New, yet old

Last month, Park Hill South boys’ basketball announced Rick Zych as their new head coach bringing what the Panthers hope will be renewed and re-energized leadership to a program which has been at the edge of greatness several times over the years. With two Kansas state championships in five title game appearances as head coach of Bishop Miege the last 16 years, Zych has the resume and vision to put South on the map as a perennial contender in Missouri. In addition to his teams’ successes, he’s also coached some of the metro’s top players including Kansas starting guard Travis Releford. Zych is no stranger to the Park Hill School District though. He takes over the coaching duties from Athletic Director John Sedler, much like he did when Sedler hired him in 1992 as head coach at Park Hill.

“I've known John Sedler for many years and respect him,” Zych said. “I wanted to jump at the opportunity because it’s an excellent school district and they've got some good players. Mostly based on the respect I have for John, the school district, and Principal Dale Longenecker is what lured me in.”

Zych, whose daughter is graduating from Bishop Miege this year, thought it was a good time to move on to something different and wanted to look into getting back to a really good public school district. With a team returning several key players from a 17-9 season, Zych saw Park Hill South as an ideal place to build another winner, this time on the Missouri side of the state line.

“They're fine young men and have some great young players there. We're moving to a bigger league and the schedule might be different than it was last year. I think they gained some confidence last year which will help,” Zych said. “I think Missouri basketball is more physical. Kansas basketball is probably more athletic. Missouri has a lot more size than Kansas usually does.”

Bringing a fact paced style which uses a lot of players, Zych has a vision of the program he wants to build and he knows where it needs to start.

“From day one, you have to make it important not just to the players, but to the whole school. That will be our staff's job to go out there and sell the program. That starts with grade school coaches and so on. Your best spokespeople will be your players and that's why they need to be good kids and well-respected in the community,” Zych said. “Some of our best players are our most responsible and charismatic kids. People want to come watch those kind of kids play. We want playing at Park Hill South to be an adventure and an experience, not just for us, but for our opponents and make it difficult to play here.”

As far as building that kind of culture, Zych says it is going to take time, but it starts with the players. Each player will have a role to fill and it may not necessarily be that of scorer.

“We play a lot of guys and try to get the ball to our best players. I told the guys that shooting is not an equal opportunity situation. We need someone to be our best rebounder or our best defender. That is what goes into forming a true team and finding your roles,” Zych said.

With his record and impressive list of former players, which includes those who’ve won and been nominated for the DiRenna Award (Kansas City’s top basketball player) and gone on to play division one college basketball, Zych says he’s been lucky to have had such talent.

“When we talk about ‘this is the kind of player you can be’ and compare it to those players, I think kids react to that,” Zych said. “I brought my whole staff from Bishop Miege. We've had teams that have overachieved and underachieved. That's the fun of it. And we're looking forward to doing that again, this time at a different school.”

One thing that stands out to Zych which has held true over the years is the quality of play his teams have at the end of the season.

“I think our teams at Miege were known for one thing, playing real well at the end of the year. Sometimes parents and others don't understand that, but you have to realize the big prize comes at the end of the year,” Zych said. “14 of 16 years making it to the state tournament. When you get that reputation, you get kids to believe in it and word spreads pretty quickly. When you win it’s easier to ask for a commitment and it kind of snow balls from there.”

In the end, he looks back to the players who he says win the games, not him.

“It’s all about players,” Zych said. “You can have John Wooden there, but without them it makes it difficult.”

Park Hill/Park Hill South Mid-Season Track Update

PH Boys Track
…took first place at the Park Hill South Invitational last Friday as they ran away from the competition with 226 team points. Coming away with first place finishes were Anthony Arens in the 100 meter run, Devon Belew in the 400 meter run, Cain Winebrenner in the 1600 meter run, Dondrell Haridman in the 110 hurdle, and Devonte Thornton in the high jump.

What really distinguished the Trojans from the rest of the field were the Trojan relays which swept all races including the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, and 4x800. Athletes participating in these events included John Harris, Lavonte Hickman, Mike II Williams, Anthony Arens, Dondrell Hardiman, Dominique Anderson, Jon Saucedo, Vince Tutorino, Jessie Witherby, Nate Thomas, James Pitia, Matt Pitts, Michael Bidwell, and Nate Thomas.

Park Hill hosts their home invitational this week with Conference and District meets to follow the following weeks.

