Park Hill scorer picks the right moment

With no classes this week, the Park Hill boys only had to focus on one thing Monday night, starting off the William Jewell Classic with a victory against William Chrisman. The number two seeded Trojans were up against a Bears squad that from first appearance was less athletic and clearly outsized. Still, Park Hill only held a modest lead of 20-12 after the first quarter of play. But there was more to the score than a simple eight point lead; the Trojans had begun what would result in the gradual wearing down of the Bears defense.

After an all-conference season last year, senior guard Chris Nsenki doesn’t sneak up on teams like he used to. Now, he’s a target usually assigned to the opposing team’s best defender. The story of that first quarter and much of the first half was Park Hill’s ability to outplay their opponent despite their most recognized player being over-guarded. Assuming the role of distributor, Nsenki used the target on him to the team’s advantage by dishing the ball to his teammates.

“The thing about Chris is that he’s such a heady basketball player. When he puts himself in a position to draw the attention of the defense, he’s very good at getting his teammates the basketball,” Coach David Garrison said.

Forwards De’Aris Flint and Brady Kreitzer used their clear height advantage over William Chrisman and aggressive post play to put up points close to the basket, 17 and 19 respectively, on the night. The only thing between that combo and a rout was a scrappy and active Bears defense along with a couple timely three-pointers. Flint’s dunk shortly before halftime gave Park Hill its first double digit lead at 36-25.

The bend, but don’t break defense of William Chrisman eventually broke in the third quarter as Nsenki’s patience paid off when he was able to post 12 points from inside and out, providing an example of what his coach means when he says Nsenki can take over a game. Park Hill’s 16-2 run in the latter part of the third quarter put them up 62-38 on the way to a 79-53 first-round victory. At 8-1, they’ll play Liberty at 9pm Wednesday night followed by either a third place game on Thursday at 2:30pm or a championship game appearance at 9pm.

Nsenki’s outside scoring threat and composed play with an athletic presence inside from Kreitzer and Flint could make the Trojans a difficult team to beat as they head into 2011.

“Brady and De’Aris are both returning starters,” Garrison said. “They have a lot of confidence and are handling their roles as senior leaders real well.”

Although the Trojans are defending conference champions, the new conference setup provides stronger challenges this year with the likes of Lee’s Summit West, Truman, and St. Joe Central.

“We’ve got two weeks in the heart of our conference schedule coming up at the first of January, which will be difficult,” Garrison said. “We just can’t become complacent, there’s two months before districts.”

Park Hill's Lee named an All-American, being considered for Gatorade Player of the Year

Park Hill senior Ray Lee began his soccer career like many kids do in the area, playing in his local league, the Southern Platte County Athletic Association (SPCAA). He played on a team with kids in his neighborhood, some of which would play together with Lee through their high school careers. They would see success on the field unlike any team at Park Hill since the early 1990’s as they advanced to a third-place finish at state in 2009 and a quarterfinal appearance in 2010. Lee was named Missouri Class Three’s Offensive Player of the Year along with being named to the All-State team with three other teammates. His career accolades include multiple conference and district honors, but none compare to being named an All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association recently as voted on by coaches throughout the state and compiled with the nation’s top high school soccer players. Additionally, he is now being considered for Gatorade’s Player of the Year, a national award.

While the recognition puts him among the top talent in the country, his approach to his team is what separates him from many of his acknowledged peers. When Lee stepped onto the practice field as a freshmen, he didn’t even know if he would play very much, but coach Dustin Sollars knew he had something.

“I didn’t expect to get minutes like I did that year because there were 12 seniors,” Lee said.

“What we found out early was that he was about as fast as anyone,” Sollars said. “He was great at making opponents miss. We knew he was a really athletic kid and it took a little while to see just how good he was going to be.”

As Lee excelled, he could have easily been scoring hoards of goals on opponents, but Sollars and the Trojans had the convenience of a solid group of players in Lee’s class to surround him with. It would have been easy to position Lee in the front of the offense, but his ability combined with his knowledge of the game and composure made him a more enabling leader in the middle. No matter what Lee always found himself around the ball whether it was scoring, assisting, or just leading. He had 12 goals this past season with 28 assists (41 goals, 73 assists in his career).

“It’s rare to have someone to act like a point guard on the soccer field,” Sollars said. “We were lucky to have players around him to the point where we could keep him in the middle. He could have scored a hundred goals with his accuracy, but we wouldn’t have been as good of a team.”

Lee says his teammates helped him become better and it fit perfectly with his team first mentality that isn’t a cliché to him.

“It helped me look good,” Lee said. “The team comes first and coach gets mad sometimes because he thinks I’m almost too unselfish.”

“It’s great for him to get the accolades but it wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the other guys who made all-state that grew up together playing for their neighborhood team.

Lee is in the process of looking at D-I schools, which he says he definitely wants to do. Currently, he has only visited Drake and says he liked what he saw, but hopes to see more over the coming weeks. At this stage in the recruiting process, many teams have a majority of their roster spots filled and are looking for specific roles.

“One of the best things about him is that he is very athletic, understands the game and he sees things well. I’ve even talked to coaches about him being a D-I defender. His capabilities transcend any position on the field. He has a great shot in the front along with good vision and passing in the middle,” Sollars said.

