Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week five of the fall sports season, sponsored by Craig Holtzen and Edward Jones.

COLTON BLUE, SENIOR, SOCCER

Louisburg senior Colton Blue helped the Wildcat soccer team to a 1-1 week last week, including a blowout of Chanute. Blue scored four goals and had an assist in the Wildcats’ 8-0 victory over the Blue Comets.

Blue continued his strong play two days later as he scored a goal and had an assist in a 3-2 overtime loss to Ottawa. Blue, who is a senior captain, currently has nine goals on the season to lead the Wildcat team.

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

Previous Winners:

Week 1: Myles Vohs

Week 2: McKenna Lohse

Week 3: Ashton Moore

Week 4: Levi Cotter

Senior Night is always a special moment for any team and it was the case again Thursday as the Louisburg volleyball team hosted Spring Hill for a Frontier League dual.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Spring Hill put a damper on the evening as the Broncos handed Louisburg a 25-16, 25-19 and 25-13 loss in what was the final home game this season.

Still, the Wildcat players and fans had a chance to say thank you to the five Louisburg seniors — Jaden Bentz, Ally Brown, Aspen Coulter, Katie McKain and Evyn Richardson — as they played their last game in the LHS gymnasium.

“Senior Night is always a very special night for our program,” Willer said. “With volleyball, the timing of senior night can be tricky, and this year was no different — senior night is happening yet we still have quite a few games left to play. I think that helps our girls to know that we still have time with our seniors left, but it definitely brings attention to how that time is winding down and how we want to make the most of the time we have left with this particular group of girls.

“These seniors have brought so much fun and energy to our program and they each bring their own unique personality to the gym every day. They have truly impacted our program and are going to leave their mark on the team this year.”

Spring Hill is currently undefeated in Frontier League play and is on pace to win the league title and the Broncos made it tough on the Wildcats.

“Against Spring Hill, we saw our team do some really great things and make some big plays that had us hanging in there, especially in the second set,” Willer said “Unfortunately, we couldn’t string enough of those good plays together to come out on top in the end. Overall, I thought we fought hard and our seniors especially really tried to make the most of playing on our home court for the last time.”

Richardson had a big night in her final home performance as she finished with a team-high 10 kills to go along with two blocks. Juniors Caileigh Kilgore and McKenna Lohse added five kills each.

Louisburg setter Adelyn Moore had a team-high 23 assists to go along with nine digs and two blocks. Brown was also second the team with nine digs.

The Wildcats will try and get back in the win column Tuesday when they travel to Tonganoxie for their final league dual of the season. Varsity is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Louisburg gets league road victory at Paola

It may not have been as easy as the 3-0 score indicated, but Louisburg picked up a win over its rival last Tuesday in Paola.

The Wildcats defeated the Panthers 25-23, 26-24 and 25-22 as they were able to pull out three close set victories on the road.

“Winning another league match is always going to be a positive, especially when we can do it in straight sets,” Willer said. “With Paola being our closest competitor geographically in the league, we have a natural rivalry, so beating them is always important to us. We didn’t play our best, but I’m proud of the team for being able to dig themselves out of some holes in each set and come back to win.”

Serving and defense provided the Wildcats with a good starting point against Paola as Louisburg tallied eight aces in the those three sets, including three each from Ally Brown and Delaney Nelsen.

Brown also stepped up in the back row as she tallied a team-high 21 digs and another senior, Jaden Bentz, had 11 and Nelsen added nine.

Offensively, junior McKenna Lohse had a big night as the Wildcat middle blocker led the team with five blocks and also had a team-high 11 kills. Junior Caileigh Kilgore added nine kills in the win.

Louisburg sophomore setter Adelyn Moore had a team-high 31 assists.

“I thought our defense was really strong and we made some great digs that we were able to then convert to offense which is exactly what we need to do,” Willer said. “Defensively, Ally stood out as she made some really great digs out of middle back. Offensively, I think Kenna stood out as she took some big swings and finished as the kill leader for our team.”

In the midst of a four-game losing skid, the Louisburg boys soccer team had some pent up frustration.

After starting the year with four straight wins, losing four straight takes its toll on a team and the Wildcats took all their frustration out on their next opponent.

