Park Hill to play at Livestrong Sporting Park

Every young soccer player has dreams at one time or another of playing at the next level and maybe even professionally someday. With a successful professional soccer franchise such as Sporting Kansas City and the beautiful Livestrong Sporting Park right here at home, the dream can take the form of an even clearer vision. While the odds are most high school players won’t go onto a career in professional soccer, the players at Park Hill and Oak Park will get to see, touch, smell, and feel what it is like to play in a professional stadium this Friday as they match-up in a special opportunity to play at Livestrong Sporting Park following the regularly scheduled professional game.

The game won’t be just any randomly selected game between healthy Northland rivals though. It will be a testament to Oak Park senior forward Ray Saari, who was diagnosed with testicular and lung cancer as a sophomore. Saari is a two time all-state selection who was selected as a player of the year recipient in several categories last season. Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank says he’s watched him play for several years and sees an extraordinary young man.

“He’s now been through chemotherapy and went through the worst. I saw him play indoor soccer when he was going through that. He’s a great person,” Marchbank said. “A lot of these guys (Park Hill players) are best friends with Ray and have played club soccer with him. They’re all very familiar with him and his story.”

Saari’s battle with cancer allowed him to form a close relationship with the Livestrong organization, which helps support those affected by cancer, and cyclist Lance Armstrong who is the group’s founder.

“At the opening game at Livestrong Sporting Park this season, he walked out with Lance Armstrong. So they’ve met on several occasions,” Marchbank said. “This is kind of a testimonial to him. They asked Oak Park if they wanted to play a game for Ray. He wanted to play a quality opponent with a friendly rivalry, so they asked us.”

Oak Park is expected to be wearing yellow jerseys, which is the theme color of the Livestrong organization. Livestrong Day, which is October 2, will try to organize and promote the largest single display of support for cancer survivors in history.

Park Hill, Park Hill South girls golf conference results

Park Hill finished second in the conference tournament Monday while Park Hill South finished one place behind in third.

All Trojans medaled by placing in the top 15. Bailey Warlen won the tournament with a medalist score of 85.

Adrianna Elliott (5th), Sydney Paulak (9th), Jaque Yang (12th), and Josie Stevenson (14th) all contributed for Park Hill and were awarded all-conference honors.

Park Hill South's Lindsey Gile was named first team all-conference, Sydney Sanders was named to the second team, and Ashley Kildow and Laiya Smith were named honorable mentions.

The district tournament is scheduled for October 1st.

PHS extends win streak to three

After outscoring their opponents 111-6 over the previous two games including last Friday's 41-0 win over Grandview, Park Hill South (3-2) will see a significantly different level of talent this week as they travel to Lee's Summit West (5-0) to take on one of the top-ranked teams in the state. The Panthers are not naive about the quality of their opponent, but hope they can use the momentum from their three game winning streak to take another step forward this week.

"We've been watching video to find some things we might be able to do. There are some things that look good for us on paper, but they're talented and really good. They've got a lot of kids that can run. We think we have some things we can do," Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox said. "It (Friday's win) definitely helps us confidence-wise. That was something we were concerned about with our 0-2 start, but now we've won three in a row and they're feeling better about themselves. We think we're better than we were three weeks ago, so we'll see."

There were many things to point to which led to the Panthers 41-0 victory over Grandview, but the damage that resulted in an old-fashioned stomp down was mostly done before the Bulldogs could even run a successful offensive play from the line of scrimmage. A Grandview penalty before the game even started due to unsportsmanlike conduct gave Park Hill South good field position after they returned the opening kickoff. Myles Hammonds would put the game's first points on the board with a one-yard touchdown run, his first of two touchdowns on the night. Grandview would then fumble the first snap of their first drive to turn the ball over to the Panthers, who would score on a ten-yard Shaefer Schuetz touchdown pass to Craig Scott. The Bulldogs would do it all over again on the next possession, fumbling the ball for a turnover, which led to another Schuetz-to-Scott touchdown connect.

Park Hill South was up 21-0 having had only a mere six minutes expire off the game clock.

"We were up 21 points, so at that point there wasn't too much left," Simcox said. "I think they would have been better, but when you get down 21-0 without really running an offensive play, it just kind of got away from them I think."

The Panthers would improve their lead on the defensive end with two interceptions returned for touchdowns, the first by Alex Augspurg was a 38-yard return in the second quarter, while the second was a 45-yard touchdown play by Bryan Robinson early in the second half.

Shelving their passing game as the game became out of reach in the second quarter to limit Schuetz and Scott's potential stats, they used Hammonds on the ground to use up the remainder of the clock before he ended his night with 26 carries, good for around 100 yards and two touchdowns. All in a good night's work for an overall quality effort for the Panthers.

Park Hill thumps Ruskin, looks to Kearney

Two consecutive wins fueled by strong second half play, including Friday’s 56-14 win over Ruskin, lead Park Hill (3-2) into this Friday’s matchup against Kearney (3-2). Kearney is coming off a devastating 28-27 loss to Platte County which saw the Pirates come back from a 27-0 second half deficit to win in the game’s final moments. Park Hill and Kearney haven’t played against each other since 2001 when both teams met in Class 4 district play, so there will be a certain amount of unfamiliarity between the two teams, this time as Class 5 district opponents again.

“I don’t know what to expect, but I know they’re a good team. They’re very physical and like to run the ball,” Park Hill Coach Greg Reynolds said. “It’s going to come down to taking care of business on the front lines and tackling. I think it’s going to be a pretty even game when it comes to talent level. Turnovers can be big in games like this. Bottom line is it’s a district game and will help us in seeding.”

Kearney will present a significantly more challenging opponent than the one Park Hill faced in Ruskin last week. The Trojans came in as a strong favorite and looked like it early as they drove the field on their opening drive for quarterback Clay Ford to run in the game’s first touchdown to put Park Hill up 7-0. Stefan McCarthy would tack on a 39-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0, but the Trojans would squander several chances to increase their margin in the second quarter after two fumbles and failed fourth down conversion. Ruskin would break loose a 64-yard run for a touchdown before halftime to make the score 14-7 going into the break, a surprisingly close game for observers at the halfway point.

“We fumbled the ball at inopportune times after big plays and made mental mistakes on short yardage plays,” Reynolds said of the first half. “I think some of our kids were trying to hit a home run each time instead of just doing what they do. Making moves for touchdowns instead of just getting what you can get.”

The second half would be a different story, much as it was the previous week in Park Hill’s comeback victory over Ruskin.