After being awarded an All-American, Lee still recognizes the reason he started soccer, because it was fun, which is something he hopes younger kids remember.

“I’d tell them to just have fun. If you really like it, try hard because its gonna take practice,” Lee said.

To say getting to where he is required hard work would be an understatement. It goes back to the same year he stepped on the field as a freshmen. Him and teammate Joel Gordon really bought into the new weight program Sollars began implementing that year and their coach recognized it right off the bat.

“He and Joel, seemed like they just took to it. They liked it and worked hard. I told myself at the time that if anyone had a chance to play in college it would be them. Not because they were better or more talented, but because they were willing to work hard,” Sollars said. “The college coaches I talk to are amazed he is 175, that comes from the weight room.”

It’s something Sollars hopes to preach to future players whether they be seventh graders or incoming seniors: what to do if you want to achieve something. And still at the end of the day, character is what separates this All-American from many of the others.

“It always sounds good to say team comes first, but he really believes it. He only had 12 goals, third on our team. You’ll see a lot of guys pad their stats, but he was still dishing the ball off, encouraging his teammates, and sitting on the bench to give younger kids the chance to play,” Sollars said.

Lady Trojans and Panthers take another one to the wire

Last year the Park Hill and Park Hill South girls battled each other in two close regular season games with the road team winning each time. This year both teams were hoping to go into the holiday break with a victory as one team would be able to say they completed the first third of the season at a .500 winning percentage or better with Park Hill coming into the game with a 2-3 record and South at 4-4.

Playing at Park Hill, the teams played neck and neck nearly the entire game. The Trojans held merely a 16-15 lead over the Panthers at the half, but South would go on a five point run to start the half before Park Hill’s Kyleesha Weston turned a fast break into a lay-up to tie the game at 24 in the third quarter. Timely baseline scoring from Helena Hudson helped Park Hill maintain a narrow lead into the fourth quarter before South regained momentum when Tori Kerr converted a lay-up with 5:30 to tie it at 32. South took the lead when a well executed give-and-go from Haley Shelton to Samantha Roy put the Panthers up 38-37 with just under three minutes to play. Shelton and Roy along with Stephanie Griffith have been strong for the Panthers up to this point.

“Samantha’s stepped into a starting role as a freshman point guard and played under composure. Stephanie Griffith is always kind of our go-to person along with Haley Shelton. They work really well together,” Park Hill South Jenny Orlowski said.

Park Hill retook the lead and could have sealed the victory with some crucial free throws, but was unable to cushion their 43-42 lead.

“We usually shoot pretty well, just tonight we didn’t and that’s ok,” Park Hill coach Aaron Neeser said of the free throw shooting.

After a missed free throw, South called timeout with ten seconds to play. Shelton inbounded the ball and immediately streaked to the hoop before receiving it back. The play was executed with precision and while the look was there, the bounce was not, leaving the Panthers on the wrong side of a 43-42 loss to Park Hill.

Understandably, Neeser was relieved about getting out of Monday’s game with a victory.

“We’re just really happy to walk out of here with a win,” Neeser said. “Defense and not giving up those easy buckets is something we need to work more on.”

Asked whether the close game was the rivalry or similarity between the teams, South’s Orlowski said it was a little of both, but the loss withstanding, she is proud of her team’s progress.

“This year we’re both pretty close talent wise (to Park Hill), but style of play is a little different,” Orlowski said. “I told them in the locker room before the game that when we were in this game last year we were 0-8, so I’m very proud of them.”

Winter Weekly Recap: Dec. 13-18

Park Hill South Girls Basketball
The Park Hill South girls basketball team reached and surpassed their win total from last year last week as they improve to 4-4 after going 2-1 with wins against Raytown South and Grandview. And the two wins weren't squekers either as they defeated Raytown South 50-19, with 12 points coming from Jessica Lee, and Grandview 47-24, as Stephanie Griffith scored 16 with 7-10 shooting from the field. The Panthers feel to William Chrisman 49-37 in their final game of the week. South came into the fourth quarter only down by two. Coach Jenny Orlowski said the loss was in part due to fatigue and mental mistakes late in the game. She says they are making great improvements and are beginning to gel as a team.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
After a second place finish in the Blue Springs South tournament two weekends ago, South continued to play well last week as they added two more wins to improve their overall record to 6-1 on the year. A 63-29 thumping of William Chrisman featured three players scoring in double digits with Christian Hildebrandt's 15, Adam Schemenauer's 14, and Rocky Benson's 10. Chrisman did not score more than nine points in any of the four quarters. Their Friday night showdown with Northland neighbor Winnetonka was more of a game, but the Panthers pulled out a 54-48 win as South's Hildebrandt put in 19 along with Benson's 11. They'll compete in the Cardinal Division of the William Jewell Holiday Classic next week and start things with Kansas City Central followed by a likely match-up with O'Hara.

Park Hill Boys Basketball
Park Hill is now 5-1 after a victory against Kearney last week. Nathan Wilson's 11 points along with Chris Nsenki's 10 led the Trojans to a 48-45 victory over Kearney. They'll begin competition in the William Jewell Holiday Classic next week as they play start play in the Patterson Division against William Chrisman to set-up a likely second round game with Liberty.