Louisburg hosted Chanute on Oct. 1 and the Wildcats wasted no time finding the back of the net as they rolled to an 8-0 victory.

“We had a great deal of energy from the very first whistle against Chanute,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “After experiencing that 4-game losing streak, it was important for us to get our mindsets right. It’s a pivotal time for this group, and I’m so proud of their character and determination. They really embraced the message I gave them before the game — play for a greater purpose, persevere through adversity, and be united as a team from start to finish.”

Wildcat senior Colton Blue had a big night for the Wildcats as he finished with four goals and also tacked on an assist. Junior Owen Marsh also tallied two goals and two assists.

Senior Emmett White found the back of the net and sophomore Eamon Grove scored his first varsity goal late to ice the victory.

Ryder Erickson and Caleb Feldkamp also had assists on the night, while Brody Bovaird, Jacob Brown, Grant Cannon and Erickson each had a shot on target.

Junior goalie Evan Moreland got the clean sheet, while the back line of Mika McKitrick, Cole Clover, Ethan Sharp and Dan Minster limited Chanute’s opportunities.

“We built on each other’s energy and came out with a huge momentum,” coach Bovaird said. “We got two goals midway through the first half, and then with less than a minute left, we put in a third goal. Then, at the start of the second half, we got another goal within the first 15 seconds. We didn’t stop there — nearly 35 seconds later we got one more. That’s three goals in the span of about two minutes, which has been huge for our guys’ morale.”

Louisburg will try to add to the win column today as the Wildcats travel to Parsons for a varsity-only match.

Wildcats fall to Ottawa in overtime

Louisburg was hoping to start a winning streak Thursday at home against Ottawa and the Wildcats were well on their way.

The Wildcats controlled almost every aspect of the game against the Cyclones, but they feel short in the most important one — the scoreboard

Ottawa scored a late second half goal to force overtime, and then scored in the extra period to hand Louisburg a 3-2 loss.

“We dominated the game in almost every statistical category except the overall score, unfortunately,” Bovaird said. “The guys battled hard, and we are so proud of how they played with grit and strength. We controlled the majority of the game, outshooting our opponent, 23-10, and holding 33 minutes of possession compared to their 25. We recorded 44 pass strings to their 22 and created 9 shots on target to their 4, demonstrating our ability to build play and maintain offensive pressure. 

“However, despite these strong numbers, we struggled to convert our chances into goals, and a few key moments of lost focus cost us the win. It feels pretty bad to lose a game like that, but I think it was a pivotal game for us. We’ll bounce back and keep moving forward.”

Junior Owen Marsh opened the scoring just six minutes into the match on an assist from Colton Blue and the Wildcats had a 1-0 lead at halftime.

Ottawa tied it up midway through the second half, but 10 minutes later, the Wildcats took the lead again when Blue dribbled through the Cyclone defense and took the shot inside the box and found the back of the net.

A few moments later, Ottawa tied it up again and forced overtime. In the extra period, the Cyclone goalie punted the ball to the other end of the field. The ball took a high hop and a Cyclone player took a couple dribbles and put it away for the game-winner.

The Wildcats had nine shots on target, including three from Blue and two from Marsh and Brody Bovaird. Ryder Erickson also had a shot on target.

The Louisburg volleyball team put itself to the test Saturday during the Louisburg Invitational.

The Wildcats went up against five bigger schools during the round-robin tournament and finished with a 3-2 record. When it was all said and done, it was enough to garner themselves a runner-up trophy.

Louisburg earned victories over three Shawnee Mission schools — South, West and East — and suffered losses to eventual champion Olathe North and Basehor-Linwood. It was a strong showing in what started a busy week for the Wildcats.

“We are very proud of our second place finish at our home tournament,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “It’s a tough tournament filled with all 5A and 6A schools aside from us, so we always know that it’s going to be a challenge going into it. Teams throughout the day did seem to be pretty evenly matched as many games went to three sets.

“Overall, Saturday was a good day for our team. It was a good test to see what we can do against tough competition all day long, and how we can bounce back from a rough game in the middle of the day. I think we had some good learning moments throughout the day and we learned more about each other as a team and how we respond in tough situations.”

All those evenly-matched teams provided some drama at the end as there was a 3-way tie for second place when it was all finished. Louisburg came out on top due to win percentage and head-to-head battles.

