Panthers easily handle Northmen

Scoring in just about every way imaginable in their 56-8 stomping of Oak Park last Thursday in the opening round of district play, Park Hill South (6-4) now looks to their matchup with the Kearney Bulldogs (6-3) Wednesday night in the district semifinals. The Bulldogs received a first round bye and will be well rested to host the Panthers. Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox says his team will face an opponent with a long history of success, but one he can also see glimpses of his own team in based on the balance of their offenses.

“They’re used to winning and they’ll expect to win, no question about that,” Simcox said. “We haven’t played them in a long time so we’re going to have to study up a bit. In some ways they’re a lot like us on offense. They run more of a double-slot where they’re able to do what the defense gives them, so they’re pretty balanced.”

That balance was on full display last week in their opening round playoff game against Oak Park. If there was any doubt Park Hill South would be able to carry the momentum from their 45-14 win over Park Hill last week into this week’s first round district game against a struggling Oak Park team, it was quickly put to rest.

“We want to be efficient and we know we can’t be on an emotional high every week, but it can’t affect our efficiency,” Simcox said of coming off the previous week’s rivalry game.

The Panthers stuck with the legs of running backs Myles Hammonds and Ronnie Bertelsmeyer to rack up a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Bertelsmeyer punched in a two-yard touchdown run in between Hammonds touchdown runs of 4 and 37 yards. That lead would eventually build into a 35-0 at halftime after Hammonds added his third touchdown and receiver Nick Griffith pulled in a 62 yard pass from quarterback Shaefer Schuetz.

Runs of 20 yards from Craig Scott and 15 yards from Corey Land produced two more touchdowns in the second half to widen their lead to 49-0. With a running clock in the second half, Oak Park was able to put their first points of the game on the board when Joe Anderson took a double handoff that went 25 yards for a touchdown.

Freshman Collin Faro posted the game’s last points with a two yard touchdown run in the game’s final minutes to bring the contest’s final score to 56-8. The Panthers would combine for 467 yards of offense and did so fairly evenly between their playmakers as Hammonds ended the night with 97 yards on nine carries while Bertelsmeyer compiled 67 yards from seven carries. Scott who added a touchdown on the ground, caught five passes for 115 yards.

Simcox talked about his team’s depth and how that has helped them not only fill in when injuries occur, but also how it creates options to spread the ball around.

“That’s the advantage of having numbers to where kids are competing against each other in practice for positions, for playing time,” Simcox said. “In a game like this one, it really pays off.”

Harold Wayne Pepper: 1929-2012

Harold Wayne Pepper, 83, left this Earth to go to his Eternal home on October 28, 2012.  Born May 24, 1929 on the family homestead north of Weston, Missouri, he was the only child to the late Aneta Steele and W.B. Pepper Jr. While growing up, Harold helped his father work the same family farm five generations of his family had previously.

He was a lively boy and enjoyed telling stories about his youth and the ornery adventures he and his friends had.  He attended the Salem Christian Church in his earlier years, where his father was the long-time Sunday school superintendent, and attended Weston schools where he graduated from in 1948.

He married Martha Jean Lawrence on December 15, 1950 at the First Christian Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. They celebrated their 61^st anniversary last year.

Harold was a veteran of the Korean War where he saw combat action. Private Pepper was a member of the 780^th Field Artillery Battalion. He was later promoted to Corporal, earning three service stars and a Meritorious Achievement award. 

When his tour of duty ended in 1953, he returned home to farm the land he grew up on, hauling livestock, water, and even raising cattle for a period of time. He would make this his life’s work. In 1954, he and Jean had their first child, Dan, followed by their second, John, two years later. Dan and John grew up working the farm alongside Harold, just as he had with his father. Harold was also a member of the Masonic Lodge A.F. & A.M. in DeKalb.

Harold loved spending time with his family, talking about tractors, tools, and the history of Weston. He was a man of simple tastes; enjoying a warm cup of coffee or cold beer, reading various local newspapers, driving his truck, and catching up in conversation. He will be remembered for his unique laugh and sense of humor, interest in agriculture, and love for animals.

Harold is preceded in death by his parents Aneta Steele and W.B. Pepper Jr., and long-time beloved pet cats Teetle and Peanuts.

Harold is survived by his two doting and caring sons, Dan Pepper and wife Kris of DeKalb, MO and John Pepper of Kansas City, MO.  He has four grandchildren, Rachel Pepper and Jason of Platte City, MO, Hannah Thornton and Matt of St. Joseph, MO, Matt Pepper of Kansas City, MO, and Ben Pepper of Kansas City, MO.  He also has one step great granddaughter, Aubrey Thornton. 

The family will receive friends on Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 10 a.m. at Vaughn’s Funeral Home in Weston, Missouri followed by a funeral at 11 a.m. to celebrate his life.  Interment, with military honors, will be at Mount Bethel Cemetery, Weston, Missouri. 

Memorial donations may be provided to the Missouri Veterans Home in Cameron, Missouri.

SPCAD encounters permit obstacle with Parkville

Approximately three weeks into their contract as the ambulance provider for the Southern Platte County Ambulance District, American Medical Response (AMR) says the welcome they’ve received from the community has been with arms wide open as they work to introduce themselves to local residents. But it hasn’t been without its hiccups AMR operations manager Cam Hendry reported to the district’s board of directors at last week’s regular meeting.

The main obstacle AMR has experienced so far is occupying the space they have leased in Parkville at the Bell Road Industrial Park from which to base their operations. AMR briefly moved in before learning of a requirement to obtain a conditional use permit from the City of Parkville. Intending to stage living quarters on the property for their paramedic teams overnight and store their ambulances, the intended use does not meet the approved zoning. Until the permit is issued, AMR cannot occupy the space and has been staging their units out of the nearest overnight venue available, which a motel outside and north of the district off Prairie View Road, near Barry Road.

“Right now that is the biggest culprit,” board president Bobby Kincaid said.

Parkville Acting City Administrator Sean Ackerson says the property owner has submitted an application for a conditional use permit to allow dwelling units within an industrial zone and that a hearing is scheduled.

“They are wanting to move into the Bell Road Industrial Park, which is predominantly zoned industrial,” Ackerson said. “Per municipal code they need a conditional use permit for the use, particularly the living quarters. I’d describe their use as fire department-like in that they have both habitable space as well as the garage function.”