PH Girls Track
…saw several successful finishes at the Park Hill South Invitational last Friday as they placed second with 212 points, just 3.5 points behind Park Hill South who won the final race to pull ahead overall in the final standings. Earning first place finishes were Anesia Jamerson in the 100 meter, Brooke Bischof in the 800 meter run, Merecedes Robinson in the 3200 meter run, Bailey Cation in the high jump, and Taylor Cofield in the triple jump. The 4x800 relay team of Joanna Grauberger, Kim Rau, Chelsay Lewis, and Brooke Bischof also placed first.

The Trojans are making do with what they have in the sprints after losing several of their top runners early in the season. Coach Tari Garner says the team has fared pretty well so far.

“We lost a couple kids in our sprints that were hard to replace. The kids are working well together and pretty good for a team that didn’t have a lot going. Our coaches have done a good job of bringing those kids up to the next level,” Garner said. “Our goal for the team is top three for conference. We are who we are and in the end have to show up and perform that day. That’s what I tell the kids.”

One pleasant surprise for Park Hill has been the addition of freshman Mercedes Robinson, who joins Kim Rau in the 3200 meter run. While Rau has been one of the Trojans’ top runners all season, Robinson has come onto the scene as of late improving at an impressive weekly pace. Talent and following what has become somewhat of a new superstitious diet has been part of the equation.

“Mercedes doesn’t know how good she is, to drop 20-30 seconds a week is crazy,” Garner said. “In my class, I have the kids design a fitness program and then teach it to the class. This one group presented yoga and then served low-fat cappuccino and other snacks. That day, she (Robinson) set a personal record dramatically. So ever since, on meet days, she eats carrots, pita chips, and hummus with cappuccino. It’s kind of a funny story."

Robinson and Rau appear to have good opportunities at qualifying for sectionals along with a number of other field event participants and runners. Park Hill will have one more tune up this week before conference when they host their home meet, the Park Hill Invitational Thursday.

PHS Boys Track
…placed second behind Park Hill in the Park Hill South Invite last week as they rounded up 160 team points. The Panthers took first place in four events including CJ Whisnant in the 200 meter run, Cody Kildow in the discus, Nick Griffith in the long jump, and Jalen Ross in the triple jump.

Park Hill South is stocked full of young athletes, of which many are facing varsity competition for the first time. With only four seniors, the approximately sixty freshmen and sophomores on the team make up the majority of the team. This has provided short-term frustration, but will be healthy over the long-term.

“We have a ton of freshmen and sophomores that have been performing well, but they’ve been frustrated all year running as our varsity teams because they’ve been running in all these varsity meets instead of what would normally be freshmen meets,” Coach Clay Lenhert said. “If we can hold them together for the next couple years, we’ll be back on the map. We can compete against any freshmen and sophomores in the city and with growth we will be good in time.”

While the Panthers have several running events along with the pole vault, discus, and shot put which have chances at sectional qualifications, Park Hill South will continue to develop their young talent and place a foundation in 2012 for what they hope it future success.

PHS Girls Track
…came from behind as a team to win their own invitational last Friday as they pulled ahead of Park Hill in the closing events for a narrow victory with 216 points. Coming out of the event with first place finishes were Audrey Rothers in the 100 meter run, Jordan Hammond in the 400 meter run, Blake Reser in the long jump, the relay teams for the 4x100 and 4x400 races, and Morgan Keesee in the shot put and discus.

Keesee, who set the school record in the shot put earlier this season, is someone who head coach Andy Keefer says has worked hard for her success and looks forward to continued success as she is only a sophomore.

“There’s an excellent example of someone who’s dedicated, works hard, and wants to get better. This winter, she went to every clinic she could go to, worked hard in the weight room. Last year she did well, but nothing near what shes doing now,” Keefer said.

She is not alone in contributing as an underclassmen. South has several young athletes who’ve had surprising seasons including freshman Jordan Hammond, Sydney Minnis, Erin Stump, Madeline Homoly, and several others have stepped up for the Panthers.

Asked what he thought his team’s chances were on repeating as conference champions next week, Keefer remains optimistic.

“I’m very confident and think we’ll do pretty good. I sure hope so,” Keefer said.

The Panthers have this week off while they prepare for Conference at Staley next week.

Spring Roundup: Apr. 16-23

Park Hill Boys Golf
Beat Platte County in their final dual match of the season last week at Tiffany Greens with a 171-182 victory. Colby Buehler medaled with a score of 41.

