GIRLS GOLF PREVIEW: PH golf team returns several top players

The Park Hill Girls Golf team is full steam ahead as they look to start their 2010 season where they ended their 2009 season. Coach Tari Garner knew she had a good team last year, but always thought the 2010 season would be the one to keep an eye on. With all of their top five golfers returning, the Trojans hope to capitalize on a spring and summer full of preparation.

Returning from a team that placed second at conference and fourth at districts are two state qualifiers, Anna Kloeppel and Stephanie Atkinson, along with seniors Erica Crainshaw, Samantha Brunker, and Bailey Warlan. Not only are some experienced varsity players returning, but the entire JV team returns as well, which Garner says is creating some competition within the ranks.

“We have some people who will be battling for that last spot on varsity and pushing each other to get better,” Garner said.

No matter what five golfers Park Hill will go with throughout the season, Garner is seeing some especially encouraging signs of where the team could be at the end of the season.

“We’re shooting scores on our first nine holes below where we ended the season last year,” Garner said. “That’s a really good look and I hope we can continue to get better.”

Going into her fourth season as the head coach, Garner says she has always tried to instill the importance of working hard in the summer leading up to the beginning of practice whether it be taking lessons or actually playing the course.

“This senior class is the first group we’ve seen all the way through,” Garner said. “It’s made a difference and they understand what it takes to really be competitive.”

While Lee’s Summit West will be a competitive force in the conference and an always talented Liberty team in districts, the Trojans main focus going into the early matches of the season is improving their technique and make sure it pays off in the long-run.

“Sometimes the girls have to make changes early in the season because it gets harder to adjust as the season goes on,” Garner said. “Our main thing is to focus on building up so you’re performing your best around the time or conference and districts.”

FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Diverse PH football team ready to reload

The Park Hill Football team finds itself in a tough, but familiar position coming into the 2010 season. With conference and district titles along with a 9-2 record in 2009, the Trojans hope to reload once again. After losing a highly talented and experienced senior class to graduation, they only return a handful of starters. A class of only 17 seniors means the Trojans will rely heavily on experienced seniors and a large group of juniors.

Coach Greg Reynolds has been pleased with the team’s progress up to this point, but believes consistency, especially with a younger team, is what will determine a lot in this team’s success.

“I’ve seen some good things out of our kids, but consistently being able to do it against some of the good teams we play is something we have a long way to go on,” Reynolds said.

Senior Adam Vanderpool returns to anchor the offensive line with Nathan Wilson taking the snaps at quarterback. Fullback Jordan Wang will offer the Trojans flexibility in both the run and pass game. Beginning the season as a backup last year, 1,000 yard rusher Trace Norfleet will be a name for opposing defenses to reckon with.

“He’s doing a really good job of leading by example. He’s not really a big yeller, he just goes about it,” Reynolds said of Norfleet. “He’s starting to learn the offense better for someone who started a majority of last year. He’s really starting to see the passing game part of it.”

Traditionally a run-heavy offense, the Trojans may lean on the pass more this year with Norfleet coming out of the backfield and two-way starter De’Aris Flint at wide receiver. It’s one thing Reynolds says is an advantage to this year’s team, the amount of options they have available.

“That’s something we have this year we haven’t had in a while,” Reynolds said. “Trace is more comfortable as a receiver now than last year and we can do some of the same things with Jordan who is more like a tailback at fullback.”

On defense, Flint will lead a strong group of young linebackers who have emerged so far in practice. DB Burt Taylor and safety Dylan Jones have stepped up as two of the more vocal leaders of the defense.

“We have the talent to be good, but until we play as a team and forget about individual stats we won’t be very good,” Reynolds said describing his team’s potential.

The Trojans will find out right away the progress they’ve made. They kick-off the season against Liberty. Park Hill won last year 20-11. Next, they’ll travel to play a Ruskin team no one is sure what to expect out of. The Trojans will then take on rival Park Hill South in week three.