The hearing on the permit will be held October 30^th. If action is taken, it would then go to the board of aldermen for final approval on November 6^th. Hendry said the proximity to the intersection of Highway 45 and Highway 9 in Parkville is most ideal, but would be open to all options if an arrangement could not be reached with the landlord and City of Parkville.

Another topic covered at the meeting was response times, which was one of the main factors in switching ambulance providers in the first place. Hendry provided a report to the board of all emergency calls and responses placed in the month of October. Kincaid expressed concern over some complaints he had personally received about response times, but those were cleared up by how the data is measured. Hendry noted that meeting the nine-minute average response time in AMR’s contract is based off the time between when a call is received and an ambulance arrives to the scene, not the time it takes to respond to the scene and then potentially transport a patient to an emergency room.

“They’re meeting the response times called for in the contract. We don’t want to see anyone lose their life due to an ambulanace, it’s very important to me and the rest of the board,” Kincaid said. “They (AMR) are going to do everything they can do make sure that happens, where the Fire Department in the past had not.”

The board also welcomed news of strong cooperation between AMR and bordering jurisdictions, which had been a particular concern in regards to the Kansas City Fire Department who previously held the service contract. AMR is still in negotiations with KCFD and the Northland Regional Ambulance District (NRAD) for mutual aid assistance should the situation call for it.

Park Hill South claims second straight King of Hill title

After a decisive 45-14 Park Hill South victory over Park Hill at last week’s King of the Hill rivalry game, the Panthers and Trojans now head into Week Ten, the first round of district play, where each will be faced with the situation of winning to advance or losing to end their season. Park Hill South (5-4) notched the third seed with their win and will host sixth seeded Oak Park (1-8). Park Hill (3-6), the fifth seed, will travel to fourth seeded St. Joe Central (5-4) in a rematch of their contest two weeks ago where the Indians pulled out a 32-29 victory.

It took a full quarter for both teams to shake off what might be described as the adrenaline of the rivalry atmosphere before the first points were posted last Friday night. After being denied on a fourth and goal play late in the first quarter, Park Hill South would come back on the next drive with a short field to score on a four-yard touchdown run from Myles Hammonds to give them a 7-0 second quarter lead. Park Hill would struggle to gain offensive momentum most of the night, particularly in the first half, but their defense would hold Park Hill South to a modest 10-0 half lead after the Panthers added a 34-yard field goal late in the second quarter.

“We thought that if we could run at them early and be physical with them, it could pay off,” Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox said. “Defensively, we wanted to take away what they wanted to do by stopping the run.”

Park Hill South did just that by building a first half lead, putting the pressure on Park Hill to create momentum coming out of the locker room for the second half. It would be Park Hill South turning up the heat though, as they scored touchdowns on all four possessions of the third quarter to build an insurmountable 38-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. Through the air and on the ground, the Panthers displayed one of their most balanced offensive performances of the year. True to form, Park Hill South would use the legs of Hammonds to run the ball to set up the four scores that Panthers receivers Logan Gillespie, Craig Scott (2), and Robert Lane would pull in for touchdown receptions. Hammonds would end the night with 184 yards on 27 carries.

“If we can keep them from cheating on our run game, we can run it. If they cheat, then we’ll throw it to the outside,” Simcox said. “The game’s always a little bit easier on offense when you can do a little bit of both.”

Park Hill’s lone score until late in the fourth quarter came from a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Kenyotte Harris in the third quarter.

But Park Hill’s defense just couldn’t stop the resilient Park Hill South offense as the Panthers would cap off the third quarter scoring their fourth straight touchdown in as many drives. Ronnie Bertlesmeyer would put the icing on the cake with a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter to extend Park Hill South’s lead to 45-7.

Quarterback Clay Ford would add a short touchdown run in the game’s final minutes to narrow the margin to 45-14. The night would be the Park Hill South’s though as the Panther faithful stormed the field to celebrate clinching their second King of the Hill title in as many years. Simcox told his team following the game that he hoped it was an opportunity for the program to look forward to bigger things.

“Because we’ve lost so many games to them over the years, it’s hard for our kids to get over it,” Simcox said. “As a program, we have to look to bigger things. This will always to be big, just as long as it doesn’t affect your next game.”

Fall Roundup: Oct. 15-22

Park Hill Soccer 
…following their early week win over Park Hill South 1-0, the Trojans went to split the remaining two games they had last week. They fell behind a good Rockhurst team before mounting a comeback that fell just short in a 4-3 loss.

“In the second half we stepped up our line of defense and applied pressure to make things a bit more difficult for their playmakers,” Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank said. “A couple of great individual efforts on free kicks were the deciding factor.”

They ended the week with a 3-0 win over Liberty to improve their overall record to 15-6 coming into this week. In a preview of their first round of the district tournament next Tuesday, Park Hill played Oak Park Monday night. Park Hill beat the Northmen 1-0 earlier in the season.

Park Hill Volleyball

…concluded their regular season schedule with two wins last week with decisive victories over St. Joe Central (25-14, 25-13) and Ruskin (25-15, 25-8). Lindsey Grace continues to lead the Trojans in kills and blocks with 189 and 65 respectively, on the year while Kelsey Bearce leads the team in aces and assists.

Park Hill came into this week with a 17-11 record and  was matched up with St. Joe Central again Monday night in first round of districts where they advanced to play Staley Wednesday night.

Park Hill South Soccer

…beat Lee’s Summit West 1-0 early in the week to claim a share of the conference title before dropping a disappointing match to Kearney 1-0 to end the week. The Panthers (19-5) will wrap up their regular season this week with a game at Oak Park on Thursday. Securing the top seed in districts, Park Hill South will face winner of Staley/St. Joe Central in the semifinals on Tuesday at Staley.

Park Hill South Volleyball

…won both of their home games last week to end the regular season. The first came against Truman as the Panthers notched a 25-21, 25-14 victory in two games. Park Hill South would need to go down to the wire in their second game against Liberty to seal a 25-18, 28-26 victory.

The Panthers are the number one seed in the Class 4, District 15 tournament this week and will play Wednesday in the semifinals against the winner of the Winnetonka/William Chrisman match.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

placed fourth in the Class 4, District 8 race over the weekend. Tucker Melles led Park Hill South with a second place finish and first team all-conference selection. Other Panther runners who competed included Gus Whitman (16^th), Keyan Lunders (24^th), Tristan McCoy (36^th), Lendon Calhoun (37^th), Alex Thurston (38^th), and Jacob Bowlin (47^th).

