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.