As it turned out, the Wildcats’ victory over Shawnee Mission South proved to be its most important as South was one of the teams tied with Louisburg at the end of the day.

It was a rocky start for Louisburg as it lost the first set 21-25, but rebounded to win the second 25-18. The Wildcats put together a big rally in the third set and eventually held on for the 30-28 victory.

The Wildcats found themselves down 23-17 in the third set, but junior Delaney Nelsen served six straight points and recorded an ace in that stretch to tie it up at 23-all. 

South had match point three different times after that, but all three times junior Caileigh Kilgore staved off elimination with a kill. The Wildcats eventually held on for the victory and forced a couple South mistakes.

“The match against Shawnee Mission South proved to be one of the most exciting of the day as we went extra points in that final set,” Willer said. “ It did take us a little bit to wake up and get going in the morning, but having that high of an intensity level during the first match of the day was good for us moving forward, and we were able to carry that momentum into the game against Shawnee Mission West as well.”

Louisburg took care of business against Shawnee Mission West, 25-14 and 25-22, before moving on to tough matchup with Olathe North. The Wildcats fell 25-15 and 25-12 to the tournament champion.

Basehor-Linwood was next up for the Wildcats in what proved to be another three-set match. After taking the first set, 25-22, the Wildcats couldn’t quite pull off the upset as they lost the next two, 18-25 and 21-25.

“The loss to Basehor was tough as we were close and went back and forth a bit throughout the whole match, but we did recognize that they are a solid team and we just couldn’t quite get over the deficit we built for ourselves,” Willer said. “It wasn’t fun to lose of course, but we held our own more than in the previous match against Olathe North, so I was happy to see that we put up more of a fight even in the loss.”

The Wildcats had a chance to end their tournament with a winning record against Shawnee Mission East, and they took advantage as they went three sets again. Louisburg won the match 25-19, 17-25 and 25-23 to secure the second place finish.

“Going into the last match of the day, we talked about how we wanted to leave it all out there on the floor and end the day on a positive note,” Willer said. “We rallied around each other and pushed hard to make sure that we ended up on top against a solid Shawnee Mission East team and we were happy to walk out that day knowing we finished on a more positive note than we had seen through most of the day.”

Several different players stepped for Louisburg throughout a long day of volleyball and it started with setter Adelyn Moore. The Wildcat sophomore did a little bit of everything as she led the team with 107 assists on the day and had a team-best 37 digs.

Moore finished with 16 kills, five aces and two blocks. She also distributed the well to several different hitters.

Kilgore and junior Addi Mallett led Louisburg with 29 kills on the day and junior McKenna Lohse was right behind them with 28. Senior Evyn Richardson had 26 kills and led the team in blocks, along with Lohse, with five.

The Wildcats also did a lot of work from behind the service line as the team tallied 29 aces on the day. Senior Ally Brown had strong performance with a team-high 10 aces and Lohse finished with six.

Senior Aspen Coulter and Nelsen each finished the day with four aces. Coulter also tied Moore with a team-high 37 digs, while Brown had 29. 

“Throughout the day, I was happy to see different players step up at different times to lead both verbally and by their actions on the court,” Willer said. “We are working to develop our team identity and I think we are growing closer with each and every game.”

Louisburg is back on the court tonight as the Wildcats will celebrate Senior Night against Spring Hill. Varsity is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.

LA CYGNE — The Louisburg cross country team brought home their fair share of hardware from the Ramsey Invitational last Thursday at Prairie View High School. 

Both teams had their best performance of the season and it all started on the girls side. The Wildcat girls finished second in the team standings with 41 points, 10 points behind Jayhawk-Linn.

Although they didn’t have the numbers to qualify as a team, the Wildcat boys had strong performances of their own as they had three top 10 medalists.

Freshman Hailey Shelton led the Wildcat girls on the Prairie View course as she took seventh overall in 24 minutes and 22 seconds. Teammate Talen McMurray was right behind her in 24:24 in eighth.

Senior Marissa Vallejo also left Prairie View with a medal as she took 10th overall in 24:47. Freshmen Annie Hornberger (25:04), Anna Cotter (25:25) and sophomore Luciana Vallejo  (27:57) took 12th, 14th and 20th, respectively.