Park Hill South Boys Golf
Bested Ray-Pec last week by a large margin with a 178-202 win. Matt Barry medaled in the match with a score of 39.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
…despite a 3-0 loss to Liberty to start the week, the Lady Trojans bounced back with two wins against St. Joe Central and Truman to improve their record to 7-9 on the year. Karra Kennedy, Regina Bolin, Lyndi Plattner, and Allison Maier contributed goals in their victory against St. Joe Central. Katie Hibbeler accounted for the lone goal in Park Hill’s 1-0 win over Truman.

Park Hill will participate in the Oak Park Tournament over the weekend.

Park Hill South Girls Soccer
While a tie is not a loss, it certainly isn’t a win as Park Hill South knows all too well from playing to two unsatisfying ties last week, the first a 1-1 tie against Lee’s Summit and the second a 2-2 tie against Notre Dame de Sion. The Panthers did manage to put out a 2-1 victory against Blue Springs South in their final game of the week improving their overall team record to 10-1-2 on the season. Crystal Lenhert and Courtney Claassen scored South’s two goals. Claassen continues to lead the team in goals with 16.

They play Liberty on Friday, hoping to end their losing streak to the Blue Jays, who ended their season last year in sectional play.

Park Hill Baseball
…improved to 10-3 on the year last week after going 2-1 in the Northland Tournament. They opened the week with a close 2-1 loss to Fort Osage. Logan Sloniker gave up two earned runs, but struck out eight batters in five innings. Park Hill bounced with a 9-5 win over Platte County in extra innings after Zach Anderson’s three run homer opened up the Trojans margin in the tenth inning. Park Hill went on to defeat Liberty North the next day 2-0. Dalton Moats pitched a complete game, striking out an impressive 15 batters and only allowing three hits.

Park Hill South Baseball
…got some much needed victories in the Northland Tournament last week after suffering two losses to Liberty North and Staley. They beat Platte County 12-2 and Kearney 4-0 after solid pitching performances from Ryan Cockriel, who struck out six against Platte County, and Corey Land, who struck out eight against Kearney. Coach Josh Walker says their offense has come along and added to their quality pitching of late.

“We a finally taking good at bats and getting great starting pitching,” Walker said.

Park Hill Tennis
…improved their team dual record to 11-2 last week with two additional wins against Staley and Liberty after previously beating Park Hill South earlier in the week. The 6-3 victory over Liberty marked a fitting way to commemorate Senior Night for three seniors who won their final home watches.

The Trojans will participate in the Suburban Northland Tournament and Brandon McPherson Doubles Classic over the next two weeks before defending their district title at Staley the second week of May. Varsity starters’ records for Park Hill are as follows: Michael Jones (10-5 in singles, 10-3 in doubles), Max Schoettger (11-5, 10-3), Chris To (8-5, 9-4), Louis Reinmiller (7-6, 9-7), Noah Higgins-Dunn (7-6, 8-9), and Trevin Howerton (9-2, 10-4).

Panthers, Trojans sports court similarities

Although Park Hill won Monday’s matchup between against Park Hill South 6-3, the two tennis teams at first glance sport similar records, but both have experienced their share of challenges as they approach the stretch run of their regular season before heading in district play.
Park Hill, at 8-2 on the season coming into Monday’s match, lost to conference opponent Lee’s Summit West earlier in the season, all but assuring their conference title streak would likely end. A loss to a talented Pembroke Hill squad accounted for their second loss. With the absence of one of their top players, Blake Barnard, who suffered a season ending injury before the beginning of the season, Park Hill is dealing with a different lineup than they expected two months ago, giving younger players an opportunity to play up while also embracing an underdog self-image.
“The kids knew they’ve had to work extra hard and use every second of practice time to be as productive as possible,” Park Hill Coach Tim Kalis said. “Kids like the underdog mentality.”
Michael Jones and Max Schoettger have stepped up to solidify themselves as the Trojans’ top two players.
“They’re leading each other,” Kalis said. “They both feel that fire together and have bought into playing together. They complement each other real well.”
The bottom of the lineup has seen healthy competition amongst themselves with Louis Reinmiller and Chris Toe battling for the three and four spots while Noah Higgins-Dunn, Trevin Howerton, and Austin Keberlein have all seen different roles throughout the season.
“I’ll take 8-2 at this point, we beat North Kansas City 6-3, which was big for us,” Kalis said. “Taking this win today is good too, because Park Hill South has a really nice team.”
Park Hill South is facing another set of obstacles. While they have not lost any players to injuries, the Panthers came into this season vastly young and inexperienced with the loss of their top senior Griffin Smith to graduation. Junior Zack Royle has picked up where he left last year and has been unblemished so far as an undefeated top singles player. He’s teamed up in doubles with sophomore Jim Geary, who has been playing through a shoulder injury. When districts come along though, the two will likely try to advance in the singles bracket, which Coach Ian Cunliff says will make them stronger as individual competitiors.
“He (Royle) has been a really good leader, filling the void that Griffin (Smith) left when he graduated,” Cunliff said. “This year they’re going to be playing in singles. Zack is probably a better doubles player because of the energy he brings, but it just works better for our team because everyone is growing into a different role. If they both play singles, they’ll be able to grow more as players.”
Cunliff described this season as a rebuilding year prior to the season and believes the team is coming along, despite their growing pains.