The Trojans came alive in the third quarter as they scored touchdowns on their first four possessions, all the first six minutes of the quarter. Park Hill would add another touchdown before the end of the period. All in all, scores were recorded from Kenyatte Harris, who would score touchdowns on runs of ten and 29 yards, a ten-yard touchdown pass from Clay Ford to Austin Truvillion, and McCarthy who added to his earlier touchdown total with two from a 19-yard run and 16-yard reception. Before it was all said and done, the Park Hill offensive would produce 35 third quarter points, giving them a 49-7 lead going into the fourth.

“That might just be the way this team is, we have moments when we loss focus. We don’t have the amount of experience to stop it once it starts,” Reynolds said. “But what we were doing (in the second half), that’s what we should be doing.”

While Ruskin saw success with the screen pass in the first half early and often, they were unable to convert it into the points they needed in the second half. Eagles quarterback Kiestan Burrell was 20 for 37 passing and threw for 189 yards with a touchdown.

Ruskin’s Terrello Holden pulled in a 46-yard touchdown reception to narrow the game’s margin, but Park Hill’s Carter Bates would record the final points of the game with a five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter as the Trojans run away with a 56-14 victory.

Harris would end the game with 20 carries for 157 yards rushing and two touchdowns while his running back counterpart McCarthy would contribute 62 yards rushing and three touchdowns (two runs, one reception). Ford was eight for 13 passing for 121 yards with three touchdown passes on the night leading the Trojans to an offensive night which totaled 397 yards.

Soccer rivals get first look at each other

If last week’s matchup between Park Hill and Park Hill South is any indication of the future excitement between these two rivals, there will be a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks for these two teams. In front of a near-capacity crowd last Wednesday, both teams, who are considered two of the best in the metro, squared off in the first of what could be four matchups this season. Park Hill South would pull out a 2-1 victory over Park Hill, but the anticipation and physical nature of the game left plenty on the field for the next scheduled game between the two Oct. 15 or even earlier during the tournament the Panthers host next week.

Even with strong senior classes at the helm of both teams, each knew the advantages and disadvantages of playing in front of a highly fueled crowd, each hoping to stay focused on the task at hand.

“We tried to take this just as any other game,” Park Hill South coach Joe Toigo said. “We need to keep doing what we’ve prepared ourself for all season. We didn’t put anything extra on this game. It’s hard to keep high school kids settled with this much yelling and screaming. I think they kept their composure pretty good tonight."

“We told ourselves coming into this game that the team that would win is the team who stayed the most emotionally balanced, focused and didn’t let those tie into the game,” Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank said. “It’s tough when you have an atmosphere like tonight.”

Park Hill South’s Jordan Lindsey sent the Panther faithful into a roar when he scored the game’s first goal just minutes in to put the Panthers up 1-0 early. Scoring would not be what defined the contest though, as tough and physical play went back and forth throughout the night. Park Hill South would widen its lead in the second half when Andrew Gonzalez added a goal to put the game solely in the Panthers’ control. Park Hill would fight back though when Timmy Hay scored around the nine-minute mark. Several Park Hill attempts to tie the score late went unconverted as the Panther defense held, giving the first matchup between the two teams to the Panthers.

“We’re probably going to see them three more times this year. This is only game one. What counts is how we respond,” Marchbank said. “It was disappointing, I think we lost focus for a bit and they slipped it behind us. Two simple mistakes cost us the game tonight. We have a week off, which is good because this game takes a physical and emotional toll.” 

While Park Hill, now 8-2, had the chance to rest with the remainder of their week off before preparing for another round of tough conference matchups, Park Hill South continued on with a tough stretch that runs into this week. They defeated Ruskin 9-0 before playing tough Olathe East in a previously rained out tournament title game where the Panthers won 2-1 on penalty kicks. While running up an impressive 10-2 record so far this year, Toigo says his team has played a lot of close games and in order to improve they need to make sure they don’t leave themselves vulnerable to game-costing mistakes.

“We’ve played a lot of close games. We’re not even averaging 2 goals a game,” Toigo said. “We need to finish better. We’re 8-2, but could easily be 2-8 because our margin of error is so narrow with the amount of goals we’re scoring."

Park Hill South plays at Truman and hosts St. Joe Central this week before starting their own tournament next week while Park Hill looks next to this week’s games against Lee’s Summit West and then Oak Park at Livestrong Sporting Park.

Fall Roundup: Sept. 17-24

Park Hill South Girls Tennis 
…after winning all four of their matches last week, the Panthers finished off a successful week with a bang by bring home a title in the Northland tournament over the weekend. They did so in convincing fashion as well by winning three of the four brackets. With 62 team points, the Panthers topped the closest second point earner St. Joe Central’s 44. Adele Royle won her first two matches as the Panthers top singles player in the A Bracket to earn her a spot in the title match against Park Hill’s Brooke Barnard. The two battled to a close 11-9 decision in Barnard’s advantage. In the singles B Backet, Rachel Brown would win all three of her matches on the way to a first place finish. Marie Gehrke and Katie Smith would team up to win the doubles A Bracket while Emily and Shay Jackson would take first in the doubles B Bracket.

The Panthers had victories against St. Joe Central (6-3), Truman (9-0), Park Hill (6-3), and Ruskin (9-0) earlier in the week. Royle went 3-1 as the Panthers top singles player while Royle and Shay Jackson went 2-1 as the top doubles duo.

Park Hill South hosts Lincoln Academy before traveling to Lee’s Summit West to conclude their regular season Thursday. District play begins next week.

Park Hill Tennis

…finished third in the Northland Tournament over the weekend with 37 total team points. Brooke Barnard took first place in the singles A Bracket with a close 11-9 victory over Park Hill South’s Adele Royle. Abby Peoples placed fourth in the singles B Bracket while Breanna Donahue and Evan Kutz took fourth in the doubles B Bracket.

Park Hill finishes off the regular season Thursday when they host St. Joe Central.

Park Hill Volleyball

...won their two matches last week against Truman and St. Joe Central in straight sets (2-0). Park Hill is now 9-7-3 on the season with road games against Ruskin and Lee’s Summit West on the schedule this week. At the midway point in the season, senior Lindsey Grace leads in the team in kills (117) and blocks (37) while Olivia Nowakowski leads the team in digs with 191.