“It was a great meet for our girls,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “We had girls really improve as they are understanding how to race. Hailey ran a great race and really moved through the pack in the last 2 kilometers. Talen ran strong as well. We are getting there and hope to be rolling come regionals.”

On the boys side, sophomore Levi Cotter was less than two seconds from winning the race. Cotter medaled for the second straight week as he was second in 18:31, just behind Fort Scott freshman Lincoln Fess.

Sophomore Truman Ellison also finished toward the top of the standings as he took fourth in 18:39, while another sophomore, Spencer Mattison, was 10th in 19:40.

Senior Ben Proctor rounded out the Wildcat team in 27th with a time of 21:53.

“Levi had an amazing race as he ran a controlled the first mile and then really moved through the field to challenge for the win,” Reece said. 

On Saturday, Louisburg senior Jerynce Brings Plenty competed in the one of the most competitive high school cross country meets in the state — the Rim Rock Classic. The meet, which was held at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, brings in the top runners in all classes from across the area.

Brings Plenty battled the field, but an injury hampered him. He still finished the race in 19 minutes and 51 seconds, which was good for 224th out of 306 runners.

“Rim Rock is an amazon course that is challenging,” Reece said. “Jerynce had his own challenge as he cramped up at about 3K, but stuck it out and finished the race. It was not the day we were looking for, but every race cannot be your best.”

The Louisburg team will hit the course once again this Thursday as it competes at the Perry-Lecompton Invitational at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka. Events begin at 5 p.m.

Louisburg was hoping to get out to a quick start against Bonner Springs during Friday’s homecoming game and the Wildcats didn’t disappoint — quarterback Alex Saad made sure of it.

Saad threw five touchdowns passes, and the Wildcats scored 49 unanswered points, in their 57-8v rout of the Braves at Wildcat Stadium.

Louisburg moved its record to 4-0 on the season as the Wildcats continue their perfect start in the Frontier League. 

“We were striving to play a more complete football game after last week and I think we took some steps to approach that goal,” Louisburg coach Drew Harding said. “It was a fun night for sure.”

Saad got in on a lot of that fun as he threw touchdown passes to four different receivers and had his best night of the young season. 

The senior quarterback was nearly perfect as he completed 11 of 12 passes for 211 yards to go along with the five scores. 

“Alex did a really good job,” Harding said. “He is really, really talented. We challenged him to make sure that his feet are set, and when he does that, he generally delivers a really good ball. I think that kind of showed out there against Bonner. He was able to do some stuff in the RPO’s that make it kind of tough on a defense. He had a great game.”

Louisburg got out to a quick start as the Wildcats scored on their opening possession that ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by Ashton Moore. It would be the first of seven unanswered scores.

Saad threw his first touchdown on the next possession as he found tight end Erik Lien wide open in the endzone for a 5-yard scored. 

Senior wideout Myles Vohs was the recipient of Saad’s next two touchdowns. Vohs beat the Bonner Springs secondary for a 27-yard score to put the Wildcats up 21-0 late in the first quarter.

Then in the second quarter, Vohs made a leaping catch at the goal line for a 10-yard score. Vohs finished the game with five catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. 

“That really was an emphasis for us this week was to get off to a good start,” Harding said. “We kind of slept-walked through the first half last week and I think we came out and got two or three stops scored on two of our first three drives offensively. We did a much better job starting the game off.”

Right before halftime, the Wildcats struck again. Saad found a wide open Reid McCaskill for a 45-yard touchdown. 

Senior Conlee Hovey recorded a touchdown from Saad to begin the third quarter, and the reserves got a chance to come in and play the rest of the game. 

Backup quarterback Max Amren replaced Saad and scored two touchdowns, including one on a 42-yard pass to Tate McGreer.

The Wildcat defense was dominant from the opening snap as it allowed just the one score in the fourth quarter.

Moore and senior Brayden Yoder each led the way with seven tackles each and Hovey finished with four. Lucas Swartz and Jimmy DeVary each recorded a sack, while Yoder had two tackles for a loss.

“We challenged our defense to play a complete game and we got better for sure,” Harding said. “We did a good job of being assignment sound and being focused the entire game.”