"They all had a great race. Many ran as fast or faster than conference which was on a flat course," coach Brad Banning said. "Tucker Melles had a great race, just getting out kicked for first place. I think we are peaking at the right time heading into sectionals. I'm very proud of the team."

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

…finished fifth in the Class 4, District 8 race last weekend. Kainen Utt finished tenth as the Trojans’ top placement. He was followed by fellow teammates Nate Thomas (19^th), Hanok Tekle (26^th), Cain Winebrenner (33^rd), Noah Barajas (45^th), Carter Barajas (52^nd), and Brandon Rich (61^st).

 "I thought our team competed hard.  I was happy for Kainen, Nate, and Hanok who qualified individually for the sectional meet," coach Jon Davis said. "It was disappointing that we didn’t get our team through to the sectional meet."

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

…placed sixth at the Class 4, District 8 race Saturday. Lizz Jurries and her 16^th place finish led the Panthers. Margaret McKeon (18^th), Erica Guzman (22^nd), Audrey Rothers (40^th), Madeline Homoly (54^th), and DeDe O’Toole (57^th) also competed for Park Hill South.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

…took eighth place at the Class 4, District race last weekend. Kim Rau led the Trojans with a 21^st place finish. Following her were Mercedes Robinson (23^rd), Brooke Bischof (43^rd), Emma Gaiser (47^th), Gianna Tutorino (51^st), Madeline Mudd (59^th), and Libby Lund (64th).

"With all the injuries we battled this year I am extremely proud of the way the girls finished," coach Jason Parr said. "We have Kim Rau and Mercedes Robinson who will run at Sectionals next week.  I hope that both of these girls will make it out to State."

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

...Madeline Homoly and Charlie McFarlane took tough and unfortunate falls in the Class 4, District 8 race last Saturday, which prevented them from advancing to sectionals this weekend. 

"These two falls obviously hurt our team score and I feel really terrible," Coach Pam Jurgensmeyer said.

The Panthers' sixth place finish was led by Lizzy Jurries and her 16^th place finish. Margaret McKeon (18^th), Erica Guzman (22^nd), Audrey Rothers (40^th), Homoly (54^th), and DeDe O’Toole (57^th) also competed for Park Hill South. McFarlane was not able to finish the race because of a turned ankle from her fall. Jurries, McKeon, and Rothers will advance to sectionals next week. Coach Pam Jurgensmeyer had only good things to say about her runners moving on. 

"We are really excited about Lizzy Jurries, Erica Guzman and freshman Margaret McKeon qualifying. Lizzy is running better than she has since her freshman year and we are really excited to see her next week. This is her 4th straight year at Sectionals. Sophomore, Erica has been running really strong all season. Margaret McKeon has been so fun to watch all season, and each week she is improving, making us so excited to see what will happen next. Margaret is very talented, hard working and positive and brings a really great energy to the team," Jurgensmeyer said.

Park Hill South Tennis

…facing a tough draw in the first round of the Missouri Class 2 state tennis tournament last week, Adele Royle fell 2-0 to Lindsey Whitehead of Ladue Horton Watkins.

Park Hill Tennis

…Brooke Barnard advanced to the quarterfinals of the state tennis tournament last week with a 2-1 win over Janet Auclair of Fort Zumwalt East. Barnard would loss 2-1 in the quarterfinal round to Bridget Jane Mayfield of Kirkwood.

Sanchez resigns from Park Hill board

A simple mistake. That's what long-time Park Hill school board member Fred Sanchez says caused him to wear a concealed weapon to last week's regular board meeting. While licensed to do so in the state of Missouri, Park Hill School District policy says firearms are not permitted on school grounds. Sanchez resigned on his own accord, saying he believes he should be held to the same standard he has held students to in his many years as a board member which is a policy of zero tolerance.

"I do not have to do this," Sanchez said as he addressed the board Tuesday evening. "The integrity of the policy means the protection of the district cannot be undermined if everyone under it lives the same way."

In a call with The Citizen and once again at Tuesday's meeting, Sanchez said he arrived late to last week's meeting after being under the weather all day. He went on to say following the conclusion of the public meeting when the board was preparing to go into closed session, a fellow board member pointed out to Sanchez that he had been carrying a concealed firearm, which he had forgotten to remove in his hurry to make it to the meeting.

"It took me aback, almost like being in a near car crash, because I immediately realized the situation," Sanchez said to board members.

While Sanchez removed the firearm from the building and placed it in his car, it still did not meet the criteria of moving the gun off district grounds. After seeking clarification with the Platte County Prosecutor's office, district officials, and personal counsel, it was concluded that Sanchez broke no laws. Though, with the lingering realization he had made a serious oversight and mistake, Sanchez made the decision to resign.

"I've had calls and emails telling me not to do this (resign)," Sanchez said. "After spiritual prayer, what came to mind were the heart-wrenching experiences over the years of children sitting right here, good kids being stupid one day, but because of my votes I changed their lives forever. What is the difference? How can I conduct myself as a board member and be guilty of breaking policy? I cannot."

Sanchez was referring to his participation in decisions made on student disciplinary actions where a zero tolerance policy applied and how it would be difficult not to apply the same accountability to himself in a similar circumstance.

"I cannot in good conscience put myself above the same consequences," Sanchez said. "I'm guilty of breaking policy in place to protect student safety and behavior."

Another factor in Sanchez's decision was the progress he said the school district is making and the important issues it currently faces.

"I'm removing myself as a distraction and target, which the district would be ill-served by."

In Sanchez's closing remarks, he asked the board to revisit the zero tolerance policy because of the potential effect it has had on so many children's lives resulting from one simple mistake, sometimes having been no fault of their own. Following Sanchez's remarks, board members unanimously accepted his resignation. There was then brief discussion on zero tolerance as well as whether there was a policy precedent for how to deal with the situation had Sanchez not chosen to resign. There was not and Superintendent Scott Springston said it would be handled on a case by case bases.

South falls short of Final Four appearance

Park Hill South ended the team portion of their season with a loss to Lee's Summit North in the state quarterfinals 5-2. The Panthers fell just short of advancing to their first Final Four appearance in school history after defeating St. Joe Central in the sectional round 5-2. Adele Royle will play in the individual portion of the state tournament this weekend after winning first place in districts and sectionals last week.