Park Hill Girls Basketball
The Lady Trojans basketball team is now 2-3 after a poor performance against North Kansas City 58-20 and a win against Belton last week 43-32. Micalla Rettinger has emerged as threat for the Trojans on the scoring front as she led Park Hill in both games with five and 12 points, respectively. Dominique Broadus also added 12 points and 13 rebounds in their victory against Winnetonka.

Park Hill South Wrestling
Park Hill South Wrestling fell to Kearney last week 56-18. South won three matches, but two were by forfeit. The quality showing by Jimmy Carpenter in the 125-pound division resulted in a pin of Kearney's Joe Disciacca. They were back in action over the weekend at the Kansas City Wrestling Classic at Hale Arena. The Panthers finished 27th with a total of 143.5 team points. The Panthers' next action will be the first of January when they host Fort Osage and then visit Platte County.

Park Hill Wrestling
Despite neighbor Oak Park's impressive third place performance and five individual titles, Park Hill had a quality showing as they placed seventh with a team score of 391.5 at the Kansas City Wrestling Classic and took two of the individual titles. After winning his division last year, Bricker Dixon won again, this time in the 125-pound division with his 11-0 victory. At the 145-pound division, Preston Crouse took home the title. Nolan Smith came up just shy in the heavyweight championship match as he fell 3-2 in seven overtimes to Oak Park's John Cervantes. Park Hill and Oak Park were two of the three teams in the entire tournament to win more than one weight class. Collins Hill out of Georgia took home the team title with 472.2 team points without any first place finishes. John Erneste finished fifth at 103 and Russ Coleman placed fourth at 130. Park Hill is off from competition until the beginning of the year when they host Lee's Summit West and Staley.

Park Hill Girls Swim/Dive
Park Hill defeated North Kansas City last week 147-33 in an early week meet. They traveled to the Independence Invitational over the weekend.

Park Hill South Girls Swim/Dive
Park HIll South Swimming's week couldn't get much better last week as they racked up wins over five different teams including Oak Park, Staley, Liberty North, MICDS ( St. Louis) and Springfield Kickapoo. Over the weekend, they continued their dominance with a Top performances in the invitational included first place medals for the 200 Medley Relay's team of Lyndsay Ryan, Olivia McLain, Mary Cate Reinert, Mariah Bryant; the 200 Free Relay of Rachael Norfleet, Shannon Brouk, Miranda Henderson, and Bryant; and Ryan in the 100 backstroke. Other Medal winners included Norfleet in the 200 Free, Brouk and Reinert in 200 IM, Bryant, Ryan and Henderson in the 50 Free, Kelsey Sadler in Diving, Reinert in 100 Fly, McLain and Norfleet in the 100 Free, Shannon Brouk, Taylor Brouk, and Dannie Burdiss in the 500 Free, Bryant in 100 Back, McLain and Abbie Moyes in the 100 Breast and the 400 Free Relay of Ryan, Shannon Brouk, McLain and Norfleet.

The Panthers will have one meet over the holiday break which is Thursday, December 3th at Lee's Summit North.

Winter Recap: Dec. 6-10

Park Hill South Girls Basketball
For the second week in a row the Lady Panthers played North Kansas City and Winnetonka last week. It was also the second week in a row where they fell to North Kansas City and beat Winnetonka. North Kansas City jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they outscored the Panthers in every quarter of the 69-35 defeat for Park Hill South. Jessica Lee, Shannon Keith, and Stephanie Griffith led in scoring with six points a piece in what was a disapointing 30% shooting percentage from the field. A 44-21 victory over Winnetonka improved the Panthers record to 2-3 on the year, as Haley Shelton's four rebound, eight point performance led Park Hill South. Mallory Ross also had eight points. The Panthers play Grandview and William Chrisman this week before a meeting with rival Park Hill on Monday.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
Park Hill South traveled an exciting path to the Blue Springs South Tournament Championship game last week. After a 55-47 victory over Columbia Hickman behind Rocky Benson's 18 and Christian Hildebrandt's 16 points, the Panthers faced off against host school Blue Springs South. The battle wasn't settled after four quarters, so it went into overtime. In fact, it took three overtime periods to decide the game and in the end it was the Panthers with a 84-80 victory.

"Our guys stayed focused and discipline throughout the entire game. Adam Schemenauer controlled the boards with 15 rebounds to go along with his 17 points. And Christian (Hildebrandt) was tough as nails down the stretch. He had eight points midway through the third quarter and finished with 33 points. Our guys never gave up and fought hard until the end," head coach Anthony Perry said.

In the championship game, Park Hill South fell to Rockhurst despite a hard-fought fourth quarter comeback 62-59. Hildebrandt scored 23 points. The Panthers are now 4-1 with a game at Winnetonka Friday night.

