South soccer surge short-circuited

Even the greatest seasons sometimes end with a loss. Those which don’t are the rarest and most special kind. The Park Hill South Panthers got close to a taste of what that might be like, but came up just short of their first state semifinal appearance in school history with a 4-0 loss to Lee’s Summit North in the state quarterfinals last Saturday. Nonetheless, the 2012 Panthers will add conference and district titles to the school’s trophy case well as a valid argument towards going down as the program’s best along with the 1999 and 2000 teams, also state quarterfinalists.

After coming from behind to beat a talented Kearney team in the sectional round several days prior 3-2, the Panthers weren’t worried when they fell behind in the first half 1-0. It was a first half featuring several strong defensive displays which produced very few shots on goal for either team.

Park Hill South came into the second half looking to be more aggressive after playing defense most of the first half, leading to more of an offensive approach. Lee’s Summit North exposed a brief defensive vulnerability to add on another goal early in the half, putting them up 2-0. Down two scores with their season on the line, South mounted their most offensively efficient possessions of the game, getting several quality shots on goal. Their last, a strong footed ball by leading scorer Courtney Claassen, found its way into the goal, but was negated when a handball penalty was called.

“They’re a tough team to score goals on and at that point, we’ve got to score three to win,” Park Hill South coach Joe Toigo said.

Having come away with no results in their most productive offensive possessions of the game, the penalty not only could have cut Lee’s Summit North’s lead in half, but seemed to take away the much needed momentum the Panthers would have needed to mount such a difficult comeback. Lee’s Summit North would tack on two additional goals in the latter half of the game, widening their margin to the final 4-0 score. While this year’s Panthers team may go down in the record book tied for the school’s best finish in school history, what won’t be obvious is the adversity the team had to deal with throughout the year.

“The biggest problem we had was a lot of injuries; we didn’t have the same group on the field very much,” Coach Joe Toigo said. “We only had two players who started every game. Our lineup was changing all the time with injuries, conflicts with other events, illness, etc.”

Senior captain Katie Riojas, one of the two players to start each game, says the team became a close group throughout the year and those obstacles forced them to do things which would ultimately benefit them.

“We’ve all been through so much together,” Riojas said. “Even during our conference games, we were trying to do different things and figuring out what works, so that when we got to these important games we were prepared.”

With three seniors going on to play college soccer and a handful of juniors getting serious looks, Toigo said their focus to become better players allowed him to have more of an impact on guiding the direction of the team.

“I don’t like to compare teams year to year that much, but this team was different. I tend to believe your best teams will usually have the most players going on to play in college,” Toigo said. “So no matter win or loss, they’re constantly working and improving, that’s how I judge my teams. I think a coach can have more of an impact with kids who are also focusing on playing college.”

Park Hill South ends the season with a 19-5-2 record on the year.

Spring Roundup: May 21-27

Park Hill Boys Track

…placed 15^th as a team at the Missouri Class 4 track meet in Jefferson City last weekend. Three Park Hill athletes brought home top-eight finishes in their respective events. Dondrell Hardiman took fourth in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 38.57 seconds. Also placing fourth in the 800 meter run was Joey Walton with a time of 1:57.18. Devon Belew finished seventh in the 400 meter run with a time of 50.43 seconds.

Park Hill Boys Tennis

Park Hill’s lone state qualifier in singles, Michael Jones, was unable to advance from the first round of the state tournament last weekend. Jones fell in consecutive sets, by close scores of 7-5 and 6-4 to Robbie Nicolli of Francis Howell North. In his consolation round appearance, Jones fell in two sets by scores of 6-2 and 6-2 to Juan Jarmarillo from Central High of Cape Girardeau.

Park Hill South Boys Tennis

Park Hill South’s Zack Royle faced a difficult draw in his first round match at the state tournament last weekend in Springfield. Christian Brothers College’s Alex Pozo defeated Royle in straight sets, 6-1. Royle went on to lose his consolation round matchup against Brian Heifner of Lee’s Summit West 6-0, 6-3.

SPCAD doesn’t have to put up with KC response times

Nine minutes or less.

That’s the amount of time southern Platte Countians should expect to receive emergency assistance from an ambulance. Often times it could be a situation where each passing minute could literally mean the difference between life and death. As important as it is, it’s a standard which is consistently not being met by the Kansas City Fire Department, leaving the board of the Southern Platte County Ambulance District (SPCAD) in recent months no choice but to demand better service or make a change.

For those unfamiliar with SPCAD, it was a board formed in August 2006 to oversee and carry out ambulance services in the increasingly growing areas of unincorporated and rural southern Platte County. It serves all areas outside the city limits of Kansas City including Parkville, Houston Lake, Northmoor, Lake Waukomis, Platte Woods, and Weatherby Lake (District 1) along with Ferrelview and Farley (District 2). The first ambulance service provider for the district was long-time emergency responder, Municipal Ambulance Services Trust (MAST), and provided superior service for the district, reporting response times of nine minutes or less 85-90 percent of the time until 2010.

