LENEXA — For the third straight season, Sabra Brueggen left the Class 5-1A state swim meet with some hardware.

The Louisburg junior showed why she is among the state’s best as she earned a fourth place medal in the 200-yard individual medley — her first ever state medal in that event — Saturday at the Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center.

The 2-day meet provided a lot of ups, and some downs, for the Louisburg swim program, but for Brueggen it was nice to return to the medal stand.

“I was very happy and content with my 200 IM swims last weekend,” Brueggen said. “Not only did I set a new personal best time, but I also walked away with fourth place in an event that is not one of my primaries.”

Brueggen, who shaved six seconds off her previous best time of the season after the preliminaries Friday, sat with the fourth-best time going into the finals.

Then on Saturday, she followed it up with her best swim ever as she set a personal best time of 2 minutes and 11.95 seconds to take fourth.

Brueggen continued her strong performance in the 100 backstroke prelims Friday as she recorded a time of 58.56 seconds — her best of the season — and had the second fastest time going into the finals.

She had a medal all but wrapped up it seemed, however Saturday met with disappointment for Brueggen. She was disqualified after she surpassed the 15 meter mark underwater.

The 100 backstroke was an event she had medaled in the last two seasons, but a mistake stopped an attempt at three straight.

“I was very excited going into day two ranked second in the 100 back,” Brueggen said. “However, finals did not go as planned. After medaling my past two seasons in this event, getting disqualified in it was very tough mentally and was not the way I wanted to end the successful weekend. By surpassing the 15 meter mark with my underwaters, I forfeited my ultimate goals to end the season with two state medals and making the all-state team.”

It made it difficult for Brueggen as she still had one race left to swim — the 400 freestyle relay. On Friday, the team of Brueggen, Cadence Weichert, Ella Bockelman and Janie Harth dropped nearly two seconds off their best time and qualified for the consolation finals in 14th in 4:07.92.

In the consolation finals, the team ended up finishing 15th overall in 4:08.70.

Weichert, Brueggen, Harth and Bockelman also made the consolation finals in the 200 medley relay. In the prelims on Friday, the team dropped more than four seconds off their best time to take 12th in 2:03.02. 

In the finals, the four Wildcats swimmers finished in 12th again in 2:03.75. It was a memorable meet all around for the Louisburg team.

“The success that came through our relays this past weekend allowed for lasting memories to be made,” Brueggen said. “To be able to swim at the state level with these teammates was truly an unforgettable experience. Making it back to the consolation finals in both these relays was also very exciting and I can’t wait to see how much relay success we can have next year at the state level, hopefully leading to everyone bringing home a state medal.”

The Wildcats also swam in a pair of other events on Friday in prelims.

Harth competed in the 50 freestyle and took 24th overall in 27.78 seconds, while Harth, Weichert, Bockelman and Talen McMurray swam in the 200 freestyle relay and finished 22nd in 1:56.

EUDORA — The Louisburg softball team was hoping for a big run through the postseason.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats saw that run end a little prematurely.

Louisburg, the No. 10 seed, traveled to Eudora for the Class 4A regional tournament on May 14 and squared off with No. 7 Tonganoxie. Despite getting out to an early lead, Louisburg’s season came to a close with a 5-1 loss to the Chieftains.

“Going into any regional, you have to expect you are going to get the best version of any team,” Louisburg coach Nick Chapman said. “That’s what we got from Tongie. They hit the ball really well. We would make an adjustment and they did something else to find a way to keep their offense rolling. 

“We played top notch defense. We turned three double plays. We made all of our fundamental defensive plays. Izzy and Megan pitched really well. It came down to they hit the ball and we didn’t.”

The Wildcats got off to a good start in the first inning. Rylee Hickey led off with a walk, while Jenna Cauthon and Megan Quinn followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases.

Hickey went on to score on a wild pitch and Louisburg took a 1-0 lead.

Tonganoxie answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the first inning. The game remained tied till the bottom of the fourth inning when the Chieftains scored three to take a 4-1 lead. 

The Chieftains added another run in the sixth and the Wildcats were unable to get much offense after that first inning.

Louisburg senior Izzy Moreland got the start for Louisburrg and pitched four innings and gave up four runs and struck out four. Quinn came in for the final two innings of relief.