Park Hill South Softball

…went 2-1 last week to bring their overall record to 13-8 with wins against Ruskin (15-0) and St. Joe Central (4-1) and a loss to Blue Springs (6-1). Julia Switlik struck out eight batters against Ruskin while Kylie DeClue, Jordin Woodward, and Courtney Todd contributed RBI’s in their win against St. Joe Central. Todd’s was a solo home run. They will compete in the St. Joe Benton Tournament over the weekend before starting district play next week.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

…Tucker Melles placed first in the Grandview Invitational last week with his top time of 16:47. Keyan Lunders (7^th), Lendon Calhoun (16^th), Jacob Bowlin (17^th), Eli Williams (18^th), and Matt Robbins (20^th) rounded out the Panthers’ field. Park Hill South finished third as a team overall. They will compete in the KC All Metro Classic this weekend before the Conference meet next weekend.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

…finished fourth at the Grandview Invitational last week as Lizzy Jurries led the Panthers with a ninth place time of 20:57.30. Erica Guzman (15^th), Margaret McKeon (29^th), Charlie McFarlane (30^th), DeDe O’Toole (41^st), and Sophie Hardin competed for Park Hill South. They’ll next look to the KC All Metro Classic this weekend before competing in the Conference meet next weekend.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

…placed in the middle of the pack at the Rim Rock Classic last weekend with a 21^st place finish out of 43 teams. Cainen Utt led the way with his 13^th place time of 16:42.50. Cain Winebrenner (85^th), Hanok Tekle (96^th), Nate Thomas (126^th), James Adams (205^th), Riley Fahrenholz (218^th), and Noah Barajas (254^th) competed for Park Hill.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

… Mercedes Robinson led the Trojans in the Rim Rock Classic last weekend with her 40^th place time of 17:00.90. Kim Rau (56^th), Gianna Tutorino (110th), and Brooke Bischof (133^rd) competed for Park Hill.

Park Hill Boys Swimming

…traveled three hours to Springfield this weekend for the Splash Out Cancer Invitational and came home with a first place finish out of seven southwest Missouri teams. Park Hill took first in the 200 yard medley, 400 free relay, 500 freestyle (Barry Chang), and 100 backstroke (Matt Wagner). Top three place finishers included Wagner in the 200 freestyle, Chang in the 200 individual medley, Joe Johnson in diving, Vince Tutorino in the 100 butterfly, and Kyle Allen in the 100 yard breaststroke.

Park Hill posts second half comeback victory

A 24-14 come-from-behind victory against Truman (0-4) last week was a great way to build momentum into this Friday’s homecoming game against Ruskin (0-4). The win evened the Trojans’ record to 2-2 on the year and gives them added confidence as they next face a Ruskin team who was deeply bruised by a 70-6 loss to Park Hill South last week. Making the trip to Park Hill District Stadium for the second week in a row, the Eagles are a team known for their speed and big play ability, but will see themselves at a disadvantage in regards to Park Hill’s size and athleticism.

While every team would prefer to be described as a second-half team if they had the option, the Trojans have certainly lived up to it in their two wins so far this year, both of which have resulted from comebacks staged in the game’s final minutes. Park Hill would have no other choice last Friday against Truman as they found themselves in a 14-0 hole at halftime after committing three turnovers in the first half.

Park Hill sophomore Kenyatte Harris gave the Trojans a spark late in the third quarter when he took a handoff 41 yards for a touchdown, leaving them with only a 14-7 deficit. For Harris, it would be a breakout game, racking up 159 yards on 15 carries by the end of the night. A Mitch Tittone 11-yard touchdown run and extra point would eventually tie the game 14-14 in the fourth quarter.

After a strong defensive stand, the Trojans received the ball back and took full advantage of their opportunity to convert their comeback victory. An 11 play,  55 yard drive led to a 26-yard go-ahead field goal from Tittone to give Park Hill their first lead of the game, up 17-14 with less than two minutes to play. On the ensuing possession, in need of another defensive stop, Park Hill’s John Balsamo put the game out of reach when he intercepted Truman quarterback Alex Ryan’s pass and returned it for a touchdown, sealing a 24-14 victory for the Trojans.

Panthers roll in homecoming blowout

Following an impressive 70-6 homecoming victory over Ruskin last week, Park Hill South (2-2) will travel to Grandview (2-2) to face a team the Panthers don’t know a lot about, but know they have historically been a team that finds itself on different sides of high scoring games with an offense that has the potential to tally up yardage if not defended seriously. With the Bulldogs playing on newly installed turf, Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox believes they’ll be ready for the Panthers, but that the focus must still remain internal.

“We haven’t seen them (Grandview) much, except a few plays. We’re playing at their place, so they’re going to be excited,” Simcox said. “We’re going to worry about us, which is what we try to do all the time.”

The Panthers will be looking to get the offensive productive they got last week against Ruskin which featured a version of the balanced pass and run game they have been hoping would come together for a lethal combination all season. While they would score 42 points in the second quarter, Simcox said the team came out a little timid in its first couple drives, something the Panthers have been working on to improve.

“We still came out and played tight in the beginning, but after a couple series we started playing like we have in practice, which we hadn’t been doing,” Simcox said.

That’s about the only critique you could offer at first glance of their Week 4 performance though as the Panthers would put points on the board first when Myles Hammonds took a three-yard handoff into the endzone to put the Panthers up 7-0 late in the first quarter. Ruskin’s Kaymon Lunn took the ensuing kickoff the length of the field for a touchdown. The Eagles missed the extra point, leaving Park Hill South up 7-6 and indicating the game ahead might be an offensive shootout. That would be true only for the Panthers from that point forward as quarterback Carson Reid hit receiver Craig Scott on the opening drive of the second quarter for a short four-yard touchdown pass to put the Panthers up 14-6 and off to the races. It would be the first of six scoring drives that would result in touchdowns for Park Hill South.

A combination of special teams and defensive turnovers going the Panthers’ way put them in ideal field possession to capitalize and eventually extend that lead to 49-6 before halftime. Simcox says in order for their strengths to be utilized, offensive rhythm has to be consistent.

“Our offense is a lot about rhythm,” Simcox said. “Trying to get the proper mix (of run and pass) where one compliments the other, but we’re getting closer to that. We’re throwing when they don’t necessarily expect us to throw it and we’re running when they don’t think we’re going to run it. So it’s getting a little more balanced.”

By the time it was all said and done the 70-6 final score made it evident the goal of balanced rhythm had been accomplished as a number of Panthers would get in on the action at some point or another. Quarterbacks Shaefer Schuetz and Carson Reid would combine for five touchdown passes for 110 yards. Receiver Craig Scott pulled in three receptions for 42 yards, all of which for touchdowns while running back Myles Hammonds ran the ball 15 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Ronnie Bertelsmeyer and Derrick Cook would record touchdown receptions in the second half while Zac Ricketts and Kyle Reardon would add touchdown carries as well.

With such a wide-margined win under their belts, Simcox made clear it would only be beneficial if it contributes towards the long-term and makes them better for the second half of their season.

“If we did what we’re supposed to, then it’s something we can build on and move forward with,” Simcox said.

