Jazzy Cats acquire several honors at dance camp,Sander shines on

Jazzy Cats acquire several
honors at dance camp
The Louisburg High School Jazzy Cats dance team recently
brought home several awards from the ADTS camp June 9 in
Olathe. Members of the Jazzy Cats (front row, from left)
are Melia Rice, Bree Christy, Quincy Rice, Katie JoRay, Shae
Murphy; (back row) Avery Graham, Brooklyn Mitchell, Teagan
Myers, Kira Payton and Lauren Cain.
The Louisburg High School Jazzy Cats dance team put in hours
of hard work prior to attending prior to attending the
American Dance/Drill Team (ADTS) camp in Olathe.
All the hard work came to fruition when the camp ended on June
9.
The Jazzy Cats were recognized with several awards as they
were chosen as the Gussie Nell Davis Team of the Camp. The
Louisburg dancers were also chosen as an All-American team of
the third day and were one of three teams recognized for a
home routine award.
“The girls put in a lot of hard work into the routine, all
starting with this new team’s seniors who spent a lot of time
outside of practice helping to choreograph and structure the
routine,” Jazzy Cats instructor Kassy Miller said. “The team
started learning and rehearsing the dance after tryouts at
several April early-morning practices, and also spent time in
May and June to work on the dance technique and team
performance.”
Louisburg also earned several individual honors as well.
Senior Quincy Rice was chosen as an Outstanding Leader and
Performer in dance. Avery Graham, Katie JoRay and Rice were
also named as Miss High Kick Finalists.
Bree Christy and Teagan Myers were recognized as All-American
honorable mentions. Melia Rice, JoRay and Rice were named
Overall All-American Teammates.
It was quite the showing for the Jazzy Cats, who competed
against several other schools from across the Kansas City
area.
“This was the first time the Jazzy Cats attended this came,
and I think they represented themselves, their school and
community very well,” Miller said.
Members of the 2016-17 Jazzy Cats are Quincy Rice, Teagan
Myers, Avery Graham, Katie JoRay, Melia Rice, Bree Christy,
Lauren Cain, Shae Murphy, Brooklyn Mitchell and Kira Payton.
Sander shines on track, in
classroom for Emporia State
Emporia State sophomore, and Louisburg High School graduate,
Wyatt Sander had a successful track season for the Hornets as
he earned All-American status for the 4×400-meter relay in
both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
EMPORIA – Wyatt Sander joined the Emporia State track and
field team two years ago wondering where his place was going
to be on the Hornet roster.
Sander seems to have found the right fit. The Emporia State
sophomore is now an indoor and outdoor All-American.
The 2014 Louisburg High School graduate was a member of the
Hornet 4×400-meter relay team that finished fifth at the NCAA
Outdoor Championships in Florida in late May. Sander, who runs
the third leg of the relay, helped the team to a time of 3
minutes and 9.53 seconds.
Earlier in May, Sander, along with teammates Duke Tibbs,
Parker Evans and Taysean Goodwin, won the 4×400 relay at the
MIAA Championships.
It turned out to be the perfect ending for what has been a
long season.
“To get down to Florida and be back at the national meet was a
great experience all around,” Sander said. “We went to the
meet hoping to finish in the top eight because that meant we
would become All-Americans again. I knew we could do it too
because during the whole outdoor season we never ran to our
full potential it felt like. We finished second overall in the
collegiate division at Drake Relays so that gave us a big
confidence boost before our conference meet and before
nationals.
“To earn the All-American status is one of the best feelings
I’ve had in my athletic career. All of us on the relay team
went a little crazy on the infield when we saw that we made it
in the finals for the 4×4 outdoor. Probably the only feeling
better would be to become a national champion.”
Sander also helped the Hornets throughout the season in the
hurdles as he finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the
400- and 110-meter hurdles at the MIAA Championships.
Still, it has been the 4×400 relay where Sander has thrived
and it all started during his indoor season. Sander, along
with Evans, Goodwin and Luke Stenzel, shattered the 32-yearold MIAA indoor record by three seconds in 3:13.71.
The team also broke the Emporia State school record by four
seconds and went on to finish sixth in the nation in the NCAA
Indoor Championships to earn All-American status there as
well.
Sander was also a part of Emporia’s distance medley relay team
that took third at the MIAA Championships. He also finished
sixth in the conference in the high hurdles during the indoor
season.
“Indoor really set the tone for me, I believe, for the rest of
the season and maybe even for the rest of my career at ESU,”
Sander said. “When we won the indoor title it was a great
feeling because not only did we beat the meet record, we were
able to clinch our spot at the indoor nationals and get a
conference title.”
As well as Sander has performed on the track, he has fared
even better in the classroom and the school rewarded him for
it. In early May, Sander was awarded the school’s
Undergraduate Award of Excellence.
Wyatt Sander (second, from
left)
receives
the
Undergraduate
Award
of
Excellence from Emporia
State in early May.
The award is given to an outstanding male and female
underclass student athlete who excels in athletics and
academics. Sander has a 3.94 grade point average and is a
member of the Emporia State Athletic Director’s Honor Roll,
the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and is an MIAA Scholar-Athlete.