The Wildcats ended their season with an 11-15 record, which was the most wins in a decade, and they had to say goodbye to a 5-member senior class in Moreland, Quinn, Cauthon, Hickey and Ashley Moreau — who all have been varsity starters since their freshmen season.

“I’m so proud of this team and the season we had,” Chapman said. “We had our banquet to celebrate our season and I realized we beat all but 2 teams in our league this year. That’s pretty sweet. We lost by 1 to a 6A state tournament team in Blue Valley West. We could have beat Lansing, a pretty solid 5A team that gave Spring Hill fits. We beat the teams we should have beaten and we won a lot of close games that could have gone either way. Eleven wins is nothing to be upset about. 

“These seniors have been put in a lot of work to help us get to this point and they are handing it off to the underclassmen to continue that work and I believe we are only going to get better from here.”

EUDORA — The Louisburg girls track and field team brought home a lot of hardware from the Class 4A regional meet Thursday and will be well represented at state.

The Lady Cats earned three individual regional champions and qualified for state in eight events during the competition held at Eudora High School.

As a team, Louisburg finished fourth in the team standings with 70 points. Eudora won the regional title with 160, while Baldwin was regional runner-up with 76.5.

“Overall it was a good day for the girls track team,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “They competed well in all aspects of the meet.”

Louisburg senior Maddy Carpenter-Ross led things off as she became the team’s first state qualifier of the day as she won the regional title in the pole vault.

Carpenter-Ross cleared 11 feet, 6 inches to win the event by nearly a foot. She also kept her undefeated meet record alive as she heads back to state as the defending state champion.

“Maddy makes a difficult event look easy,” Reece said. “She is a technician and is never satisfied, which makes her hard to beat as she is going to bring everything she’s got each meet. I’m hoping for a great state meet for her and seeing her bring home the gold.”

The field event success continued as a pair of Louisburg throwers had their best day in the javelin.

Senior Katie Elpers recorded a personal best throw of 129-10 to win the competition and earned her first regional title. 

Elpers won’t be the only Louisburg thrower going to state as freshman Adelyn Moore finished fourth with a throw of 125-4, which was a personal best. That toss came on her final attempt, which jumped her into fourth place and earned a state spot by an inch.

“Katie and Adelyn threw well on Thursday,” Reece said. “Both of them throwing a PR was the goal and then let good things happen and they did. Both qualifying for state is a testament to their hard work and Coach G (Alex Gentges) getting them there.”

On the track, Louisburg got another regional champion thanks to legs of four athletes.

The 4×100-meter relay of Kendall Crossley, Emma Vohs, Addi Mallett and Suzanna Dansel won the race going away with a time of 50.49 seconds.

“The 4×100 did an awesome job,” Reece said. “They continue to hit their handoffs and that is key to the success they have been having in the last few weeks.”

Crossley will be a busy person at state as she qualified in three events. Along with the 4×100 relay, Crossley will also compete in the 200- and 400-meter dashes.

The Louisburg sophomore was third in the 200 dash in 27.33 seconds and finished fourth in the 400 dash in 1:03.55.

“Even though she is nursing a foot issue, Kendall stepped up and ran great,” Reece said. “Qualifying in two individual events and a relay shows how tough she is. She will be ready for state.”

Dansel ran a strong race in the 100-meter dash as she took second in 12.77 seconds and will make first appearance at state in the event, after helping the 4×100 relay to a state medal last season as a freshman.

The Lady Cats will also send a second relay to state. The 4×800 relay of Vohs, Erin Apple, Maddy Rhamy and Moore took fourth with a personal best of 10:31.

Freshman Caroline Apple found success on the track and earned a spot at state in her first season. Apple finished fourth in the 300-meter hurdles in 17.45 seconds.

Louisburg will travel to Wichita for the Class 4A Kansas State Track and Field Championships that will start at 8 a.m. on Friday and will run through Saturday at Cessna Stadium. The top eight in each event will earn a state medal.