“It’s been a tough season for us so far. We’ve got a lot of young guys coming out to compete,” Cunliff said. “They’re getting better every time they step on the court. It doesn’t always translate to wins immediately, but they’re improving.”
Also contributing for Park Hill South has been freshman Joshua Robaska, who is currently in his first year of competitive tennis, but has come through with some big wins in his inaugural season. Not to mention a number of younger players using this season as a stepping stone towards future success.
“We’ve got some young players who are going to be pretty good players down the road,” Cunliff said.
Both teams will participate in the Northland Invitational next weekend.

Spring Roundup: Apr. 9-14

Park Hill South Girls Soccer
…took control of their conference last week with three conference victories. Anna Courtney scored two goals in South’s 4-1 victory over Raytown South with Crystal Lenhert and Katie Lindsey also putting in goals for the Panthers. In a 4-2 win over Raytown, Shay Jackson, Alysa Guzman, Courtney Claassen, and Abbey Johnson contributed goals. To end the week, Jessica Lee secured her seventh shutout of the year as Park Hill South defeated William Chrisman 3-0. They will be competing in the Blue Springs South Tournament all this week before returning to home to play against Fort Osage next week.
Courtney Claassen leads team in goals (1st in points), Shay Jackson in assists (2nd in points). The Panthers are now 8-1 overall, 6-0 in conference on the year.

Park Hill South Girls Track
…took first place at Northwest Missouri State University out of 11 teams early last week in the Bearcat Invite, edging out Chillicothe by 17 points out of nearly 1000 earned. Leading them were first place finishers Audrey Rothers in the 110 hurdles and Blake Reser in the triple jump. Reser also brought home second in the long jump. Contributing additional team points with their third and fourth place finishes were Tori Kerr in the discus (3rd), De De O’Toole in the 3200 meter race (3rd), Rothers in the high jump (4th), Morgan Keesee in the shot put (4th) and discus (4th), and the 4x800 relay team of Erin Stump, Lizzy Jurries, O’Toole, and Madeline Homoly (4th).
Park Hill South took eighth out of nine teams at the Winnetonka Invitational later in the week. Jessica Hayes placed second in the high jump while fourth place finishes were secured by Kyndal Mills in the triple jump and Jessica Hayes in the 300 hurdles.
They host the Park Hill South Invitational this Friday.

Park Hill South Boys Track
…finished fourth out of 11 teams at Northwest Missouri State University’s Bearcat Invitational to start last week. The 4x100 relay team of Bryan Robinson, Craig Scott, Marcus Harris, and Nick Griffith clocked in a first place time. With second place finishes were Jalen Ross in the 300 hurdles, Max Rodgers in the pole vault, and the 4x800 relay team of Mitch McDonald, Mason Homoly, Lendon Calhoun, and Abdi Sarbessa. Cody Kildow took third in the discus.

The Panthers didn’t finish the week they way they were hoping to at the Winnetonka Invitational last week as they finished last out of nine teams with just 19 points.