Park HIll Boys Basketball
Park Hill lost their first game of the season in the Blue Springs South tournament last week against Rockhurst. After holding a one point lead going into the second quarter, Rockhurst held Park Hill to only seven points the rest of the half, giving the Hawklets a 34-29 lead. Going neck and neck the rest of the way, Rockhurst was able to hold their lead in the end with a 71-61 defeat of the Trojans. Park Hill won their next two games in the tournament against Staley 63-40 and Lincoln Prep 70-62. Chris Nsenki led the Trojans in all three games with 24, 22, and 28 points respectively. Anthony Walter added 19 points in their victory against Lincoln Prep. Park Hill is now 4-1 with games against Belton and Kearney this week.

Park Hill Wrestling
After finishing second to Kearney in the Park Hill Invitational, Park Hill got a chance for redemption as the two faced off in dual competition last week at Kearney. Despite pins from John Erneste, Preston Crouse, Travis Marcum, and Nolan Smith, Park Hill fell once again to Kearney by a score of 38-32. The Trojans participated in the Walsh Jesuit Ironman Tournament over the weekend in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. One of the most notorious high school tournaments in the country, top teams from around the country have traveled far to compete in over the years. The Trojans finished 24th out of over 60 schools with 52 team points. They'll participate in the Midwest Wrestling Classic this weekend.

Park Hill South Wrestling
Park Hill South earned two team dual victories last week against Ray-Pec and Platte County. Bret Rounkles, Jimmy Carpenter, Alex Weatherly, Nick Gillespie, and Grant Kirschbaum pinned their opponents as the Panthers defeated Platte County 42-27. They went on defeat Ray-Pec 44-23 later in the week. Over the weekend, the Panthers placed sixth out of 16 teams in the Lee's Summit North Invitational with 177.5 team points. Just Haughenberry placed third in the 140 pound division, Rene Jiminez placed fourth in the 160 pound division, Nick Gillespie second in the 171 pound division, and Sam Eickhoff fourth in the heavyweight division.

Park Hill South Swim/Dive
Park Hill South bested Park Hill last week 123-57. The Panthers made state cuts in the medley and 200 Free Relays. Rachael Norfleet made state cuts in the 200 Free and 100 Free. Lyndsay Ryan made state cuts in the 50 Free and 100 Back along with Olivia McLain's state qualifying cut in the 200 Individual Medley.

Despite no team scores being kept in the Blue Springs Holiday Relay meet Park Hill South won 13 of the 16 relays. Shannon Brouk swam a state cut in the 200 Free, Mary Cate Reinert in the 100 Fly and Olivia McLain in the 100 Breaststroke. They qualified the 400 free relay team while also seeing improved times in the Medley and 200 Free Relays. They'll travel to St. Louis over the weekend to compete against the Mary Institute and Saint Louis Day School.

Winter Round-up: Nov. 29 - Dec. 3

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
Park Hill South started their season with two wins last week against North Kansas City and William Chrisman. Leading throughout the game, the Panthers prevented a NKC comeback in the fourth quarter as they pulled out the victory 59-52. Christian Hildebrandt and Rocky Benson led with 20 and 11 points. Friday night against William Chrisman, the Panthers got out to a 23-16 first quarter lead and never looked back as they defeated the Bears 69-50. Hildebrant put in 27 points while Adam Schemenauer and Kendrick White both posted 12 points. Park Hill South will be playing in the Blue Springs South McDonald's Tournament this week.

Park Hill Girls Basketball
Park Hill girls coach Aaron Neeser started the Trojans off on the right foot in his first season as they defeated Fort Osage in the opening game of the Fort Osage tournament last week by a score of 39-36. Kyleesha Weston's 17 points led the Trojans. After their encouraging start, Park Hill lost their next two games to St. Joe Central and William Chrisman. Tied with 22 points a piece at the half, Central extended their lead to seven going into the fourth quarter before winning 56-47. Weston and Helena Hudson led the Trojans with 17 and 12 points. Later in the week, the Trojans found themselves in another close game going into the second half only down 22-21. That margin would hold true at the end of the game as the Bears took advantage of their 33 free throw attempts, compared to the Trojans' 11, and pull out a close one 42-41. Park Hill's Weston scored 13 points along with Marche Belcher's 10 points. The Lady Trojans are now 1-2 with games against North Kansas City and Belton next week.

Park Hill Boys Basketball

In a rematch of last year's district semi-final game, Park Hill was able to claim a little bit of redemption as they used an explosive second quarter to propel them to a 63-58 win over Oak Park. After falling behind 17-9 in the first quarter, the Trojans' 26-8 second quarter put them up enough to still give up a late Northmen run and maintain the victory. Brady Kreitzer's 26 points along with Chris Nsenki's 24 lit it up for Park Hill to account for 50 of the Trojans' 63 total team points. Park Hill will be competing in the Blue Springs South McDonald's Tournament this week.

Park Hill Wrestling

In their first competition since winning the state championship last February, the 2010-2011 Park Hill wrestling team returned to the mat to host the Park Hill Duals with 16 teams participating. Park Hill cruised through the round-robin format with wins over Fort Osage (61-11), Liberty (52-18), and Park Hill South (43-21). In the championship round, they defeated Lewis Central 44-25 to advance to the championship against Kearney. Even behind quality match wins from Bricker Dixon, Russ Coleman, Preston Crouse, Eddie McDonald and Nolan Smith, Kearney edged out a 37-29 victory for first place. The Trojans will be back in action as they compete in the Walsh Jesuit Tournament this Friday.