Other results are: 

200 dash: Addi Mallett, 6th, 28.18

400 dash: Emma Vohs, 9th, 1:07; Presley Yows, 10th, 1:08

3,200 run: Maddy Rhamy, 5th, 12:37

100 hurdles: Caroline Apple, 5th, 17.45; Kate Frederick, 6th, 17.50

4×400 Relay: 5th, 4:22

High Jump: Apple, 8th, 4-8; Breck Nielsen, 9th, 4-8

Shot Put: McKenna Lohse, 5th, 35-7; Kinley Scott, 9th, 30-2.25; Maddie Yoder, 15th, 27-3

Discus: Lohse, 7th, 94-9; Cora Wulfkuhle, 15th, 79-0

Javelin: Lohse, 12th, 83-2

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week nine of the spring sports season, sponsored by Landmark National Bank.

ALEX SAAD, JUNIOR, BASEBALL

Louisburg junior Alex Saad put together his best performance of the season when his team needed him the most. The Wildcat starting pitcher got a complete game shutout over Parsons last Tuesday in the Class 4A regional semifinals. Saad pitched seven innings and gave up just two hits and struck out eight as the Wildcats advanced to the Class 4A state tournament.

On the season, Saad has been the Wildcats’ No. 1 starter. He leads the team with a 7-1 record to go along with a team-high 40 strikeouts. Saad also has a 3.83 earned run average 38 innings pitched. He and the rest of the Wildcats will compete at the state tournament Thursday when they face off with Paola in the first round. It is the Wildcats’ first state tournament appearance since 2009.

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

Previous Winners:

Week 1: Jack Anderson

Week 2: Nathaniel Lamm

Week 3: Derek Frederick

Week 4: Izzy Moreland

Week 5: Maddy Carpenter-Ross

Week 6: Jaden Bentz

Week 7: Cooper Wingfield

Week 8: Sabra Brueggen

EUDORA — The Louisburg boys track and field team might not have left with a plaque, but the Wildcats will be well-represented as this weekend’s state meet.

Louisburg qualified for state in nine different events during the Class 4A regional meet at Eudora High School and also had a regional champion. 

As a team, the Wildcats finished fourth in the team standings with 72 points. Bishop Miege won the regional title with 130 points and Eudora was second with 106.

“It was hard to tell from watching, because the level of competition was crazy good, but when I started hearing times and marks, almost everyone got a personal record or got close to their personal best,” Louisburg coach Andy Wright said. “The boys side of the regional was stacked with competition. Some years it just happens that way, but if you came out of that regional, there is a good chance of medaling at state.”

Louisburg junior Cooper Wingfield provided the Wildcats with their lone regional championship. Wingfield won the pole vault competition going away as he cleared 15 feet to take gold.

Wingfield’s teammate, junior Jacob Brown, was right behind him as he cleared 12 feet, 7 inches to finish as the regional runner-up.

“Cooper did well,” Wright said. “He had good attempts at his PR. I always like the way Eudora showcases pole vault by bringing in a raised runaway in the middle of the football field. It makes it fun for spectators as well. It also gives them a good taste at being in front of a large crowd.

“Cooper can be up there with the best at the state track meet. It’s going to take his best performance to win it, but I know he will give it his best.”

Junior Gavin Lohse qualified for state in two events thanks to a pair of fourth place finishes. 

Lohse snuck in the long jump as he took fourth with a mark of 21-3.25. He later qualified in the 100-meter dash as he finished fourth with a personal best of 11.26 seconds.

“I think the 100 was his best start yet, and it really helped him be able to get in there and qualify,” Wright said. “He was not ranked top four going in, but that is why you run the race, and he put one together when it mattered.”

Louisburg was also able to qualify a pair of relays and saved its best for last. The 4×400-meter relay of Hunter Heinrich, Aidan Meyer, Blaise Vohs and Emmett White ended the meet with a third place finish as it ran a personal best time of 3:28.

The Wildcats also qualified for state in the 4×800 relay and did so before the race even started. The team of Jerynce Brings Plenty, Colton Blue, Myles Vohs and Blaise Vohs took fourth in 9:34.

“The 4×8 did what they needed to do with only four teams at regionals,” Wright said. “Everyone that was in the 4×8 had more events to compete in and they were told to just finish the race. We were already in, and knew we needed to give our best in all events due to the level of competition there for boys. 

“In the 4×4, we knew, we had to run our best to get in, and they didn’t disappoint. They improved their time by over a second.”