Park Hill Baseball
…increased their winning streak to four to end the week last week with two wins. The first came against North Kansas City when the Trojans rallied from a 6-2 deficit to score five runs in the final inning to win 7-6. Zach Anderson contributed two RBI’s while Zach Thompson and Dalton Moats scored two runs apiece. Moats struck out nine in his outing against Smithville on the way to a 7-1 victory over Smithville on Friday. Moats, combined with Nick Jones and Cooper Gardner to hold Smithville to only three hits the entire game. Austin Lewis, John Balsamo, and Moats had two hits apiece while Jacob Vanvacter contributed two RBI’s.
Park Hill is now 8-2 coming into the Northland Tournament this week.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
…split their two games at the Smithville Tournament last weekend. Despite allowing a goal in their own net, Park Hill was able to defeat Harrisonville in penalty kicks 4-3 after the game was tied 1-1 after regulation. The Trojans fell to Staley 2-1 in the next game. Abby Peoples scored Park Hill’s only goal.

Park Hill/Park Hill South Golf
Park Hill South came away with a match victory after a strong outing against Liberty, St. Joe Central, and Park Hill last week at The National. Austin Dorrell medaled for the Panthers with a score of 74. Park Hill South’s top score of 313 bested Liberty at 334, St. Joseph Central at 388, and Park Hill at 389.

Park Hill Boys Track
…placed fifth out of 13 teams at the Blue Springs Invitational last weekend with 61 team points. Leading the way with their first place finish in the 4x800 meter run was the team of Riley Fahrenholz, Kyle Pudenz, Joe Walton, and Nate Huffer. Deven Belew in 400 and Cain Winebrenner in the 1600 took home second place finishes. Steven Clopine in the high jump and Dondrell Hardiman in the 300 meter hurdles placed third.

Park Hill will participate in the Park Hill South Invitational this Friday.

Park Hill Girls Track
…took ninth place out of 11 teams with 26 points last weekend at the Blue Springs Invitational. Taylor Cofield took fourth in the pole vault and fifth in the triple jump to lead the Trojans in points. Also getting fifth place finishes were Kim Rau in the 3200 run and the 4x800 relay team of Rau, Joanna Grauberger, Chelsay Lewis, and Brooke Bischof.

Park Hill will participate in the Park Hill South Invitational this Friday.

Park Hill nine off to strong start

Strong pitching keeps a minor losing streak from stretching into a major one.

Case in point: Park Hill’s 4-0 start to the season was snapped last week with a 9-8 extra inning loss to Lee’s Summit West. The Trojans dropped a second in a row to Blue Springs the following day 4-1 before ending the week with two wins against Ruskin 12-3 and Truman 3-0.

Park Hill’s 6-2 start to the season has largely been credited to a strong pitching staff, which has been able to maximize their strikeouts while limiting their walks. With strong pitching, the Trojans believe they’ll be able to muster enough defense behind it to be a competitor when the district tournament rolls around in May.

“Our pitching has been real well. We’ve got four guys, three of which we needed to come through for us as starters. All of them are a little different,” Coach Greg Reynolds said. “We’ve got a plan of attack for our staff, so we’re going to stick with that. If you have three really good starters, you’ve got a good chance in districts.

Marcus Cross, Dalton Moats, Logan Sloniker, and Nick Jones have seen a lot of innings for the Trojans along with several other reliable pitchers from time to time. While the Trojan pitchers are tallying up good numbers in terms of strikeouts, the Park Hill offense has been limiting their strikeouts and hopes to put it all together for a strong one-two punch moving forward.

“We haven’t gotten all three of our guys hot at the same time with our three, four, and five hitters yet,” Reynolds said of Zach Thompson, Zach Anderson, and Nick Jones, who serve as the heart of Park Hill’s lineup.

One of the keys they believe has led to their early season success has been the quality weather so far this spring which allowed them to use the field more than they normally would in March.

“The biggest thing is we got to get onto the field in the preseason and actually see some live pitching and go through situations,” Reynolds said. “It makes everyone feel good; it brings a more positive thought process. We’ve had a chance to see what we had early.”

Having played a number of district opponents already and seeing positive results, the Trojans hope their game develops even further and gives them a shot at a desirable one or two seed in the district tournament.

“I don’t think we’ve playing anyone you could say is a bad team this year, but probably not anyone you could call a great team either,” Reynolds said. “We’re probably competing for one of the top seeds right now, but everyone is real close, so there are a lot of games to be played still.”

Park Hill plays North Kansas City and Smithville this week before beginning the Northland Tournament next week.

Hidden strength: Deep bench has helped PH South soccer team deal with injuries

Injuries are often a four-letter word to most coaches that can change the momentum of a promising season. But for Park Hill South, who came into the season with a strong and talented group of returning seniors, the handful of injuries they’ve suffered in the early season has allowed them to discover the extent to which their depth lies. That depth is something Coach Joe Toigo and his Panthers will undoubtedly be able to use towards their advantage as they head into the heart of their conference schedule.

