Countians qualify for state track meet

Twenty individual county high school track and field athletes and five relay teams recently qualified for the state track and field meet, which will take place this weekend at Cessna Stadium in Wichita.

The most qualifiers came from the 3A regional in Sabetha, where boys’ and girls’ teams from Jefferson County North, McLouth and Oskaloosa participated.

JCN had two individual champions among its qualifiers. Junior Abe Noll won the 400-meter dash and senior Wes Weishaar won the 1,600-meter run while finishing fourth to qualify in the 800-meter run. Senior Daniel Finley qualified for North with a fourth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles and senior Drew Kraxner placed second in the triple jump to earn a trip to Wichita. The JCN 1,600-meter boys’ relay team won its event while the 400-meter boys’ relay team qualified for state with a fourth-place finish.

Three Charger individual girls’ competitors qualified for state as sophomore Amelia Noll placed fourth in the 800-meter run, junior Kelsey Schuler was fourth in the 3,200-meter run and sophomore Lisa Weishaar was second in the 300-meter hurdles. The 1,600- and 3,200-meter relay teams for North also qualified on the girls’ side with third and second place finishes in Sabetha, respectively.

Oskaloosa’s qualifiers on the boys’ side were sophomore J.T. Thurston, who won the 100-meter dash and placed third in the 200-meter dash, and sophomore Chase Tenpenny, who placed second in the high jump. The lone Oskaloosa girls’ competitor who qualified for state was sophomore Nicole Rockhold, who placed third in both the high jump and triple jump.

McLouth only had one qualifier for state as freshman Miranda McLaughlin placed second in the girls’ long jump competition.

In 4A action in Hoyt, the track and field teams from Jefferson West and Perry-Lecompton competed, as the two schools qualified a combined eight individuals and one relay team for state.

West’s qualifiers included senior Derek Helton, who placed third in the 400-meter dash; the boys’ 1,600-meter relay team, which won that event in Hoyt; sophomore Briar Ploude, who won the boys’ high jump competition; sophomore Moriah Dowding, who qualified with a win in the girls’ long jump competition and third place in the 300-meter hurdles; junior Mandy Bostwick, who placed fourth in the shot put; senior Samantha Gerry, who placed fourth in the girls’ pole vault; and freshman Brianna Ploude, who placed second in the girls’ high jump.

Perry-Lecompton senior Ashley Turpin placed fourth in the girls’ 100-meter dash to qualify for state and freshman Katie Hirsch placed fourth in the 1,600-meter run to earn a spot in Wichita.

At the 2A regional in Washington, only senior Katie Brevitz qualified for Valley Falls with top-four finishes in the long jump and triple jump. Brevitz placed third in the long jump and fourth in the triple jump.

The state meet takes place Friday and Saturday on the Wichita State University campus.

McLouth baseball, VF softball also fall

None of the county's high school baseball or softball teams will get a taste of state this season as all 10 teams have lost in regional play. McLouth's baseball team lost in the semifinals of the Leavenworth 3A regional Wednesday with an 8-5 loss to the host team from Pleasant Ridge. The Bulldogs were seeded second in the field. The Valley Falls softball team played Wednesday at Lyndon in 2A regional play as the third seed and defeated second seed Chase County in the semifinals, 11-4, to move into the championship game versus top seed Wabaunsee. The Dragons were shut out by Wabaunsee, 8-0, to end their season.

McLouth softball, West baseball teams fall short

The previously undefeated McLouth Bulldogs' softball team lost in the 3A regional finals to Silver Lake, 12-9, Tuesday in McLouth, to finish the season at 20-1. The top-seed Bulldogs trailed at one point, 8-1, and mounted a comeback from there but couldn't overcome the Eagles.

The Jefferson West baseball team played in the 4A regionals in Hoyt Wednesday in games that were delayed by rain from Tuesday. A 4-run 1st inning propelled Hayden to a 6-2 win over the second-seeded Tigers in the semifinals, which ended West's season at 11-4. The Perry-Lecompton baseball team, the eighth seed in the regional also lost in a semifinal game against the host team from Royal Valley.

The Perry-Lecompton softball team was also eliminated Wednesday in a 4A regional in Topeka. The West softball team, both Oskaloosa teams and the Valley Falls baseball team were eliminated in the first round of their respective 4A, 3A and 2A regionals. The McLouth baseball team and Valley Falls softball team were in action Wednesday in regional play in Leavenworth and Lyndon, respectively. Their results will be posted as soon as possible.

Letter of intent signings

Drew Kraxner, a senior at Jefferson County North High School, recently signed a letter of intent to play football next season at Benedictine College in Atchison. Drew is the son of Vern and Sheri Kraxner. At JCN, Kraxner was first team running back on the All-Delaware Valley League team in 2006 and amassed 2,052 all-purpose yards in his high school career.


Rachael Thompson, a McLouth High School senior, recently signed a letter of intent to play softball next season at Dodge City Community College. Thompson plays third base for the Bulldogs and is the daughter of Pat and Laura Thompson.