Along with their strong performance in 4×400, Heinrich and Meyer also qualified in individual events. Heinrich took third in the 400-meter dash in 52.21 seconds and Meyer was fourth in a personal best of 52.30.

Also on the track, senior Noah Cotter qualified for state in the 3,200-meter run as he recorded a time of 10:29 and took fourth.

In the field events, senior Jaymes Melton, who has seen improvement throughout the year in the shot put, saw his hard work pay off. Melton took third with a throw of 47-9.25

“Jaymes has been improving every week, and has been working so hard,” Wright said. “It’s just great to see a kid like Jaymes have his hard work pay off and get him to the big stage.”

Also in the throws, senior Ben O’Bryan had a good day in the discus as he finished fourth with a throw of 140-2.

Now the Wildcats will prepare for the state meet in Wichita, which begins at 7:40 a.m. on Friday and will continue into Saturday. The top eight in each event will earn a state medal.

“We are excited to go see where we are at,” Wright said. “It’s always tough, but we will do our best and see who can rise to the occasion.”

Other results are: 

200 dash: Caleb Feldkamp, 5th, 23.09; Gage Feldkamp, 7th, 23.55; Josiah McCaskill, 15th, 24.58

400 dash: Emmett White, 10th, 53.19

800 run: Blaise Vohs, 5th, 2:04; Colton Blue, 8th, 2:06

1,600 run: Jerynce Brings Plenty, 6th, 4:34; Noah Cotter, 9th, 4:54

300 hurdles: Jay McCaskill, 12th, 47.34

4×100 Relay: 5th, 43.97

Long Jump: Myles Vohs, 5th, 21-1.50; Wyatt Holland, 10th, 19-1.75

Shot Put: Miles Meek, 8th, 42-2.25; Ben O’Bryan, 16th, 37-1.25

Discus: Jaymes Melton, 6th, 132-11; Johnny Hendrickson, 15th, 110-4

Javelin: Tasen Ellison, 5th, 158-5; Lane Cunningham, 9th, 150-11; Brayden Yoder, 11th, 144-3

For the last two seasons, the Louisburg girls soccer team has seen heartbreak in the Class 4-1A regional championship.

Losses to Topeka-Hayden and Bishop Miege have prevented the Wildcats from that regional title, with their last coming in 2021. 

It is elusive no more.

The No. 1 seeded Wildcats shutout No. 8 Maranatha Academy, 2-0, to win the Class 4-1A regional title Thursday at Wildcat Stadium. It was a dominating effort from start to finish as the Wildcats improved their record to 13-4-1 on the season.

“This was a preseason goal of ours,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “We fell short last year and we wanted to do as much as we could in the regular season to control our own destiny. The girls put a lot of work in and were focused to get to this game and get a win. They definitely earned this one and it was good to see them enjoy it.”

The Wildcats dominated possession from the opening whistle as they peppered the Maranatha defense with 22 shots on goal, with 12 of those coming in the first half.

Junior Baileigh Johnson got the Wildcats on the board late in the first half as she scored on an assist from freshman Ellia Gibbons and Louisburg took a 1-0 lead at halftime.

The Wildcats built themselves a little cushion in the second half as senior Lexi Hampton found the back of the net on an assist thanks to junior Rowan Yows.

“It was odd because on paper we controlled the game with probably 70-75 percent possession,” York said. “We just sometimes have problems figuring out how to score. We have good opportunities, we just need to be a little more refined. I mean we had several go off the post or others were just wide. We knew Maranatha wasn’t going to score on us, so it was good stay patient and work the ball around to get good looks.”

Defensively, the Wildcats limited Maranatha’s chances as senior goalie Macy Lemke earned the clean sheet with two saves. The back line of Hailey Sword, Jaden Bentz, Lila Edwards and Faith Sewell turned away any kind of attack as well.

“We have one of the more talented defensive groups we have had in a long time,” York said. “We let in the least amount of regular season goals, I think, as we have given up just 14 goals in 16 games coming in. We aren’t scoring in big lumps as we have in the past. I think we scored 21 more goals last year, but we had more wins this year, so it has been a different year, but a successful one.”

No matter what happens moving forward, York wants his team to make sure they enjoy what they have accomplished so far this season.