Park Hill South Wrestling
Park Hill South wrestling defeated North Kansas City last week before placing third in the Park Hill Duals this past weekend. Behind pins from Jimmy Carpenter, George Barth, Alex Weatherly, Justin Haughenberry, DJ Dewitt, Brock St. Louis, Chase Gray, Grant Kirschbaum, and Sam Eickhoff, South was able to build a huge lead before going onto claim victory 65-9. After two wins over Liberty (37-32) and Fort Osage (51-21) in the day-long Park Hill Duals, the Panthers fell to Park Hill (43-21). In the semi-finals, Kearney beat Park Hill South (44-27) before going on to place first which led the Panthers to a 42-32 third place win over Lewis Central. Park Hill South's next action comes when they travel to Lee's Summit North Friday night.
 
Park Hill South Girls Basketball
The Park Hill South girls basketball team started their season off 1-2 last week as they competed in the Winnetonka Invitational. The Panthers fell 50-34 to North Kansas City before rebounding against Winnetonka mid-week for a 48-31 victory. In the tournament finale, South went down by 13 early in the game and would maintain that margin throughout the rest of the game despite an improved quality of play the remaining three quarters. Coach Jenny Orlowski said she was pleased the effort in the tournament and that her team is growing up a little each day.

Preview: Park Hill South boys basketball expect to leave their own mark, build on run to Final Four

The Park Hill South Panthers finished third in their conference and came into the district tournament as the fourth seeded team. What may have been considered just a slightly above average season for the Panthers soon changed as they battled to a district title game victory and continued through the Missouri Class 5 playoff bracket all the way to the Final Four. Their 21-11 record and unlikely fourth place finish at state are still in the minds of those players returning for the 2010-11 season, but not in the reminiscent way you may suspect. Past success aside, this year’s team wants to establish their own success.

“We talked about it at the beginning of the year. Not so much what we achieved, but what we did to get there. The little things we did and how we came together. After that conversation we haven’t mentioned anything about last year,” Coach Anthony Perry said. “We want to form our own identity and hopefully repeat some of the successes from the past.”

This year’s team will likely face a different reception from opponents this year compared to last. Especially in their run through the playoffs, the Panthers often found themselves the underdogs and gladly accepted the role, but they’ll have a harder time sneaking up on teams this season.

“Last year we were hunting, now we’re hunted. We’re going to get a lot of people’s best games,” Perry said. “I’m hoping that’s a challenge the guys are willing to accept.”

The three returning senior starters that will form the team’s core include last year’s leading scorer and rebounder Christian Hildebrandt, 6’9” center Adam Schemenauer, and defensive captain Rocky Benson. Sophomore Anthony Woods will fill the hole at point guard left by Tyler Keesee who graduated after being a four-year starter for the Panthers.

“He’s accepted the challenge of leading our team so far,” Perry said. “We’re relying on him a lot.”

Rounding out the rotation will be senior guard Joe Pearson, forward Kendrick White, Bobby O’Connor, and Omar Patterson.

While Perry is waiting to see what the strength of his team will be other than the leadership and proven play of his returning core players, he said his team will exhibit the same style of play they have in years past.

“We’ll push the ball in transition. Defend real well in the half court set. Be patient and take the shots that are given to us,” Perry said.

An early test for the Panthers will be the competitive Blue Springs South Tournament. Additionally, a challenging new conference schedule features basketball strong schools Raytown and Raytown South along with a varying degree of different styles of play. The Panthers hope the exposure to such athletic teams will help them when districts come around, a time where they hope to be clicking, once again, on all cylinders.

Preview: Trojans basketball will defend conference title, look to overcome district upset

The Park Hill boys basketball program broke out in a strong way last season when they went 19-7 including an undefeated 10-0 conference record which gave them their first conference title since 2002. Riding an unbeaten streak into district play, the Trojans’ hopes of a district championship were cut short as they were upset in the semifinals by Oak Park. Returning a strong nucleus of that team, the Trojans will reload for another fast-paced season and compete in a difficult conference and again look for a chance at the district crown.

"We gear ourselves to be playing our best going at the end of the season,” Coach David Garrison said. “It’s always a motivator (last year), but it’s a new season. There will be a lot of things that could work out differently.”

A senior class of nine will lead Park Hill including returning all-conference starters Chris Nsenki, DeAris Flint, and Brady Kreitzer accounting for a collective average of 35 points and 13 rebounds a game. Letter winners with experience include Burt Taylor, Nate Wilson, and Anthony Walters.

“The strength of our team is our senior class, people who have been in varsity basketball games, people that know our expectations and how our program works,” Coach David Garrison said.

By way of Tennessee, Tre Durham, will be an impact player for Park Hill along with junior Connor Farmer. One void the Trojans will need to fill is the loss of second team all-state center Justin Leathers who averaged 19 points and nine rebounds last season.

“That’s going to be tough to overcome. We’re not going to be able to put one person out there and tell them to do that, but collectively we can make up for that,” Garrison said.