Panthers get second at KC Swim Classic

Park Hill South walked away with a second place finish at the Kansas City Classic over the weekend after falling just one point short of the first place winner Rockhurst, 291-290. New state qualifiers for the Panthers included Jacob Little in the 100 breaststroke and Tom Prinslow in the 100 freestyle. Park Hill finished seventh with a team score of 137 points. Both teams will have the next week off before competing in the conference meet next weekend, October 26th & 27th.

Trojans, Panthers ready for King of the Hill

The annual King of the Hill football game this Friday between Park Hill and Park Hill South takes on new significance with the two squaring off in a regular season finale which could directly affect their seeding in the district tournament, a new postseason format in Missouri, which starts next week. Both the Panthers (4-4) and Trojans (3-5) are coming off close Week Eight losses with Park Hill losing to St. Joe Central 32-29 and Park Hill South losing to Liberty North 24-21.

Familiar with each team’s style of play, perhaps the main point of preparation will be to maintain focus for a game that’s buildup has players and students full of anticipation days and weeks leading up to kickoff. Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox says his team can’t let the game against their rival serve as the sole highlight or lowlight of their season.

“I told our kids a couple years ago that the sooner we quit making a big deal about this game, we’ll be a lot more successful at winning it,” Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox said about his team, which last year beat the Trojans for the first time in seven years. “We can’t treat this any different than any other game. We can’t allow this to be our season each year. It’s a big game for our kids, our school, and community, but as far as preparation goes there isn’t much difference.”

Park Hill coach Greg Reynolds’s focus was also on the season as a whole and said big games usually have more to do with execution than what the other team does.

“We have to worry about us,” Reynolds said. “It doesn’t matter about anyone else.”

That’s not to say the teams haven’t been following each other’s progress and already have an idea of what their strengths and weaknesses are. Reynolds pointed to Park Hill South’s offense, which can go at you on the ground and through the air, while Simcox says Park Hill has gradually focused more on their run game throughout the season.

“They’re a very balanced offense because they have two receivers who can run good routes,” Reynolds said. “They want to pound the ball at you with their tailback.”

“They’re going back to the run game which is what they’ve done for years, where they were more spread out to begin the year,” Simcox said.

Last week Park Hill believed combining a bend, but don’t break defense and steady offensive run game would give them the edge they needed against a versatile St. Joe Central team. They briefly followed that script to build a 14-0 lead in the first half, but it would be short-lived as the Indians would battle back for a 32-29 win in a frustrating night for the Trojans. Kenyatte Harris gave the Trojan running game a reliable hand as he contributed three touchdown runs, ending the night with 191 yards on 25 carries. In the end, St. Joe Central would rack up 536 yards of offense against the Trojans.

Reynolds said the hope he has for his young squad is that he can look back and say they improved throughout the year and learned to understand the game better.

“My only goal is that by Week 10 our kids have gotten better than where we started,” Reynolds said. “Even with our seniors, I want them to understand how to play the game.”

In Liberty last week, Park Hill South did a good job of limiting Liberty North running back Antwynn Beavers to just 78 yards, but left themselves vulnerable to the pass in the close, down-to-the-wire game. The Panthers battled back from a 14-0 second quarter deficit to pull ahead of Liberty North 21-17 early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Shaefer Schuetz connected with receiver Craig Scott for a ten-yard touchdown pass, his second of the night. The Eagles would respond with the game’s final scores though, a touchdown with about two minutes to play which would hand the Panthers a 24-21 loss.

“We weren’t very good on offense in the first half and not very good on defense in the second half,” Simcox said. “We were really concerned about their running back so we did some things to make sure he didn’t get away from us. We knew we would give up some in the passing game, but not as much as we did.”

Third time is a charm for Park Hill

Before the season even began, the Park Hill and Park Hill South soccer teams knew they could potentially face each other up to four times before the season was over. Park Hill South would go on to hand Park Hill losses in their previous two meetings, the most recent being a 1-0 win in double overtime just two weeks ago to clinch the Panther Classic tournament title. Whether it real or pure clique, the old saying about it being hard to beat a team three times held true in the teams’ third meeting as Park Hill would break a scoreless stalemate when Matt Russell scored a late goal with about three minutes left in the game to gain the 1-0 advantage. The goal would serve as the game winner and give Round Three to the Trojans.

Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank says after losing two games to their rival they came to play with a different sense of urgency and focus.

“For our seniors, we said this was the last time we were going to play Park Hill South on this field so after losing two games to them earlier this season, for lot of these guys it was a motivator,” Marchbank said. “We talked about how the first two games we let the environment and the frustrations take hold. Tonight we really stepped up to the task. We possessed the ball very well tonight.”

Park Hill defender Cain Winebrenner believed the victory, compared to their previous two losses to the Panthers, came down to determination and the will to win.

“We hope to use this as momentum to get the second half of our season started and get ready for districts,” Winebrenner said. “We were hungrier (than last time) and we came out ready to play.”

Park Hill South coach Joe Toigo says Monday’s loss has more to do with not converting scoring opportunities than any kind of perceived difficulty of beating a team three times, something the Panthers have struggled with so far this season.

“It’s our fault for the margin of error. If we put the balls away and score, we’re up 2-0. It’s our problem and has nothing to do with beating them three times or four times,” Toigo said. “No matter who we play, our margin of error has been very thin because we don’t finish the opportunities that are there. If you take away our blowouts, we’re only winning by an average of 0.8 goals a game.”

Leading up to their game Monday night, Park Hill South went 2-0 last week with a 1-0 win over Rockhurst in which Adam Weatherly scored the winning goal in the final minutes as well as a 9-0 win over Ruskin. Park Hill defeated Ruskin 10-0 and Truman 4-2 before losing to Blue Springs South in a closely contested 3-2 match.

Park Hill, now 14-5, faces Liberty this week before finishing out the regular season against Staley and St. Joe Central next week. Park Hill South, with a record of 18-4, looks to Kearney Thursday and next week will conclude their schedule against Truman and Oak Park. Just around the corner for both is the postseason and a potential fourth matchup between the two teams in district play, this time with the winner moving on and the loser ending their season. With tough regular season schedules designed to prepare them for postseason situations, both teams should be primed for the challenge.

