Winter Round-up: Dec. 4-10

Park Hill Basketball

…had a tough series of games last week at the Blue Springs McDonald’s Tournament. After losing to Blue Springs 57-35 in the opening round, the Trojans saw two close games slip out of their grasps against tough opponents in Jefferson City (59-55) and Schlagle (55-50). Park Hill had the lead going into the fourth quarter of their final game against Schlagle, but Schlagle went to the free throw line 20 times in the last period to pull out a five-point victory. Through their first five games, the Trojans have seen a fairly balanced scored attack with sophomore Landry Shamet averaging 6.6 points/game while Devonte Thornton pulling in six rebounds/game. Now 1-4 on the season, Park Hill next sees action when they host Blue Springs South on Thursday.

Park Hill Girls Basketball

…lost both of their regularly scheduled games last week against North Kansas City (51-22) and Staley (59-25). The Trojans have been plagued by turnovers so far in this early season with 27 against NKC and 35 against Staley. Park Hill continues to see scoring from a number of contributors. Amanda Alexander led Park Hill in scoring against NKC with 7 points while Kaylyn McGee's eight points was tops against Staley. Even though they are experiencing some rough bumps in the road in their first couple games, Coach Aaron Neeser believes it will pay off at the end of the season as young players become more experienced at the varsity level. Now 1-5 on the year, they next look to a home game Thursday when they host Kearney.

Park Hill South Girls Basketball

…won both of their games last week with a 60-50 win over North Kansas City at home before traveling to Oak Park to pull out a 52-34 victory. The Panthers’ win over North Kansas City was particularly satisfying because of the talent level they were matching up against.

“This was a big win for us since they are a really good team,” Park Hill South Jenny Orlowski said. “This was truly a team effort and our best game of the season to date.”

Jessica Lee led the Panthers in scoring with 16 points while Courtney Claassen (11), Anna Courtney (11), and Madeline Homoly (10) all scored in double figures. Homoly would lead the Panthers in scoring against Oak Park with 16 points and 7 rebounds.

Park Hill South (4-1) next plays at Raytown South on Thursday. 

Park Hill Wrestling

The Walsh Jesuit Ironman Wrestling Tournament in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio is one of the nation’s premier high school wrestling tournaments each year. The competition is so tough, teams that eventually go on to win state titles sometimes only scratch the surface of the leader board in this early season tournament.

Park Hill did their part to change their past performances at the tournament last weekend as they did well by placing 17^th out of the 78 team field with several wrestlers earn high placements. Ke-Shawn Hayes advanced all the way to the title match in the 113 weight bracket before losing a close 4-3 match. In doing so, Hayes became Missouri’s first wrestler to be a finalist in the tournament.

Also leading Park Hill were John Erneste, Hunter Roberts, and Malik Coulding, all three of which finished in the top 12 of their respective weight classes.

Park Hill South Wrestling

…continuing to battle through injuries and a scheduled ACT Test Day that left several wrestlers unavailable, Park Hill South didn’t expect to make too much noise at the Lee’s Summit North Tournament over the weekend. But even with four weight classes going unfilled, the Panthers were able to put together several high placing performances for a second place overall finish.

“Getting second as a team was a big surprise to us and speaks volumes on how well the team wrestled this weekend,” Park Hill South coach Dan Dunkin said. “We could be dangerous if we ever get healthy.”

Park Hill South brought home three first place finishes from Jimmy Carpenter (132), Kendric Cook (170), and Chase Gray (182) while Alex Fortuna (120), Tyler blyth (195), and Logan Gillespie (220) took second. Other Panthers competing who had good days included sixth place finishes from Blake Barth (126) and Dillion Propes (152) as well as Erik Elder’s seventh place finish at 145 and Zak Horton’s ninth place finish at 138.

Park Hill South will travel to Lee’s Summit once again this weekend for the Lee’s Summit Invitational.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball

...is off to a hot start in early season play as they've compiled a 4-1 record which led them to the title game of the Liberty North Tournament last weekend where they feel just short of bringing home first place. The Panthers opened up tournament play with a convincing first round victory against Pembroke Hill 67-28 before edging out Kearney 48-36 in the tournament's semifinal round. Park Hill South would earn a first half lead against Liberty North, taking a 24-15 lead into halftime. However, they would go cold in the second half, only scoring 16 points for the rest of the game which allowed the Eagles to earn a fourth quarter lead and go on to win 50-40.

Park Hill South hosts Lee's Summit at home Friday night before traveling to Belton the following week. The Panthers will get a short break before gearing up for the William Jewell Tournament December 26-30.