With a conference consisting of strong teams like Truman, Lee’s Summit West, and North Kansas City, the tough schedule will provide some obstacles for the Trojans as there won’t be many easy games on the schedule once they reach the heart of league play.

“If you’re not mentally prepared, not physically prepared, you’re not going to be competitive,” Garrison said. “I think it’s going to be good for us because when you get to the end of the season and it’s do or die, then those difficult games should help us.”

One thing Garrison is not worried about is depth. With so many athletes available, it will mean that much more each player be able to fulfill their role when the time comes.

“Keys for us will be our ability to defend and the chemistry that our team builds throughout the season,” Garrison said. “We have multiple players who will be able to contribute, so the sooner we come together as a team the better we will be.”

Preview: Park Hill South girls basketball looking to build from ground up

This year’s Park Hill South Lady Panther basketball team will be building from the bottom-up after last year’s 3-19 season. Head Coach Jenny Orlowski comes into her third season ready to mix things up and start anew with what will be a 2010-2011 Panther squad made up of players ranging in experience. That means out with the old and in with the new.

“We started from scratch after last season because when you hit bottom you know you can’t keep doing the same things that got you there, you have to change,” Orlowski said of this season’s fresh start.

Park Hill South will combine the experience of returning starters Stephanie Griffith, Kinsy Kuhn, and Haley Shelton who bring back a combined average of 15 points a game. They’ll lead some talented sophomore guards in the likes of Courtney Claasen and Tori Kerr. Also making consistent contributions will be sophomores Jessica Lee and Brittany Perry along with seniors Mackenzie Williams and Shannon Keith, the Panthers’ most improved player last year.

“We’re going to play a lot of kids. I told them there’s going to be a lot of cross over between JV and Varsity. A lot of the younger kids will get time at both,” Orlowski said.

Part of gaining back their competitive edge starts on the practice floor where the Panthers believe they’re further ahead than they were at this time last year and it starts with having the confidence to attack the other team.

“You’ll find they’re going to be a lot more aggressive and cutting to the basket more. They really see each other on the floor,” Orlowski said. “Overall, we’re a lot quicker and I think we’ll be an exciting team to watch.”

An area to keep your eye on throughout the season will be the Panthers’ maturity and composure. Their ability to mesh their senior leadership with their younger players to build a cohesive team could yield positive results.

“I think we have a maturity factor to overcome. Even though we have five seniors, we’ll have a lot of younger kids on the floor at times. We tend to forget things when our adrenaline starts pumping,” Orlowski said. “If we combine our new outlook and the hard work that must be done, we should be much improved over last season and will probably surprise some teams.”

The Panthers will look to compete will strong conference opponents William Chrisman, Raytown, and Belton.

Preview: Park Hill girls basketball looks to find its groove with new coach

First year Park Hill girls basketball coach Aaron Neeser has spent much of the first few weeks of practice doing what most first year coaches would do. Instilling a basic philophy, observing what kind of talent he’ll have to work with, and emphasizing several key points. What Neeser knows he has are two returning starters in Kyleesha Weston and Helena Hudson along with significant minutes from Shelby Blanchard and Michele Rupard. This is from a 16-11 team that at times seemed to play better than their record would suggest. Combined with a number of athletic players with little varsity experience, the Trojans are hoping to turn their new system into a machine consisting of many moving parts.

“We’re trying to preach defense and rebounding first. Being relentless and going after every ball. Having the attitude where every possession is important,” Neeser said of the style he hopes to instill. “Rebounding, I want us to be the best rebounding team in the conference.”

Looking to potentially play up to 12-13 players a game this season, the Lady Trojans’s inexperience at the varsity level will have plenty of chances to be ironed out with a steady rotation of players. Kelly Cook, Leslie Coons, Sarah Sumpter, Beth Sullinger, Micalla Rettinger, Amanda Lawrence, Marche Belcher, and Dominque Broadus all hope to contribute to a new style of game play that emphasies speed and quickness.

“We have a lot of athletes, so we’re trying to play an up tempo, trapping type of basketball,” Neeser said. “We’re going to try to play fast pace and we’ll see how it goes.”

Even if the Trojans struggle with the new upbeat strategy, there’s one thing their wants it to teach them and that is taking care of the ball is one of the most important things.

“That’s one thing we’re trying to instill each and every day is being aggressive and being passionate about possessing the basketball,” Neeser said. “We will need to rebound and play extremely well on the defensive end to be successful.”

Park Hill begins play in a new and highly competitive conference this season featuring strong teams like North Kansas City, Truman, Lee’s Summit West, and St. Joe Central. The tough matchups haven’t stifled their expectations though as their coach began to name who he expected the most out of, but stopped short of the entire team.

“I could go down the list, we have high expectations for all of them,” Neeser said.

Preview: Panther wrestling look to youth for next step, leadership

Experience is what you get by not having it when you needed it as the saying goes. That's a good way to sum up what the Park Hill South wrestling team learned from last year. The young Panther squad went a solid 10-4 in dual competitive, but didn't fare so well with their conference as they went 2-3 and later went on to place fifth at districts. While still fairly young, Park Hill South returns a number of now experienced wrestlers who will be looking to improve on last year's performance.