PH South students, community share magical night

It can sometimes be difficult to find tangible examples which provide euphoric happiness over the positive qualities of the human spirit. As Park Hill South celebrated Homecoming last week, the student body made the crowning of their queen one of those rare moments.

There was no debate needed. Hands down, the loudest roar of cheers from the crowd at last Friday’s game wasn’t for any one of 10 Panther touchdowns, although there was plenty to celebrate in the team’s 70-6 blowout victory over Ruskin.

When Park Hill South senior Allyssa Brubeck’s name was said over the loud speaker at Park Hill District Stadium announcing that she had been voted the school’s Homecoming Queen, the almost instantaneous reaction from the crowd left no doubt the overwhelming sense of excitement the news brought. Mixed in with the screams and yells were tears and hugs, which extended well after the announcement was made, bringing realization to any outsider that the new Homecoming Queen was viewed as a unique combination of adored, respected and deserving — the kind of qualities Hollywood movies never reward, but ought to.

Brubeck, who is a special needs student at Park Hill South, was diagnosed with Down syndrome at birth and underwent heart surgery at the age of two. Nevertheless, she has been a favorite of the Panthers cheerleading team going on four years now and can often be found on the sidelines of Park Hill South sporting events doing what all cheerleaders do: shake pom-poms, yell out chants and sport a big smile. The difference between Brubeck and her fellow teammates, though, is that rarely does a team find such a high level of drive and inspiration from one person.

“The team really comes together with her and accepts her,” parent-guardian Michael Small said. “She can’t do stunts or cartwheels or anything of that nature, but hopefully she’s an inspiration, not only to her squad of cheerleaders, but to other youth throughout this school.

Despite the difficult obstacles she has faced, coach and teacher Christy Davis says Brubeck has used her time to the fullest at Park Hill South and earned her crown.

“She doesn’t see herself as different, she’s always felt like she’s a part of the regular population,” Davis said. “She’s been involved in every activity she could have been involved in since she was a freshman and everyone knows her, so her peers voted her Homecoming Queen."

Before last week, Allyssa and her mom were planning on being out of town for the weekend, but the whole family was ecstatic when she came home from school with the note explaining she’d been named a queen candidate. When his daughter was announced, Small was short on words.

“What is there to say? It really says it for itself; the student body has come forth and voted her queen,” Small said. “This is exciting (for us); it’s exciting for individuals with developmental disabilities. It really goes back to the student body at Park Hill South who nominated her and voted for her.”

While certainly a reflection on Brubeck, it also serves as an indictment on the student body as a whole.

“I’m really proud of her. She is an outstanding young lady and she’s been a joy to have in class,” teacher Sarah McDaniels said holding back tears. “I think it’s outstanding that the Park Hill South students have embraced our students the way they have and made them as much as a part of this school as anyone else. Park Hill South has always been very supportive.”

The pomp and circumstance of Homecoming as well as the superior feeling that comes after beating your opponent by such a convincing margin will eventually fade. Weeks and months will pass, but hopefully what mother Cindy Small would later describe as a ‘magical night’ is something Park Hill South will be able to hold onto for years to come.

Park Hill South spikers stay hot, Park Hill growing

Last week’s matchup between Park Hill and Park Hill South, which left the Panthers with a lopsided 25-15, 25-13 victory, was one featuring two teams in very different positions after three weeks of play.

On one hand, Park Hill South, who won the Lee’s Summit North Invitational over the weekend, has one of its most experienced and talented teams in recent memory and is currently off to an almost flawless start to their season; one which might have them on course to be one of the state’s final four teams at the end of October. A closely contested loss last week to Lee’s Summit West is the only blemish on the Panthers record, which also includes a national tournament victory in Orlando, Fla. over Labor Day weekend, where they won every set they played.

“That’s kind of how we’ve been playing,” Park Hill South coach Debbie Fay said. “We’ve got some pretty good talent. There isn’t anyone kid who is our go-to. We’ve got seven kids that play and they have pretty dominant roles and they do them right every night.”

With high expectations coming into the season, Fay says her Park Hill South squad has met them all.

“My expectations with all the kids have been right on, they’re living up to them,” Fay said. “There isn’t one kid that jumps out or is taking control more. Ashton (Anderson) is doing a real good job of running the offense and giving them opportunities. If anything can improve it is just return a real aggressive ball more efficiently, but that just takes practice. It’s hard to do because there aren’t a lot of opportunities to face that."

On the other hand, Park Hill is trying to put the pieces together as a team that has pushed through the struggles of being a young squad in previous years and fulfill the potential of its players. Park Hill coach Lindsey Hood says it is just a matter of the players growing into their positions.

“We just have to get stronger,” Hood said after the loss. “We’re still lagging in offense where we don’t have the go-to hitters that can put the ball down. We have good ball control and can find holes in the court, but we’re lacking that go-to person right now.”

The Trojans rebounded over the weekend with quality performances at the Lee’s Summit North tournament by beating Grain Valley, Columbia Hickman, and Staley after a slow start to win the consolation bracket. Park Hill is looking to use that momentum towards the rest of the season and see that good-to-great transition to take place, which they believe will happen.

“They were excited, focused and I could not have asked for more out of them,” Hood said of their tournament performance. “They showed team work and got the task at hand done.”

What Park Hill South faces, and even to a broader extent Park Hill, is an increasingly competitive Kansas City volleyball scene, which could leave even the best of teams at home when it comes to playing in the state playoffs. Part of that is a positive indictment of the quality of play in the area while the other is a state playoff format which has seen little change from its original format.

“There are probably four or fives teams good enough to make the Final Four, but the problem is only one gets to (from Kansas City). Every year there are more and more good teams, so it keeps getting harder and harder to get out of the Kansas City area. It’s just the level of play has grown that much. We may be just as good as some of the Park Hill South teams of the past that made the Final Four, but so are the other schools,” Fay said. “In every other sport besides volleyball, they’re taking more teams to the playoffs or adding classes, but the format is the same now as it was 30 years ago when I first started.”

Park Hill hosts St. Joe Central Thursday while Park Hill South hosts Truman. The two teams next play each other on October 9^th.

Fall Roundup: Sept. 10-17

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country
…took third place in the Platte County Invitational last week with 129 points. Tucker Melles led the Panthers with his fourth place time of 17:00. Gus Whitman (7^th), Keyan Lunders (14^th), Lendon Calhoun (47^th), Jacob Bowlin (57^th), Eli Williams (58^th), Matt Robbins (59^th), Isaac Frieden (61^st), Tristan McCoy (66^th), Chase Whorton (73^rd), Keaton Murray (80^th) followed and rounded out the Panthers field. They compete at Grandview Thursday.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country
… placed fifth as a team at last week’s Platte County Invitational. Madeline Homoly led the Panthers with her 15^th place time of 20:55. Following her were teammates Erica Guzman (24^th), Lizzy Jurries (28^th), Audrey Rothers (38^th), Charlie McFarlane (42^nd), DeDe O’Toole (55^th), Sophie Hardin (65^th), Olivia Ortiz (71^st), and Hanna Walsh (72^nd). They compete at Grandview Thursday.

