Underdog Trojans win district title, third in a row

Coming into this season, Park Hill boys soccer coach Dustin Sollars knew his team would face some obstacles if they wanted to match what they had accomplished the previous two seasons. In 2009 and 2010, the Trojans won district titles and advanced to the quarterfinals both years, advancing to the state semifinals in 2009. After losing a good portion of that experienced and talented squad to graduation, it would have been easy to write 2011 as a rebuilding year, but a 2-1 victory over Oak Park last week in the district title game has given Park Hill its third consecutive district championship and sets them up with a meeting with Liberty this week in the state sectionals.

“Being back in the playoffs means a lot. Losing that group last year hurt and as a result no one expected anything out of us,” Sollars said. “I think this year’s group took that to heart and really played with a chip on their shoulder for a while. We had bouts of immaturity along the way where we let down and gave up games, but that's what happens when you go from a very senior laden team to a new bunch.”

Park Hill seeded third coming into district play with a 12-11 record was an underdog unlike previous years. Going to double overtime in their first round game against Park Hill South with each tied at 1-1, it was Neal Sampson scoring the game winning goal to advance the Trojans to the title game against Oak Park. The Northmen who had gone through an incredible regular season racking up a 21-3 record faced Park Hill in the first week of the season in two matchups where the Trojans pulled out one victory before Oak Park came back a couple days later to beat Park Hill in what began the Northmen’s tear through their schedule. In the end it would be the Trojans not just taking the season series with a 2-1 win, but also giving them their third straight district title on the heels of goals from Shane Belew and Chris Walker.

“We were the last team to beat Oak Park before their streak,” Sollars said. “Beat them on a Saturday, turned around and lost on Tuesday. We began and ended their streak.”

The Trojans will be in a similar position for redemption this week against Liberty as Park Hill fell to the Blue Jays in a close 2-1 match earlier in the season. Sollars thinks it was a game they should have won and hopes their improvement throughout the season will give them the added advantage they need to make their third trip to the quarterfinals.

“We hit the post a couple times but just had trouble finishing,” Sollars said. “We like to think we've gotten better at finishing, but I'm sure their defense has improved very much since that second week of the season.”

For this year’s team, who may not have come into the year considered a threat, their accomplishment comes in the form of securing a part of school history in being the first team to win three district titles in row since the program’s start in 1980.

“This year’s group figured it out along the way as opposed to when the season started. And that's fine,” Sollars said. “They set their own goals and one of them was to get back to the quarterfinal game. And the exciting part is that they’re not satisfied yet.”

Fall Roundup: Oct. 31 - Nov. 5

Park Hill Boys CC
Park Hill’s Joey Walton finished his senior season at the Missouri state cross country championship last week with a ninth place finish clocking in with a time of 16:25. Walton came in just 31 seconds behind first place finisher Caleb Wilfong of Columbia Rockbridge.

Park Hill South Boys CC
Park Hill South freshman Tucker Melles has set a solid foundation for which to base the next three years of his high school career this season. Melles was consistently the top Panthers’ cross country runner this fall and capped off his first year with a top 50 finish in last week’s state cross country championship coming in 43rd with a time of 17:05.

"Tucker ran a great race at state and was the highest finishing frosh at state. Our team this year was very young. We are graduating one senior from our varsity so the next couple years should be good."

Park Hill Girls CC
Park Hill sophomore Kim Rau place 55th at the Missouri state cross country championship meet last weekend capping off her season as the Lady Trojans’ most consistent runner.

“It’s always an honor to take a runner to the big show of the season. I cannot thank Kim Rau enough for her hard work and dedication throughout this season,” Coach Jason Parr said. “It makes coaching so much fun when you have runners that see light at the end of tunnel and decide that they must finish strong and stay the course. If you were to ask Kim if she ran well she would tell you ‘No’. This just goes to show what kind of competitor she is each day.”

Park Hill Swim and Dive
Park Hill swimming came in second at the suburban conference red division last week with a total of 500 team points. They trailed conference champion Lee’s Summit West who racked up 569 points. First place finishes included the 200 individual medley relay, Matt Wagner in the 200 yard free, Vinnie Tutorino in the 100 butterfly, Matt Johnson in the 100 break stroke, and Wagner in the 100 backstroke. Also contributing with second place finishes were Garrett Wooldridge in the 200 individual medley, Barry Chang in the 500 free, Kyle Allen in the 100 breakstroke, Jared Alderman in the 100 yard backstroke, the 200 freestyle relay, and the 400 free relay. The Trojans will compete in the state meet in the Columbia this weekend.

Park Hill South Swim and Dive
… took the Suburban White Division title last weekend in dominating fashion as they placed first in every event they completed (disqualified in the 200 yard medley relay), compiling an impressive 625 team points, almost doubling their nearly competitor in Raytown with their 377 points.

Daniel Day brought home first place finishes in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly, Liam Huffman placed first in the 200 individual medley and 100 free. Spencer On took first in the 50 freestyle and second in the 100 butterfly. Tom Prinslow placed first in the 500 freestyle and second in the 200 individual medley. Caleb Siebert took second in the 500 freestyle while Chase Riekhof took second in the 200 freestyle. Jacob Fisher and Aubrey Churchman took first and second in the 100 backstroke. Travis Colpitts and Joe Richey brought home first and second in the 100 breaststroke. The 200 and 400 yard free relay teams also place first.

They’ll next compete for another coveted top finish at the state swim meet in Columbia this weekend.