“I try to make sure they understand to enjoy the moment and how special it is to win a regional title,” York said. “There are a lot of schools who would love to have the success we have had. They really did accomplish something and you like to see them celebrate these types of wins.”

Louisburg will now square off with Bishop Miege in the state quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Wildcat Stadium. It will be a rematch of last year’s regional title game, where Miege ended the Wildcats’ season. 

The Stags have also won the last seven state championships, so York knows the task will be a challenging one for his team. 

“Miege is fast and has a lot of skill,” York said. “They know how to take lumps and they learn that playing such a hard schedule. They have depth against 4A schools that they can run out and have ability to wear you down. If you don’t make them pay for the mistakes, you don’t get second chances. We will definitely be tested. I just want the girls take it to them the best that they can, and if we can have a good day and some luck, it should be a competitive game.”

CHANUTE — For most of the season, the Louisburg golf team has been toward the top of the team standings in many of its tournaments.

The Wildcats were hoping to do the same in their most important meet Tuesday, the Class 4A regional at Stone Creek Golf Course in Chanute.

Unfortunately for Louisburg, the course got the better of the Wildcats as they saw their season come to an end. Louisburg finished fifth in the team standings with a 385 in the 9-team meet.

Louisburg was also unable to qualify anyone for state individually as many of the Wildcats struggled to get a hang of the Chanute course.

Still, it was a positive season for a roster that features just one senior as the Wildcats racked up several team and individual honors throughout the year.

“The Louisburg golfers had a great season,” Louisburg coach Brian Burns said. “Regionals was tough for a few that didn’t get to play the course beforehand, even though they changed the tee boxes and hole locations to be as tough as they could. Our guys seem to struggle in the rough and some of the bunkers, and could not get past some of their bad holes and get focused again. I had a pretty young squad that will learn how to handle the pressure better next year.”

The top three in each regional qualified for state. Bishop Miege won the team title with a 336 and Chanute was second on its home course with a 338. Fort Scott also qualified for state in the third with a 364.

Senior Cole Mynsted, junior Garrison Bloustine and sophomore Matt Stohs each led the Wildcats with a 96 on the day, which was good for a tie for 19th overall.

Junior Josh Holtzen was next on the team with a 97 in 22nd, while juniors Derek Frederick and Sam Frederick each carded a 98 to finish in a tie for 25th.

Chanute’s Cooper Lucke won the tournament with a 79, while Fort Scott’s Caleb Hall was second an 80.

The current members of the Louisburg baseball team couldn’t remember the last time the Wildcats made the state tournament even if they tried.

That’s because they were just wee toddlers the last time the Wildcats earned a spot a state — 2009 to be exact. 

These players are going to have a hard time forgetting this one.

For the first time in 15 years, Louisburg is headed back to the state tournament after the Wildcats put together a convincing 10-3 victory over Wamego in the Class 4A regional championship last Tuesday at Lewis-Young Park.

The Wildcats also defeated Parsons, 8-0, in the regional semifinal to put together what was a dominating performance from top to bottom.

“This is just amazing,” Louisburg coach Kade Larson said. “To see how much work these guys have put in, then to come out and get the job done, it is pretty surreal. We had a bunch of guys step up and do exactly what they needed to do. They played great defense, pitched great and everyone in the dug out was into the game. It was a great win.

“It has been awhile and it has been a long time coming. We have had some great teams and this team finally pushed through and got it done.”

Although the Wildcats pounded out 18 runs in the two games, it all started on the mound.

Junior Alex Saad got the start for the Wildcats against Parsons and gave his team the performance they needed to advance. Saad pitched a complete game shutout, gave up two hits and struck out eight.

“I think I threw pretty good,” Saad said. “My last couple of outings have been kinda rough and I haven’t been throwing enough strikes. My goal was to just throw some strikes and let my defense work behind me and we got some good results. Won the first game and it couldn’t be better.”

Another junior, Meade Rutherford, got the start in the championship game against Wamego and gave the Wildcats the performance they were hoping for. Rutherford pitched 5 2/3 innings, gave up one earned run, allowed five hits and struck out five.

“I threw very relaxed,” Rutherford said. “I wanted to go deep into the game, and I knew that if I just threw strikes that my defense would have my back. My 2-seamer worked really well, and although my velocity wasn’t where I wanted it, I thought I had good movement and it was working. (Catcher) Danny (Napier) and I were on the same page and he did a great job behind the plate. Even if I gave up a couple runs, I knew our hitters were going to get some runs for me.