In 2010, the City of Kansas City decided to merge MAST with the Kansas City Fire Department. It was a controversial decision made by the mayor and city council, opposed by many, including SPCAD board members, but one which left the district with few options other than to contract with the newly merged entity. Since that time, response times within the district have dropped dramatically with only 48 percent of the emergency calls placed from District 1 in the first quarter of 2012 being responded to in nine minutes or less. It’s also important to note, KCFD is reportedly not meeting response times within the actual limits of Kansas City (north or south of the river), either.

Causes for the poor response times include traffic issues, weather conditions, types of calls they don’t include in their service (life alerts or touch technologies), and how much information the dispatcher needs before a unit can respond. Some people believe the main problem is simply the fact that a single ambulance, regularly stationed out of the Price Chopper parking lot in Parkville, can’t effectively service all of southern Platte County. It provides little room for chance, or in one recent case, a GPS error. MAST similarly dealt with these issues, yet met their contract obligations nonetheless.

With an unacceptable level of service, SPCAD board members recently engaged Kansas City Fire Chief Smokey Dyer by demanding response times be improved. Coming off a handful of budget cuts and political setbacks of his own within Kansas City, Dyer does not seem too eager to fix the problem and has only presented two implausible solutions to amending the nearly $39,000 monthly contract to meet MAST performance levels: lowering the coverage period from 24 hours to 12 hours or more than doubling the price of the contract. One will leave southern Platte County without a primary emergency provider 12 hours a day; the other will require an increase in taxes. Neither is acceptable at this point, nor should they be.

Thankfully, SPCAD is not limited to those options alone though. They actually have several options. First, they could contract with another provider, either exclusively or with more than one. There are several area providers credible and qualified enough to exceed KCFD’s performance, which can’t get much worse. Second, the district could create and implement their own ambulance service. Third, SPCAD could continue negotiations with Smokey Dyer hoping an unlikely agreement can be reached resulting in neither a cut in coverage or increase in taxes. Each option comes with a different set of concerns and complexities.

The board members of the ambulance district recognize this isn’t a frivolous political battle, they know their role is to provide a service that ensures lives can be saved. Being a part of a new entity in a fairly unique situation, there are few precedents for them to draw parallels. Unlike areas within the city limits of Kansas City who have no choice but to accept decisions and failures by their elected and bureaucratic leaders, the good thing is south Platte doesn’t have to and likely won’t continue accept sub-par emergency service any longer. It certainly won’t be bullied by someone who’s just walked out of City Hall with their tail between their legs.

Spring roundup: May 14-21

Park Hill and Park Hill South Boys Tennis

…ended their season against Rockhurst in the state sectional round last weekend with a 5-0 loss. In a season where the Trojans found themselves achieving more than expected, Park Hill come into the tournament after winning their sixth district title the week before and knew the deck was stacked against them as the Hawklets. Rockhurst advanced, winning their quarterfinal matchup as well, and moved onto the state final four to be held this weekend.

While the Trojans team season is over, top singles player Michael Jones will be advancing in the individual bracket to the state tournament this coming weekend in Springfield after winning in consecutive sets last week to advance past sectional play. He'll be joined by Park Hill South's Zack Royle who also advanced after clinching a win in consecutive sets of his sectional round appearance last week.

Park Hill Boys Track

…has just barely trailed Liberty all season, having finished second to them in several meets throughout the spring. Saturday’s state sectional track meet at Ray-Pec was no different as the Trojans accumulated 64 team points, a performance placing them in third place behind Liberty and Blue Springs. Park Hill secured two first place finishes, one from Dondrell Hardiman in the 300 hurdles, and the other from Cain Winebrenner in the 800 meter run. 

For Winebrenner, a junior, his trip to state represents the result of a mixture including pure determination and overcoming adversity. After tripping and breaking his clavicle, or collar bone, at the beginning of the season, forcing him to sit out for the better part of two weeks, Winebrenner has mostly been unstoppable the last month having wrapped up first place finishes in the conference, district, and now sectional 800 races.

"What it comes down to is his work ethic because he simply hates to lose," distance coach Jason Parr said. "Him and Joey (Walton) both have a shot at state in the 800 this weekend."

Walton wasn't too far behind Winebrenner as he took second in the 800 along with being a big part of the 4x800 relay team, also featuring Winebrenner, along with Riley Farenholz and Vince Tutorino. Devon Belew in the 400 meter run along with the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams, took third place finishes. All will be making appearances in the Missouri state track meet this weekend in Jefferson City.

Park Hill Girls Track

….ended their season Saturday with a sixteenth place finish in the Missouri state sectionals. The Trojans earned 11 team points from performances by Kim Rau in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs (6th and 7th), Mercedes Robinson in the 3200 meter run (8^th), and Taylor Cofield in the pole vault and triple jump (7^th). Park Hill was unable to qualify any athletes for the state meet this week.

Park Hill South Boys Track

…had two athletes finish in the top eight at sectionals last weekend. Cody Kildow finished sixth in the discus and Max Rodgers placed sixth in the pole vault. Both came up two places short of advancing to the state track meet.