“Generally all the awards given at the athletics banquet go to
the seniors with the occasional junior in the mix so I figured
the undergraduate award was going to go to a junior, someone
who has had more time at ESU to establish themselves,” Sander
said. “When I heard my name called it was a complete shock.
Walking up to the front of the big ballroom we were in, my
heart was racing due to excitement and some nerves. It was
definitely an honor to receive that award. I hope I can maybe
get it again next year, but just to receive it once is
awesome.”
Life as a college athlete is never easy as students are
constantly trying to divide their time between academics and
athletics, which makes the award an even bigger accomplishment
for Sander.
“Things do get very stressful with balancing school work and
athletics,” Sander said. “You really have to buckle down and
have your priorities straight. If you don’t have your school
work at the top of your list, followed by your athletics, and
you let other extracurricular activities take priority then
you will see a major decline in your academics as well as your
performance athletically.
“People generally worry that playing college sports takes up
all your time, which don’t get me wrong it takes up a lot of
time, but if you manage your time wisely and find what works
best for you it becomes much easier to balance your academics,
your athletics and your social life.”
As good of a year as Sander had, he is looking toward bigger
and better things next season with the Hornets.
“Some great things happened this last year for me
athletically, so my goals are to just improve upon those
accomplishments,” Sander said. “If for some reason I can’t
improve then I at least want to repeat the accomplishments, I
don’t want to do any worse. My goals are to be conference
champions and All-Americans in the 4×4 for both indoor and
outdoor seasons, but I also want to improve individually in my
hurdle races. I am really looking forward to it.”
Wildcat wrestlers continue
busy summer with camp
Garrett Caldwell pushes teammate Thad Hendrix up the hill on a
sled with weights during a strongman workout Thursday during
the final day of the Louisburg High School wrestling team
camp.
Last season was a special run for the Louisburg High School
wrestling team and it hopes to capitalize on that momentum.
The Wildcats won their first Frontier League crown in 19 years
last year and ended up sending five wrestlers to the Class 4A
state tournament. Louisburg also had two bring home state
medals in Mason Koechner and Nathan Keegan.
It was a season to remember. Now the Wildcats are back to work
to try and make this coming season an even bigger one.
Louisburg hosted its team camp last week at the high school as
head coach Bobby Bovaird conducted a beginners and advanced
camp for four days.
“I think that a lot of the boys have been able to relax and
enjoy the good feelings coming off of last season,” Bovaird
said. “It really was a fun season. Several guys have chosen to
distance themselves from wrestling this spring and summer, and
I understand that. As long as they’re active and competitive
in something, I’m happy with it. It’s good to take a break
from time to time.
“We have a bunch of guys who are involved in other sports, and
I’m fully supportive of them focusing their efforts there.
It’s summertime in Louisburg — traditionally that means
football, morning weights, 7-on-7, and other activities. I’m
not worried about losing focus for next season. It’s a strong
group of athletes we have here in Louisburg.”
Although numbers were down for the team camp, the ones who did
attended received a lot of instruction. However, Bovaird
didn’t want to be the lone voice in the room and he brought in
a couple of guest instructors in LHS graduate Zach Knox and
former Fort Hays State wrestler Nathan Shipley.
“For the high school group, I wanted to give them exposure to
some of my typical ‘favorites,’ but from alternate
perspectives,” Bovaird said. “I asked two college wrestlers to
come help out. Nathan Shipley wrestled for me back in Topeka
at Washburn Rural High School and grew to have a lot of
success as a varsity wrestler for FHSU. Zach just came off a
pretty solid redshirt season at Kansas Wesleyan University in
Salina.
“I was really happy to see these two young men step up and
show some great techniques. They reiterated lots of things
I’ve said to the team, but they also brought a new perspective
to these techniques.”
After spending the first three days on the mat, the advanced
campers found themselves outdoors for a little training
exercise. Bovaird called on friend Corey Scott, a personal
trainer in the Kansas City area, to put his campers through a
strongman workout.
Brandon Doles lifts an
atlas stone over the
bar Thursday during
the LHS wrestling team
camp.
The wrestlers worked for close to 90 minutes on flipping large
tires, lifting atlas stones and other exercises. It was the
second year in a row Scott has come down and Bovaird believes
it is a nice change of pace.
“Corey and I go way back — he was a wrestling official in the
Topeka area when I was in high school and I even coached his
nephew at my previous school,” Bovaird said. “I love the
‘wrestler strong’ training program that he does. It lines up
perfectly with what I want our wrestlers working on strengthwise, and it complements quite a lot of what Coach (Kyle)
Littrell does with his football strength program. Corey is a
passionate advocate for wrestling and he has this program that
makes training a little more fun.”
Although the camp is complete, the Wildcats are still doing
plenty of work in the offseason and Bovaird has tried to
motivate his wrestlers by creating an ‘Ironman Program.’
Wrestlers can earn a certain number of points for attending
open mats, camps or other wrestling activities over the
summer.
“I have five or six who are on track to hit 100 points, and
every wrestler in the program who hits the 100-point mark will
get his name on a t-shirt for the Ironman Award,” he said.