Park Hill South Girls Golf
… placed sixth out of 19 teams in the Sedalia Tournament last Monday. Lindsey Gile medaled and led the Panthers in scoring. They followed that up later in the week by beating Lee’s Summit West and Liberty. Gile medaled once again with a 5+ score of 32. The Panthers have one more tune-up against Liberty, Liberty North, and Ray-Pec this week before competing in the conference tournament Monday morning.

Park Hill South Boys Swimming 
…defeated Lee’s Summit North and Kearney in a double dual last Tuesday. Chase Riekhof recorded a state qualifying time in the 200 freestyle.

Park Hill South Boys Soccer

…added two wins to their season total last week before losing a tough double overtime match to Liberty Thursday. Jordan Lindsey, Dylan Kintner, Brian Kissee, Daniel Herrejon, and Brody Bouillon all contributed goals in the Panthers’ 5-0 victory over St. Joe Central to begin the week. The next night Bouillon would serve it up to his teammate Dillon Anderson for a corner kick assist to lift Park Hill South over Staley 1-0. Mark DeJesus and Heath Turner shared both of the week’s shutouts.

While the Panthers, now at 6-2-0 on the year, weren’t able to prevail in their overtime match with Liberty, they feel the previously two goals they had called back were unfortunate and left the team with an unsettling feeling. Nonetheless, Park Hill South looks to a tough week ahead as they play four games in five days with Park Hill Wednesday, Ruskin Thursday, Olathe East on Saturday, and Lee’s Summit West next Monday.

Park Hill Boys Swimming

…took second place in the Park Hill Invitational over the weekend with a team score of 280 points. Although it was a distance second to Rockhurst’s impression 395.5 team points, the Trojans saw several quality performances including first place finishes in the 200 medley relay and Barry Chang’s performances in the 100 yard butterfly and 200 individual medley. Matt Wager (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle) and Vince Tutorino (100 butterfly) took second place while third place finishers including Joe Johnson (diving), Kyle Allen (200 individual medley), Jered Wager (500 freestyle), and the 200 and 400 free relays.

Earlier in the week, Park Hill defeated Liberty North and Lee’s Summit in a dual meet, but fell to the host-school, Liberty. The Trojans will compete in the Splash Out Cancer Invite in Springfield this weekend.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

…finished seventh out of nine teams at the Blue Springs South Invitational at Lake Jacomo last weekend. Cainen Utt placed tenth with a time of 17:22 and led the Trojans. Nate Thomas (28^th), Cain Winebrenner (39^th), Riley Fahrenholtz (49^th), Hanok Tekle (50^th), James Adams (53^rd), and Graham England (56^th) rounded out the rest of the field for Park Hill.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

…Mercedes Robinson led the Lady Trojans at the Platte County Invitational last week with her 14^th place time of 20:52. Kim Rau (23^rd), Brooke Bischof (53^rd), Gianna Tutorino (56^th), Paige Carey (60th), Madeline Mudd (73^rd), and Kaela Bacck (81^st) also competed for Park Hill.

Park Hill Softball

…continued a rough patch in their season over the weekend as they extended their current losing streak to nine games after an eighth place finish in the Platte County Invitational. The Lady Trojans’ losses in their four games were all within one or two runs including Liberty North 5-4, St. Joe Lafayette 5-3, Staley 6-5, and Oak Park 7-5. Keylee Burks and Audrea Allen led Park Hill in offense with five hits apiece in the tournament.

Coach Stuart Sullinger says while the current losing streak is not something the team is satisfied with, they remain optimistic.

“Times are tough right now, but the girls are starting to learn how to play together as a team,” Sullinger said. “I think we will turn the corner shortly.”

Park Hill plays Lee’s Summit West Wednesday before traveling to Columbia for the Kewpie Classic over the weekend.

Park Hill Boys Soccer

…improved to 7-1 on the year last week with wins over Ruskin 13-0 and St. Joe Central 9-0. The Trojans take on conference and across-district rival Park Hill South Wednesday night, which will be a matchup featuring two of the areas top teams so far early in the season.

 Park Hill South Girls Tennis
...improved to 4-1 on the year with an 8-1 victory over Fort Osage. Emily Jackson led the Panthers with an 8-3 victory in the top singles matchup. Emily and Shay Jackson also took the victory in the doubles matchup as well 8-2. Park Hill South finished seventh in the St. Joe Central Tournament to end the week.

They host Ruskin Thursday afternoon before playing in the Northland Invitational over the weekend.

 Park Hill Girls Golf
...won their second tournament of the year Monday and raised money for a good cause while in the process as they raised nearly $4,500 for cancer research on their way to a first place finish with a team score of 372 at the Oak Park Tournament. Adrianna Elliott won her first career varsity tournament with a score of 77 while Bailey Warlen came in third with a score of 86. Other Trojans who participated included Sydney Paulak (98), Jaque Yang (111), and Chloe Daily (127).

Park Hill competes in the conference tournament next Monday and will come into the competition as a strong contender to win the title.

Park Hill can't keep up in scoring dual

Park Hill (1-2) will look to recover Friday night against Truman (1-2) after a high-scoring affair which left the Trojans on the wrong side of a 46-24 loss to Lee’s Summit last week. Truman is coming off a close 19-15 loss to Park Hill South.  Truman, who only produced 121 yards of total offense last week, will present the first of several opportunities in the next couple weeks for Park Hill to get back on the winning track.

Park Hill jumped on the scoreboard first when quarterback Clay Ford connected with Lane Holmes for a 16-yard touchdown pass to put the Trojans up 7-0 early. Lee’s Summit would match that touchdown with one of their own to leave the teams tied 7-7 going into the second quarter.

Stefan McCarthy would put Park Hill up again 10-7 with a 19-yard field goal at the beginning of the second quarter. But Lee’s Summit would go on to score 20 unanswered points that would build a lead of 27-10 and eventually put the Trojans in a hole they could not dig out themselves out of. Ford would narrow the Trojans’ margin before halftime with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Arens. Lee’s Summit was up 27-17.