Park Hill South Girls track

…Morgan Keesee qualified for the state track meet this weekend after finishing third in the discus. Keesee, a sophomore, already set the school record in the shot put earlier this year and heads into state with the seventh best recorded throw in the discus out of the projected field according to coach Andy Keefer. Other top performances from the Panthers were Blake Reser in the triple jump (6^th) and the 4x200 relay team of Jordan Hammond, Sydney Minnis, Chandler Termini, and Blake Reser (8th).

Park Hill South Golf

Nick Schleisman finished out his high school career with a two-round score of 164 (78 & 86) last week at the Class 4 state golf tournament. Schleisman finished 58^th in a field of nearly 90 golfers. Teammate Matt Barry shot a 78 the first day as well, but did not finish his final round.

Park Hill South Girls Soccer

…scorched a path through district play last week as they dominated the Class 3, District 15 tournament with a 9-0 victory over Winnetonka and a 5-0 win over Truman in the championship game. The Panthers advanced onto the Class 3 sectional round Tuesday night where they were taking on District 16 champ Kearney as The Citizen was going to press. The Bulldogs advanced to their matchup Tuesday by beating Liberty in their district title game.

While Park Hill South may feel realized to a certain extent by not having to face Liberty, who has ended their season the last three years, the Panthers have no small task in front of them with Kearney, who is currently 24-2 on the year. The Bulldogs defeated Liberty in penalty kicks, a game which may have been an upset in year’s past, but South coach Joe Toigo doesn’t see it that way.

“That was not really an upset, Kearney is the better team this year. If they were playing last year’s Liberty team that is an upset,” Toigo said. “We will have our hands full. They possess the ball very well and do not give up many goals.”

Courtney Claasen will lead a Panther offense with 31 goals and 16 assists on the year. South came into Tuesday’s game with an 18-4-2 record on the year.

Kalis goes out with sixth title, lasting impression

When Coach Tim Kalis decided to pursue his goal of becoming a school administrator earlier this year, he knew he’d eventually have to give up his long-held commitment and passion of coaching the Park Hill tennis programs. With an opportunity available to seize on that goal starting next school year, this season’s boys tennis team will be the last he’ll have the chance to oversee. Last week, clinching an impressive sixth consecutive district title, the Trojans made sure Kalis went out on a successful note, especially in a year where the odds may have been stacked against them.

“It says a lot about what the program has built over the last six to eight years. It’s good to see all of that come together, especially in a year where we were supposed to be down,” junior Max Schoettger said. “It really says a lot about our coaching staff and how instrumental they have been.”

Defeating Oak Park 5-2 the day before in the district semifinal, Park Hill jumped ahead of Staley early in the district title matchup before Mike Jones and Max Schoettger sealed the victory with a doubles win to notch another 5-2 win. Jones and Schoettger have been a sparkplug for a Trojan team that lost one of their top players to a preseason injury and had several holes to fill in their lineup. Chris To, Noah Higgins-Dunn, Louis Reinmiller, and Trevin Howerton would join in the ranks of what would turn into a steady and consistent group for the Trojans.

“Coming into the season, on paper they (Staley) were probably the pick as the favorite. Based on who we had coming back, we could’ve been considered the underdog,” Kalis said.

While Kalis admitted being a little tense about the idea of going for his sixth straight district title, he believes his players approached it a different way and really signified how close this particular team has become since the beginning of the season.

“I think they pushed themselves and used the fact that we were going for our sixth title as more motivation. They took it on themselves to bring that intensity,” Kalis said. “Michael Jones has been here through several successful teams and he’s taken it on himself to tighten the bond that this team has.”

Jones, a senior captain, reinforces his coach’s compliment by drawing attention to the little things they focused on that made a difference.

“We scheduled group hits, practiced together, and made sure we connected well with each other,” Jones said. “Our chemistry is probably our best thing right now. That’s really all you can ask for.”

Teammate and doubles partner Max Schoettger talked about the excitement he was feeling during their final match. Not only for himself, but for Jones who has been a significant part of all four titles won during his career.

“You have to love the moment. It’s Mike’s senior year and we’re playing in the final match for his fourth straight district title. It was a blast for me to be a part of that on the court,” Schoettger said.

The Park Hill tennis programs have under gone a significant transformation over the last ten years under Kalis and his brother Ryan, who also went into administration two years ago. The number one thing that stands out are the expectations players set for themselves.

“The thing that gives me the most pride is how the expectations have changed in that time period and where the kids set their goals,” Kalis said. “The program has come a long way from those years when we were close to .500.”

But the records don’t come anywhere close to outweighing the personal relationships Kalis has built with his players over the years. In that regard, he’s truly grateful.

“I’ve been so blessed when I look back at my ten years here to have been impacted by so many kids and how they have inspired me. Hopefully, I have provided that to them as well,” Kalis said. “It’s a little bittersweet. We’ve developed some wonderful relationships. I know for a fact, that’s what I’ll miss the most, but that’s also what I treasure the most.”