"We got beat up pretty good last year in our conference," Coach Dan Dunkin said. "I would like to see this year’s team be more competitive in the conference race. We were young last year, we should be much better this year."

Returning state qualifiers Jimmy Carpenter (119), Adam Weatherly (130), and Chase Gray (171) will lead the Panthers this season along with Alex Weatherly (135) and Alex Fortuna (103), all sophomores.

"If we’re going to be successful this year, these guys need to wrestle like they're upperclassman," Dunkin said.

Speaking of upperclassmen, senior heavyweight Sam Eickhoff will be relied upon both on and off the mat as the team's designated captain. Look for junior Bret Rounkles (112) to have a breakout year as his coach believes his attitude and work ethic will pay off on the mat. Others looking to contribute this season include George Barth (125), Justin Haughenberry (140), DJ Dewitt (145), Alex Carpenter (152), Rene Jimenez (160), Nick Gillespie (189), and Grant Kirschbaum (215).

Dunkin's team will focus intently on their conference schedule, where three of their total four losses occurred. The conference title contention will likely come down to matches between the Panthers and three other teams including Belton, William Chrisman, and Fort Osage. None of which will be easy duels.

"On a bad night any of these team’s can beat us. If we’re wrestling well, I like our chances," Dunkin said. "This year the magic word is consistency. If we want good things to happen we need to wrestle tough every duel."

Of course, not only would they like to place towards the top of their conference, they'd like to improve on their performance at the state tournament. Last year, they took three freshmen to state and the ultimate goal would be for the Panthers to increase that number. With any team, especially a young team, those goals will be realized slowly, one match at a time.

"This team can achieve great things. Right now, that means winning the next match," Dunkin said. "Right now for South, being tough is winning the next match."

Preview: Park Hill wrestling looks to defend title, again

Park Hill Wrestling will return a strong group of wrestlers to the mat for the 2010-11 season to defend their back to back state titles. While they lost a solid group of wrestlers to graduation that racked up high point totals for the Trojans over four years and four individual state titles last year, the returning varsity wrestlers will now be expected to make up for those points as they step in to fill leadership roles on the team.

The Trojans’ sole returning state champion, Bricker Dixon, will move up weight divisions from 112 to 125. Paxton Diblasi moves up from 103 to fill the void left by Dixon at 112. A state-runner up at 130, Russ Coleman returns at a lower weight class of 119. Senior Preston Crouse moves from 140 to 145 pounds after a third-place state finish last year. State qualifier Nolan Smith returns in the heavyweight division. Park Hill will look to this core group of returning wrestlers to lead the way towards what they hope is another run at a third consecutive team state title.

“We’re looking forward to and expect a lot out of those guys this year,” assistant coach Joe Gonier said.

Other returning wrestlers with varsity competition under their belt include Cody Goodwin (135), Nick Harper (152), DJ Dietrich (171), and Eddie McDonald (189). Newcomers include John Erneste (103), Michael Olsen (112), Noland Anderson and Ryan Hosford (160), Isiah Williams (171), and Travis Marcum (215).

While Park Hill Wrestling has been a powerful force in the state of Missouri over the last decade, it’s hard to tell early in the season how new athletes will perform in different positions, particularly freshmen. Park Hill’s Youth Wrestling program has alleviated this obstacle with many underclassmen coming into high school prepared and already familiar with the program. The first part of the season gives them a chance to get a lot of different kids a chance to see where they fit best and are most comfortable.

“We try people out in different spots in the first third of the season to see how kids react, but as the season progresses the lineup gets more consistent as we move closer to districts,” Gonier said.

Judging from the past, most of those shakeups will allow the top wrestlers to emerge which will prepare them well for those crucial tournaments at the end of the season. While talk will continue of the possibility of a three-peat at February’s state wrestling meet, one thing Trojan Wrestling fans can count on in the meantime is the emergence of a new, young group of top wrestlers in the area.

Preview: Park Hill South Girls Swimming will compete to be KC's top team

Their ninth straight conference championship season left them with a 12-1 dual meet record and an eighth place finish at state including some of their relay teams being the top out of metro competition. Hoping to pick up where they left off they return a solid portion of that team this season in what Coach Tim Busenhart considers to be one of the strongest teams he's coached in his 11 years.

It's no surprise the Panthers' top priority is placing higher in the state meet than they did a year ago and the swimmers they have coming back are no strangers to competing on a high level. Lyndsay Ryan and Mary Cate Reinert have been on the All-State team three times along with Rachael Norfleet and Mariah Bryant who have been members twice. This strong group of swimmers will lead the way for Park Hill South. Newcomers Olivia McLain and Shannon Brouk will also add talent to their already accomplished teammates.

One thing Busenhart thinks will give them an edge this year is the depth on their team. A good problem to have, they just need to harness that depth to their advantage. They'll try different line-ups throughout the season to see which swimmers to strategically place in what positions so the Panthers have the strongest shot to place high at state.

"It's really just about figuring out who fits best where," Busenhart said. "We are strong across the board, but we're trying to find the right combinations."

