in Class
4A, along with state-ranked wrestlers from several schools.

The tournament will begin
at 9 a.m. tomorrow at Ottawa High School.

“The
Frontier League is traditionally a pretty tough tournament,” Bovaird said. “Each
of our guys will have some key match-ups that will help us get set for
regionals. Whether it’s a state-ranked opponent from another league school, a
potential regional match-up, or even just a chance for a revenge win, we’re
sitting in a good position to win those match-ups.”

Louisburg sophomore Brandon Doles gets a pin during his 160-pound match last Thursday during the Wildcats’ dual against Ottawa.

In what was one of its tougher
tournaments to date, the Louisburg wrestling team more than held its own
Saturday during the Baldwin Invitational.

The Wildcats put three wrestlers
in the finals and had three more place in the top six as they went on to finish
ninth in the team standings.

Kaven Bartlett (113 pounds), Cade
Holtzen (126) and Brandon Doles (160) each made their way to the finals and
finished second. Ryan Owens (120) and Aiden Barker (170) was fifth and A.J.
Reed (182) took sixth.

“Coach
Harris at Baldwin has always tried to make this tournament a tough competition,
inviting as many 4A schools as possible,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Many
times, it’s like a mini-state tournament. You’ll see some marquee match-ups
throughout the tournament. I love that we had guys able to step up and battle
their way into the finals. It’s a great feeling having our guys able to earn
medals at this tournament.”

Holtzen
recorded a couple pins on his way to the championship match as he opened with a
first period pin of Clay Center’s Aden Hatcher and then followed that up with a
pin in the third period of Burlington’s Johnathon Williams in quarterfinals. In
the semifinals, he recorded a 14-3 major decision of Wamego’s Nick Cruickshank.

In the finals, Holtzen squared off with Marysville’s Isaac Novotny, who is ranked No. 5 in Class 4A. Holtzen and Novotny went into overtime, but Holtzen fell in a 10-9 decision.

“It
was definitely an exciting match, and it came down to the fact that Cade made
some mistakes that his opponent capitalized on to score his points,” Bovaird
said. “The great thing about that is that we have some specific things to work
on. We have time to make corrections, to analyze film, and to work on improving
technique.

“The
next time Cade faces off against this opponent, he’ll have put in the time to
improve those areas. Cade really did wrestle a tough match against him, and
he’s got nothing to hang his head about.”

Doles,
who is currently ranked No. 6 at 160 pounds, also got off to a good start as he
pinned his way to the championship match. He opened with a pin of Labette
County’s Cody Hambleton and then followed it up with another pin of Baldwin’s
William Damet, before getting a revenge win over Eudora’s Nate Criqui with a
second period victory in the semifinals.

Burlington’s
Cael Johnson was Doles’ next opponent in the championship. Johnson, who is the
No. 1 ranked wrestler in 4A, pinned Doles in the second round.

“Brandon
received our weekly ‘Wildcat Award’ for his performance this weekend,” Bovaird
said. “He stepped up and got a revenge win against his Eudora opponent and he
battled pretty well against his Burlington opponent, who is ranked #1 in the
state. Five of his six losses this season come from the No. 1 (twice) and No. 5
(three times) ranked wrestlers in 4A.”

Bartlett,
who also cracked the state rankings at No. 5 at 113 pounds, recorded three
straight pins on his way to the title match. He defeated Osawatomie’s Damon
Estes and Marysville’s Tristen Schaefer with first period pins and then pinned
Perry-Lecompton’s Mason Bahnmaier in the second period of the semifinals.

In
the first-place match, Bartlett lost a 4-0 decision to Holton’s Jake Barnes,
who is currently ranked third in Class 3A.

“Kaven
is really showing that his hard work in the off-season is paying off,” Bovaird
said. “He’s got some great youth wrestling experience, and now he’s stepping up
his game. I told him after his finals match that the conversation is no longer ‘he’s
got a good chance of qualifying for state.’ It’s now a conversation of ‘he’s
got a good chance at placing at state.’”

Owens
advanced to the semifinals of 120 pounds and squared off with Osawatomie Chance
Mitzner, who is No. 5 in the state. Owens battled him to the end, but lost a
3-2 decision, and eventually took fifth after he won a 6-5 decision over Eudora’s
Dayton Fraser.

Barker went 3-2 on the day to
finish fifth at 170 pounds, while Reed also picked up two wins to take sixth at
182 pounds.

“Ryan
Owens battled and lost a tough 3-2 match to the No. 4 ranked kid in 4A,”
Bovaird said. “In the consolation bracket, he had a tough time bouncing back,
but he competed pretty well. Aiden Barker came out and wrestled well, too. AJ
Reed also had a good tournament. What he’s missing in technique and experience,
he makes up for with toughness and competitiveness. Jacob Briley and Sam
Kratochvil also won some matches for us and had a good tournament.”