In the end, Park Hill was just able to stop Lee’s Summit nor answer their scoring. Lee’s Summit would build another lead of 20 point lead of 37-17 in the third quarter. Ford connected with Dondrell Hardiman for 16 yards and his third touchdown pass of the night early in the fourth quarter, but it would not be enough as Lee’s Summit would record a safety and touchdown in the final minutes of the game to widen their final margin of victory to 46-24.

Park Hill gained 357 yards of total offense on the night and was led by Ford who finished the evening 15 of 30 passing for 284 yards. He spread the ball to five different receivers, three of which recorded more than 75 yards of receptions including Lane Holmes (83 yards), Austin Truvillion (76 yards), and Anthony Arens (75 yards).

South gets first win, ready to Homecoming

After their 19-15 win over Truman last week gave them their first win of the season, Park Hill South comes into this week’s Homecoming matchup against Ruskin looking to string back-to-back victories together to build much-needed momentum towards the second half of their season.

Ruskin (0-3) is coming off a 49-13 loss to Platte County last week where they were able to compile 203 passing yards and score on big plays.

“They’re athletic — they always are,” Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox said of Ruskin. “They’re going to be better than the previous week, and I’m glad we’re playing them towards the beginning of the season, not the end. It’s another home game for us, so we’re looking forward to Homecoming and all of the festivities that come with that.”

Simcox said clinching their first win was relieving so they can come into this week more comfortable and able to focus on the immediate opponent at hand.

“It’s going to allow us to relax a bit,” Simcox said. “Kids have expectations and they put a lot of pressure on themselves. When you lose you don’t feel very good about it, and we didn’t feel good about those first two losses.”

Park Hill South and Truman came into Friday night’s game looking like two similarly-matched teams. Truman established itself first with a steady and methodical initial drive which produced the first score of the game when Demetric Dinwiddie took a short handoff for a touchdown to put Truman up 7-0 late in the first quarter.

Things would continue to go Truman’s way as they intercepted a Shaefer Schuetz pass on the following drive and returned it 43 yards to the Park Hill South 30-yard line. But that would ignite the Panther defense. They proceeded to force a Patriots turnover on downs and limited the Patriots to only 61 yards passing and 62 yards rushing on the night.

Park Hill South’s offense took over and followed a consistent script in all three of the Panthers’ scoring drives — running back Myles Hammonds would carry the Panther offense down the field before Schuetz connected with receiver Craig Scott for a short-range touchdown pass. Hammonds, who gained 215 yards rushing on 45 carries, was playing in his first complete game since suffering an ankle injury last year.

“We’re a different team when we have him,” Simcox said. “I’m sure he got tired. When you have long drives that’s what happens.”

The Panthers first score would come late in the second quarter when Schuetz connected with Scott on a five-yard out pattern, good for a three-yard touchdown pass. The point after attempt failed, giving Truman a narrow 7-6 halftime lead.

Park Hill South continued with what worked in their first drive of the second half for their second score on the same play the Panthers scored with the previous time another Schuetz-to-Scott touchdown pass. Missing the point-after once again, Park Hill South edge ahead to a lead of 12-7.

“That particular short route, we look at as an extention of our run game,” Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox said. “That’s something we think we can get three or four yards from eight out of ten times. He (Scott) runs it really well and it’s hard to defend.”

Truman’s Dinwiddie would score again when he received the ensuing kickoff and took it 92 yards for a touchdown to put the Patriots back on top. With a two-point conversion, Truman went up 15-12 late in the third quarter.

Feeling some of their best offensive rhythm of the season, Park Hill South received the ball on the ensuing drive. This time it was Schuetz escaping the pocket athletically to get the ball to his top receiver, Scott, for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Park Hill South had regained the lead 19-15. Schuetz would finish 11-of-16 for 129 yards while Scott would record six receptions, 44 yards, and three touchdowns.

Looking to work the clock late in the fourth quarter, Truman forced a Panther fumble and turnover at the 2:38 mark earning themselves one last chance to regain the lead. Park Hill South would pull out all the defensive stops to gain the ball back and then use every means necessary to grind out the last seconds on the clock including a fake punt on their last play to finally clinch their first win of the season 19-15.

“Getting a win no matter how you get it is still better than the alternative,” Simcox said after the game. “Our kids feel so much better about what we’re doing. It’s always better to start a week by building on what you’ve done than fix things from the night before.”

Fall Round-up: Sept. 3-10

Park Hill South Boys Soccer
… took third place in the KA-MO Classic last weekend as they defeated Blue Valley 6-2 in the first round before losing to Shawnee Mission 3-0 on Friday night. In the third-place game the Panthers defeated Oak Park in penalty kicks (3-1) after both teams failed to score during regulation and overtime. Park Hill South is now 4-2 on the year. They’ll play next at Liberty on Thursday before traveling to Blue Springs South to start next week.

Park Hill Softball
…is hoping to end a three game losing streak this week after two 3-0 losses last week to Park Hill South and Blue Springs South. Now at 4-6 on the season, the Trojans host Lee’s Summit West Thursday before competing in the Platte County Invitational over the weekend.

Audrea Allen leads Park Hill in offense over the first couple of the season with a .484 batting average and 11 runs batted in. Pitcher Makenzie Porter has a 1.52 ERA and has racked up 22 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched.

Park Hill South Softball
…continues to roll through their schedule as they won all three of their scheduled games last week. The Panthers shutout rival Park Hill 3-0 to begin the week behind a complete game shutout from pitcher Madison Price. Jordin Woodward drove in all three runs, two of which were on a home run. Courtney Land went two-for-three in the win. Alyx Hagen followed Price’s complete game shutout with one of her own against Winnetonka as Park Hill South won 5-0 with Land contributing two homeruns and Jessica Lee driving in two more runs.

The Panthers ended the week in dramatic fashion when they defeated Lee’s Summit West 6-5 in extra innings. Woodward hit another home run and also drove in the winning run with a two-out based loaded single in the eighth inning. Previously Kylie DeClue drove in the run that tied the score in the seventh. Courtney Jackson recorded the victory from the mound.

Park Hill South comes into this week 9-2 on the year with home games against Platte County and St. Joe Central this week before competing in the Blue Springs South Tournament over the weekend.

Park Hill South Golf
…saw quality play last week as they started the week off with a win against Pembroke Hill at the Kansas City Country Club 200-213. The next day they competed at the Richmond Tournament where they finished fourth out of 18 teams. Lindsey Gile medaled with a ninth place finish out of 70 players in the field. They topped that with an even better performance the following day with a second place finish in the 20-team field at the St. Joe Central Tournament. Lindsey Gile finished in sixth place while Tarah Patneau finished in 10^th out of 80 players. Park Hill South’s scheduled match against Park Hill Friday was rained out.