“It’s a way to encourage off-season wrestling. There’s the
obvious reason for wrestling outside of the high school season
— it gets you to jump to a higher level of wrestling — but
sometimes teenagers need a little more motivation: getting
their name on a t-shirt. We’ve had anywhere from 9-12 kids at
each open mat the last three weeks.”
Several Wildcats wrestlers have been busy this summer. Garrett
Caldwell and Kyle Allen attended the Penn State wrestling camp
at Baker University and learned from Penn State coach Cael
Sanderson.
Junior Ryan Adams, who missed most of the season last year due
to an injury, wrestles in Topeka on Wednesdays and competed in
the Titan Games in Parkville, Mo., two weeks ago.
Senior Ben Hupp went to the Oklahoma State wrestling camp last
week, while Mason Koechner, Hunter Bindi, Hunter Millbern,
Jacob Felder Brandon Doles, Caldwell and Allen will be
traveling with Bovaird to the Outdoor Challenge Camp in
Valentine, Neb., next month.
It is
money.
July 9
$8 for
that camp in which the Wildcats are trying to raise
The team will be hosting a spaghetti feed at 5 p.m., on
at First Baptist Church. The all-you-can-eat dinner is
adults and $4 for children.
Wildcats beat the heat, get
better at camp
The Louisburg girls soccer team ended its team camp last
Friday with an intrasquad scrimmage. The Wildcats not only
competed against themselves, but against the heat as well
as temperatures reached close to 100 degrees later in the
week.
Coming off a 14-win season that ended in a regional
championship in the program’s first year, the Louisburg girls
soccer team took to the field less than one month following
the end of its season.
With temperatures and the heat index soaring close to 100
degrees, the Wildcats battled through the tough elements
during their week-long team camp that ended last Friday. The
Wildcat players gathered every morning for two hours working
to refine their game.
Of course, the success they had last season made the heat a
little more bearable.
“The heat was a problem for us, but we have tough kids that
work hard and are focused on getting better,” Louisburg coach
Kyle Conley said. “We have twice as many water breaks as
usual, but we were able to overcome it. Our program will never
makes excuses. It was just another obstacle that we need to
overcome and I feel we did fine with that.”
Approximately 24 players attended camp each day and close to
30 have reported for summer workouts. The Wildcats also added
eight freshman players to the mix, which could give them more
depth next season.
Louisburg
coach
Kyle
Conley looks on as the
team
started
its
scrimmage last Friday.
Although he wanted to stress fundamentals and conditioning,
Conley also wanted to develop chemistry among the team.
Louisburg lost three seniors off of last season’s squad and he
hopes to see different players step up as leaders.
“I felt camp went pretty well,” Conley said. “With eight
incoming freshmen, we needed to expand on our team chemistry.
The girls had some issues with filling the void of (seniors
Maddie) McDaniel, (Lilly) Scott and (Rylee) Bergh in regards
to leadership. We worked that out and allowed the girls to
discover how practice was going to be and expectations for our
program.
“I was very pleased with the dedication that the freshmen had
in attending their first high school soccer summer. They
consistently showed up ready to work. I was very pleased with
the upperclassman and their focus to get better. Leadership
isn’t always the one who does all the talking. I was very
pleased with how my leaders led by example and supported and
helped the freshmen within drills and training sessions.”
This camp was much different than the last one the Wildcats
took part in a year ago. Back then, they were trying to get to
know one another and prepare for their inaugural season.
Fast forward to this summer, the Wildcats are coming off a
spot in the state quarterfinals and thoughts on the program
have changed dramatically.
Bria Jensen makes a pass
during the team’s scrimmage
Friday.
“Last year we focused on the building blocks of playing
soccer, but this year the bar has been set and we are
expanding more on our tactical and technical aspects of the
game,” Conley said. “We are expecting to keep improving our
style of play. This camp and summer has been vastly different
because of the expectations that our team has created for
ourselves. It is a very exciting time for Louisburg girls
soccer.”
It has been a busy time for the entire team as it hasn’t had
much time to relax. Louisburg will continue its team workouts
over the summer, along with weight sessions.
Several Wildcats won’t take much of a break at all as they
will continue playing with their respective club teams. Still,
Conley believes he was able to accomplish a lot during the
team camp.
“We were looking to improve technically, formations, movement
off the ball and communication,” Conley said. “Those are four
of the aspects that I feel we needed to improve on and they
were our focus. I am very pleased with how we are developing,
but we will have our work cut out for us. We need to increase
our speed of play as well. I am excited to watch this team to
continue to grow.”
Five Wildcats placed on allstate soccer team
Louisburg senior defender Rylee Bergh clears the ball away
during a game earlier this season. Bergh and four other
Wildcats were named to the Class 4-1A all-state team. Bergh
and sophomore Bailey Belcher earned first-team honors.
Coming off a successful first season, the Louisburg High
School girls soccer team was already well-recognized on the
regional level with nine all-Frontier League selections.
As it turned out, many of those same players were named to the
all-state team that was released last week. Louisburg earned
five spots on the Kansas Soccer Coaches Association all-state
team.