“I wasn’t nervous at all. Based on the energy we had from our last game, I knew if we played our game that we had it. I knew that if I come and do my job, the offense would do their job and they did.”

Although it took a couple innings to get going, the Wildcat bats heated up against Wamego at the perfect time. 

Wamego took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the third inning, before the Louisburg bats broke through with three runs in the third and then six more in the fourth inning to all but put the game away.

Junior Luke Schultz and senior Jackson Howard each had two hits and 2 RBIs to lead the way for Louisburg, while Declan Battle and Danny Napier each had RBI hits as well.

Taking a 3-1 lead into the fourth inning, Battle brought his teammates together in the dugout pleading for more runs and they answered the call.

“Wamego had a ton of energy and then they scored first and we didn’t have the energy they did for those first couple of innings,” Battle said. “Then we were able to score three and that definitely set the tone I think. I brought the guys together in the dugout the next inning and told them we need to score more and we just put it on them. Then all of a sudden we got 10 runs and we are going to state. It is pretty cool. 

Sophomore Bristol Barbour opened the fourth inning with a single and a stolen base, but then faced with two outs, the Wildcats came through in a big way.

Battle got it started with an RBI single and stole second. He later scored on a Schultz single, who would score on a double from Napier. Howard added a single and pinch-runner Rylan Carty scored on a Wamego error.

The Wildcats ended the inning with a bang as senior Jack Anderson hit a 2-run home run that inched over the right field fence to give Louisburg a 9-1 lead.

“I honestly didn’t think it was going out,” Anderson said. “I thought it was going to get caught, but I guess I back spun it enough for it to carry a little further. I will take it for sure. It was very exciting. To see everyone hyped for me at home plate, it was just a great feeling.”

After Rutherford exited with two outs in the sixth, Battle came in for relief and got a strikeout for the final out. He got two quick outs in the seventh, before running into a little trouble, but got the strikeout for the final out of the game and the celebration ensued.

“It was great to be able to come in with two outs and strike that first batter out,” Battle said. “Then I got two outs easy, but then I kind of lost it a little bit. It definitely felt good to be able to finish the game with Danny and striking that last guy out. It just felt great.”

It took a little while for the Wildcat bats to get going against Parsons, but they eventually whittled away at the Vikings with two runs in the third and fourth innings, three in the fifth and another in the sixth to all but seal the win.

Barbour had a big day at the plate with two doubles and an RBI, while Battle finished with an RBI triple. Senior Brody McGreer contributed an RBI double, while senior Nathaniel Lamm and Howard also had RBI base hits. Rutherford also had a double and a run scored.

After capturing a Frontier League title and a regional championship, the Wildcats have their eyes set on a state title.

Louisburg (19-6) earned the No. 4 seed at the state tournament and will meet a familiar foe in Paola as the Panthers are the No. 5 seed. The game will take place at 1:15 p.m. on Thursday at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina.

The winner will advance to play two more games on Friday.

“Everything stays the same,” Larson said. “You throw strikes, play great defense, have great team at-bats. Ever since we lost to Basehor to end the year, we just told the guys you go win a game, then you get another. That is our motto going into state and we will see what happens.”

Win or lose, it will be a memorable experience for the entire Wildcat team and they are looking forward to the challenge.

“I have played baseball for as long as I can remember,” Anderson said. “Growing up, you have tournaments and stuff, and you would win them every now and then, but they don’t really mean a whole lot. But being with the team that we have now, being able to put our year up on the wall where it says ‘Regional Champions,’ is a very good feeling. I really think we can go all the way and I know that we can do it.

“Every team (at state) is there for a reason. I believe if we play our best that we can beat anyone in the state, but that is what we are going to have to do — play our best.”

The Louisburg girls swim team is becoming more and more of a fixture at the state level and the Wildcats will be well-represented again at the Class 5-1A state meet this weekend.

Five Wildcats will compete among the best the state has to offer as they try to bring home state medals. Juniors Sabra Brueggen, Janie Harth and Cadence Weichert, along with freshmen Ella Bockelman and Talen McMurray, will hit the waters at the Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center in Lenexa beginning Friday morning.