Spring Roundup: May 7-14

Park Hill Boys Track

…finished in second place as a team last weekend at the Class 4, District 8 track meet at Staley. Park Hill racked up 111 points, second to Liberty’s 147. Bringing home first place finishes were Cain
Winebrenner in the 800 meter run, Dondrell Hardiman in the 300 hurdles, and the 4x800 relay team. Coming in as runners-up were Devon Belew in the 400 meter run along with the rest of the Trojan relays, the 4x100, 4x200, and 4x400 teams. Logan Chevalier and Neal Sampson earned third place finishes in the pole vault and long jump, respectively. Rounding out the Trojan sectional qualifiers was Devonte Thornton, who placed fourth in the high jump.

Park Hill Girls Track

…placed fifth out of 12 teams at the district track meet last weekend.  Several athletes finished in the four and will advance to the sectional meet this weekend. They include Katie Ebbrecht, Brook Bischof, Jo Grauberger and Chelsey Lewis in the 4 x 800 relay, Kim Rau in the 1600 and 3200 meter run, Mercedes Robinson in the 3200 meter run, and Taylor Cofield in the pole vault and the triple jump.

Park Hill South Boys Track

…Cody Kildow, Joe Spencer, and Max Rodgers will be advancing to the sectional meet this weekend after quality performances during the Class 4, District 8 track meet at Staley High School last weekend. Spencer placed first in the pole vault posting a height of 13’ while Rodgers took second and Kildow placed second in the discus with a throw of 150’ 11”. Just missing out on qualifying for the sectional meet was the 4x100 relay team.

Park Hill South Girls Track

…saw mixed results in their Class 4, District 8 track meet last weekend with only three events qualifying to move on to the sectional meet this weekend. Morgan Keesee took fourth place in the discus while Blake Reser placed third in the triple jump. the 4x200 relay team of Chandler Termini, Reser, Jordan Hammand, and Sydney Minnis also placed fourth. The Panthers had a handful of athletes that just missed out on qualifying for the next round including Audrey Rothers in the high jump and Reser in the long jump.

Park Hill South Girls Soccer

…earned a one seed in the Class 3, District 15 tournament this week. They will receive a first round bye and play Wednesday when they will face the winner of William Chrisman/Winnetonka.

Park Hill South Boys Tennis

…came up just short of a team district title last week when they fell 5-4 to North Kansas City. They advanced to the title match with a 5-3 win over Winnetonka earlier in the week. While the Panthers’ team season is over, their top singles player, Zack Royle will continue on to the state tournament next weekend after his shutout victory in the title match of the individual bracket over the weekend. Royle, who advanced the furthest in the state tournament in school history last year as part of the doubles bracket, will be looking to leave his mark this year in the singles bracket where he has gone undefeated so far this season.

Park Hill Baseball
…roared into district play with one of their top performances of theyear last weekend as they defeated St. Joe Central in the first round8-0. Zach Anderson’s first inning home run gave the Trojans two runs to start the game. It would be all pitcher Dalton Moats needed to defend their lead as he held Central to four hits in six innings.Their semifinal matchup with Staley would be a much different game though as the two took a 1-1 tie into extra innings before Staley scored the decisive run in the bottom of the eighth.

Park Hill South Baseball
..repeating the result they got from two weeks ago, the Panthers narrowly defeated North Kansas City 7-6 in the first round of the Class 4, District 15 tournament last weekend. They advanced to play Winnetonka Monday afternoon where this time they fell on the wrong side of a close contest, falling 8-7 in the district semifinal.

Park Hill Girls Soccer

…ran away with a 5-0 win over Oak Park in the first round of district play over the weekend. Contributing with goals were Olivia Nowakowski, Jordyn Galvin, Maggie Lanham, Kaitiln Moran, and Allie Simpson. Park Hill advanced to take on top-seeded Liberty Monday, but could not overcome the Blue Jays 2-0 halftime lead as the defending state champs end the Trojans' season by a score of 3-0. Park Hill concludes the 2012 season with a final record of 12-15.

Park Hill South Boys Golf

 Matt Barry and Nick Schleisman's state experience from last year proved to be beneficial after their performance in the first day of the Class 4 State Tournament Monday. After one round, Barry and Schleisman find themselves tied for 20th place, having shot a score of 78 on the first day of the two day tournament. They started Tuesday only eight strokes behind the leader.

Do It All

Junior Jessica Lee of Park Hill South and senior Zach Anderson of Park Hill may not know each other, but they find themselves in an ever shrinking class of athletes known for, among other things, their flexibility, talent, and passion: the three-sport athlete. Once a more common title for kids playing for nothing more than love of the game, three-sport athletes are becoming a rare breed among teenagers who are increasingly deciding to specialize and excel in one sport. In fact, it’s become so rare that three-sport participants at Park Hill South receive an award each year to symbolize their unique status.

Many athletes are currently wrapping up a first or second sport this spring to conclude the school year, but athletes like Lee and Anderson are concluding a nine month marathon of practices and games, a path which requires concentration and a huge amount of dedication.