“The goal is to play every game like the state championship,” Toigo said. “That way you’ve played it 25 times before you get there.”

Park Hill, South Dug for the Cure

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and each year around the country individuals, schools, and organizations host events to raise funds to promote awareness and research. Last week the Park Hill and Park Hill South volleyball teams participated in a Dig For The Cure match with both teams sporting pink jerseys along with family and friends in the crowd. Pink overwhelmed the inside of Park Hill’s gym while outside in the hallways a silent auction was held.

“The cause is so important, more important than the game, and we’re bringing awareness to these young athletes,” Park Hill coach Lindsey Hood said. “We had several survivors come in to speak to us because one out of eight girls gets breast cancer, so it really is important to highlight.”

T-shirt sales for the game raised nearly $2,200 with an overall goal of $5,000 being set when combined with the silent auction and donations. This is the third year Park Hill has hosted or participated in a Dig For The Cure event.

“The gym is crowded and it’s a rivalry game, so whatever we can do to bring awareness to the cause,” Hood said.

As for competition on the court, the Panthers defeated the Trojans in two games, 25-21 and 25-9. Park Hill South would go on to win against Lee’s Summit North 25-22, 25-20 to end the week. Park Hill beat Truman in conference play 25-23, 25-15 before going 3-1 in the Grain Valley Spikefest Tournament with wins against Oak Grove, Fatima, and Smithville.

“I’m really proud of our girls this second half of the season, which is the most important part. They’ve really just been coming together and what we’ve been doing on our side,” Hood said. “Servicing seems to be our bread and butter, if we’re not producing there we’re not producing in other places.”

Park Hill is now 15-11 on the year while Park Hill South is 20-2. This week both will wrap up their regular season before looking to the district tournament. Park Hill will take on St. Joe Central in the first round of Class 4, District 16 play 6:30pm on October 22^nd at Liberty. Park Hill South notched a first round bye and will play the winner of Winnetonka/William Chrisman in the semifinals of Class 4, District 15 play on at 5:30pm on October 24^th at William Chrisman.

Park Hill still looking for quality win

A tough 38-0 loss to Liberty last week will require the Park Hill Trojans (3-4) refocus on district seeding implications as they take on St. Joe Central (3-4) this week. Central is coming off a 24-6 loss to Park Hill South where the Indians compiled 226 passing yards, but were unable to convert critical plays into points on the board.

“They can do a bunch of different things and they can throw the ball well, but they can also run the ball well too,” Park Hill coach Greg Reynolds said. “We’re going to go where we’ve had success and that is in controlling the football, make them drive the ball, and slow the game down. Keep their offense off the field.”

No question about it, Park Hill has several motivating factors to rebound this week, the most important being staying in contention for an advantageous third seed out of the possible six teams in Class 5, District 8, but also the fact St. Joe Central ended the Trojans’ season last year with a defeat, which Reynolds says can be partially attributed to which team was more physical. That may rest in the mind of some, but the key for a young squad is to focus on what they can control

“Last year when they beat us, they were more physical than we were and we took them for granted on that,” Park Hill coach Greg Reynolds said. “It’s a reality, if we win that game we’re still playing in the playoffs. We don’t need to worry about who we’re playing though, but more on what we do.”

Part of that physical mentality was lacking last week against Liberty as Park Hill found themselves outsized and somewhat surprised to see a Blue Jay passing game come alive, which had previously not been seen as a strength. Liberty connected on several big pass plays in the first quarter before Caleb Taylor pulled in a 31-yard touchdown reception to put Park Hill in a 7-0 hole. On their next drive, they would rely on the ground game this time, driving 80 yards in seven plays to post another touchdown putting Liberty up 14-0 early in the second quarter.

While Park Hill was down, they were not out, and saw some early success with their own running game. But Liberty essentially sealed the game with two scores before halftime when they completed two long pass plays before punching in a one-yard touchdown to make the score 21-0. Park Hill fumbled the ensuing kickoff where Liberty recovered and produced a field goal to extend their lead to 24-0 going into halftime.

“We kind of got bogged down and out of our rhythm. We stopped their running game early, but gave up big plays passing-wise and it just kind of snowballed from there,” Reynolds said. “Our kids tried to make plays outside what they need to do, which cost us some turnovers.”

Liberty would convert two of those Park Hill turnovers into points in the second half. The first would be in the third quarter when Jacob Zimmerman intercepted quarterback Clay Ford and returned it for a 68-yard touchdown. The second would be on a 9-yard touchdown run from Liberty’s Matthew Zombo after the Blue Jays recovered a Park Hill fumble deep in Trojan territory. Liberty held Park Hill to 147 yards offensively, allowed only nine first downs, and prevented a single third-down conversion on the night.

“We had some opportunities, but they’re a good defensive team and have some size,” Reynolds said. “In years when we’re more physical than they are, we’ve won, and when they’ve been more physical than us, they’ve won.”

Looking forward, the Trojans know the only thing that matters now are the next two weeks which, after St. Joe Central, feature a showdown with rival Park Hill South. All district games with postseason implications.

“These next two weeks are huge,” Reynolds said. “We know we can do it. If we have a big week of practice, we have a chance to be where we want to be.”

Panthers look to contain Liberty North running game

A 24-6 win over St. Joe Central (3-4) last week gave the Park Hill South (4-3) football team a boost in the district standings, putting them in contention to play for a coveted first round district tournament bye over the next two weeks. While a highly anticipated matchup with Park Hill is on the horizon for the regular season’s final game Oct. 19^th, the Panthers must first focus on the immediate task at hand which is traveling to face Liberty North (3-4). Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox says threat number one is the talented speed of Eagles running back Antwynn Beavers who ran for 254 yards in Liberty North’s 33-22 win over Platte County last week.

“He’s probably faster than anyone we’ve got,” Simcox said. “We’ll have to do a good job of scheming against him so he doesn’t get away from us.”

It will go from one defensive focus to another as Park Hill South shutdown a pass-heavy St. Joe Central offense last week, preventing the Indians from scoring until late in the fourth quarter. With district implications on the line, both teams knew their postseason outlooks would be affected by the result.

Park Hill South posted their first score on the opening drive when quarterback Shaefer Schuetz connected with receiver Craig Scott for a 17-yard touchdown early in the first quarter. While the Panthers were frustrated with their defensive efforts early in allowing several first downs, they were able to prevent St. Joe Central from scoring on their most productive drive of the first half.