Louisburg
is back in action Thursday when it travels to state-ranked Piper for a Frontier
League dual.

Wildcats fall in Senior Night dual to Ottawa

On a night that honored seniors
Hugh Staver, Sam Kraotchvil and manager Elizabeth Kratochvil during Senior
Night ceremonies last Thursday, the Wildcats had a tough time against Ottawa in
a Frontier League dual.

The Wildcats fell 60-24 to the
Cyclones as Louisburg had to deal with several open weights.

Ryan Owens and Cade Holtzen opened
with a pair of pins to give Louisburg a 12-0 lead early, but the Cyclones were
just too much. Brandon Doles and Aiden Barker also recorded pins on the night
for Louisburg.

PARSONS – The Louisburg wrestling
team gained a little more traction on its season Friday when the Wildcats
traveled to the Parsons Invitational.

The Wildcats racked up 78 points
to finish in third place out 12 teams and had five wrestlers finish in the top
four. Among those five was junior Cade Holtzen, who had a special night of his
own.

Holtzen won the 126-pound division
and made a little history in the process. After winning his championship match,
he recorded his 100^th career victory as he finished the day 3-0.

He opened the tournament with a 7-0 decision on Lebanon’s (Mo.) Austin Johnson and then earned a 9-1 major decision over Lebanon’s Bo Rosen in the semifinals. Holtzen (21-1) later pinned Labette County’s Evan Flatt in 54 seconds in the championship.

“Cade’s
bracket was pretty unusual,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “His first
match was against a JV kid from Lebanon, but that kid could have started on
many other teams. His second match in the semifinals was against the varsity Lebanon
kid, who was pretty tough. In the finals, he saw a returning state qualifier
from Labette County.

“It’s
challenges like these that shape the rest of the season, and I’m proud of how
Cade stepped up and competed. Seeing him join the ‘Century Club’ by getting
that 100th win was a great way to cap off the tournament.”

Three
other Wildcats also placed in the top four as junior Ryan Owens (120 pounds)
finished second. Freshman Kaven Bartlett (113) and sophomore Brandon Doles
(160) took third, while sophomore Aiden Barker (170) finished in fourth.
Overall, Bovaird liked what he saw from his team.

“Coming
away with another team plaque was a nice touch as the team has been working so
hard throughout the month of January,” Bovaird said. “In the bigger picture of
the season, January is always a tough month. It’s a long sprint, week-to-week.
We have tournaments each weekend and a dual each week. There’s the regular
problems due to inclement weather, and it’s also the time of year that everyone
seems to get sick. These guys have been working their tails off, and something
like a team plaque is a nice reward to let them know that their hard work is
paying off.”

Owens (21-2) had a good start to his tournament as he pinned Lebanon’s Andrew Dent in the second period and then won a tough 9-7 decision over Independence’s Cooper Anderson to advance to the championship. It was there where he was pinned by Lebanon’s Cole Patten and ended in second place.

As for Doles (18-5), who is currently ranked No. 6 in the state at 160 pounds, he opened with a pin of Cherryvale’s Brad Morris, but ran into Independence’s Ian Lawson in the semifinals and was pinned in the second period. Lawson is currently No. 5 in Class 4A.

Doles
bounced back to pin Lebanon’s Connor Brand in the consolation semifinals and
then won a 5-1 decision over Santa Fe Trail’s Stephan Roberts in the
third-place match.

Bartlett (19-4) won his first match in the 113-pound bracket after he pinned Cherryvale’s Dalton Morrill, but was pinned by Lebanon’s Davis Joiner in the semifinals. Bartlett responded to pin Erie’s Nate Thompson in the consolation round and then won a tough 2-0 decision over Lebanon’s Taydem Johnson.

At 170 pounds, Barker (12-7) is filling in for junior Ben Wiedenmann who is injured. After losing his first match, he responded with back-to-back pins to advance to the third-place round, where he was pinned by Lebanon’s Gabriel Schiller.

As
much success as the Wildcats had, it was a difficult start to the day as school
was canceled on that morning, but the meet went on as scheduled. It left the
wrestlers with a different start to their day.

 “When the kids woke up Friday morning to learn that
school was canceled, that really made things challenging,” Bovaird said. “It
was up in the air as to whether or not we’d be able to compete in the
tournament, and thanks to the due diligence and planning of our administrators,
we were given the go ahead to travel. I’m very proud of how the team was able
to hold their weight, refocus in the face of uncertainty, and get the job done.
We had a lot of opens at Parsons, but they still arose to the challenge.”

Louisburg
is back in action at 5:30 p.m. Thursday when it hosts Ottawa in a league dual
on Senior Night. The Wildcats will then travel to the Baldwin Invitational on
Saturday.

Louisburg junior Ryan Owens brings Lawrence’s Kevin Honas to the mat Tuesday at Louisburg High School. Owens upset the No. 4 ranked Honas and won by decision in the Wildcats’ 48-30 victory.