“We’ll find out where we’re at real quick,” Reynolds said. “It’s the same thing I’ve told my teams for twelve years now. Until you give yourself up for someone else, then you’ll never reach your full potential.”

BOYS SOCCER PREVIEW: Trojans return core of last year's third-place state team

After one of the best seasons since 1993 and tying for a school best third place finish at state, the Trojans’ boys soccer team finds themselves in an unfamiliar situation. Not only are they expecting to be successful again this year, but they’ll be doing it with some of the same faces from last year’s dash through the playoffs.

“We’re in a unique situation where we have a lot of returners. At the end of last year’s state team we only lost three seniors and we were very young. We return a large senior class,” coach Dustin Sollars said.

Sollars will look to a senior group of which 14 remain from the original 16 that came into the program just three years ago. That same core group of players led Park Hill to a 24-6-2 record last year with conference, district, sectional, and quarterfinal titles.

“This year they’re going to have to be motivated by something different. Now it’s expected, because anyone can do it once,” Sollars said. “The mark of great teams is how often they’re capable of putting it together.”

The Trojans will rely on a tough and physical defense led by Raymond Lee and Joel Gordon along with goalie Shane Vanhooser. On offense, look for David Zdvorak to score his share of goals this season with help from Neal Sampson and Quenton Noble. Park Hill not only has a handful of standouts, but also several who will contribute their composure and confidence with the ball as role players.

“We just have a cast of people that play their role to a tee,” Sollars said of his team.

As far as the competition, their schedule appears more difficult this year, especially since they won’t be sneaking up on anybody. Lee’s Summit West emerges as the most evident new conference rival, but the Trojans’ toughest competition will come outside of league play with the likes of Rockhurst, Liberty, and games against a pair of St. Louis schools.

The Trojans kick off the season at the Olathe Invitational, a tournament Park Hill teams have struggled at in years past. Sollars believes a quality showing against some stiff competition could be a good sign of what’s to come.

“Those Kansas schools are solid and they’ve shown it,” Sollars said. “That’s our early season goal is to come out sharp and prepared.”

Transitioning from last year’s success to focusing on this season and beyond has been a key goal so far for the Trojans.

“We’re just looking at what it takes to be a consistent group and build on that,” Sollars said. “Recognizing what we want to do now is set an example so they can build a legacy for years to come.”

VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW: New coach at helm of PH volleyball squad

Each season is a fresh start, but for the Park Hill Volleyball team this especially rings true. In addition to graduating a large senior class last year and only returning a few girls with varsity experience, the Trojans will be led by a new head coach in 2010. After coaching at her alma mater of Oak Park on the JV level for three years followed by two years at Staley High, Coach Lindsey Hood is excited to take over a program with the chance to build onto instead of re-build.

“They had a good base and great coach last year,” Hood said. “So I’m just trying to take it over and run with the program.”

Returning for the Trojans are four seniors including Allysa Moran, Marylou Mixon, Ashlea Williams, and Paige Hultz. Junior libero Haley Knudsen returns as a floor leader. They’ll also look to Lindsay Grace for a presence at the net along with Molly Lien who will likely take on a key defensive role for the Trojans.

Although primarily an offensive player in college while a member of the UMKC volleyball team, Hood has focused her strategy as a coach on strong defense.

“I think it wins games,” Hood said. “If we’re smart players, then we can win quite a few."

While some coaches may feel the urge to overload their players with changes when taking over a new program, Hood has had her team focused on the little things so it is easy when it comes to game.

“If they push each other in practice and pay a lot of attention to detail, then later it comes natural,” Hood said.

Not everything has stayed the same with the new coach. Hood helped organize Park Hill’s first “Dig for the Cure” Game scheduled with Liberty North on September 21st to raise money and awareness to fight cancer. An event that has gained popularity throughout the country, Hood got the idea from North Kansas City’s similar district-wide event. After some research and inquiries, Park Hill and Liberty North came together to form what will hopefully become a yearly event.

“Since they’re a new school and I’m new to the program I thought ‘Let’s create the game,” Hood said.