“Their offense is pretty dynamic, so we tried to hold on to every (offensive) possession as long as could. We don’t like giving up yards in chunks like we did. It turns the game into something we don’t want it to be,” Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox said. “It’s hard to play defense knowing you’re going to give up some plays, but if you make them snap the ball one more time and do that enough, it’s tough for the other team to keep it going.”

Myles Hammonds tacked on a two-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to increase the Panther lead to 14-0 going into halftime.

Jacob Sneden put a 36-yard field goal through the uprights with under five minutes left in the third quarter to increase the Panthers’ advantage to 17-0. An early fourth quarter 32-yard pass from Schuetz to receiver Nick Griffith set up a one-yard touchdown run from Hammonds, his second of the night, to increase the lead to 24-0. Hammonds would finish the night with 40 carries for 125 yards. Another Panther who had a big night was Scott who pulled in seven receptions for 123 yards despite finding himself in double coverage most of the night.

“When they do that, we have to be able to run it, and tonight we did it,” Simcox said.

Fall Round-up: Oct. 2-8

Park Hill South Soccer

…defeated Liberty North 1-0 in the first round of their annual Panther Classic last week before running into a lightning delay during the second overtime of their semifinal game against Smithville. With the final ten minutes of the contest rescheduled to be decided prior to the tournament’s championship game, Derek Braun’s game winning goal about halfway through the period to give South the 1-0 over Smithville served as a good warm-up for their title game appearance later in the afternoon against Park Hill, which would be another marathon match.

Neither side was surprised that the second match-up so far this season between Park Hill and Park Hill South was full of physicality and fouls, a common feature on display between the two teams in years past. Just the same, no one on hand for the championship game would leave without their money’s worth in watching two quality teams duel it out over 80 minutes and two overtime periods without a score being given up.

That would end when Brian Kissee gave the Panthers their second double overtime victory of the day and, most importantly, their second win of the season over rival Park Hill.

The Panthers continue with a strong schedule moving forward.

“The good thing is when you play teams like these and include the schedule we have coming up, it’s like the playoffs, so that’s good this time of the year,” Park Hill South coach Joe Toigo said.

With a senior-laden team set on high expectations, Toigo says he’s seen some encouraging signs his players are up to the task.

“They have an understanding maturity-wise of how we handle certain situations so that we can win some games,” Toigo said.

Park Hill South, now 15-3, plays Ruskin before facing a third matchup against Park Hill Monday followed by a conference matchup with Lee’s Summit West which could decide a share of the league title.

Park Hill Soccer

…won games against North Kansas City (4-0) and Ray-Pec (1-0) in the Park Hill South Panther Classic last week to land themselves in the title match against Park Hill South. As anticipated the game was a classic double overtime thriller, full of physical play and yellow cards. In the end, Park Hill South would come away with the golden goal and a 1-0 victory. Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank said his team simply ran out of energy towards the end of the game.

“We struggled to keep possession and move forward as a unit,” Marchbank said. “In our system of play we demand a very high work rate and today our boys ran out of gas.”

The Trojans fall to 11-4 on the year and look to games against Truman and Blue Springs South this week. They defeated Rockhurst 1-0 Monday after Adam Weatherly scored a goal with under five minutes to play for the game winner.

Park Hill South Volleyball

…Park Hill South had been anticipating the rematch with Lee’s Summit West ever since their early season loss accounted for the only blemish on the Panthers’ record coming into last Thursday’s second meeting. While they would put up a fight, the now 18-2 Panthers’ would fall in consecutive games to the strong-hitting Titans 25-18 and 25-20. Coach Debbie Fay believes her team is better than they were in the previous meeting, but did not pass well enough to beat a quality team like Lee’s Summit West.

“We battled, but we did not pass well and if we don’t pass well we will struggle against a team like this. You have to have you’re A game if you’re going to beat them and even some help from them. Everyone has to have a good game if we’re going to get it done.”

Even with the defeat, there were positives to take away from the performance.

“We had a couple kids who had good games,” Fay said. “That’s the best I’ve seen Samantha Nay hit and Ashton Anderson played amazing defense. She had two strong blocks and she’s the smallest on the team.”

As the Panthers head down the stretch run of their regular season to look towards districts, they will face a strong schedule which will be advantageous. Their hopes are to see Lee’s Summit West again, this time in a high stakes state playoff game.

“We have good competition the next two weeks so we’re going to need to battle, which is what we need,” Fay said. “I hope we face them again, it would really matter if we’re lucky to face them again.”

As The Citizen went to press Tuesday night, Park Hill South was playing Park Hill in a “Dig For The Cure” match, an event used to raise money and promote awareness for cancer search.

Park Hill South Tennis

…notched their second consecutive district title last week by beating Oak Park (5-2) and Park Hill (6-0). Coaches Glynis Chambers and Ian Cunliff say it was a team effort from top to bottom.

“They all just really came through, all came out and played hard,” Chambers said. “The team’s just been really deep and we felt like we had a strong fighting chance.”

Asked what obstacles this year’s team faced compared to last year, Cunliff pointed to the difference in conference alignment and how higher quality competition made it more difficult, which forced them to focus more.

“This year was harder because of the competition we faced,” Cunliff said. “A common theme we focused on was process: playing the process regardless of win or loss, regardless of the outcome. Just to do things the right way.”

Park Hill South will host St. Joe Central, a team they beat during the regular season, in team sectional play this weekend. The winner will face the winner of the Notre Dame de Sion/Lee’s Summit North match-up. If Park Hill South advances, they will land themselves a spot in the state’s Final Four, something which has not been done in the school’s history.

In individual singles, Adele Royle defeated Park Hill’s Brooke Barnard 7-6, 6-2 in the district title match. Royle advanced to individual sectional play which took place in St. Joe Tuesday and scores were not available as of The Citizen’s deadline.

Park Hill Tennis

…while Park Hill did not finish the season the way they would have imagined, the Trojans did leave something to hang their hat on for next season. After winning the opening round contest against North Kansas City 6-3, the Trojans upset second-seeded St. Theresa’s Academy 5-4 in the district semifinal last week. This set them up for a matchup against rival Park Hill South in the district title contest with both team’s defending previous district title considerations. Park Hill’s short upset run would fall short though as Park Hill South would win all six individual matches to secure the title match 6-0.

