SPRING OUTLOOK: Park Hill South Boys Track

The Park Hill South boys track team returns just a handful of athletes from last year’s third place conference team, but with the nine letter winners they do return and more than 70 underclassmen coming out for this year’s team, the Panthers could be poised to be a surprise.

Senior Dedric Johnson is the only state qualifier returning from last year after he served as the anchor on the 4x400 relay team that finished sixth at state. Joining him will be Cody Kildow in the shot put and discus, Max Rodgers in the pole vault, Keith Loveless in the hurdles, Alex Augspurg in the high jump and sprints, and Abdi Sarbessa in the distance events.

Craig Scott and Marcus Harris will contribute in the sprinting events, but will also be joined by Nick Griffith in the triple and long jumps this year. Their speed and strength could allow them to compete with some of the metro’s top jumpers. Coach Clay Lenhert says the three provide each other with healthy and beneficial competition.

“The practice group of Harris, Scott and Griffith will be interesting in the long jump.  Often when you have 3 guys of this caliber the competition in practice each day turns into really nice performances at meets,” Lenhert said.

While at first glance the Panthers appear most strong in their field events, Lenhert sees a lot of promise in his younger runners as well. While the Panthers will lean on their returning letter winners, it won’t be enough if they want to compete at a high level as a team.

“Many athletes from the junior varsity and freshmen teams last year are expected to step up to the Varsity level and make an impact,” Lenhert said. “We have some young distance runners whom could perform well.  Last year's varsity sprinters have all departed but we have some younger guys whom will work diligently to keep the relays in the battle.”

With Park Hill South’s conference competition featuring some of the best in the metro, the Panthers know track isn’t a sport where they can affect how the other team performs, just themselves.

“Character development is what is in our realm of control and this is will be the key to our success this season and beyond,” Lenhert said. “We can’t control anything or anyone in the conference, we simply develop character, work hard and let the chips fall where they may.”

Park Hill South starts the season with a dual meet against Park Hill March 27^th.