“The level of anticipation is crazy at this point,” coach Mary Argeropoulos said. “We are so proud of these hard working ladies. They have pushed and pushed this season, and in previous seasons, to put themselves in the place they find themselves. It’s certainly not by accident.”

Brueggen has the most state experience in the group as this will be her third state meet. Last season, she came home with two state medals and earned another one as a freshman.

She will swim in the preliminaries of the 200-yard individual medley, along with the 100 backstroke — an event she has medaled in the last two seasons.

“I am so excited to compete at state again this year, and I am even more excited to see how much success we can put together in our three relays that are competing,” Brueggen said. “This weekend I am hoping to swim personal best times in all of my events as well as medal top eight in my individuals and maybe even a relay.”

As for Harth, she will just be the second Wildcat in school history to participate in an individual event as she qualified in the 50 freestyle in 27.22 seconds.

Harth, along with Weichert, participated in the state meet last season in a pair of relays with Brueggen. They will do the same again this season.

Brueggen, Harth, Weichert and freshman Ella Bockelman will swim the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay. They are currently sitting with the 22nd and 17th fastest times, respectively.

McMurray will join Harth, Weichert and Bockelman in the 200 freestyle relay as they are currently 19th.

“We have been laser-focused in these last few weeks, nailing down all the fine details of our swims and relay pieces,” Argeropoulos said. “We are expecting fast swims with beautiful exchanges as Cadence, Janie and Sabra introduce the freshmen girls to state competition. We are right within striking distance for relays to place in the top 16 and will want each swimmer to put together their best during prelims.  

“It’s truly thrilling to have Janie join the fastest girls in the state in the 50 Free and we’d love to see an all time personal best from her on Friday. Sabra is capable of repeating on the medal podium in both of her events this weekend and we look forward to another great backstroke race and can’t wait to see how she puts together her new try at the 200 IM.”

Although Brueggen has experienced a lot of success individually at the state level, she is looking forward to seeing what she can accomplish with her teammates.

“I am so excited for all five of the Louisburg girls to get experience and swim at the state meet,” Brueggen said. “We worked hard all season to get these state cuts and to actually accomplish them means that we now have the opportunity to make lasting memories together at this competitive meet.”

Prelims begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, with the finals and consolation finals beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

EUDORA — It may have not finished atop the team standings at the Frontier League Invitational on Thursday in Eudora, but the Louisburg track and field teams still left with plenty of hardware.

The Wildcats came away with five individual league champions, three on the boys side and two on the girls.

Senior Maddy Carpenter-Ross and junior Cooper Wingfield each captured league pole vault titles. Junior Gavin Lohse won the long jump and senior Hunter Heinrich won the 400-meter dash.

Also on the girls side, the 4×100 relay of Suzanna Dansel, Kendall Crossley, Emma Vohs and Addi Mallett captured a league crown as well.

The Louisburg boys finished third in the team standings with 100 points and Spring Hill won the league with 137 points.

“League was one of our better meets in regard to how we competed as a team,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “We scored points in 15 out of the 18 events. We are also finally getting close to getting everyone healthy and prepared for regionals. It’s the right time for it to start coming together with our relays and individual events.”

As for the girls, the Wildcats finished in fourth place with 62.5 points. Spring Hill also won league on the girls side with 138 points.

“League went well,” Louisburg girls coach John Reece said. “We had some bright moments with more personal records set and improvements on season best times. We have definitely set ourselves up to qualify several to continue on to state.”

Wingfield and Carpenter-Ross continued their dominance in the pole vault and both cruised to easy victories. Wingfield cleared 14 feet, 9 inches to win by almost two feet and teammate Jacob Brown was third overall with a personal best of 13 feet.

Carpenter-Ross, the defending 4A state champion, stayed undefeated on the season as she won a league title with a clearance of 11 feet.

Lohse also picked up a league championship in the long jump with a leap of 20-11, while taking sixth in the 100 dash in 11.32. Teammate Myles Vohs was right behind him as he set a personal record of 20-8.5 to finish as the league-runner-up.

On the track, Heinrich won the league title in the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.02 seconds. The Wildcats had three of the top four spots in the event as Emmett White was second at 53.33 and Aidan Meyer was fourth in 53.70.