Senior Rylee Bergh (defender) and sophomore Bailey Belcher
(midfielder) were named to the Class 4-1A first team, while
senior Maddie McDaniel (midfield), sophomore Shay Whiting
(goalkeeper) and freshman Camdyn Clark
selected to the all-state second team.
Bailey Belcher, first team,
midfield
Shay Whiting, second team,
goalkeeper
(defender)
were
Maddie McDaniel, second
team, midifield
Camdyn Clark, second team,
defender
“I think it is a fantastic honor to have our kids honored by
other coaches within the 4A-1A class,” Louisburg coach Kyle
Conley said. “These kids, as well as their teammates, bought
into our system of play and gave this town, the high school
and the coaches everything that they had each and every
night. I couldn’t be more proud of these young ladies.
“None of these accolades could not have been accomplished
without their teammates. I think this is just the icing on the
cake on how fantastic this season was for our 2016 girls
soccer team. These young ladies are a great example of our
program and how we want our program to be thought of.”
The Wildcats had a strong defense all season, which was a big
reason for their 14-4-1 season and why they had three of those
players selected to the all-state team. Bergh, the team’s
centerback, led the way and limited several scoring
opportunities.
With the help of Bergh, Clark and the other Wildcat defenders,
Whiting was credited with eight shutouts on the season.
Belcher was one of the top scorers in the Frontier League this
season as she finished with 33 goals to go along with four
assists from the midfield spot. As for McDaniel, she was
second on the team in scoring nine goals, but also had a teamhigh 13 assists.
Turner takes part in KVA allstar match despite injury
Louisburg High School graduate Madison Turner stands in the
huddle with her Blue team during a timeout in the Kansas
Volleyball Association All-Star match on June 4 at Washburn
University in Topeka. Turner was forced to sit out of the
match with an injury.
When she was selected to participate in the Kansas Volleyball
Association All-Star match, Madison Turner had every intention
of playing against some of the best seniors Kansas had to
offer.
The Louisburg High School graduate was looking forward to
taking the floor for the June 4 match at Washburn University
in Topeka. However, a knee injury derailed that plan as
Turner, who was supposed to play for the Blue team, had to sit
from the bench and watch.
Turner’s Blue team lost a close five set match to the Red
team, 25-13, 19-25, 25-19, 22-25 and 16-14. Although Turner
didn’t get a chance to showcase her talents with the rest of
the state’s best, she still had a good time.
Madison Turner enjoyed
her weekend at the KVA
All-Star
match
in
Topeka.
“It was a great experience and a fun weekend,” Turner said. “I
was really bummed that I wasn’t able to play. I was coming off
an injury that I had been dealing with since nationals for
club volleyball in April. I was planning on playing in the
match, but a week before I realized that I would not be able
to because of my injury. I feel that I worked hard to get the
honor to be on the team and to not be able to play was hard.”
She had to do a lot of leg work to earn a spot on the team.
Louisburg High School head coach Jessica Compliment nominated
Turner for the team, and once she was selected, Turner had to
secure $300 worth of sponsors for expenses for the weekendlong event.
The event featured a lunch and dinner for the players and
parents and it helped take Turner’s mind off not playing.
“I spent several days going around to individual businesses in
Louisburg asking them for donations to sponsor the event,”
Turner said. “Most of the places I went to were very willing
to donate. When we got there we each received a shirt and
spandex to play the match in and it was just a great time.
They really made each of us feel very special.
“Some of the girls that were on the team I have played against
in club or high school volleyball. There were some girls that
I had not met before and I am friends with now. Everyone was
really nice and it was a great weekend.”
Turner, who played the middle hitter spot for Louisburg last
season and stands at 6-foot, 4-inches, had a big season for
the Lady Cat program. She garnered a first team all-Frontier
League selection as she helped Louisburg to its third straight
undefeated league crown and a third-place finish at the state
tournament.
She was also on three state tournament teams during her
career, including a second-place finish as a sophomore. This
past season, Turner led the Lady Cats with 327 kills and also
had a team-high 266 blocks to go along with 37 aces.
Now Turner’s focus will turn to staying healthy and getting
ready for her next volleyball experience. Turner signed to
play with Arkansas State University, a Division I program out
of Jonesboro, Ark.
She has to report to the Red Wolves program in two weeks and
she is looking forward to playing college volleyball.
“I am super excited to head down to Arkansas State,” Turner
said. “I have to report on July 5 because I have to take two
summer classes so I can be on campus and practice with the
team. My parents and I are heading down a couple days before
so I can get moved into my dorm. There are three volleyball
camps in July that I will working as well, which will be fun.”
Vance competes for Kansas in
all-star game
Anders Vance (52) jumps out of his stance as he prepares to
block a Missouri defender Thursday during the Greater Kansas
City Football Coaches Association Kansas vs. Missouri All-Star
Game at Blue Springs (Mo.) High School.
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. – Anders Vance traded in his purple and
white jersey of Louisburg for one of the red and white
variety.
No, it wasn’t a Pittsburg State one – at least not yet anyway.