Park Hill Boys Soccer

…improved to 5-1 on the year with a 1-0 win over Lee's Summit West Monday night. Matt Russell scored the Trojans' lone goal with an assist from Neal Sampson. Park Hill also staged a dramatic come from behind victory over Staley to start last week. Down 2-0 at halftime, Alec Fiest scored two goals on free kicks to send the game into overtime. It only took ten seconds for Neal Sampson to score the golden goal that gave the Trojans the 3-2 victory. Park Hill ended the week with a 2-1 win over Blue Springs Thursday night.

"Awesome game and a good start to conference play," Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank said. "Great battle from both teams, but we were the dominant team especially in the second half. It was the most complete game from us this year."

Park Hill plays at Ruskin Wednesday evening before hosting St. Joe Central Thursday night before preparing for a big game against Oak Park at the end of the month that will be played at Livestrong Sporting Park on September 28^th.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

…saw quality times at the Ray-Pec Invitational last week with a fourth place finish in the large school division. Erica Guzman led the Panthers with her 14^th place finish time of 21:14.20. Lizzy Jurries (19^th), Charlie McFarlane (20^th), and Madeline Homoly (21^st) came in not too far behind. Margaret McKeon (41^st), Allison Kelly (43^rd), and Madi Blinzler (45^th) rounded out the rest of the Park Hill South field.

They’ll next compete on September 20^th at the Grandview meet.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

Mercedes Robinson led Park Hill in the Ray-Pec Invitational last week with a 12^th place time of 20:50.50. Following her with Kim Rau (27^th), Brooke Bischof (33^rd), and Gianna Tutorino (36^th).

Park Hill will next compete in the Platte County Invite Thursday before preparing for the Rim Rock Classic September 22^nd.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

…finished fourth out of seven teams in the Ray-Pec Invitational last week with Kainen Utt leading the way with his fourth place time of 17:09. Cain Winebrenner (15^th), Nate Thomas (17^th), and Hanok Tekle (18^th) followed Utt while Noah Barajas (30^th) and James Adams (35^th) rounded out the Trojan field. Park Hill competes this weekend in the Blue Springs Wildcat Invitational.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

Tucker Melles continues to impress as the Panthers top runner with his first place time of 17:23 in the Bishop Miege Invitational last week. Park Hill South also performed well as a team, clinching three of the top five placements with Gus Whitman (3^rd) and Keyan Lunders (5^th) seeing strong finishes. The pack of Eli Williams (13^th), Matt Robbins (16^th), Jacob Bowlin (17^th), and Isaac Frieden (18^th) finished out of the field of Park Hill South runners.

Park Hill Volleyball

…suffered two losses to Lee’s Summit West (2-0) and Lee’s Summit (2-1) last week before competing in the Winnetonka Tournament over the weekend where they tied for third place with Staley. Park Hill won matches against Oak Park (25-22, 25-15), Fort Osage (25-19, 25-21), and Winnetonka (25-19, 25-21). They tied in a match against Smithville (25-14, 20-25). The Trojans fell to Liberty in the tournament’s semifinals (25-15, 25-14).

“It was a great day for the girls and a great confidence builder for the rest of the season,” Park Hill coach Lindsey Hood said.

The Trojans are now 4-4-1 on the season and play at Park Hill South Thursday before competing in the Lee’s Summit North Invite over the weekend.

Park Hill Girls Golf

…brought home a first place trophy from the St. Joe Central Invitational last week. The Trojans 371 team score topped 16 other teams competing. Park Hill had two top-five finishes with Bailey Warlen placing third with her score of 83 while Adrianna Elliott placed fifth with a score of 84. Sydney Paulak’s score of 93 was good for a 12^th place finish. Jacque Yang (111) and Candice McCoy (118) rounded out the Trojans score card. Continuing their success to begin this week, they placed 3^rd of 19 teams in the Truman Invitational Monday.  They shot a team score of 274.  Elliott shot a 79, good for second place overall, Warlen placed eighth overall with her score of 88.

 

Park Hill is seeing one of their best starts to a season in recent memory as the Trojans hope to fine-tune their skills for an opportunity to clinch a conference title two weeks from now in the conference tournament September 24^th.

“It’s been a great start to the season, I’m very proud of the girls,” Park Hill coach Tari Garner said.

Park Hill South Swimming
...finished second for the second time in as many weeks to Rockhurst in the Ozark Invitational last weekend. New state qualifying times were cut by Liam Huffman in the 100 freestyle, Travis Colpitts in the 100 butterfly, Tom Prinslow in the 500 freestyle, and Ian Morgan in the 200 freestyle. They compete next against Liberty and Liberty North next week.

Park Hill Swimming...defeated St. Pius X (135-44), St. Joe Central (131-51), and Bishop LeBland (152-9) last week in their only scheduled meet. The Trojans took first place in all 12 events. Barry Chang qualified for state and broke a school record held since 1994 in the 200 individual medley. He also qualified in the 500 freestyle. Kyle Allen qualified for state in the 100 breaststroke. They host the Park Hill Invitational this weekend at the Park Hill Aquatic Center.

Panthers face Truman in search of first win

Coming into the season, Park Hill South (0-2) knew they’d be tested right away against two high quality teams in Fort Osage and Blue Springs. Having played and lost those games, they head into Week Three looking to their next game against Truman as a key point in their season looking to rebound. Truman also comes into the contest with a 0-2 record after Liberty North scored a late touchdown to hand them a 12-6 loss last weekend. Head coach Mark Simcox says Truman offers the Panthers a more similarly-matched opponent than they’ve seen so far this year.

“They’re a lot more our speed, we match up a lot better with them,” Simcox said.

While he didn’t see his team play as well as he would have liked, Simcox did say he saw improvement in last Friday’s rain soaked, 35-14 loss to Blue Springs. They didn’t do themselves any favors either though as Blue Springs scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, the first of which came after the Panthers had a punt blocked on their first drive of the game. Both scores came from Blue Springs running back Dalvin Warmack who ended the game with 136 yards on 19 carries.

Things didn’t get much better in the second quarter as Blue Springs blocked another Park Hill South punt which resulted in a safety and a lost fumble led to another Blue Springs touchdown right before halftime increasing their lead to 27-0. Late in the game, Park Hill South was finally able to do what few teams in the metro were successful at last Friday: pass the ball. Quarterbacks Shaefer Schuetz and Carson Reid were both able to complete touchdown passes (82 and 21 yards) to put the Panthers on the border.

“We obviously allowed too many (points) and didn’t score enough, but last week we acted like we didn’t prepare very well and made an unbelievable amount of mistakes on both sides of the ball,” Simcox said. “This week, we got beat by a good team, but didn’t do a whole lot to help them out. So I think we made some big improvements and if we continue to do make improvements we’ll be fine.”