“At times, there are struggles because you want to focus on one thing, but you can’t and have to be thinking about all three at all times,” said Anderson, who played varsity football, basketball, and now baseball for the Trojans.

Young children often dabble and even come to enjoy playing a number of different sports in their early years. As their skills become more developed and their competitive mindset grows stronger, the desire to become better takes priority. More time, more practice, and more specialized training is required. With this added emphasis, it is thought that commitment to other sports needs to be sacrificed, which many times lead to an athlete withdrawing from those sports all together. It’s a difficult choice, one that tends to be influenced by club coaches, parents, and even teammates with their eyes on the future.

“The idea of getting an athletic scholarship to college seems to be the number one goal for everybody,” Reynolds said. “With that in mind, there are more people tugging at athletes at a younger age. It sometimes happens before they even get here (to high school). It could be from an AAU coach, a tournament team baseball coach. It could be a bunch of different people telling you to specialize.”

“I know my coaches have talked to me before about wanting me to specialize in their sport, so it’s hard to tell them I’m still invested in all of them,” said Lee, who plays varsity softball, basketball, and soccer at Park Hill South. “With school, it’s also a big balance.”

Three-sport athletes not only face pressure from coaches to specialize, they also face the challenge of meeting the needs of each sport in order to continue to play at a high level. This especially applies to the summer months when athletes condition the most and make some of their greatest improvements. It continues throughout the school year where only days separate the transition from the end of one season to the beginning of another.

“It’s tough to keep up with the skills everyone else is keeping that do specialize,” Lee said. “In the summer, I have summer leagues where each day of the week is dedicated to a different sport.”

“I just take it day by day like anyone else. It’s all three sports in one day. Football in the morning, basketball in the afternoons, and baseball at night. Just staying in touch with all three every day,” Anderson said. “I’ll come out of basketball practice and maybe go hit baseballs for a little bit or after football go shoot some hoops. You just have to keep it all together.”

Reynolds, who coaches football and baseball, says the decrease in three-sport athletes also comes from the high demands each sport requires of its players. Each sport has their own offseason workouts to keep up with other competing programs in the area.

“As a two-sport coach, I understand that pretty well. At the same time, we’re asking a lot of kids,” Reynolds said. “Baseball is a very difficult sport to be a three-sport athlete in because you have to be playing in the summer if that’s your top sport. But summertime is really important for other sports like football, basketball, and wrestling too though.”

A strong proponent of having athletes participate in multiple sports, Reynolds understands the hardships of meeting each sports’ high demands and believes it comes down to an understanding between coaches and players to make it work for everyone.

“I think good coaches and good programs work with each other to understand three-sport athletes are going to be doing other things sometimes, but at the same time you’re getting pushed so many different ways,” Reynolds said. “Anymore you have to be able to give (as a player and coach) and understand that.”

Lee, who only added her third sport last spring when she took on the goalkeeping duties at Park Hill South, sees her three-sport experience as a positive and proudly deflects anyone trying to influence her otherwise.

“I tell them I’m in high school and I want to try everything. I’m not going to specialize yet. If it happens that I play in college, then so be it, but high school is a time to do what you can,” Lee said. “It’s hard, but you make three times the friends and experience. Plus, sports build so much character you don’t even realize sometimes.”

While Lee has not ruled out any future possibilities with another year of high school left, Anderson will graduate this month and continue his athletic career in college having the opportunity to play baseball and possibly even football, maintaining his multi-sport status at the next level.

“My philosophy is you can get a scholarship in anything or play whatever sport you want to play. It may not be a full-ride, but you can play at the next level,” Reynolds said. “I’ve never had a coach come in to recruit a kid and tell me they need to not have played any other sport. They actually want to see guys that have done more than one thing.”

Proof positive that the commitment, energy, and flexibility of three-sport athletes can overcome the temptation of specialization and put them on a path towards college athletics just the same as any.

Spring Roundup: Apr. 30 - May 7

Park Hill Baseball
…comes into the final week of their regular season with a 15-6 record after three wins last week. Logan Sloniker’s homerun along with two hit, one RBI performances from Dalton Moats, Zach Anderson, and Jake Jones led Park Hill to a 4-3 win over Kearney in extra innings. Zach Tompson and Anderson led the Trojans to a 12-7 victory over Platte County with two hits a piece accounting for seven RBI’s, sending a senior class of 11 out on top. Park Hill ended the week with a 3-1 victory over North Kansas City Friday.

The three wins secured a two seed for the Trojans in the district field, who will take on St. Joe Central this Saturday in the first round of district play. Park Hill will play at 2:30 p.m. A win would set up a showdown later that day against Staley or Liberty North at 4:30 p.m. for a right to play in the district title game Wednesday, May 16th.

Coach Greg Reynolds is confident in his pitching staff heading into postseason play, but believes a reinvigorated offense could give the Trojans an added advantage.