Louisburg will now find themselves away from home for three straight weeks, and that begins this Friday in an important league matchup against Eudora. 

“Eudora is always really well-coached with good athletes, so it will definitely be a challenge,” Harding said. “They run a flex-bone offense that they are good at running. It has been low-scoring games against them for the last three or four years, so it has always been a battle and I am sure this next one will be as well.”

LOU 21 14 7 15 — 57

BON 0 0 0 8 — 8

SCORING SUMMARY 

First Quarter

L: Ashton Moore 7 run (Blaise Vohs kick)

L: Erik Lien 5 pass from Alex Saad (Vohs kick)

L: Myles Vohs 27 pass from Saad (B. Vohs kick)

Second Quarter

L: M. Vohs 10 pass from Saad (B. Vohs kick)

L: Reid McCaskill 45 pass from Saad (B. Vohs kick)

Third Quarter

L: Conlee Hovey 3 pass from Saad (B. Vohs kick)

L: Tate McGreer 42 pass from Max Amren (B. Vohs kick)

Fourth Quarter

B: Kyle Blanz 5 run (run good)

L: Amren 26 run (Freddy Moreau run)

STATISTICS

RUSHING — Ashton Moore 9-79; Darby Van Eaton 9-52; Max Amren 2-21; Cole Heinrich 2-20; Freddy Moreau 2-14; Bryce Thompson 1-8; Grant Bloustine 1-3

PASSING — Alex Saad 11-12-211; Max Amren 1-1-42

RECEIVING — Myles Vohs 5-113; Conlee Hovey 4-48; Reid McCaskill 1-45; Tate McGreer 1-42; Erik Lien 1-5

TACKLES — Ashton Moore 7, Brayden Yoder 7, Conlee Hovey 4, Russell Wiseman 3, Lucas Swartz 3, Erik Lien 3, Logan Henry 2, Bryce Thompson 2, Jimmy DeVary 2, Miles Meek 2, Tate McGreer 2, Rickey Giles 1, Eil Roth 1, Darby Van Eaton 1, Noah Kush 1, Aidan Meyer 1, Tanner Labrie 1, Gaston Schleicher 1, Johnny Hendrickson 1

After a strong start to its season, the Louisburg boys soccer team hit the toughest part of its schedule last week as the Wildcats squared off against two of the Frontier League’s best.

Louisburg hosted Baldwin last Tuesday, and had to battle the Bulldogs and some rain drops, and ended with a 2-0 loss to Baldwin.

The Wildcats then traveled to Spring Hill on Thursday and could not overcome three penalty kicks in an 8-0 loss to the Broncos. Both Baldwin and Spring Hill have a combined 18-1-1 record on the season.

Louisburg is now 4-4 on the year and the Wildcats are not only having to battle tough opponents, but the injury bug as well. 

“We ran into two exceptional opponents last week with Baldwin and Spring Hill,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Both games were tough losses for us, but with the adversity we faced, we also had great opportunities for growth. Those two will be battling to see who’ll be on top of the League by the end of the season. They’re both poised to make great runs in the post-season, but I think that our losses to them will prepare us to make a great run ourselves.

“It’s like I told the guys after those losses — they don’t define us. We learn, adjust, and come back stronger. We couldn’t be any prouder of the strength and character our guys showed on the field.”

Baldwin took the lead on Louisburg less than four minutes into the match with a goal, but the Wildcats held strong and trailed just 1-0 at halftime.

The Bulldogs added a second goal midway through the second half and the Wildcats were unable to bounce back.

Louisburg goalie Evan Moreland was busy most of the night as he recorded 11 saves and six blocked shots.

The Wildcat attack couldn’t get much going as they tallied six shots, compared to Baldwin’s 29. Senior Colton Blue had five shots and Ryder Erickson had one.

Against Spring Hill, the Broncos scored their first goal 15 minutes into the match, which was their first of seven first half goals. Spring Hill also had three penalty kicks for goals, including one in the second half to put the game away.

Grant Cannon, Owen Marsh and Brody Bovaird had the lone shots of the game for Louisburg.

The Wildcats will try and bounce back tonight as they host Chanute in their first of two matches this week. Varsity is set to begin at approximately 6 p.m.

GIRARD — Fresh off its first Frontier League loss of the season, the Louisburg volleyball team responded in a big way — with a pair of road victories.