While Park Hill South has faired well against Kansas City metro area competition over the years, in the realm of Missouri swimming, St. Louis is where many of the top teams come from. An opportunity to face some cross-state competition, the Panthers will travel to St. Louis and participate in a meet with MICDS followed by the Flyer Invitational the weekend of December 17-18. Other big invitationals include the Park Hill Invitational in early January along with the Raytown Invitational two weeks later.

Once again, they will be the ones to beat in their conference as it doesn't seem like an obvious contender stands out to seriously challenge the Panthers.

"We're probably the heavy favorite," Busenhart said.

In the end, the dates Busenhart and his team are looking towards is February 18 and 19 when they'll travel to St. Peters for the state meet where they hope to not only top their eighth place finish from last year, but possibly contend for the title itself.

Preview: Park Hill Girls Swimming looks to overcome last year's second place conference finish

After coming in as runners-up at last year’s conference swim and dive meet, the Park Hill girls team will be swimming against a new set of competitors at this year’s meet as conference realignment puts the Trojans up against North Kansas City, St. Joe Central, Ruskin, Lee’s Summit West, and Truman. Although their conference will change, their regular season schedule will feature many of the same familiar opponents and coming off an 11-2 dual meet record from last year puts Park Hill in position to have another successful season.

Relying on a core group of swimmers to lead them, the Trojans will look to junior Brynn Guardado to be their strongest swimmer. Guardado returns as a member of the All-State team in the 200 and 500 freestyle. Joining her will be senior Kaley Hensel and sophomore Abigail Hill in the breaststroke and Jasmine Jones in the butterfly. Returning state qualifying divers include Eleanor Parrott and Jordan Rowlett.

Coach Karl Haley’s team will participate in two big swim invites this season as they compete in the Independence Invitational in mid-December and then they come home to host their annual Park Hill Invitational at the beginning of January. In terms of overcoming their second place finish from last year, the team that appears to most likely sit in the Trojans way of a conference title is Lee’s Summit West who returns a strong squad from last year. Haley believes they will give them a strong run for it though if his team puts the work in.

In addition to competing for a conference championship, the team will once again try to qualifier as many swimmers and divers as possible for the state meet in mid-February.

New Bridge Links Past Tragedy To Present Progress

In April 2004, hundreds of petitions were circulated around the Park Hill community demanding action from public officials to expedite plans to make Barry Road - one of the most heavily traveled roads in the Northland - safer. The outcry was in response to a car accident which claimed the lives Park Hill students Darren Floyd and Brandon McPherson on the narrow Barry Bridge that passes over Rush Creek just north of Weatherby Lake. Ten thousand signatures were eventually collected as a group of concerned citizens formed the Coalition to Fix Barry Road and built renewed support for the long overdue improvements.

Public meetings and press conferences were held. Plans, funds, and timetables were discussed. I wish I could say it was a perfect example of government realizing a problem and swiftly implementing a solution, but I can’t. Congressman Sam Graves visited the site of the fatal accident in the summer of 2004, but no federal involvement ever took place.

Years passed with only delays.

During the 2007 Kansas City Mayoral campaign, the Coalition sponsored one of the first forums where candidates shared their ideas for improving roads, and not just at the site of the Barry Bridge, but in Kansas City as a whole. The candidate who received one of the highest ratings at that forum, Mark Funkhouser, went on to be elected KC Mayor in March 2007. It wasn’t until August 2008 when the bridge was deemed too dangerous to carry 24,000 vehicles a day - 49 of which were school buses - and was closed. With cameras rolling that day, Funkhouser promised progress by telling the crowd that if the city could build a downtown arena in under a year, he didn’t see why they couldn’t build a single bridge. With Kansas City’s jurisdiction including the bridge and the road leading to it from the east, Platte County was responsible for the greater portion of the road going west. While officials from both sides jumped at every opportunity to support the project, they were just as quick to blame other factors for the numerous delays. Both were significantly delayed from original estimates. In the meantime, the bridge sat closed for two years with heavy traffic loads re-routed through nearby neighborhoods.

This story has a good ending though.

Despite pandering politicians and bureaucratic obstacles, dedicated spirits kept pushing for progress. This month, the bridge was finally opened to through traffic for the first time in over two years, more than six years after the initial outcry. Although the full project won’t be complete until 2012, the new bridge serves as a symbol of the tragedy and struggles of the past, but also the widespread good nature that can result from committed citizen engagement. The bridge opening was especially significant for two sets of parents - Britt and Denise McPherson along with Chris and Julie Floyd, parents of Brandon and Darren, the two Park Hill students killed on the narrow road in 2004.

"It was a bittersweet moment for family and friends of Brandon and Darren as the last barrier was removed and a school bus rumbled over Rush Creek on the new section of Barry Road. The three lanes that have replaced the narrow old country road are wider and safer, and the ultimate goal of the families--to assure that others would not have to suffer the tragic loss of loved ones on a dangerous stretch of roadway that had claimed 17 lives in 20 years--was finally achieved,” Coalition to Fix Barry Road spokesperson Lynn Hinkle said.

"The moment was also a tribute to the many people who worked so diligently and persevered in the face of numerous obstacles. As we travel this stretch of new roadway, we share a deep sense of gratitude for the selfless efforts of the McPherson and Floyd families who rose above their personal tragedy to help protect our community's children in the future.”