Facing some of their regular season opponents in summer league, the Trojans feel confident they’ll be able to compete in some of the tough matches they’re set to play with the likes of Park Hill South, Liberty, Oak Park, and Kearney this season. Hesitant to make any predictions, Hood was sure of one thing.

“We’re going to be a great defensive team and we’re going to hustle like crazy,” Hood said. “That’s usually what my teams have been known for.”

GIRLS TENNIS PREVIEW: Top three back for PH tennis

When you’ve won four consecutive conference titles like the Park Hill Girls Tennis team, the expectations only grow each year. With the program coach Tim Kalis has been able to fine tune over recent years, the 2010 season will be no different.

The Trojans return singles state runner-up Suzanne Barth, Kate Skorija, and Anna Karasiewicz from last year’s squad. While Park Hill’s top three were contributors to past successes, the fate of this year’s team could be largely determined by who rounds out rest of the squad. There are a pack of girls competing for the final three spots including upperclassmen Ashlei Bos, Sammy Young, and Bailey Petrillo along with freshmen Brooke Barnard, Kaylin Lake, Abby Peoples, and Beth Cooper.

In what could be considered a rebuilding year, Kalis is excited about the position of the program. Having so many girls compete for spots right now will not only have an immediate effect, but is also positive in the long-term.

“It’s nice to see the girls getting those opportunities,” Kalis said of the competition. “We have a large group of freshmen girls of which four or five will definitely provide a boost for us in the future.”

With a 28-1 conference record in the past five years, the new conference arrangement will provide a challenge to the Trojans. Lee’s Summit West stands out as an experienced and talented team they’ll have their eyes on.

“This will be one of the more difficult conference years,” Kalis said. “If we focus on one meet at a time and
get better every day, we should be fine."

The Trojans will be tested early with a tough schedule featuring Liberty, Park Hill South, St. Theresa’s and Pembroke Hill. All four are scheduled in the first two weeks of the season.

“The nice thing about having some tough schools in our schedule is it will give us an idea of the work we need to do,” Kalis said. “It will be nice for our younger players to see the meat and potatoes of high school tennis and what it’s like to play some big guns right off the bat.”

Being battle tested is nothing new to the program, as they’ve faced stiff competition and defeated it before. Their coach sees promising signs so far.

“I’ve been so pleased with the work ethic so far that sky is the limit,” Kalis said. “I think we have great potential.”

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW: New PH coach has sights set high

The Park Hill Girls Cross Country program has never won a conference championship or qualified for state. After speaking with first year head coach Jason Parr, you’d get the feeling that could soon change. An assistant the past three years, Parr is setting ambitious goals for his team and is already showing signs of where he’d like to take the program.

“We’re looking to start a new chapter, almost a new program,” Parr said. “We’ve got great numbers this year. We’ve got 40-50 girls out this year compared to 16 girls last year. We’ve already doubled the size of our team.”

Not only do the Trojans have more runners, but they have tough competition taking place to run varsity.

“I’ve got 16 girls right now fighting for the top seven spots,” Parr said. “I’ve never had that before.”

They’ll be led by senior captains Sarah Pennington and Maddie Cummings who, although not on varsity, their coach says have been great inspirations to their younger teammates.

“They’re great girls and they encourage the others to get them through practice,” Parr said. “Without their help, we couldn’t do what we do.”

In what they hope is a groundbreaking year, the Trojans are taking a focused approach to running together in packs. By running at a high tempo together, Parr says, it allows the team to place higher compared to all seven runners going their separate ways.

“We’ve never won the conference, never made it to state as a team, but those are things we’re going to do this year with the group of girls we have,” Parr said. “As a coach you never want to be overconfident with your team, but I’ve been training with them over the past year and I know what they can do.”

An indicator of the Trojans’ progress will come at the Rim Rock Classic on September 25th. Over a thousand runners will participate and Parr already knows the message his team wants to send.

“We’re going to represent Park Hill and let everyone know we’re a new team who’s ready to show up to get it done,” Parr said.