On Thursday, the Wildcats traveled to Girard for a triangular with Fort Scott, and despite a slow start, earned a 2-1 win over Girard and a 2-0 victory against Fort Scott.

Louisburg dropped the first set of the night to Girard, 22-25, but responded nicely to win the next two 25-13 and 25-21. The Wildcats continued that momentum against Fort Scott in the 25-12 and 25-9 victory.

“We were happy to come out of Girard with two wins,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “Going on the road is always a challenge, but we were able to pull out a win against a really tough and scrappy Girard team. We definitely didn’t play our best, but Girard played smart and blocked really well too. 

“They are 18-3 on the season and a really strong 3A opponent for us to play so we were glad to get a little gritty to pull off the win. Then, we were really able to find our groove against Fort Scott for the second win of the night.”

It was a slow start, but the Wildcats were able to get back in it thanks to their efforts from behind the service line — more specifically Delaney Nelsen. 

Nelsen finished the match with six of the team’s 10 aces and the Wildcats made it difficult on Girard. Senior Aspen Coulter and junior McKenna Lohse each added two of their own.

“Some big positives on the night were us focusing on winning the serve and pass game, and buying into that need for our team,” Willer said. “It took us a little while to get there, but once we settled into that I think we were able to see some great plays made.”

Offensively, the Wildcats had a strong outing as sophomore setter Adelyn Moore led the way with 33 assists against Girard as they had a balanced attack at the net.

Junior Caileigh Kilgore led Louisburg with 10 kills, while senior Katie McKain and Lohse each finished with eight. 

Defensively, senior Evyn Richardson and Kilgore led the way at the net with seven combined blocks, with four of those from Richardson.

Coulter, the team’s libero, led the Wildcat back row with 10 digs, while Addi Mallett, Ally Brown and Kilgore each had five digs.

Against Fort Scott, Louisburg had another balanced attack at the net as Mallett, Kilgore and Lohse each led the team with six kills and Moore added four.

The Wildcats also had nine aces on the match, including three from Coulter, along with two from Brown, Moore and Lohse.

Brown led the Louisburg back row with eight digs and Coulter added seven in the win. 

Following its home tournament last Saturday, the Wildcats are in the middle of a stretch that sees them play 12 matches in eight days. It continues today when they travel to Paola for a Frontier League dual.

“This is a very important stretch for us,” Willer said. “That being said, we try to really only focus on one game at a time. This past weekend, we had all 5A and 6A opponents, followed by two big league games with Paola and Spring Hill during the week, and then we finish off next weekend at the Ottawa tournament where we will see some really good 4A and 5A teams as well. 

“While winning every game is the ultimate goal, we want to continue to focus on improving as a team through each one. We learn more and more about ourselves and the things we can do to get better each game, so I am looking forward to seeing how this team grows and responds to the challenges of this intense part of the schedule.”

Wildcats lose first league match of season to Eudora

Louisburg faced its toughest Frontier League challenge to date last Tuesday as the Wildcats hosted Eudora, and while they battled the Cardinals, they came up short 25-17, 25-21 and 25-23 loss.

“I think our team played with a lot of heart,” Willer said. “That’s a really, really solid team, and we fought hard throughout each of the three sets to compete the best we could. There were some weaknesses of ours that got exploited a little bit, but that gave us some things to focus on in practice in the following days. Overall, we battled hard and I am proud of the way we played.”

Louisburg had a balanced attack at the net as junior Caileigh Kilgore led the way with six kills, while senior Evyn Richardson, and juniors McKenna Lohse and Addi Mallett each had five. Sophomore Adelyn Moore tallied 20 assists on the night.

Richardson led the Wildcats with four blocks on the night, while junior Rylee Telken had two. Mallett led the back row with 11 digs on the night, while senior Ally Brown was also in double figures with 10. 

However, the loss was not the most important thing for Louisburg that night. The Wildcats hosted Dig Pink Night in an effort to raise money for a local family battling cancer.

In all, the team was able to raise more than $1,200 that they will able to present to the family. 

“Our Dig Pink Night was a huge success and we were able to raise a lot of money for a local family who is currently fighting the good fight against cancer,” Willer said. “We had some amazing donors and participants in our serving competition, and our surprise auction was a great addition thanks to a generous donation.