When it comes to duals, the
Louisburg wrestling team has been a little unlucky so far this season – whether
it was because of open weights, injuries or bad matchups.

It all seemed to come together for
the Wildcats on Tuesday when they hosted Lawrence High School. Louisburg put
together a strong showing as it downed the Lions 48-30 and captured their first
dual win since early December.

“It
felt great getting a dual win, especially at home on our own mat in front of
our crowd,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Lawrence is a young team, but
then again, so are we. We ended up with two open weight classes, and that’s
been our struggle the last couple of years.

“I
had several guys move up a weight to fill out our lineup, and I love the fact
that I can do that with our squad. If I didn’t think it was a safe choice or
that our guy could handle moving up a weight, I wouldn’t do it. It’s always a
gamble, and I’m proud of how the squad stepped up and answered the challenge.”

The
dual started at 126 pounds when Cade Holtzen opened with a pin, but Lawrence
recorded back-to-back pins against Luke Kelly and Jarrett Hoyle at 132 and 138
pounds, respectively to take the lead. Senior Harrison Laney responded with a
big pin at 145 pounds to tie the match.

Lawrence
took the lead once again after Louisburg was open at 152, but sophomores
Brandon Doles and Aiden Barker came through in their matches. Doles and Barker
both notched quick pins at 160 and 170 pounds to give the Wildcats a 24-18
advantage.

Louisburg
would build on its lead from there as sophomore A.J. Reed won by pin at 182
pounds. Lawrence was open in the next two weight classes and the Wildcats were
up 42-18 to all but seal the win.

After
Lawrence won by pin in the heavyweight class against Elijah Eslinger, and the
Wildcats were open at 106, the Lions cut the Wildcat lead to 12. Freshman Kaven
Bartlett sealed the victory with a win by decision.

Even
though the dual was basically over, the final match ended up being the most
competitive of the night. Junior Ryan Owens squared off with Lawrence’s Kevin
Honas, who is currently ranked No. 4 in Class 6A.

Owens
pulled off the upset as he was able to win by decision and improved his record
to 19-1 on the season to end the evening on a strong note.

“Ryan’s
win at 120 was a great conclusion for the dual,” Bovaird said. “Not only did he
win the match, but I saw a change in attitude and mindset with his
competitiveness. In fact, that’s been the staple of his matches all season.
He’s really grown and advanced.

“I
don’t mind him not being ranked in 4A. He’s going to surprise some people this
season, that’s for sure. Our seasoned wrestlers stepped up and wrestled tough,
like I knew they would, and our newer wrestlers still gave it a great battle,
whether they won or lost.”

Louisburg
is back in action Friday when the Wildcats travel to the Parsons Invitational.

TOPEKA – It had been a frustrating
start to the new year for the Louisburg wrestling team.

The Wildcats saw their first two events of 2020 cancelled, including their home tournament. It left them itching to get back on the mat and it showed Saturday.

Louisburg traveled to the Topeka
Invitational for its first competition in nearly a month and the Wildcats were
able to shake off the rust and come home with some hardware. They left Topeka
with four champions and one runner-up as the Wildcats finished fourth out of 10
teams.

Freshman Kaven Bartlett (113
pounds), junior Cade Holtzen (126), sophomore Brandon Doles (160) and sophomore
Aiden Barker (170) each finished first in their respective brackets to lead the
Wildcats. Junior Ryan Owens (120) also advanced to the championship match, but
finished second.

“They were definitely eager to get back on the mat,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “We’ve been working hard in the practice room, and after two weeks of some really awesome practices, it’s great to see them get a chance to get on the mats to show what progress they’ve been making.

“The cancellations were frustrating, no doubt about it, but it is what it is. Every year we don’t have any meets canceled due to weather, we’re pretty lucky. I just hate losing our home tournament because it’s a long-standing tradition and a great chance to get some quality matches on our home mats. “

Bartlett (16-3) got his day
started with a technical fall of Topeka West’s Jay Dillon and then outlasted
Burlingame’s Conner Collins for a 2-0 decision in the semifinals. Bartlett then
captured the title with a 4-1 decision over Council Grove’s Jesse Rodgers in
the championship match.

At 126 pounds, Holtzen (18-1)
pinned his way to a title. He made his way to the championship with easy pins
over Bishop Miege’s Daniel Henre and Gardner-Edgerton’s Therron Meade. Then in
the first-place match, Holtzen handed Council Grove’s Wyatt Johnson his first
loss of the year with another pin.

Doles (15-4) opened his day up
with a pair of easy pins over Topeka-Hayden’s TC Thompson and Gardner’s Trenton
Bryan to advance to the championship. He then battled Topeka High’s Caemen
Blake and won with a 7-5 decision.