“We’re a little beat up right now with a few injuries. Other kids are stepping up though, and getting some playing time,” Toigo said. “Our depth is helping us out. Our younger kids are getting more minutes than we thought and they’re getting better.

One example of this comes by way of senior Haley Shelton, a star defender for the Panthers, who suffered an injury earlier in the season before coming back to the lineup last week. In her absence, Toigo noticed the development of a strong playing chemistry between Ashton Anderson and Alysa Guzman in the back field. Not wanting to disturb that balance, Toigo asked Shelton to play up front as an attacker, something she had not done previously in her high school career. The results have been positive.

“We’ve always had her (Shelton) in the back to help us out, but we didn’t want to mess with the chemistry those other two had developed, so we asked Haley to be an attacker,” Toigo said. “Turns out she is a player that can attack, but we’d never asked her to. Ashton and Alysa have nailed down the center back positions. Now we’re using more of Haley’s talents in other places.”

Attacking is exactly what the Panthers have been doing most of the season as they’ve put together a 5-1 start outscoring opponents 34-9 including two shutouts last week against Raytown South (2-0) and Winnetonka (10-0). Their lone loss came in the opening week of the season to Olathe East 8-4.

“Scored four goals and lost, that doesn’t happen very much. We’ve given up eight goals all season, those were it,” Toigo said.

While the Panthers did finally give up another goal to Fort Osage to end last week, it wasn’t enough to overcome Park Hill South as they rolled 4-1. Courtney Claassen (10), Abbey Johnson (4), Katie Riojas (5), and Shay Jackson (5) have led the offense in goals this year against teams mostly focused on overloading their defense in hopes of keeping the Panthers at bay.

“Most teams we play will probably keep six to seven players back and they don’t come up, they stay back.” Toigo said. “We’ll see that most of the season.”

The Panthers were playing undefeated Raytown as The Citizen went to print Tuesday night, but a win would put Park Hill South ahead in the conference and give them momentum moving forward.

“If we take care of business this week, we’re in the driver’s seat for conference,” Toigo said.

They play at William Chrisman Friday night.

Spring Roundup: April 2-7

Park Hill South Girls Track

…has a new school record holder in the two-mile run as Lizzy Jurries clocked in a time of 12:15 as part of an across the board effort that led the Panthers to a third place overall finish at the Kearney Invitational last week. Tori Kerr took home first place in the discus while Morgan Keesee placed third in both the discus and shot put. Other third place finishes included Blake Reser in the triple and long jumps, Hannah Carlson in the 300 hurdles, Audrey Rothers in the 110 hurdles and the 4x200 relay performance from Jordan Hammond, Reser, Hannah Brown, and Sydney Minnis.

The Panthers will next see action when they host the Park Hill South Invitational on April 20th

Park Hill Boys Track

…broke out last week at the Jerry Crews Relays accumulating 127 points and second place finish out of eight teams. A number of athletes contributed throughout the field. Joe Walton racked up first place finishes in both the 800 and 1600 along with a third place finish in the 3200. Devon Belew in the 400 and Cain Winebrenner in the 1600 also racked up points for Park Hill with their third and fourth place respective finishes.

In the relays, Park Hill came up with three straight second place finishes in the 4x100, 4x200, and 4x400 relays. Lavonte Hickman, Corey Welch, Mike Williams, Kenyatte Harris, Jon Saucedo, John Harris, Anthony Arens, Dondrell Hardiman, Riley Fahrenholz, and Belew all participated in one or more of those races.

Also seeing significant success last week was Steven Clopine who finished third in the high jump and second in the pole vault along with Dondrell Hardiman (second in 300 hurdles) and Neal Sampson (second in the long jump).

Park Hill will next see action in the Gary Parker Invitational this Friday at Blue Springs.

Park Hill Girls Track

….saw significant improvement from their first meet of the season when they finished fifth out of eight teams with 67 team points last week at the Jerry Crews Relays at Staley. Highlighting the meet for the Trojans was sophomore Kim Rau who finished third in the 1600 and fourth in the 3200. She was also part of the 4x800 relay team including Katie Ebbrecht, Joanna Grauberger, and Brooke Bischof, which took third place. Also with good performances were Eleanor Parrot who placed third in the pole vault, Bailey Cation who just barely missed out on a second place finish in the high jump before taking fourth, and the 4x100 relay team of Quanisha Smith, Anesia Jamerson, Onjhana Davis, and Madison Ideker who took third place.