“Looking from seeds 2-6, anyone can beat anyone. It comes down to pitching,” Reynolds said. “We’re hitting the ball more on a line more than we have been, but if we only eke out a couple runs, we’re going to be putting pressure on our pitching staff.

Park Hill South Girls Track
…repeated as conference champions in the Suburban White Conference meet. Compiling 155.5 team points, the Panthers surpassed the second place team, William Chrisman, by an impressive 56.5 points. First place finishes for Park Hill South included Audrey Rothers in the 110 hurdles, Erica Guzman in the 1600 meter run, and the 4x800 relay team of Erin Stump, Lizzy Jurries, De De De O’Toole, and Madeline Homoly. Besting the school record she set earlier in the season, Morgan Keesee placed second in the shot put. Also, coming in with second place finishes were Rothers in the 300 hurdles and high jump, Homoly in the 800 meter run, Blake Reser in the triple jump, and Kelsey Sadler and Taylor Fortuna who tied for second in the pole vault.

Park Hill South Boys Track
…took fifth in their conference meet with 54 team points. Leading performances came in the form of second place finishes from Joe Spencer in the pole vault and Cody Kildow in the discus. Kildow also took fourth in the shot put while Alex Augspurg placed third in the high jump.

Park Hill South Girls Soccer
…Park Hill South got back on the winning track last week with three wins against Winnetonka (9-0), Park Hill (4-1), and Oak Park (4-0). They come into this week 14-3-2 as they prepare for a first round district matchup still to be determined early next week.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
…is prepping for district play this week with one final game against St. Joe Central on Thursday before starting district play against Oak Park on Saturday. Park Hill is coming off a week where they defeated Ruskin 10-0 before falling to Park Hill South 4-1 to end the week. The Trojans, now at 10-13 on the year, have been hovering around the .500 mark for most of the season, but Coach Manny Catano says now is the time for his team to be playing their best.

“It’s really about stressing our work ethic and amping it up for our last two games before district play,” Catano said. “It’s important to work harder than we have all year, anything can happen in the playoffs.”

With a young group of players, he says it’s difficult for his team to see how focus and hard work can sneak
up on more talented teams at this time of year.

“Talent can only get you so far, but if you don’t work at it you leave yourself open to vulnerabilities,” Catano said.

If Park Hill wins Saturday, then earn a matchup with the top-seeded Liberty Blue Jays on Monday, May 14th.

Park Hill South Boys Tennis
…lost a close 5-4 competition to Oak Park to begin last week before blowing out Belton 9-0 on senior night. They received the two seed in Class 2, District 15 and were competing against Winnetonka in the first round of district team play at Park Hill South as The Citizen went to press Tuesday night hoping to play for the title Wednesday afternoon. Individual play takes place over the weekend for an opportunity to advance to sectionals next week.

Park Hill Boys Tennis
…took second as a team at the Brandon McPherson Doubles Tournament last week. Park Hill had two third place doubles teams. They were Mike Jones/Louis Reinmiller and Chris To/Noah Higgins-Dunn. The Trojans clinched a one seed in the Class 2, District 16 bracket this week and were in semi-final play as The Citizen went to press Tuesday night.

Park Hill Boys track
…took second in their conference meet last week, falling just nine points short of Lee’s Summit West for the conference title. Top performances for Park Hill included first place finishes from Cain Winebrenner in the 800 meter run, Steven Clopine in the high jump, and the 4x800 relay team of Riley Fahrenholz, Kyle Pudenz, Nate Huffer, and Joey Walton.

Park Hill Girls Track
…placed third last week in the conference meet with 73 team points. The Trojans took first place in the 4x800 relay with Katie Ebbrecht, Joanna Grauberger, Chelsey Lewis, and Brooke Bischof. Runners-up included Stephanie Lane in the discus along with Taylor Cofield and Bailey Cation who tied for second place in the triple jump. Kim Rau placed fourth in the 1600 meter race.

Park Hill South Baseball
…will be heading into district place as the five seed to take on North Kansas City in the first round of district play this Saturday at 11 a.m. They come into this week after going 2-1 last week with a 1-0 over that same North Kansas City team 1-0 behind a solid pitching performance from Luke Covault. Covault threw a complete game, three-hitter. Joel Burkhart knocked in the Panthers’ only run in the bottom of the sixth inning. It sets up a postseason matchup that features two comparable teams.

“It will be a very tough game. Both teams are pretty even. But they have a very good pitching staff and a couple of good hitters,” Coach Josh Walker said.

Later on in the week, Park Hill South stomped William Chrisman 12-3 with offensive production coming from Cody Shopper’s home run and Eddie Sola’s two hits. Corey Land recorded the victory with eight strikeouts in five innings. Falling 10-8 Friday afternoon, the Panthers were disappointed in the four errors and six walks they gave up. Mounting a rally in the seventh, Park Hill South scored five runs and had the winning run on first base before the last out was recorded.

“We fought back well but we were digging ourselves out of a big hole with the walks and errors,” Walker said of the loss.