Park Hill looks to build on road trip

Park Hill (1-1) is preparing to move on to Week Three action at Lee’s Summit (1-1) after a particularly rough loss to Lee’s Summit West 33-7 last Friday night. Lee’s Summit is coming off a 34-17 loss to Kearney who pulled away with two fourth quarter touchdowns to decide what had previously been a close game.

“They (Lee’s Summit) have a two-year starter at quarterback and 220-pound junior who runs downhill that we need to stop before he gets to the second level,” Park Hill coach Greg Reynolds said. “I think we match-up pretty decent up front against them. If our linebackers keep improving we should be good there. If we take away the deep stuff and tackle, we should be ok.”

Even without the rain-soaked conditions that lasted throughout last Friday’s game, Park Hill knew they would have their hands full against a top-ranked Lee’s Summit West team. The Titans proved it almost immediately as Lee’s Summit West running back Ryan Williams took carries of 27 and 38 yards into the end zone for touchdowns on their first two offensive plays putting the Trojans down 14-0 just minutes into the game.

“They scored two touchdowns on the first two plays because of us not lining up right, which is unacceptable, can’t blame that on rain,” Reynolds said. “When you get down 14-0 on two plays, the wind is kind of taken out of your sail a little bit.”

With a 20-0 lead going into halftime, Austin Burau’s second touchdown of the night put the Titans up 26-0 mid-way through the third quarter.

“They were able to dominate us up front. The rain affected kind of what we wanted to do coming in being able to pass the ball early on,” Reynolds said. “The reality is as I told the kids afterwards, they’re at a level up here, and we’re down here right now.

Park Hill, still trying to find a rhythm offensively, was able to get on the scoreboard in the latter part of the fourth quarter. Following a Lee’s Summit West turnover, Park Hill took over at the Titan 12-yard line where sophomore Stefan McCarthy eventually ran in for a three-yard touchdown to give the Trojans a score.

The story of the game was dominance on the ground as Lee’s Summit West grinded out nearly 340 yards on the ground. Ryan Williams carried the ball 14 times for 138 yards rushing while DeMarcus Edwards added 97 yards of his own on nine carries. Park Hill was only able to produce 24 yards on 37 carries.

“We’re gonna have to do a better job of making passes. Right now we’re sitting under a 33% completion mark and for a spread offense that’s not very good,” Reynolds said. “We need to be running the ball better than we are if that is going to be the case.”

While Park Hill has a huge obstacle now behind them, the rest of the season features some evenly competitive match-ups, a number of which they believe are winnable.

“I think our last seven games are 50/50 games and I don’t think there is any one game we go into where we say ‘we should win this game’ or ‘we probably won’t win this game’,” Reynolds said. “We may be the underdogs in some cases, but we should have a chance to win.”

Fall Round-up: Aug. 27-Sept. 3

Park Hill South Swim/Dive

…competed in their first meet of the season last week at Rockhurst. The Panthers fell short of a team victory by a close score of 96-89 after losing the final event in the 400 meter free relay. Park Hill South won all but four events. Rockhurst also took first, second, third, and fourth in diving. Qualifying for state in their first meet of the season were Liam Huffman in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke, Tom Prinslow in the 200 freestyle, and Ian Morgan in the 500 freestyle. Overall, Coach Steven De La Piedra said they had a great meet and were more competitive than he expected as Rockhurst is one of the top swim programs in the state.

Park Hill South next competes at the Top Dog Duals and the Ozark Invitational this weekend.

Park Hill South Boys Soccer

…started their season with two high quality wins over some of the top teams in Kansas last week in the Olathe Tournament. The Panthers beat Olathe South Tuesday 2-1 before taking Blue Valley North to overtime and then penalty kicks where they took the victory that put them in the tournament’s title game. Brody Boullion, Adam Weatherly, and Alex Weatherly contributed the three Panther goals during the tournament. The title game was rained out. The Panthers now look to the KA-MO Tournament at Blue Valley North this week.

Park Hill South hosts Blue Valley Northwest on Wednesday and then travel to St. Joe Central Monday.

Park Hill South Softball

…the Panthers are off to a 6-2 start and come into this week on a four-game winning streak after sweeping their schedule last week. Park Hill South spread the St. Joe Central Indians 10-0 last Monday in five innings. Madison price threw a no-hitter, only allowing one player to reach base the entire game. Courtney Todd went 3-for-4 with Courtney and Mallory Land added two hits apiece. The offensive barrage continued against Liberty North in an 11-4 win for the Panthers. Madison Price recorded the win from the mound while Todd, Jordin Woodward, and Kylie DeClue hit home runs. Park Hill South ended the week in workman-like fashion racking up 15 runs in three innings against Ruskin. Alyx Hagen recorded the win and struck out 8-of-9 batters she faced.

The Panthers host Lee’s Summit West Thursday afternoon.

Park Hill South Girls Tennis

…improved to 3-1 on the year last week with two convincing wins over Oak Park and Staley. Adele Royle defeated both of her opponents to lead the Panthers with an 8-1 victory over Oak Park’s Margarita Akaiza and Staley’s Chloe Clement by a score of 8-0. She teamed up with teammate Shay Jackson for victories of 8-4 and 8-4. They travel to Fort Osage on Monday.

Park Hill Girls Golf

…after bringing home second place in the Liberty North Tournament, the Trojans continued their success last week with a convincing 201 to 276 match win over Winnetonka. Adrianna Elliott medaled in first place while Bailey Warlen took second place overall.

This week they play in the St. Joe Central Invitational Thursday before ending the week with a match against Park Hill South at the National.

Park Hill Volleyball

…after a solid victory over North Kansas City to begin the season, the Park Hill volleyball team lost to Liberty 25-21, 25-18 to bring their record to 1-1 overall.

Lindsey Grace and Lyndi Plattner lead the team in kills through four games with 11 each. Grace and Plattner also lead in aces served and blocks. The Trojans travel to Lee’s Summit Thursday and Lee’s Summit North Tuesday.

Park Hill/Park Hill South Boys Cross Country
... Park Hill finished sixth with 173 team points at the Liberty Invitational while Park Hill South finished just behind in seventhplace with 177 team points. Both teams will be at the Ray-Pec Invite this Saturday.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country
...finished in eighth placed with 182 team points at the Liberty Invitational. Madeline Homoly lead the Panthers with a team best 13:33 while Lizzy Jurries (13:49), Erica Guzman (14:10), and Audrey Rothers (14:14) were shortly behind. They'll next compete in the Ray-Pec Invite Saturday.