Barker (10-5) filled in at 170 pounds for the Wildcats and recorded a pair of pins over Gardner’s Aydin Lowery to record his first championship of the season.

Owens (18-1) started the tournament strong as he pinned Gardner’s Zack Thomas and Highland Park’s Javier Osorio to reach the finals. It was there where he suffered his first loss of the season in a 5-0 decision to Council Grove’s Tom VanValkenburg, who is currently ranked No. 4 in Class 321A.

“Our guys really did come out well on Saturday,” Bovaird said. “For Kaven and Aiden, it was their first ever varsity championship. Cade and Brandn have been there before, but they still had to earn it. Kaven held on to win two decisive matches with smart wrestling, especially on top. Cade had a tough opponent in the finals, but one great thing I saw from him was the ability to turn on the heat late in the match. He never let up, and finally got the pin in the third period.

“Brandon faced off against a very unorthodox opponent, a 6A state qualifier, and I think the match wasn’t near as close as the score suggested. He was in control and dominant the whole match. Aiden stepped up to the opportunity to make some noise for himself, and he could have easily let himself get defeated mentally, but he showed some great mental toughness in his matches.

“Ryan Owens ran into the #4 ranked wrestler in 321A, and although he lost 5-0, he was competitive the entire time. That match, while it was a loss, helped him pinpoint some important things to work on, and with his attitude this season, he’ll be bouncing back with no problem. “

Sophomores A.J. Reed (182) and
Johnathan Keegan-Childs (195) each finished fifth for Louisburg, while junior
Jarrett Hoyle (132) and senior Sam Kratochivil (220) each placed sixth.

As a team, the Wildcats finished with 143.5 points to take fourth despite being open in four weight classes. Council Grove won the team title with 171 points, Topeka High was second with 169.5 and Gardner-Edgerton was third with 150.

Louisburg is back in action at
5:30 p.m. tonight when it hosts Lawrence for Alumni Night. The Wildcats will
also travel to the Parsons Invitational on Friday.

It was a successful, and eventful, 2019 for Louisburg High School athletics and for those who are connected to the Wildcat program. This past year created a lot of school history for LHS and several programs brought back state hardware.

Below are the Top 10 stories from 2019, along with a brief explanation of each. Included in the explanation is the link to the actual story from the event.

When putting the list together, I took a lot of things into account – whether it was team vs. individual, popularity of the sport, historical achievements and the interest it drew on the web site. There were stories that I had to leave off that normally would easily make it. 2019 was that successful of a year for Wildcat athletics.

This year was a blast to cover and I was blessed to have the opportunity to go along for the ride with many of these. As much fun as it was, I can’t wait for 2020 to begin. Looking forward to it!

10. Tucker, Ratliff-Becher win powerlifting titles, Tucker breaks state record.

Two Louisburg High
School weightlifters made their way to the top of the podium in March during
the Class 4A State Powerlifting Meet at Basehor-Linwood High School.

Louisburg senior Kiefer Tucker and junior Reilly Ratliff-Becher both earned state championships in their respective weight class. Senior Jonathan DePriest finished third overall and several other Wildcats also earned individual medals.

Not only did Tucker
win a state title in the 220-pound division, he also broke a 24-year state bench
press record as he recorded a bench of 375 pounds to surpass the old mark of
365. He also won the squat competition at 505 pounds and had a total of 1,165
pounds to run away with the crown.

Tucker’s total was the
highest three-lift mark at the entire state meet in all weight classes.

“I had messed around with 375
and 385 before on bench, so I was confident that I could lift it if I had the
chance,” Tucker said. “I was more worried about my first lifts on bench at 345
and 365 because if I messed up on those attempts then I would not have had the
change to even attempt 375. It was definitely a sigh of relief when I finally
locked it out.

“It was a great feeling to beat the state
record. To put Louisburg up on the record chart definitely brought a smile to
my face.”

Ratliff-Becher had a big day
in the women’s division as she won a state crown in the 180-pound weight class.
She finished with a three-lift total of 575 pounds.

The Louisburg junior took first in bench press with 155 pounds,
first in clean at 150 pounds and second in squat with a 270-pound lift.

“Winning the state title
meant a lot to me,” Ratliff-Becher said. “I have put in a lot of time and
effort in weights class, so it’s nice to see it has paid off. But, also because
I feel as if I put out a message to girls that it’s cool to be strong
physically. I know that being sometimes the only girls in a class with a lot of
strong guys is intimidating. Weightlifting is all about your own personal
growth and seeing how far you can push yourself.

“I was honestly surprised I won because there are lots of very
strong girls there and it’s good competition. It’s also fun to meet new people
that have the same interests and motivation as you.”

9. Golf qualifies for state, Dillon medals for third straight season

As the scores trickled
in to the clubhouse at Paola Country Club, the Louisburg golf team could hardly
stand it.