Vance donned the Kansas all-star uniform for the Greater
Kansas City Football Coaches Association Kansas vs. Missouri
All-Star game on Thursday at Blue Springs (Mo.) High School.
He wore his usual No. 52 as Vance took the field with Team
Kansas in hopes of snapping a Missouri winning streak.
Kansas nearly stopped Missouri’s winning ways, but came up
short in a 28-24 loss. Vance still enjoyed his team practicing
and playing with his new teammates.
“I really had a good time,” Vance said. “I had a chance to see
a lot of great players from around the metro and I got to meet
some cool coaches. It was a lot of fun and I got to learn some
new stuff.”
The game featured some of the best players from the Kansas
City area and Vance saw a lot time on the offensive line. He
played several snaps at right guard, while also seeing time on
special teams for punts and extra points.
Anders Vance listens to the
Kansas coaches during a
timeout Thursday.
Kansas took a 15-14 lead at halftime and held a 24-21
advantage in the fourth quarter before Missouri scored a
touchdown with five minutes left in the contest to all but
seal the win for the sixth consecutive time.
“It’s always disappointing to lose, but it is a different
feeling because you are wanting to beat another state instead
of a school and there isn’t that family aspect there so it is
a lot different,” Vance said.
“They moved me to guard the day before the game,” said Vance,
who usually plays center. “It was a little different for me,
but I think I did alright.”
Vance spent the last two weeks before the game practicing with
his Kansas teammates in the evenings at Mill Valley High
School and had a chance to work with some different coaches.
He also saw several familiar faces as he teamed up with four
other Frontier League players. Paola’s Nate Staats and Alex
Wilson, along with Baldwin’s Jake and Joel Katzer, also
participated in the game
The contest was a culmination of what was a great high school
season for Vance. He earned a lot of recognition in the
offseason as he was selected to the Class 4A all-state first
team by the Kansas Football Coaches Association, Topeka
Capital-Journal and Wichita Eagle. He was also an honorable
mention selection to the all-metro team by the Kansas City
Star.
Vance, who has signed to play football at Pittsburg State this
fall, has one more high school game left to play. He will
represent the East quad in the Kansas Shrine Bowl on July 30
at Emporia State University.
Louisburg High School
graduate Anders Vance
takes on a Missouri
lineman Thursday in
Blue Springs.
“I am excited for that one,” he said. “It is going to be fun
and a little more intense I think.”
Barracudas win opener against
Harrisonville
Josiah McCaskill swims to a victory in the 50-meter freestyle
during the Louisburg Barracudas’ season opening meet on June
11 in Harrisonville, Mo. McCaskill won four first-place
ribbons on the day.
HARRISONVILLE, Mo. – It was just the first meet of the season,
but the Louisburg Barracudas swim team already had a long
winning streak to defend.
The Barracudas haven’t lost a regular season meet since 2009
and have won seven consecutive South Suburban League titles.
On Saturday in Harrisonville, the Barracudas kept one streak
intact and took a step forward in keeping the other one going.
Louisburg defeated Harrisonville 319-161 to continue its
dominance over the league.
Three Barracuda swimmers finished the day with five firstplace ribbons, which included three individual victories and
two relay wins. Sabra Brueggen (9 to 10-year old), Brayton
Brueggen (11-12) and Trae Johnsen (15-and over) each earned
that honor.
Jesse
Faulker
swims
the
butterfly during the June 11
meet
in
Harrisonville.
Faulkner won four
place ribbons.
first-
Josiah McCaskill (9-10) won four events on the boys side and
Jesse Faulkner (8-and-under) captured four first-place ribbons
for the girls.
Sabra had a strong showing as she won the 50-meter
breaststroke in 50.35 seconds, the 50 backstroke in 41.84 and
the 100 individual medley in 1 minute and 31.81 seconds. She
also teamed up with Claire Brown, Ashley Branine and Hannah
Farrington to win the 100 medley relay (1:36.54) and 100
freestyle relay (1:30.69).
Brayton also had a pair of relay wins as he, Remington Rice,
Drake Baus and Cole Brown won the 200 medley relay (3:18) and
200 freestyle relay (2:56). Brayton also picked up first place
ribbons in the 50 butterfly (45.47), 50 backstroke (42.72) and
200 individual medley.
Johnsen swam away from the rest of the competition won the 50
freestyle in 28.25 seconds and later won the 50 backstroke in
33.56 and 200 individual medley in 2:43. He joined Christopher
Tyson, Alex Prettyman and Gareth Baus to win the 200 medley
relay (2:21) and 200 freestyle relay (2:04).
As for McCaskill, he joined Jay McCaskill, William Goode and
Josh Holtzen to win the 100 medley relay (1:39), while Josiah,
Jay, Goode and Reid McCaskill won the 100 freestyle relay
(1:22). Josiah later went on to win the 50 freestyle (41.53)
and 50 breaststroke (56.81).
Faulkner had a good day for the 8-U girls as she got victories
in the 25 freestyle (26.83), 25 breaststroke (31.97) and 25
backstroke (31.09). She also teamed up with Lola Dubas,
Cricket McInitre and Macy Hughes to win the 100 freestyle
relay (2:12).