SOFTBALL PREVIEW: Trojans want to build on last year's strong finish

A 12-16 record last year didn’t necessarily reflect the strides the Trojan Softball team took as a program compared to years past. Despite an up and down year, Park Hill made a run at the conference crown before finishing third and fell short of a district title in extra innings. Although they lose five starters, the 2010 Trojans will be aiming to build on the foundation they’ve laid.

Decorated returning starters include catcher Michele Rupard and shortstop Bethany Sullinger. Others returning with varsity experience include pitcher Makenzi Porter, infielder Liza Hill, and utility player Megan Nelsen. Upperclassmen Katey Kohl, Nikki Colwell, Micalla Rettinger, Nikki Moss, and Lindsey Horstman are all expected to make an impact.

The Trojans will seek contributions from younger players like Page Downs and Samantha Snodgrass from a large sophomore class to fill some of the remaining holes in the lineup.

“Our sophomore class is pretty big so if we can get a couple of them to step into varsity spots that would be good,” Coach Stuart Sullinger said. “Our freshmen are very enthusiastic, so the future looks good, but they’re not quite ready yet.”

With Rupard returning behind the plate, sophomores Porter and Lindsey Monroe will compete with a pair of incoming freshmen for a pitching role. On offense, Sullinger says the top of their lineup looks good, but hopes to round it out with players who can make contact with the ball.

“We’ll have three or four stud hitters,” Sullinger said. “The rest of the lineup we’re really trying to get them to set back and drive the ball so we can move base runners over more and execute.”

After an excruciating nine game skid they went through last year, Sullinger knows if they can do the little things right, similar streaks can be avoided.

“It’s about playing perfect catch. If the pitchers do what they should do then that’s what it amounts to,” Sullinger said. “If we can eliminate mistakes we should be ok, and that’s our number one priority.”

Park Hill will compete with some unfamiliar teams for the first time in several years including St. Joe Central, North Kansas City, and Lee’s Summit West, but Truman could be the team to beat if the Trojans compete confidently.

“I think I know in my mind what we can do,” Sullinger said confidently. “I’m not sure if they know what we can do yet.”

SWIM AND DIVE PREVIEW: PH Swimmers ready to start own title streak

When your conference rival has won eleven straight titles, it can be quite discouraging coming in second place each year. Until the 2009 season, that was pretty much the story for the Park Hill Boys Swim and Dive team. With a 9-1 dual meet record last year, the Trojans were able to snap Park Hill South’s eleven year run. An impressive amount of lettermen returning will put the Trojans in position to create a streak of their own in 2010.

A seventh place finish at state, their third top-eight finish in three years, along with wins at the Independence, Park Hill, and North Kansas City Invitationals are just some of the competitions they would like to see repeat performances or better this season. Eight athletic seniors return for the Trojans including Sam Blacksher, Alex Emery, Chris Greger, Walker Hemphill, Bryce Kober, Charlie Rider, and Ben Svoboda. Greg, Hemphill, Kober, and Svoboda were selected to the All-State team last year.

“With eight returning seniors, we have very high expectations including a conference championship and finishing in the top four at state,” coach Karl Haley said.

Also joining a recognized senior class are juniors Jarde Alderman, Matt Johnson, and Garrett Wooldridge along with sophomores Kyle Allen, Josh Black, Kyle Branton, Joey Johnson, Conner Shene, Vinnie Tutorino, Matt Wagner, and Mason Witherspoon.

New conference alignments won’t allow for Park Hill to square off with Park Hill South in conference standings for the first time in over a decade, which means Park Hill will be fighting to defend their title against other area teams. At first glance, Lee’s Summit West appears to be an initial competitive matchup for the Trojans, but Haley believes his Trojan team can prevail.

“They’ll be a contender, but with our depth and talent I think we would be favored to win,” Haley said.

Park Hill will get off to quick and competitive starts with their first dual against Lee’s Summit West on August 31st followed by Park Hill South on September 7th. They’ll host their annual invitational on September 17th and 18th.