Panthers, Trojans peaking a right time

Last week at Tiffany Greens Golf Course was a chance to catch up with Park Hill and Park Hill South’s girls golf teams as they competed against each other in match play. It was the second time in a week the two teams faced each other, the first coming the previous Friday when Park Hill won by six strokes at The National. This time the Panthers were able to win the match by a margin of twenty strokes with medalist Stephanie Frailey shooting a 44.

Both coaches were happy with their teams’ progress so far. As the season continues their goal is to lower individual and team scores each time they play.

“We’ve dropped from a 454 to 424,” Park Hill South coach Larry Torgerson said of his team’s improvement from the beginning of the season.

“Sam (Brunker) has improved by 20 strokes,” Park Hill coach Tari Garner said.
With both teams improving, it will come down to two pivotal days, September 28th for the conference tournament at Paradise Point in Smithville and October 5th for the district tournament held at Liberty Hills in Liberty. Unlike many high school sports where standings develop over a season, golf championships are determined in single day tournaments. So while improving is important for teams, it’s all about playing your best golf at the right time.

“It’s whoever shows up to play, but we’ve got a great chance,” Garner said.

The Trojans have had strong play from Anna Kloeppel, Erica Crainshaw, Stephanie Atkinson, and Sam Brunker to start the season. This included an 8th place finish out of a field of 23 last week at Drumm Farm. Before their lose to South, they had yet to lose in match play. Garner is confident in her team’s ability and hopes it pays off in upcoming tournaments.

“We’ve got four players that can all shoot in the 90’s, being consistent and having it all on the same day will be big,” Garner said.

South’s Torgerson feels his team is coming along well. His top golfers include Sarah Shelton, Lindsey Gile, Stephanie Frailey, Kelly Jefferies, and Hillary Schmitz. Gile has been able to continue through a painful torn labrum in her shoulder to play for the Panthers. Last week South competed in the Sedalia Invitational, the course where the state championship tournament is played. Some of the best teams in the state were there to compete in what could be thought of as a practice round. Against the top competition, South finished 11th out of 19 teams. The top 15 scores received medals with scores all under 81. Frailey finished with a round of 88.
“We did really well at Sedalia,” Torgerson said. “There were some excellent teams down there.”

Between now and the quickly approaching conference tournament South will compete in the Notre Dame DeSion Tournament along with a match with Liberty. Park Hill will play matches against Oak Park, North Kansas City, and Winnetonka.

“They’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing, improving,” Garner said.

“We’re getting lower scores, getting better as the years goes on,” Torgerson said. “That’s the key.”