In the individual portion of the district tournament, Brooke Barnard would advance through the bracket for a title matchup against Park Hill South’s Adele Royle before falling 7-6, 6-2. With her second place finish, Barnard advanced and was competing in sectional play Tuesday afternoon. Results were not available at the time of The Citizen’s deadline.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

….placed fifth at the Suburban Red Conference meet last weekend. Kainen Utt finished in sixth place with a time of 16:40 while Nate Thomas followed with a ninth place finish. Other Trojan runners competing included Hanok Tekle (22^nd), James Adams (31^st), Carter Barajas (36^th), and Graham England (37^th).

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

…was fourth out of six teams at the Suburban Red Conference meet over the weekend. Tucker Melles impressed with his time of 16:17 and fourth place finish. Other Panther finishes included Keeyan Lunders (14^th), Gus Whitman (24^th), Lendon Calhoun (25^th), Triston McCoy (28^th), Alex Thurston (29^th), and Eli Williams (34^th).

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

…secured a third place finish in the Suburban Red Conference meet last weekend. Madeline Homoly’s time of 20:44 and 10^th place finish led the Panthers while Erica Guzman came closely behind in 11^th place. The rest of the Park Hill South field included Charlie McFarlane (16^th), Margaret McKeon (17^th), Audrey Rothers (18^th), and DeDe O’Toole (26^th).

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

…placed fourth in the Suburban Red Conference meet last weekend. Kim Rau and Mercedes Robinson’s 13^th and 14^th place respective finishes led the Trojans. Other Trojan results included Emma Gaiser (22^nd), Gianna Tutorino (24^th), and Brooke Bischof (25^th).

Park Hill/Park Hill South swimming
...the Trojans and Panthers met in a dual last week with Park Hill South pulling out a 102-83 win. Park Hill South qualified two new swimmers for state with Alex Heuton in the 50 yard freestyle and Caleb Siebert in the 100 yard backstroke.

Park Hill Golf
...finished fourth in the sectional meet Monday with a team score of 391, ending their shot at a first-time appearance in the state tournament next week. However, Adrianna Elliott and Bailey Warlen did qualify as individuals and will be making the trip. Elliott finished tied for fourth place with a score of +13 while Warlen finished tied for 11th with a score of +22. Sydney Paulak missed qualifying for state by one stroke with her score of +25. Josie Stevenson and Jaqueline Yong finished back to back with scores of +44 and +45.

Park Hill South Golf
...will be sending one golfer to state with Lindsey Gile qualifying in the sectional round Monday with her score of +18, tying her for seventh place. Sydney Sanders (+33) and Laiya Smith (+37) also competed in the sectional tournament for the Panthers.

Critical district game awaits South after loss

With their 31-6 loss to undefeated Lee's Summit West last Friday, the Park Hill South Panthers (3-3) saw their three game win streak snapped and will look to begin anew this week as they host St. Joe Central (3-3). Both teams have had similar seasons, having seen promising signs of momentum come and go. This game will be an opportunity for the winner to record a victory over a competitive opponent for their postseason resume.

While Coach Mark Simcox says his team didn't play as bad as the score may indicate, it was the big play ability of Lee's Summit West that had the most effect on the game. Having given up a punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter to put Park Hill South in an early 10-0 hole, Lee's Summit West found the end zone one more time before halftime to give the Titans a 17-0 lead.

Park Hill South's main focus coming into the game was on shutting down the Titan run game, which it did accomplish with some effectiveness, but this left the Panthers vulnerable to the deep pass as Lee's Summit West quarterback Thomas Ganaden would finish with 237 yards passing on the night.

Offensively, the Panthers struggled throughout the night. Other than a red zone threat in the third quarter which eventually ended with an interception, Park Hill South's only opportunity to score came when Carson Reid connected with Nick Griffith on a one-yard route for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to narrow the final margin to 31-7.

Park Hill focusing on task at hand after night they'll never forget

Few athletes are able to fulfill their dreams of playing professionally, but Park Hill soccer was afforded the unique opportunity to experience just what it would be like with a game at Livestrong Sporting Park against Northland rival Oak Park last Friday night. On the same night Sporting KC clinched a spot in the Major League Soccer playoffs, Park Hill and Oak Park would provide the closing act on a night that would live up to and exceed expectations for all those involved, providing memories which will last a lifetime.

“It was something they were jazzed up about all day,” Park Hill coach Josh Marchbank said. “Everyone was giddy and it was a phenomenal experience. I’ve been a (Sporting KC) season ticket holder for the last five years. I love coming out here so it’s a special moment for me and our guys to be able to sit on the bench and have all these fans out here.”

 While Sporting KC attracted a record breaking crowd to Livestrong for the main event earlier in the evening, about 1,000 fans between the two schools turned out for the high school game that followed. However, the circumstances of the contest were no random coincidence, but a testament to Oak Park senior Ray Saari, an all-state selection, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer as a sophomore and has battled through a recovery, all while continuing to play. His relationship with the stadium’s namesake organization, Livestrong, is what prompted the idea of hosting the first high school match to be played at the park. Saari and Oak Park selected Park Hill as their opponent because of the healthy rivalry between the two teams and, possibly even more important, the relationship Saari has with some of his Trojan counterparts.

“Playing with Ray, he’s a personal friend of mine and I love him so much. I want to thank him for picking us to play them here,” Park Hill senior Neal Sampson said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Oak Park and just being here with my team and family has been just awesome.”

The atmosphere had everything a professional game would. Players warmed up to stadium music anthems, were introduced by the public address announcer while their pictures were shown on the scoreboard, and sat on the comfortably designed chairs that traditionally are reserved for professionals only.

“I think the moment that got me was when we walked out of the tunnel for the first time. When these guys walked out to the FIFA anthem to play in front of 1000 fans, it’s a special experience,” Marchbank said. “It was incredibly loud. I looked at the guys faces and every set of eyes was popping out of their heads.

Excitement and anticipation were almost building to an unbearable point leading up to kickoff. It was so bad Marchbank says he thinks it was partially responsible for a tough 2-0 conference loss the night before to Lee’s Summit West. This night though would belong to the Trojans as Timmy Hay set up Keaton Anchors in the 13^th minute for the game’s only goal. Days and weeks of restlessness building up for the game were evident on the field as players competed with the desire and physicality of a state playoff game. The Trojans hope to use it as a building block for the rest of their season.