The Barracudas have a bye this week, but will return to action
on June 25 when it travels to Butler, Mo., for a meet.
Other Barracuda results are:
Girls
8-and-under
25 freestyle: Lola Dubas, second, 26.69; Cricket McIntire,
third, 27.25; Macy Hughes, sixth, 41.56
25 butterfly: Dubas, second, 39.35
25 breaststroke: Dubas, first, 41.22; McIntire, second, 44.81
25 backstroke: Hughes, third, 45.41; Talen McMurray, fifth,
49.0
9-10
50 freestyle: Claire Brown, first, 42.87; Ashley Branine,
second, 51.28; Ally Brown, sixth, 58.97
50 breaststroke: Brown, second, 54.75; Branine, third, 1:06.59
50 backstroke: Branine, second, 56.0; C. Brown, third, 56.53;
A. Brown, fifth, 1:15.13
100 freestyle relay: Claire Baker, A. Brown, Annika Hartgrave,
Madeline Hughes, third, 2:16.56
11-12
200 medley relay: Mable Graham, Mary Grace McElyea, Emma
Prettyman, Delanie Tally, first, 2:49.22
50 freestyle: Tally, first, 37.53; Graham, fourth, 38.41;
Prettyman, fifth, 38.53
50 butterfly: Prettyman, first, 41.78
Mable Graham comes up for a
breath as she swims the
breaststroke.
50 breaststroke: Graham, sixth, 51.62
50 backstroke: Graham, first, 43.50; Callie O’Brien, second,
50.75; Sophie Baker, third, 51.50; Lindsay Keaton, fourth,
1:00.13; McElyea, fifth, 1:00.37; Brooke Farrington, sixth,
1:00.91
200 individual medley: Prettyman, first, 3:35.70; Catie Lemke,
fifth, 4:08.65
200 freestyle relay: Prettyman, O’Brien, Tally, Graham,
second, 2:44.34; Remi Rothlisberger, Farrington, Aurora
Dericotte, Lemke, fourth, 3:26.85
13-14
200 medley relay: Maddie Kelly, Sydney Keaton, Elizabeth
Kratochvil, Alayna Baker, first, 2:40; Avery Graham, Madi
Quinn, Sarah Minor, Grace Coffey, third, 2:50
50 freestyle: Keaton, first, 33.10; Graham, second, 34.06;
Baker, third, 35.62; Alison Prettyman, fourth, 37.0; Quinn,
sixth, 38.06
50 butterfly: Graham, second, 35.87; Kratochvil, third, 37.72;
Baker, fourth, 40.31; Kelly, fifth, 40.92; Minor, sixth, 42.46
50 breaststroke: Keaton, third, 43.46; Kratochvil, fourth,
45.35; Quinn, fifth, 49.78; Prettyman, sixth, 49.78
50 backstroke: Graham, first, 41.03; Baker, second, 43.81;
Minor, third, 44.38; Kelly, fourth, 45.87; Coffey, fifth,
49.41
200 individual medley: Kratochvil, second, 3:13.38; Keaton,
third, 3:13.84; Minor, fourth, 3:41.35; Kelly, fifth, 3:41.93;
Quinn, sixth, 3:47.56
200 freestyle relay: Graham, Kratochvil, Baker, Keaton, first,
2:21.25; Kelly, Quinn, Coffey, Minor, third, 2:35.67;
Prettyman, Sophie Baker, Lindsay Keaton, Mary Grace McElyea,
fourth, 2:57.25
15-and-over
50 freestyle: Madelyn Prettyman, first, 29.68
50 butterfly: Prettyman, first, 30.11
50 breaststroke: Melia Rice, first, 46.87
50 backstroke: Rice, fourth, 44.43
200 individual medley: Prettyman, first, 2:36.46; Rice, third,
3:45.47
Boys
8-and-under
25 freestyle: Casey Carpenter-Ross, first, 23.75; Braxton
Koechner, fourth, 32.87; Wyatt Guetterman, fifth, 33.38
25 backstroke: Guetterman, first, 32.91; Carpenter-Ross,
second, 34.35; Koechner, fifth, 43.59
100 freestyle relay: Koechner, W. Guetterman, Carpenter-Ross,
John Guetterman, first, 2:15.47
9-10
100 medley relay: Jayce Toms, Colton Prettyman,
McCaskill, Canaan Clayton, second, 1:56.85
Reid
50 freestyle: William Goode, second, 43.31; Josh Holtzen,
third, 46.50; Jay McCaskill, fourth, 48.88; Reid McCaskill,
sixth, 52.57
50 butterfly: Josiah McCaskill, second, 55.63
50 breaststroke: Holtzen, third, 1:02.31; Jay McCaskill,
fourth, 1:03.34; Goode, fifth, 1:03.58; Prettyman, sixth,
1:12.90
50 backstroke: Jay McCaskill, second, 1:04.78; Toms, third,
1:07.13; Clayton, sixth, 1:46.46
100 individual medley: Holtzen, second, 2:11.25
100 freestyle relay: Clayton, Dakota Cummins, Prettyman, Toms,
third, 2:09.38
11-12
50 freestyle: Remington Rice, first, 37.16; Cole Brown, third,
39.10; Henry Coolidge, fourth, 44.69; Drake Baus, fifth,
44.60; Jordan Brown, sixth, 46.0
50 butterfly: C. Brown, third, 47.31; Rice, fourth, 53.37
50 breaststroke: Braden Branine, first, 53.90; C. Brown,
second, 1:01.07; Rice, third, 1:12.03
50 backstroke: Coolidge, third, 50.68; Baus, fourth, 57.07; J.