The Wildcats were
nervously waiting to hear if they had qualified for state, but they knew it was
going to be close. Louisburg had to be in the top three of the team standings
to earn a spot and the Wildcats had some tough competition amongst them.

As it turned out, the
Wildcats had nothing to worry about.

Louisburg recorded a team score of 352 during the Class 4A regional tournament in May and finished third overall by nine strokes over fourth-place Ottawa. The Wildcat team of Calvin Dillon, Drake Varns, Garrett Rolofson, Ryan Haight, Noah Hill and Colin Cook all competed in the state tournament

Topeka-Hayden won the
regional title going away with a 332 and Louisburg was just three strokes
behind runner-up Tonganoxie, which had a 349.

“It feels great,
especially with all the hard work we have put in the offseason and last few
months,” Dillon said. “It was our goal coming in and we did it. I felt like we
had a good chance. It was borderline with those four teams being as close as we
are. I knew we had a chance, but it was nice to actually qualify. It was
definitely a little nerve-racking waiting for the scores to come in.”

As impressive as that
feat was for the Wildcats, Dillon’s performance blew away the rest of the
competition.

The Louisburg junior
won his first individual regional title as he carded a 1-over 73 to win the
tournament by six strokes. Dillon’s 73 was his best score on the season and he
has now won all but one tournament on the year.

Dillon went on to record his third consecutive state medal and finished 11^th overall in Dodge City after the tournament was postponed several times, and eventually moved due to weather.

8. Wildcat wrestling sends six to state, Moore earns first state medal

Back in early November
of 2018, Austin Moore was in a sling with a broken collarbone and he wondered
why all this was happening.

Moore suffered the
injury during the regional football playoffs and he didn’t get to finish his
final high school season. Not only that, his hopes of getting his first state
wrestling medal was in serious jeopardy.

A little more than
four months later, Moore was on the medal stand with some of the state’s best
wrestlers in his weight class.

The Louisburg senior earned a fourth-place medal at 220 pounds during the Class 4A Kansas State Wrestling Championships in February at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina. It was his first high school state medal and it marked the end of a long journey for Moore.

“It was pretty special
for me to get a state medal, especially because it has been a goal of mine ever
since I started wrestling,” Moore said. “Overall, I felt like I wrestled pretty
well, but I just wish I could’ve ended it on a win.”

The Wildcats qualified six wrestlers for state, had three regional champions and took third place in the team standings during the regional tournament in Paola – all while not being able to field a full team.

Louisburg’s talent was
certainly on full display during the two-day tournament. Brandon Doles, Blue
Caplinger and Austin Moore won regional crowns, Cade Holtzen was a regional
runner-up, while Gabe Bonham and Ryan Owens also qualified for state by placing
third and fourth, respectively.

As a team, the
Wildcats ended up with 138.5 points and was just 2.5 points out of second
place. Ottawa won the regional with 149.5 points and Eudora was second at 141.
It was the highest regional team finish for Louisburg since 1998.

“The way these guys
wrestled this weekend shows that the program has been doing so many things
right this season,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “We’ve had the obstacle
of low numbers, which hurt us in our duals, but when it comes to tournament
time, we have a bunch of guys who are placing high and that gives us a lot of
team points. Taking six to state feels pretty encouraging, and finishing third
at regionals is an awesome statement for this team.

“If a few things had
gone the other way, we would have been in second as a team. On paper, we
weren’t supposed to be in the race for a regional plaque. Almost all of our
guys stepped up and scored huge team points for us.”

7. Louisburg softball captures regional title

OTTAWA – Madison
Svoboda could feel her heart starting to come out of her chest.

Karson Griggs was a
feeling a little nauseous.

Those are some of the
same feelings that were flooding the Louisburg softball’s team dugout during the
final inning of the Class 4A regional championship game against Chanute on
Tuesday in Ottawa.

Louisburg held a one
run lead, but Chanute had the tying run on third, two outs, and a trip to the
state tournament was on the line. On the mound was sophomore Brooklyn
Diederich, and with two strikes, the Chanute batter fouled five straight
pitches.

The tension was
mounting.

Finally, on the 10^th pitch
of the at-bat, Diederich got what she was looking for – a swing and miss.

The strikeout sealed the Lady Cats’ trip to state with a 6-5 victory over No. 7 seed Chanute and sent shockwaves throughout Class 4A softball.

“I want to cry, but at
the same time I am just really happy,” Griggs said. “It is exciting because I
never thought something like this could happen, especially this year. It feels
really nice and now maybe people will actually start taking us seriously.”

Not many gave people
gave the Lady Cats a chance as they entered the Class 4A regional tournament
with just five wins and were forced to begin tournament action in the play-in
game.

After a 17-2 win over
Parsons last Monday in the play-in game, No. 15 Louisburg advanced to the
regional semifinals and upset No. 2 seed Ottawa, 9-7, which helped set up the
Lady Cats’ first state tournament appearance since 2014.