They will next compete Friday in the Gary Parker Invitational at Blue Springs High School.

Park Hill Boys Golf

Did not fare well in the hosting of their home tournament, the Darren Floyd Invitational, last week as the Trojans placed 11^th out of nearly 18 teams. Grant Brown led the Trojans with a 90 on the day as Park Hill accumulated a team score of 377.

They’re scheduled to play Park Hill South Wednesday afternoon at The National before going to the Liberty Invitational at Shoal Creek Thursday.

Park Hill South Boys Golf

…was in action on several fronts last Thursday as one squad participated in the Park Hill Darren Floyd Invitational while the other hosted Pembroke Hill and Truman at home. Matt Gandy led the Panthers with a 90 in the Floyd Invitational as the Panthers took tenth place. Nick Sobba’s 38 on nine holes earned him a medal as Park Hill South defeated Pembroke Hill (167) and Truman (179) with a team score of 158. They host Park Hill next week before taking part in the Liberty Invitational.

Park Hill South Boys Tennis

… made easy work of William Chrisman last week as they dominated the Bears in a 9-0 victory. Zack Royle defeated Nick Hurt 10-0 in top singles play while Royle teamed up with Jim Geary in doubles to beat Hurt and Shane Wilson 10-2.

The Panthers are scheduled to play North Kansas City and Fort Osage this week.

Park Hill South Baseball

…had several tough losses last week as they fell to Belton 10-0 in five innings before losing to Raytown South 4-1 and Liberty 9-3 later in the week. Max Laney accounting for the Panthers only run and just one of the team’s two hits against the Cardinals while Ty Elley hit a two-run home run against Liberty. Park Hill South is now 2-7 on the season and will play Winnetonk and Raytown this week.

Park Hill Girls Soccer

… won two impressive games last week against North Kansas City (6-0) and Ruskin (14-0). Park Hill improved to 3-5 on the year with the two victories. One thing coach Manny Catano hopes the Trojans can capitalize on more in the coming weeks is converting on scoring opportunities.

“We’re creating a lot of chances, we’re just not finishing them,” Catano said.

Regina Bolin, who scored three goals against North Kansas City, has been a pleasant surprise as one of their top goal scorers for Park Hill this season.

“Reggie is probably doing better than we expected coming into the season,” Catano said. “She was projected a starter, but not up front, she’s one of those players that can play a number of positions.”

They’ll next see action in the Smithville Tournament over the weekend.

South looking for sticks to come alive

While Park Hill South started the season off 0-4 after a trip to an out-of-state tournament in Bartlesville, Oklahoma two weeks ago, the Panthers got onto the winning track last week with two conference wins. Beginning the season with such a slow start was rough, but Coach Josh Walker takes those results with a grain of salt because of the competition, who were already in mid-season form having already played nearly a dozen games.

“The difference between Bartlesville and what we’re seeing this week is the pitching,” Walker said.

Park Hill South won a close 3-2 game against Raytown to start the week when a passed ball in the seventh inning gave the Panthers the advantage. They pulled out another win against Fort Osage 4-3 in extra innings as Austin McCormick laid down an RBI on a suicide squeeze play to bring Matt Gillespie home for the game’s winning run. While the offense hasn’t been spectacular so far this season, pitching and defense has been a solid strength.

“If you play the defense and pitch the way we have, we’re going to be in a position to win, because we haven’t really been hitting that well. We’ll take anything right now,” Walker said.

Michael Somerville, Joel Burkhart, and Avery Booth along with a squad of quality outfielders have spurred the Panthers to their recent span of victories with their play. Sophomore Ryan Cockriel, who pitched six innings recording four strikeouts for the Panthers against Fort Osage, has also been an early season surprise from the pitching mound.

“We took him to Oklahoma as an extra arm, he got an opportunity and did something with it. For a sophomore, he throws strikes and works quick,” Walker said.

The Panthers hope their offensive development comes along further in the coming weeks, adding that pivotal piece to the pie which could cause headaches for local competition.

“I thought we’d be hitting better than we are. I knew our defense would be strong,” Walker said. “It’s a good start though and hopefully we’ve righted the ship a little bit.”