Brown, fifth, 1:06.19; Cooper Hipp, sixth, 1:14.03
200 individual medley: Branine, second, 4:16.81
200 freestyle relay: Coolidge, Branine, J. Brown, Hipp,
second, 3:27; Drake Burdine, Christian Golladay, Nathan
Woerpel, Josh Holtzen, third, 3:51.34
13-14
50 freestyle: Davy Brock, first, 33.81; Weston Guetterman,
second, 35.28; Gus Faulkner, fourth, 40.31; Bridger Baus,
sixth, 42.09
Weston
Guetterman
swims
strong to the finish in the
50-meter backstroke.
50 butterfly: Brock, second, 37.78
50 breaststroke: Faulkner, fourth, 58.10
50 backstroke: Brock, first, 38.25; Guetterman, second, 44.07;
Baus, fourth, 48.97
200 freestyle relay: Guetterman, Baus, Faulkner, Brock, second
15-and-over
50 freestyle: Alex Prettyman, second, 29.34; Gareth Baus,
fourth, 33.46; Christopher Tyson, fifth, 33.50
50 butterfly: Prettyman, first, 31.79
50 breaststroke: Prettyman, second, 36.56; Tyson, third,
47.47; Baus, fourth, 48.0
50 backstroke: Baus, third, 42.87; Tyson, fourth, 43.56
Wildcats get work done during
team camp
Louisburg running back Brayden Gage looks for a hole while
lineman Matt Rison (right) tries to block Dalton Frazier
during the Wildcat team camp last week. The Wildcats will hold
two scrimmages later this month against Blue Valley Southwest
and Blue Valley Northwest.
Ever since last November, the sting has stayed with several
members of the Louisburg football team and its coaching staff.
That feeling has been hard to shake, but they are out to use
that as motivation. Close to 60 players hit the Louisburg High
School football practice field every evening last week hoping
to erase the memory of the way last season ended.
Louisburg went through the regular season winning seven of its
nine games before getting upset in the first round of the
playoffs to Basehor-Linwood. The Wildcats are out to make
another run at the state playoffs and they started that
journey during last week’s team camp.
The Wildcat players took the field for two-and-half-hour
sessions during the five-day camp that ended Friday.
“I really liked everything about the camp, except for maybe
Friday,” Louisburg coach Kyle Littrell said. “Monday through
Thursday I thought we did some really nice things. I thought
we executed well and saw improvement. But Friday was just a
rough day. I am not sure if it was because we started a couple
hours earlier or what it was, but it just wasn’t a good day.
We just weren’t as crisp as I would like us to be.”
Korbin Hankinson hauls
in a catch during the
Wildcat team camp last
week.
Littrell said he used a majority of the camp to install 80 to
90 percent of the team’s offense, along with portions of the
team defense. The camp was also used to see who would be able
to fill the holes left by the 12 Wildcat seniors from a year
ago.
The Wildcats have to replace their starting quarterback,
center, wide receivers, fullback, middle linebacker, two
defensive linemen and several parts of the secondary. Littrell
believes the team took a step forward.
He really liked what he saw out of the running back group at
camp, including seniors Thomas San Agustin, Korbin Hankinson
and Jake Hill. Returning starters T.J. Dover, Garrett Lowry,
Mason Koechner and Dustyn Rizzo provided some lanes to run
through on the line.
“I think we were able to get all the basics down and I think
we showed that we are going to be a good running team,”
Littrell said. “On the offensive line, we have four guys that
are 2 to 3 year starters for us and then whoever wins the
center battle. We just need to fix some little things there,
but I feel that is going to be a strength for us.
“We just need to develop some more offensive lineman and
backups to give us a little more depth there. I was definitely
happy with the running back group this past week. I thought
they did a really good job.”
As good as the running game was for the Wildcats, Littrell
knows his team has to show more balance if they want to be
successful this season. Senior Grant Harding returns to take
over the quarterback spot for Austin Terry and Littrell said
his team needs to improve its aerial attack.
“We are going to have to be able to throw the ball some,”
Littrell said. “We might be a running team, but if we don’t
show that we can throw the ball and be successful at that,
teams are going to stack nine or 10 guys in the box and we
won’t be able to do much. If we can become a balanced
offensive team then I think we have a chance to be pretty
successful.”
Although the Wildcats didn’t have the best final day of camp,
it did end on a good note as approximately 40 moms took the
field with their sons to take part in a simulated practice.
Each mother played their son’s position and the coaches walked
them through what a day of practice is like.