“I think a lot of
other teams underestimated us,” Diederich said. “The fact that we came out and
played our hardest ball showed what type of team we actually are. It is just
crazy.”

At the state tournament in Salina a week later, the Lady Cats faced off against Andale and lost to the eventual state champion in the first round, 10-0.

6. Cross Country qualifies for state, Moore breaks school record and takes third at state

BALDWIN CITY – One by one,
members of the Louisburg girls cross country team crossed the finish line and
coach John Reece was unsure whether or not his team did enough to qualify for
state.

The Lady Cats had made
school history by qualifying the last two seasons, but the third time was a
little bit in jeopardy – that was until the results were released.

As it turned out,
Reece didn’t need to be so worried.

Louisburg finished third overall with 96 points in October at the Class 4A regional meet at the Baldwin Golf Course, and beat out Bishop Miege by six points to earn a spot at the state meet this weekend in Wamego.

The team of Trinity
Moore, Carlee Gassman, Reese Johnson, Claire Brown, Ruth Minster, Kennady
Wilkerson and Bree Gassman competed for the Lady Cats at state.

“This group of girls runs
well, they race well and they train well together,” coach Reece said. “They are
a good group and this is just as exciting as the other two times. The
competition was a lot tougher than the previous two times. We had to run our
races and we did. From our third to fifth runners was about an eight point
spread.”

Trinity Moore has left a
lasting impression on the Louisburg cross country program over the last four
years, but she saved the best moment for her final act.

Moore broke her own school record with a time of 19 minutes and 39 seconds to finish third overall at the Kansas Class 4A State Cross Country Championships at the Wamego Country Club a week later.

The Louisburg senior
recorded the program’s best ever state finish as she eclipsed her fourth-place state
medal from a season ago.

“It meant so much to
me to finish with such a great race for my high school career,” Moore said.
“Going into the race, I didn’t know how well I would finish. This race had the
best competition that I have ran against all year and I think that is what
really pushed me.

“When I saw my time
crossing the finish line, I was ecstatic. I felt great the entire race and was
able to control everything I did. Finishing third was icing on the cake. I was
surprised but so incredibly happy to be able to place in such a great spot, but
I also knew that this what I had worked for all year.”

This made the fourth
state medal for Moore in her high school career and she improved on her state
finish every year. Last season, she took fourth overall and bested her state
time from a year ago by more than 30 seconds.

5. Boys Soccer wins league, regional titles to earn No. 1 seed in playoffs.

For more than 70
minutes, the goals for Louisburg were hard to come by and it started to leave
an eerie feeling on Halloween night.

However, the Wildcats
got their treat when it was all over.

Louisburg scored two goals in the final seven minutes of the match to earn a 2-0 victory over Kansas City Christian in the Class 4-1A regional championship game Thursday. The Wildcats (16-2-1) earned their third regional title in the last four years and advanced to the state quarterfinals.

“This group is
special,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “It is going to be tough when it is
all over. This group has changed our culture. They came back to what this
program believes and they have bought in to what we are teaching them. They
have worked so hard since June. For these seniors, this is their third title in
four years and I think it is a lot of fun for them.

A school record 16
wins, a Frontier League championship and a regional title are all something
worth celebrating, but following the state quarterfinal match with Bishop
Miege, all Louisburg could think about was the finality of it all.

Despite all those
accomplishments, the Wildcats fell one win short of their main goal – a spot in
the state final four.

Louisburg saw its season come to a close with a 3-0 loss to Bishop Miege at the Wildcat Sports Complex. The Wildcats lost to the eventual state champion, as Miege went on to defeat Wichita-Trinity on Saturday, 3-1, for the Class 4-1A state championship – the Stags’ fourth in a row.

As difficult as the
loss was for Louisburg, there was no forgetting how big of a jump the Wildcats
made from the season before as they went from a 6-win team to one that earned
the East’s No. 1 seed in the state playoffs.

“Going 6-11 last year
and seeing this Miege team almost mercy-ruling us in the regional championship
last year in the rain, was a program changer,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley
said. “After that was over, we talked about how things needed to change and it
starts now. For our first practice in June, I told them that they are the ones
that has to change them. Since day one, they have played for each other, played
hard in practice and it was a total mindset change. When someone got hurt, it
was the next guy up. We missed two starters for half of the year and it was
always the next guy up taking advantage of his opportunity to fill in. The
freshmen stepped up huge for us.

“This team is special.
16 wins is a school record and only two losses is probably a school record.
This team is incredible, played so hard and did everything I asked them to do.
They were always there to pick each other up and that is what this soccer
family is all about. It will be tough to say goodbye to these kids.”

4. Volleyball knocks off Miege to win regional title, takes fourth at state

ATCHISON – The
sub-state semifinal game between Louisburg and Bishop Miege had all the feels
of a state tournament match.