“We talked about it before the game that this can be a turning point in our season. It’s halfway through the season and we need to work out the fine things and really perfect things going into districts,” Marchbank said. “To get a win in an atmosphere like this is really going to give us the motivation to move forward and be successful.”

“We’ve been talking about this game every day. Came into this game excited, played well, and got a win,” Sampson said. “We have to take it one game at a time; this is a good place to start.”

The immediate task at hand has the Trojans, now 9-3 on the year, focusing on their appearance in the Park Hill South Panther Classic tournament this week, but the lasting memories of their Livestrong experience will remain for years to come.

“Great experience, great environment,” Marchbank said. “It’s awesome and I’ll never forget this night.”

Fall Round-up: Sept. 24-Oct. 1

Park Hill Girls Tennis
…concluded their regular season last week with a close 5-4 loss to a talented St. Joe Central team. Brooke Barnard, Kaylin Lake, and Abby Peoples won their singles matches early, but the Indians came back to win the match in the later rounds. The Trojans wrapped up their schedule with a record of 7-9 on the year.

Park Hill defeated NKC yesterday in the opening round of districts 7-2. They face #2 St. Theresa's today in semi's.

Park Hill South Girls Tennis

…clinched their second straight conference title last week with an 8-1 win over Lee’s Summit West. The Panthers finished their regular season with a 9-1 record and were competing in the Class 2, District 15 team semifinals as The Citizen went to press Tuesday evening. The individual portion of that tournament will be played over the weekend at Barry Park.

Park Hill South Softball

….went 2-1 in the final week of the regular season last week with wins over Lee’s Summit West (4-2) and Park Hill (4-0). Sandwiched in between those two victories was a 3-0 loss to Truman.

Alyx Hagen recorded both victories from the mound.

Park Hill South clinched a number one seed in the Class 4, District 16 tournament this week and will face the winner of the Oak Park/St. Joe Central game in the semifinal Thursday evening.

Park Hill South Volleyball

…kept rolling last week with a big win over Blue Springs South as the Panthers took the first game in overtime 26-24 before clinching the match in the second game with a 25-20 win. Now 19-1 on the season, Park Hill South looks to a rematch against Lee’s Summit West, the only team to have beaten the Panthers this season.

“It was a great match and our kids came so ready to play.  I can’t tell you how proud of them I am.  Blue Springs South is an awesome team and we so love that kind of competition. We have to get up again because Lee’s Summit West is coming to South on Thursday,” Park Hill South coach Debbie Fay said.

Park Hill Volleyball

…split their two matches last week with a convincing win over Ruskin in two games with wins of 25-2 and 25-4. They fell to conference leader Lee’s Summit West to end the week with losses of 25-13 and 25-18. The Trojans are now 10-8-3 on the season will have some time off with their next scheduled match at Raytown on October 8^th. Lindsey Grace continues to lead the team in kills (123) and blocks (40). While Olivia Nowakowski leads in digs with 211 and Kelsey Bearce in assists with 143.

Park Hill South Boys Soccer

…dropped a competitive conference game to Lee’s Summit West to start last week with a 2-1 loss as the Titans scored a late second half goal to earn the win. Brian Kissee scored the Panthers lone goal. Park Hill South win their remaining two games with a Brody Bouillon goal secured a 1-0 win over Truman followed by a 7-0 win over St. Joe Central where Kissee recorded three goals. Daniel Herrjon (2), Adam Weatherly, and Jordan Lindsey also contributed goals in the victory.

Kissee who had previously only had two goals on the year, now leads the Panthers’ in goals with six this season.

Park Hill South, who is now 12-3 on the year, is hosting their annual tournament this week and will play Smithville Thursday with the title game scheduled for Saturday. 

Park Hill Boys Cross Country

…finished 25^th out of 37 teams at the KC Metro Classic over the weekend. Kainen Utt led the Trojans as he came in 20^th in the packed field of runners. Nate Thomas (90^th), James Adams (174^th), Cain Winebrenner (193^rd), Graham England (206^th), Carter Barajas (216^th), and Riley Fahrenholz (243^rd) competed for the Trojans. Park Hill will run in the conference meet this weekend in St. Joe.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country

…finished 20^th out of 37 teams competing at the KC Metro Classic over the weekend. Tucker Melles came in 16^th as the Panthers top finisher. Keyan Lunders (97^th), Lendon Calhoun (132^nd), Eli Williams (167^th), Jacob Bowlin (192^nd), and Isaac Frieden (201^st) rounded out the Panther field. Park Hill South will run in the conference meet this weekend in St. Joe.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country

…took 27^th out of 33 teams at the KC Metro Classic last week. Merecedes Robinson came in 61^st place while Kim Rau (70^th), Emma Gaiser (154^th), Brooke Bischof (195^th), and Gianna Tutorino (204^th) also competed for the Trojans. Park Hill will run in the conference meet this weekend in St. Joe.

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country

…18^th out of 33 teams in the KC Metro Classic last weekend. Erica Guzman finished in 76^th place for the Panthers with Lizzy Jurries shortly behind in 78^th. Other Panthers competing included Margaret McKeon (89^th), Audrey Rother (116^th), and DeDe O’Toole (191^st).

 Park Hill South Girls Golf
...finished fourth at the district tournament Monday afternoon. Lindsey Gile led the way for the Panthers with her sixth place score of 91. Sydney Sanders and Laiya Smith, who shot 101 and 102 respectively, joined Gile in qualifying individually for the state sectional tournament. Other scores for Park Hill South included Ashley Kildow's 118 and Tarah Patneau's 123.

Park Hill Girls Golf

...had a historic week last week culminating in a district title Monday. In their final dual of the regular season, the Trojans posted a all-time low score of 184 as a team. Bailey Warlen, medalist, and Adrianna Elliott led the way with their first and second place scores of 40 and 42. That performance set the stage for their first-ever district title win Monday afternoon when Elliott posted a third place score of 88 with Warlen not far behind with her fifth place score of 90. Elliott, Warlen, and Sydney Paulak, who shot a 103, all qualified individually for the state sectional tournament prior to clinching the team title, which allows the Trojans to compete all five of their varsity golfers. The closest Park Hill has been to winning a district title in recent years came last year when they placed second. Elliott and Warlen were honored as Applebee's Athletes of the Week for their performances.