Park Hill South Boys Golf
…Park Hill South will have a familiar duo representing it in the Class 4 state golf tournament this weekend after qualifying in last week’s sectional round in Independence. Both Matt Barry and Nick Schleisman will return as the Panthers’ two repeat state qualifiers.

Barry, who finished tied for 11th place with a sectional score of +5, and Schleisman, who tied for 16th place with a score of +8, are looking to improve on their state performances from last year that left them towards the bottom of the field (Barry 77th, Schleismn 100th).

“They both had gone through the pressure of the State Tournament last year,” Coach Larry Torgerson said. “This year both are aware of what happened last year and should know how to handle the pressure at their second state experience.”

Despite qualifying five golfers to appear in the sectional round, as a team, Park Hill South took fifth place with a score of 322. Austin Dorrell, who came up just short of qualifying last year for the state tournament, barely missed the cut once again with a score of +9.

Park Hill Boys Golf
…Park Hill’s two sectional qualifiers ended their season last week as Adam Meisch and Colby Buehler did not make the cut to advance to state. Meisch came in 44th place with a score of +22 while Buehler ends his senior season with a 50th place finish and score of +9.

Abstaining from vote should have been call

We’ve probably all experienced the consequences of sacrificing quality for price. Whether it’s been in food purchased at the grocery store, repairs made on our home, or other areas of daily life. We want the cheapest price possible, but in making that the sole factor in our decision, it can end up costing more in the long-run if we choose a lower quality product. So even though the construction contract awarded to J.E. Dunn for the community center expansion was about $300,000 above the lowest bid, many of us understand price alone cannot be the only factor. After all, out of the projected cost of $21 million, that $300,000 or so only accounts for about 1.5% of the total construction cost. It could be considered a premium well worth the cost if it avoided any number of mistakes costing much more later on from errors due to poor workmanship, bad planning, or corner cutting of an unqualified contractor, right? Maybe that’s what the County Commission believed they were doing. For this situation, that argument can’t convincingly be made though.

In order for a decision like that to be justified, the process itself must have credibility, transparency, and uniformity. If that takes place, the decision defends itself and this is where the questions begin to arise regarding the Commission’s selection of contractor J.E. Dunn.

J.E. Dunn’s campaign contribution to Presiding Commissioner Jason Brown alone is not enough to suggest it was given in return for a future contract, but Brown’s previous employment with the company, which was not widespread knowledge, does bring up a conflict of interest. Not the kind that suggests wrong doing, but one which could be perceived and the kind that should require him to abstain from the vote. No matter how objectively Brown weighed the bids, his familiarity with the firm and inside knowledge should have been enough to remove himself from the process. Even had Brown abstained from the final vote, if J.E. Dunn was the most qualified and presented the best value for the taxpayer dollar, it would have been reinforced with a staff recommendation and support from 2nd District Commissioner Jim Plunkett. It received neither. At the minimum, an explanation should be available to stand on its own as to why the lowest bid was rejected from a clearly qualified Universal Construction. In fact, it seems like several people or groups of people involved in the process had varying opinions on which contractor was best for the project, despite all seeing the same analysis and numbers.

Now, the Commission can’t and shouldn’t always streamline county staff’s recommendations, but in the event a decision is contrary to that recommendation, it should have credible and strong reasoning. Awarding a bid to any company, not just JE Dunn, because ‘they built it originally’ and ‘we like them’ should not be acceptable reasons on their own to choose a contractor for such a substantial project. Doing so could even be considered lazy because many contractors use this type of reasoning to gain repeat business. It’s applicable, but not a deal breaker. If you pick a contractor based on that line of thought, it makes you wonder why county staff and resources were used for a competitive bid process in the first place.

In the end, J.E. Dunn may truly be the best contractor for the job. But with a divided vote from a usually unified three-member Commission, a perceived conflict of interest, a different staff recommendation, and no supporting back-up for the decision, it’s easy to see why people may question the final selection. Overall, it seems to cancel out many of the touted financial gains that came from the Commission’s decision to lower the tax levy last fall and the heavily debated budget cuts which occurred in January.

South soccer hits skid, before stretch run

If the Park Hill South Lady Panthers were going to hit a losing skid this season, their past couples games wouldn’t necessarily be a bad time to do so. In the middle of a five game stretch over eight days, the Panthers have lost the first two. The first was a close 1-0 loss to Liberty, which was rained out after one half of play. The second came Monday night in a 2-0 loss to Staley. Luckily for South, none of those games will have an effect on their district seeding and neither will the next three with play against Fort Osage still taking place as The Citizen goes to press Tuesday night and a match with Park Hill scheduled for Thursday.

Normally, this week would play a huge role in shaping the district tournament seeding, but with much of the Panther schedule arranged several years in advance, the games remained in place despite new districts being established in the meantime. With that in mind Coach Joe Toigo isn’t worried about his team’s recent string of losses.

“It’s a tight stretch. We thought these would be district games because they were two years ago when we scheduled them,” Coach Joe Toigo said. “More or less these are just scrimmage games. I think we’re ok. I’m not worried about anything right now.”