The Louisburg girls 4×100-meter relay had one of their better races of the season as Dansel, Crossley, Mallett and Emma Vohs won in 50.97 seconds.

Dansel and Crossley also racked up points in the sprints. Dansel was second in the 100-meter dash in 12.67 seconds, while Crossley was third in the 200 dash in a personal best time of 27.26 seconds. Crossley also took fourth in the 400 dash in 1 minute and 3 seconds.

Also on the track for the girls, freshman Caroline Apple was fifth in the 300-meter hurdles in 52.97 seconds and senior Maddy Rhamy was sixth in the 3,200 run in 12:53.

Rhamy also helped the 4×800-meter relay of Adelyn Moore, Erin Apple and Emma Vohs to a fourth place finish in 11:03. Moore, Mallett, Vohs and Presley Yows took sixth in the 4×400 relay.

On the track, senior Katie Elpers set a new personal best in the javelin with a toss of 122-8 to take third and Moore was seventh at 112-3.

Sophomore McKenna Lohse set a personal best in the shot put with a toss of 37-11.75 to finish in fifth, while junior Hanna Veres was fifth in the triple jump with a personal best of 33-9.5.

Caroline Apple also scored points in the high jump after she cleared 4-8 and finished in a tie for seventh.

On the boys side, junior Jerynce Brings Plenty took fifth in both the 1,600 (4:44) and 3,200-meter runs (10:36), while sophomore Blaise Vohs was sixth in the 800 run in 2:05.

Brings Plenty, Vohs, Colton Blue and Myles Vohs was second in 4×800-meter relay in 8:36. Lohse, Myles Vohs, Heinrich and Caleb Feldkamp took third in the 4×100 relay in 44.19 seconds, while Feldkamp also took third in the 200 dash in 23.08 seconds.

Heinrich, White, Meyer and Blaise Vohs were fifth in the 4×400 relay in 3:33.

The Wildcats also had strong finishes in the throws. Senior Ben O’Bryan took fourth in the discus with a toss of 134-5.

Another senior, Jaymes Melton, set a personal best again in the shot put as he took fifth at 48-2.5.

Louisburg will now prepare for the regional meet that will be held this Thursday at Eudora High School. The top four in each event qualify for state and events begin at 3:45 p.m.

“We are getting into gear for regionals, and our regional is stacked with competition on the men’s side,” Wright said. “It will be tough to qualify on this side, so we need to come with our minds right and ready to compete.”

“We are still nursing some bumps and dings, but hope to be solid this week at regionals,” Reece added. “Hopefully the weather cooperates and we PR in all of our events and let the chips fall where they may with state qualifications.”

Other results are:

GIRLS

200 Dash: Addi Mallett, 9th, 28.42

400 Dash : Emma Vohs, 8th, 1:07.19; Presley Yows, 10th, 1:09

800 Run: Adelyn Moore, 13th, 3:01

1,600 Run: Erin Apple, 10th, 6:45

100 Hurdles: Kate Frederick, 8th, 17.85; Caroline Apple, 11th, 19.41

300 Hurdles: Frederick, 11th, 55.35

High Jump: Breck Nielsen, 12th, 4-6

Long Jump: Madison Hill, 14th, 13-7.75; Hanna Veres, 15th, 13-2

Triple Jump: Hill, 13th, 29-8.25

Shot Put: Kinley Scott, 12th, 31-0.5; Maddie Yoder, 19th, 27-4.5

Discus: McKenna Lohse, 13th, 92-4; Cora Wulfkuhle, 18th, 78-9; Talen McMurray, 22nd, 66-6

Javelin: Lohse, 16th, 90-11

BOYS

100 Dash: Gage Feldkamp, 10th, 11.47; Josiah McCaskill, 16th, 11.85

200 Dash: McCaskill, 13th, 24.74

800 Run: Colton Blue, 11th, 2:12

Long Jump: Wyatt Holland, 9th, 17-11.75

Shot Put: Ben O’Bryan, 9th, 42-6; Miles Meek, 10th, 42-5

Discus: Johnny Hendrickson, 12th, 108-10

Javelin: Brayden Yoder, 9th, 150-0; Tasen Ellison, 10th, 148-6; Lane Cunningham, 14th, 134-0