Park Hill South plays William Chrisman and Liberty this week.

Spring Roundup: March 26-31

Park Hill Boys Golf

…after suffering a significant defeat at home to Pembroke Hill (162) and Kearney (163) while their team score of 195 early last week, the Trojans pulled out a close win over Platte County last week at Shiloh Springs golf course to end the week on a high note. The Trojans combined for a team total of 188 strokes while the Pirates came up four strokes close with a score of 192. Freshman Grant Brown medaled with a score of 45 (+9). Coach Zach Dorrell says his team is fighting through the inconsistencies that come with being young and hopes their early season struggles are improved upon as they come out of this early part of the season.

Park Hill South Boys Golf

… ended their week with two tough losses to quality teams after finishing fourth out of 21 teams in the Lee’s Summit North Invitational earlier in the week with a team score of 320. The Panthers lost to Liberty by nine strokes Wednesday before falling to Lee’s Summit West the following day by four strokes 166-162. Matt Barry medaled against Lee’s Summit West with a score of 39. Earlier in the week they finished fifth in a ten team field at the Winnetonka Invitational with a team score of 346.Park Hill South hosts Pembroke Hill and Truman at the National Thursday afternoon this week before traveling to the Sedalia Tournament next week.

Park Hill Girls Soccer

…was not able to build on the momentum they built from their first victory of the season earlier last week as the Lady Trojans lost two conference games against Truman (2-0) in a game where they hit the goal post three different times and then Lee’s Summit West (3-1). Olivia Nowakowski scored Park Hill’s lone goal while Maggie Lanham suffered an injury taking her out of the game. Now 1-5, the Trojans travel to Ruskin in their only scheduled game this week.

“Aside from the record this team has improved a lot from match to match and I am confident that we will string together results very shortly,” Coach Manny Catano said. “We are making some mistakes, but we are working hard to minimize them and continue being a very tight unit.  The girls are having a blast as are we as their coaches.”

Park Hill Baseball

….remained unbeaten last week as the Trojans improved to 3-0 on the season by edging out two close victories over Liberty North and Oak Park. John Balsamo, Jacon Vanvacter, and Jake Jones all had two hits apiece while Zach Thompson drove in Adam Fosdick for the game’s winning run in the final inning. Dalton Moats propelled Park Hill to a 2-0 victory over Oak Park with a complete game shutout which included only allowing one hit and two base runners out of the 22 batters he faced the entire game. Vanvacter produced three hits and an RBI while Jones added two doubles. Park Hill hosts Truman Friday afternoon.

Park Hill South Girls Track & Field

…took eighth out of 13 teams in the Blue Valley Northwest Invite last Friday as Morgan Keesee broke the school shot put record with a throw of 36’1. Audrey Rothers took third in the 300 hurdles while Blake Reser placed third in the triple jump. Tori Kerr finished fifth in the discus throw. They travel to the Kearney Invite this Thursday.

Park Hill Boys Track & Field

…finished 12^th out of 16 teams at the Rusty Hodge Invitational last week. Highlights for the Trojans included Devon Belew’s first place finish in the 400 meter race, Riley Farenholz’s fifth place finish in the 800 meter race, Dondrell Hardiman’s fifth place finish in the 300 hurdles, and a fifth place finish in the 4x200 relay. They compete next at the Jerry Crews Relays at Staley this week.

Park Hill Girls Track & Field

…didn’t fare too well in their first large track meet of the season last week at the Rusty Hodge Invite as they finished last out of 16 teams. Top performers included Taylor Cofield’s sixth place finish in the pole vault along with seventh place finishes in form of the 4x800 relay and Kim Rau in the 3200 meter race. They compete next at the Jerry Crews Relays at Staley this week.

Park Hill South Boys Tennis

…fell to Liberty 5-4 last week. Top singles player Zach Royle won his match convincingly with a 10-4 victory. Him and Jim Geary took the top doubles match as well with a 10-5 victory. Park Hill South hosts William Chrisman at home Thursday afternoon.

Park Hill Boys Tennis

…suffered a tough loss to conference contender Lee’s Summit West last week 8-1 as the Titans took both top singles and doubles matches from the Trojans. Michael Jones fell to Lee’s Summit West’s Heifner 6-1, 6-3 while Heifner and Zhong beat Jones and Max Schoettger in consecutive sets 7-6, 7-3. The Trojans travel to St. Joe Central Wednesday afternoon.