Partially because a
year ago, it was.

Louisburg met Miege in
the state championship match only to see the Stags send the Lady Cats to a
runner-up finish in two sets. Then three weeks ago the two teams met again, and
like before, Miege dispatched of Louisburg in two sets.

However, Bishop Miege
saw a different Louisburg team during the sub-state tournament at Atchison High
School – one they didn’t expect.

The Lady Cats came out on fire and never let up in a 25-18 and 25-22 win over Miege to end the Stags’ season. It marks the first time in at least 12 years, if not longer, that Miege will not be at the state tournament.

Since the state
tournament began in 1971, Bishop Miege has made 39 state appearances during
that time in either Class 5A or 4A and is the most in Kansas history.

“Our energy was going
to be the difference in that match, so we knew we had to bring it,” Louisburg
senior Erin Lemke said. “We knew we had the same skill set as Miege, but our
energy was what was going to pull us through there in the end. To get there, we
just had to believe in ourselves and work hard this past week to give us the
confidence that we needed.”

However, even after
pulling off a big revenge win that expended a lot of energy, the Lady Cats
still had a sub-state championship match to play against No. 2 seed Atchison.
The No. 7 seed Lady Cats took care of business as they won in straight sets,
25-12 and 25-15, at Atchison High School.

Louisburg lost its final two matches of the season, but those setbacks didn’t take away from what the Lady Cats accomplished during the Kansas Class 4A State Championships.

For the third straight
season, the Lady Cats were among the last four teams playing and brought home a
little hardware for their efforts. Louisburg took fourth overall after losing
its third place match to Towanda-Circle, 2-1, in October at Hutchinson Sports
Arena.

“Every season our goal
is to put ourselves in the best position to qualify for state and then to
hopefully advance to bracket play on Saturday,” Louisburg coach Jessica
Compliment said. “Leading up to state, we talked about how nothing is
guaranteed and in order to make it to bracket play, we have to show up and play
our best from the first whistle to the last whistle. If we play our game, then
hopefully the winning will take care of itself and we’d advance.

“The eight teams at
state this year were all very talented. I was happy that we qualified for the
semifinals because that put us one step closer to the championship. Even though
we didn’t reach the championship match and finished fourth, I was still very
proud of how the team played throughout the tournament.”

3. Louisburg cheer wins first state championship

The Wildcat
cheerleaders competed at the Class 4A KSHSAA Game Day Spirit Showcase
Competition on Nov. 23 at the Stormont Vail Events Center in Topeka and came
back home with a big trophy in tow.

Louisburg edged out runner-up Augusta with a point total of 82.25 to 81 in the finals to secure what is just the third athletic team state title in school history.

“I was so nervous at
the awards,” Louisburg senior Lauren Vincent said. “We were all holding hands
and had our heads down. We thought that we would get second place at best, most
likely third. We were content because we put everything out on the mat and did
the best we could. But when they called out second place and it was Augusta, we
screamed, cried, and hugged each other because we knew that we had just won.

“When our name was
called for first, we jumped up and hugged each other. Then I ran out onto the
mat and grabbed the trophy and we held it up and jumped around victoriously. It
was the best feeling in the entire world. Knowing that all of our hard work had
finally paid off was indescribable feeling of joy.”

The Louisburg
cheerleaders that competed are Lexi Pena, Lauren Vincent, Ashlyn McManigal,
Brooklyn Mitchell, Gabby Tappan, Andrea Gaza, Eleanor Willming, Jayden Trester,
Lacie Kallevig, Sammy McDaniel, Mable Graham, Anna Morrison, Bella Feikert,
Audrey Anderson, Sydney Dudzik, Kaitlyn Vest, Jolie Hendrickson, Abby Bradley
and Zoe Cutshaw. Louisburg’s head coach is Jayna Guerra.

Not only were the
Wildcats the third team to win a state title in school history, they were also
the first female squad to win a team crown as well. All the history just added
to what was a special day for the program.

“It means so much to
me and all my teammates,” Tappan said. “As someone who’s been a part of a variety
of sports my entire life, I know how hard each of our teams work to do their
very best in whatever sport they’re a part of. We are so thankful that we got
to make history for Louisburg and it is something that I can guarantee that
each and every one of us will remember it for the rest of our lives.”

2. Girls soccer
takes second at state, Conley named coach of year and Scholtz, Buffington awarded
players of year.

When it was all said and done, the Louisburg girls soccer team held its trophy high in front of the Wildcat faithful and the tears were easy to spot.

After nearly 200
minutes of soccer in a nine-hour time period, including one match that ended in
penalty kicks, the Wildcats were spent. They gave everything they had.

For the second consecutive season, Louisburg earned the Class 4-3-2-1A state runner-up trophy after a wild victory over Topeka-Hayden in the semifinals and then were shutout by Bishop Miege in the championship game, 4-0. It was the third consecutive state final four appearance for Louisburg.

