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Written by Andy Brown
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 09:00 |
Holly Turner just kept winning. 
As she advanced in every location of the Knights of Columbus Free-Throw Championship, Turner became more and more shocked with every passing competition.
First she won the Louisburg contest, then she traveled to Paola, where she captured the district title and then moved on to Chanute to win the regional.
“I was just surprised that I was able to keep going,” Turner said. “I really didn’t think I would get that far.”
Turner ended up getting further than she ever hoped. After she made 21 of 25 free throws at the regional competition, she then traveled to Salina to compete in the state championship.
Turner competed in the 11-year-old division and the Louisburg resident earned the No. 1 seed based on the winners of the other five regionals. She was the final competitor to toe the line as she had to make 19 to tie and 20 to win.
Turner did even better than that.
She made 22 of 25 attempts to win the state title March 7 in the Sacred Heart gymnasium.
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Written by Andy Brown
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 09:00 |
It has already started. Well, unofficially anyway. 
The effect of state budget cuts has reared its ugly head in Louisburg and it doesn’t appear to be leaving anytime soon. Recently, USD 416 activities director Doug Key turned in his resignation with fear his job may be cut.
Key took a similar position in the Piper school district where he will serve as public information and activities director. He didn’t want to leave, but he didn’t want to be left out in the cold, either.
In the coming month or two, jobs will fall, activities will be cut due to the district’s $1 million budget shortfall. As many of you know, Louisburg isn’t the only one facing these issues.
The Kansas City, Mo., school district closed down more than 25 schools due to budget cuts and several schools in Kansas are having to find a way to cut back from what already is a bare bones operation. The bad thing about it is, there isn’t a whole lot we can do.
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Written by Andy Brown
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 09:00 |
Derek Symes was already prepping for life after high school at Southwestern College. 
Symes loved the atmosphere of the Winfield, Kan., school, and considering Symes is a Methodist, the small private Methodist college was a perfect fit. Then Symes decided to fill out his interest in soccer online and got a call from the school’s head coach.
One thing led to another and Symes was offered a scholarship for the Moundbuilders soccer program. Symes was a key component in the Wildcats’ run to a third straight state quarterfinal game and he inked with the Builders on March 10.
“I am just very happy,” Symes said. “I was planning on going to school there anyway, so this was just icing on the cake for me. I love playing soccer, plus it keeps me in shape and gives me something to do. I am looking forward to it.”
Symes played much of the season at forward for Louisburg alongside all-state players Ray Crosswhite and Stephen McTeer. Symes had several goals on the season and will look to continue that success in the fall.
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Written by Andy Brown
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 09:00 |
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Bryce Hood is always expecting more of himself. 
So after he easily dispatched Lee’s Summit’s Spencer Courier in an 8-3 decision during the Metro Classic, Hood was happy with the win, but he wanted more.
“I think I wrestled pretty well,” Hood said. “I probably should have gotten a few more points than I did and I think my nerves just got to me a tad bit. I felt great with what I could do.”
Hood competed in the 18th Annual Metro Classic on March 10 at Kansas City Kansas Community College and became the first Louisburg wrestler to compete in the event. The meet offers the best Kansas senior wrestlers in each high school weight class against the best Missouri senior wrestlers from the Kansas City metro area.
Despite Hood’s victory in the 130-pound match, Missouri got the best of Kansas for a 36-27 victory after Kansas had won the dual three out of the last four years.
Hood gave Kansas a 9-7 lead early after his victory over Courier. Hood, who entered with a 39-2 record, met Courier who finished third at state and posted a 43-4 mark on the season.
The match wasn’t even close as Hood dominated from the start. Hood got a takedown and two back points to open the first period and grabbed a 6-0 lead after another takedown in the second period.
Already ahead 6-2 in the third, he got a takedown early in the period to all but seal the win.
Victory tasted pretty good for Hood, especially after losing his final match of the season in the 140-pound state championship match.
“That was the big thing with this is I wanted to end my high school career with a win,” he said. “Even though I got second at state, this was my chance to end it all on a good note.”
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Written by Andy Brown
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 09:00 |
Marisa Mackey and Mandy Mulich were big parts of the Louisburg girls’ basketball team, and the rest of the Frontier League coaches thought so too.
Mackey and Mulich were both named to the all-Frontier League girls basketball team after they helped the Wildcats to a 13-9 record on the season and a spot in the substate semifinals. 
Although the Lady Cats finished with an above .500 record, they still finished toward the bottom of the league and that was a reason why a few players came up short in the voting.
“Considering we’re down in the league standings, I thought we were represented pretty well,” Louisburg coach Terry Tinich said. “There were a couple of players who were close to getting on, and I would have liked to see them there, but we were just a balanced team and we didn’t have that star player. We probably had four girls average between eight and 10 points per game.”
One of those girls was Mackey, who earned second-team honors after she averaged 10.6 points per game to go along with 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 4.1 steals per game as a junior.
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