“Every one of us knows someone who has had their life turned upside down by cancer, so it’s a really meaningful thing for our players to get to dedicate the night to those loved ones. Our community showed up big time for us that night and supported us the whole way through, making it very clear that Louisburg is a special place to be.”

Homecoming week at Louisburg High School kicked off Monday and events are in full swing. With something going on every day this week, it will be a busy time for students. All of it is, of course, centered around the crowning of the 2024 fall king and queen. Eight students were selected as nominees and here are their names and profiles.

The crowning will take place on Friday before the Wildcats’ home football game with Bonner Springs. Kickoff for that game is set for 7 p.m., with the introduction of the candidates and their parents at 6:30 p.m. Crowning will be at halftime. Good luck to all the participants and make sure to come out on Friday to support the Wildcat football team if you have the opportunity.

Jazzy Leach

Jazzy is the granddaughter of Teresia and Fredrick Gilyard. Jazzy has participated in FCA, AV, the musical and forensics for four years. She has also been a member of FCCLA, Interact Club, select choir and CTE/Rotary Rep for three years, along with student council and science club for two years and concert choir and senior advisory for one year. After graduation, Jazzy is undecided on a university but plans on attending college to study nursing to become a labor and delivery nurse practitioner.

Emmett White

Emmett is the son of Kelli and Nick White. Emmett has participated in soccer, track and the musical for four years. He has been a member of FBLA and National Honor Society for two years, along with basketball and football for one year. Following graduation, Emmett plans to attend Creighton University.

Lyndi Anderson

Lyndi is the daughter of Lisa and Jared Anderson. Lyndi has participated in Jazzy Cats and the musical for four years. He has been a member of select choir for three years, along with National Honor Society for two years and FCCLA for one. After graduation, Lyndi plans to study psychology and women’s health, but is unsure on a university.

Conlee Hovey

Conlee is the son of Jodi Hovey and Shane Hovey. Conlee has participated in football for four years, basketball for three years and baseball for one. Following graduation, Conlee plans to play football in college but is currently undecided on a school.

Cate Finch

Cate is the daughter of Logan and Jessica Finch. Cate has participated in Jazzy Cats, student council, Interact Club and the musical for four years. She has been a member of select choir for three years, National Honor Society for two and senior advisory for one year. Following graduation, Cate plans to study general psychology with a concentration in healthcare, but is undecided on a university.

Ashton Moore

Ashton is the son of Tommy and Alison Moore. Ashton has participated in football, wrestling, track, student council and choir for four years. He has also been a member of National Honor Society for two years. Following graduation, Ashton plans to attend Kansas State University and play football.

Addy Stohs

Addy is the daughter of Kelly and Aaron Stohs. Addy has participated in basketball, softball and band for four years. She has been a member of FCCLA and select choir for three years, and National Honor Society and Suicide Prevention Project for two years. After graduation, Addy plans to study to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner but is undecided on a college.

Myles Vohs

Myles is the son of Kevin and Cassi Vohs. Myles has participated in football and basketball for four years, track for three years and baseball for one year. Following graduation, Myles plans to attend college for track and field and is undecided on a major.

The Kansas High School Activities Association released the classifications for the 2024-25 school year and there was very little movement in the upper classes from a year ago.

There were no changes to Class 6A and 5A, while there was just one change in Class 4A. Topeka-Hayden has made the move back up to 4A, while Scott Community moved down from 4A to 3A.

Louisburg reported an enrollment of 561, which puts the Wildcats in about the middle of the pack in Class 4A. Bishop Miege has the highest 4A enrollment with 692, while Bonner Springs has the lowest 5A enrollment at 738. The lowest enrollment in Class 4A in Hugoton with 317 students.

One other Frontier League school of note is Spring Hill, who reported eighth highest enrollment in Class 5A with 1,127 students. Ottawa (653), Tonganoxie (650), Eudora (581) and Paola (564) also had higher enrollments than Louisburg.

There was a lot of movement on the lower level classifications. Belle Plaine, Garden Plain, Jayhawk-Linn and Wathena all moved up to Class 3A. Douglass, Leon-Bluestem, Phillipsburg and Rossville and moved down to Class 2A.