“It was a lot of fun,” Littrell said. “I am surprised at how
many moms actually showed up, but it was good to see that many
out there. It gave the coaches a chance to put some names with
faces and it let the moms become a little more familiar with
us and what we are trying to do.”
Even though camp may be over, team activities are just
beginning.
Along with the normal summer weight sessions, the Wildcats
will travel to Paola the next two Mondays for 7-on-7 workouts
to go up against several area teams.
Quarterback
Grant
Harding releases a pass
during a drill last
week.
Something new for the Wildcats this season is they will get
the opportunity to scrimmage against two different teams.
Louisburg will host Blue Valley Southwest for a scrimmage from
9 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday. The Wildcats will host their second
scrimmage a week later when Blue Valley Northwest comes to
town from 10 a.m. to noon on June 29.
Both scrimmages will be held on the school’s practice field.
“It will be nice to go up against defenses that don’t
necessarily know what we run,” Littrell said. “That is the
problem with camp is we know what the other is going to do.
Plus, it will give us a chance to go up against different
formations, that maybe we wouldn’t normally do until two-adays start so this will give us a little jump start. Plus, I
know the players look forward to going up against someone
different.”
Cunningham ready for
national rodeo stage
the
Lakin Cunningham, an eighth-grader at Louisburg Middle School,
will be competing in two national rodeos in the next three
weeks. She will travel to Tennessee this week for the National
Junior High Rodeo Finals and will also compete at the National
Little Britches Rodeo in Oklahoma in early July.
During these next three weeks, Lakin Cunningham will find
herself among some of the best youth rodeoers in the nation.
It is a familiar place for her, actually.
Cunningham will leave tomorrow for Tennessee to compete in her
second straight National Junior High School Rodeo Finals
(NJHSFR). Then in the first week of July, she will depart for
Oklahoma to take part in the National Little Britches Finals
Rodeo.
The national spotlight isn’t anything new for the Louisburg
Middle School eighth grader. Cunningham took part in the
NJHSFR last year in the goat-tying competition and was the
Kansas Reserve Champion in that event as a sixth-grader.
This year, Cunningham qualified for the national rodeo in
barrel racing and goat tying and is ready for a better showing
this time around. The NJHSFR features competitors from 43
states, five Canadian Provinces and Australia. Each of the
states or provinces bring their top four in each event.
“I am very excited to be competing at the NJHSFR again this
year,” Cunningham said. “This is my second year making it and
this year I even made it in two of my three events that I
competed in at my state competition. The national rodeo is the
toughest junior high competition in the world.”
Goat tying is one of two
events Lakin Cunningham will
compete in at the National
Junior High Rodeo Finals.
At the state rodeo, Cunningham finished fourth in barrel
racing and also took fourth in goat-tying to earn a spot in
the national competition, but it led to some mixed reactions.
“I was very pleased with making it in the fourth spot this
year in barrel racing,” she said. “It was one of my goals for
the year. However, in goat tying I was a little bit
disappointed because I led the state of Kansas all year long.
I went into the state finals to win state and get a state
championship title. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a great
finals as I let my nerves affect my runs and ended up fourth.
I am still very happy about making it in both of these
events.”
“This year the Kansas circuit was tough. We have girls in our
state that our definitely contenders in my events for a
national title and I hope that I am one of them.”
The national spotlight won’t be quite as bright for Cunningham
this time around as she plans to use her experience from a
year ago to propel her to a good finish.
“This year I am not that nervous because last year the
national finals rodeo was my first nationals experience ever
and nerves got to me and affected my runs,” she said. “This
year I know I can’t get nervous or it will mess with me just
like it did last year. I’ve been working on mental toughness
along with my skills so I don’t get nervous.
“I want to go in there and make the short go, which is when
the top 20 in each event advance to the final round of
competition. That is my expectation going into national finals
this year – do what I know how to do and know I can do it.
Being in the top 20 would be awesome.”
Although she will be competing in those two events, Cunningham
will also hit the campaign trail. She is currently running for
the position of National President, and with that, she will be
giving speeches and handing out campaign materials.
It is a lot of work for a middle school student, but she is
looking forward to the challenge.
“It would be great to bring one of only three national officer
positions back to our state,” she said.
If that experience wasn’t enough, Cunningham will also compete
in the world’s oldest youth association in the world, which is
the National Little Britches Rodeo Association (NLBRA).
Cunningham qualified for the National Little Britches Rodeo
Finals (NLBRF) in four events – barrel racing, goat tying,
pole bending and ribbon roping. Last year, she qualified in
three events and placed fourth in the 1 st go round in barrel
racing.
She is also the current National Rodeo Princess for the NLBRA,
which has allowed her to travel to eight states to represent
the association.
“I’m very excited to compete in the NLBFR again this year,”
Cunningham said. “My goals for this year’s NLBRA national
finals is to get in the top seven in the world in goat tying
and barrel racing. I would also like to place in go rounds and
the short go in those two events as well.
“I am also very excited to compete with my Ribbon Roping
partner Chancy Johnson from Whitewater. It’s a team event and
she’s a great roper. I’m the runner. I hope we do good in that
event as well.”