BOYS CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW: Park Hill South looks to build on success

Park Hill South will come into the 2011 boys cross country season with a conference title to defend. With standout runner James Bowlin graduated and now competing at Johnson County Community College, the Panthers come into this season with only a basic idea of what kind of athletes they’ll be throwing against the competition this fall.

Coach Brad Banning says his team has seen its share of highs and lows in recent years, but after last year he’s hoping they can build and continue the success.

“The past couple years have been kind of down, but now we’re hoping to be on the up,” Banning said.

Senior leadership will prove to be a foundation for what is otherwise considered a young team. Contributions will come from seniors Tim Albright, Barrett Hudson, Mitch McDonald, and Peter Thomas.

“A lot of the younger kids are probably going to be stepping up this year. We’re real young, but we’ve got a lot of numbers which is good. 50 runners is the most we’ve ever had,” Banning said.

Also returning are juniors Jacob Bowlin, Mason Homoly, and Lendon Calhoun.Young runners Banning sees promise from so far in the early days of the preseason from freshman Tucker Mellis and sophomore Keaton Murry. More individuals will emerge once the team gets into actual competition as the groups first event, the Liberty Invitational, usually serves as an official time trial and sets the teams for events moving forward.

“We are a younger team and I’d like to see us continue growing in numbers,” Banning said. “The future looks bright and I am excited to see what these young runners can accomplish this year.”

In addition to competing next to a strong Raytown team for the conference title, the Panthers would like to improve on last year’s sixth place finish to get into the top four. South’s key events they will focus in on are the Bishop Miege, the Joplin Invitational, and the KC Metro Classic.