One opportunity Toigo is using during this stretch is to see what lineup he’ll be able to use once postseason play comes around. With the loss of senior Haley Shelton in last Friday’s loss to Liberty, seeing who can fit where comes with an even added importance. Learning now, even if it includes losing, will hopefully lead to wins at the end of the season.

“My kids have to overcome my approach right now, which is to play a lot of kids in pressure situations so we know who we can rely on when districts start. This is a good run for us to evaluate those players,” Toigo said.

Aside from a 9-0 win over Fort Osage last week, the Panthers have been out of sync offensively over recent weeks and will try to get back their offensive attack over their last three regular season games next week. The Panthers, now at 11-3-2, begin district play the week of May 14th.

Spring Roundup: Apr. 23-30

Park Hill South Boys Golf
…blasted away the competition at the Class 4, District 8 golf tournament last week as they combined for a team score of 300, good enough to clinch them a first place finish and district title. Nick Sobba took first individually after shooting under par, the only person in the field to break par. Matt Barry and Nick Schleisman tied for fifth place, shooting four over par. Austin Dorrell (+5) and Luke Becker (+9) weren’t too far behind with seventh and eleventh place finishes, respectively.

“Our team score reflects on all of the players and how each of them played extremely well,” Coach Larry Torgerson said. “It was a great day, but now we have to refocus for Sectionals.”

All five Panther golfers qualified for the sectional tournament being played Wednesday at Winterstone Golf Course in Independence for the right to move onto the state tournament next week.

Park Hill Boys Golf
…shot a team score of 375 at the Class 4, District 8 golf tournament last week, good enough for a seventh place finish in the eleven team field. Adam Meisch led the way for Park Hill with a score of +15 and 18th place finish. Colby Buehler took 24th place with score of +20. Both will advance to the sectional tournament this week. Other scores for Park Hill include Jordan and Logan Lashbrook (+26) who both tied for 32nd while Andrew Butler came in 46th place with a score of +50.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
…went 2-1 in the Oak Park Tournament last weekend with a 3-1 win over O’Hara and a 2-1 win over Oak Park. The Trojans were led by two goals from Olivia Nowakowski and one from Regina Bolin. Karra Kennedy and Mackenzie Maxwell scored Park Hill’s two goals against Oak Park. A doubt overtime loss to Platte County from penalty kicks in the championship game accounted for the Trojans one loss. Park Hill is now 9-12 on the season with a game against Park Hill South scheduled Thursday.

Park Hill Baseball
…improved their record to 12-6 on the year after a 17-1 thumping of Ruskin to end last week with Ryan Winter driving in three runs on two hits along with a number of other Trojan offensive contributors. Earlier in the week Park Hill beat St. Joe Central 6-2 before hitting a two game skid against Liberty losing 12-3 and Lee’s Summit West 2-1 in eight innings.

Jake Jones is leading Park Hill is offense on the year with a .367 batting average and 13 RBI’s. Pitcher Dalton Moats continues to dominate on the mound. In his 34 innings, he’s recorded four wins, 61 strikeouts, and only given up one run.

Park Hill plays Kearney and Platte County at home this week before playing at North Kansas City Friday.

Park Hill Boys Track
…took first place in their own Park Hill Invitational last week with 127 team points as they tuned up for the Conference meet this week. First place wins included Anthony Arens in the 100 meter run, Devon Belew in the 400, Riley Fahrenholz in the 800, Joey Walton in the 1600, Kainen Utt in the 3200, Devonte Thornton in the high jump, Logan Chevalier in the pole vault, and Neal Sampson in the long jump. In addition to their first place finishes, Park Hill’s Kyle Pudenz and Nate Huffer took second and third, respectively, in the 800, and Cain Winebrenner placed second in the 1600.

The Conference meet will be held at Lee’s Summit West on Friday.

Park Hill Girls Track
…placed second behind North Kansas City in the Park Hill Invitational last week with 96 team points. Katie Ebbrecht and Joanna Grauberger took first and second respectively in the 800 meter run while Kim Rau and Mercedes Robinson did the same in the 1600. Other first place finishes included Robinson in the 3200, Bailey Cation in the triple jump, and the 4x800 relay.

Park Hill/Park Hill South Boys Tennis
…Zack Royle, who has been dominating in his junior season, continued that success last weekend at the Northland Tournament as he defeated Park Hill’s Mike Jones 10-2 in the title match of the singles bracket. Park Hill South’s doubles team of Jim Geary and Josh Robaska advanced to the title match of the doubles bracket, but fell to Liberty 10-6.

Park Hill and Park Hill South will play in the Brandon McPherson Memorial Tournament Wednesday on the Country Club Plaza before looking to district play next week.

Park Hill South Baseball
Park Hill South lost games against Fort Osage 7-6 and Raytown South 11-3 before pulling out a victory against Belton to end the week 4-1. The Panthers are now 7-14 on the season and continue to look for the right consistency to bring all parts of the game together for a winning combination. They play at William Chrisman Wednesday before hosting Winnetonka Friday afternoon.