Frustration and
sadness was easy to see following the Wildcats’ loss to the defending state
champion, but the team realizes what they have accomplished in just four years
of existence is to be celebrated.

“Being in this
situation two years in a row is something that doesn’t happen very often,”
Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “There are a bunch of teams that haven’t been
to a state final four and we have been to three in three years. It is pretty
cool and it is special.”

It was a wild 24 hours
for the Wildcats. Louisburg was supposed to play Hayden on Friday in the
semifinals, but severe weather forced the postponement to early Saturday
morning.

The Wildcats battled
Hayden through four overtimes and eventually led to penalty kicks. After an
intense first five penalty kicks that left the match still tied, senior goalie
Carson Buffington recorded a big save and then senior Hallie Hutsell converted
the sixth penalty kick to break the tie and give Louisburg a 2-1 win over
Hayden.

 “We usually play 80 minutes, but this time we
had to play 110 minutes and we were gassed,” Conley said. “We were holding on
and had some chances at the end to win it, but then we went to overtime and
then to penalty kicks. It was all about to see if we could survive. Emotionally
it was just a high for us and an unbelievable response and a great finish.
Carson making a big save, Hallie putting it in for the win – it was just a
great game.”

In the championship match,
the Stags were just too much for the Wildcats and junior Sophia Stram provided
a big spark. Stram scored all four goals for Miege in the title game, all of
which came in the first half, and the Wildcats didn’t have an answer.

“They are just so freaking good,” Conley said. “I think the
girls were mentally ready, but I don’t think their legs were quite ready, but
we lost to one of best teams in the state of Kansas. They have great players,
they are well-coached, but our girls played their butts off.

Coming off its second
consecutive state runner-up appearance, Louisburg had some positive
repercussions from its historic season.

However, none bigger
came when the all-state teams were released by the Kansas Soccer Coaches
Association. Not only did six Wildcats earn all-state selections, but they were
honored with some of the highest awards out there.

Junior Mackenzie Scholtz was named as the Co-Offensive Player of the Year in Class 4-1A with Bishop Miege’s Sophia Stram after she led the Wildcats in scoring.

Louisburg was also
recognized on the other side of the ball as senior Carson Buffington was named
the Class 4-1A Goalkeeper of the Year.

“Seeing Mackenzie and
Carson recognized for their positional player of the years was fantastic,”
Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “They both had incredible years.”

The Wildcats weren’t
done, as for the second consecutive season, Conley was named as the Class 4-1A
Coach of the Year as he guided Louisburg to a 17-4 record. He also led the
Wildcats to three consecutive final four appearances.

1.4×400 boys wins state championship, Wright wins four state medals and team breaks six school records at regional meet.

Three days after
arriving in Wichita for the Kansas State Track and Field Championships, Justin
Collins, Blue Caplinger, Ben Wiedenmann and Chris Williams finally got the chance
to get on the Cessna Stadium track.

The four Wildcat
runners had the top time in Class 4A going into the 4×400-meter relay, but
weather threw a little wrench into their plans. The meet, which was supposed to
end on a Saturday, was postponed to Sunday morning and all races were judged by
times with no preliminaries.

It wasn’t the ideal
situation, but they made it work – and it worked well.

Collins, Caplinger, Wiedenmann and Williams won the state championship in a time of 3 minutes and 25.39 seconds as they edged Chapman at the finish line, which ran a 3:25.61. It was the first state track championship for Louisburg since 2015 when Connor McMullen won the discus.

That was just one
event in what was an historic week for Louisburg track.

Louisburg freshman Delaney Wright earned four state medals, while junior teammate Carlee Gassman finished with three as the Lady Cats went on to finish 10^th in the team standings. The Lady Cats earned several other medals at the state meet coming off an impressive performance at regionals.

During the Class 4A
regional meet at Paola High School, Wright qualified for state in four events,
broke two school records and earned a regional title in her first postseason
track meet.

Wright won a regional
title in the long jump and finished second in the 200 and 400-meter dashes. She
also helped Carlee Gassman, Rain Pugh and Sydni Keagle to a second place finish
in the 4×400-meter relay.

“I am so grateful for
everything,” Wright said. “I had been having trouble with my hip this week and
I just wanted to come out and make state in at least one event. I didn’t
realize I would make it in four. It is an unbelieveable feeling.”

Wright’s day was just one of the many positives for the Lady Cats as they broke four school records, had four regional champions and qualified for state in 10 events.

As a team, the Lady Cats nearly earned the regional runner-up trophy as they racked up 86.5 points and finished a half a point behind second place Baldwin and Bishop Miege, who tied for second. Paola won the regional title with 107 points.

The Wildcat boys also broke two school records and would end up qualifying for nine spots at the state meet.