New, yet old

Last month, Park Hill South boys’ basketball announced Rick Zych as their new head coach bringing what the Panthers hope will be renewed and re-energized leadership to a program which has been at the edge of greatness several times over the years. With two Kansas state championships in five title game appearances as head coach of Bishop Miege the last 16 years, Zych has the resume and vision to put South on the map as a perennial contender in Missouri. In addition to his teams’ successes, he’s also coached some of the metro’s top players including Kansas starting guard Travis Releford. Zych is no stranger to the Park Hill School District though. He takes over the coaching duties from Athletic Director John Sedler, much like he did when Sedler hired him in 1992 as head coach at Park Hill.

“I've known John Sedler for many years and respect him,” Zych said. “I wanted to jump at the opportunity because it’s an excellent school district and they've got some good players. Mostly based on the respect I have for John, the school district, and Principal Dale Longenecker is what lured me in.”

Zych, whose daughter is graduating from Bishop Miege this year, thought it was a good time to move on to something different and wanted to look into getting back to a really good public school district. With a team returning several key players from a 17-9 season, Zych saw Park Hill South as an ideal place to build another winner, this time on the Missouri side of the state line.

“They're fine young men and have some great young players there. We're moving to a bigger league and the schedule might be different than it was last year. I think they gained some confidence last year which will help,” Zych said. “I think Missouri basketball is more physical. Kansas basketball is probably more athletic. Missouri has a lot more size than Kansas usually does.”

Bringing a fact paced style which uses a lot of players, Zych has a vision of the program he wants to build and he knows where it needs to start.

“From day one, you have to make it important not just to the players, but to the whole school. That will be our staff's job to go out there and sell the program. That starts with grade school coaches and so on. Your best spokespeople will be your players and that's why they need to be good kids and well-respected in the community,” Zych said. “Some of our best players are our most responsible and charismatic kids. People want to come watch those kind of kids play. We want playing at Park Hill South to be an adventure and an experience, not just for us, but for our opponents and make it difficult to play here.”

As far as building that kind of culture, Zych says it is going to take time, but it starts with the players. Each player will have a role to fill and it may not necessarily be that of scorer.

“We play a lot of guys and try to get the ball to our best players. I told the guys that shooting is not an equal opportunity situation. We need someone to be our best rebounder or our best defender. That is what goes into forming a true team and finding your roles,” Zych said.

With his record and impressive list of former players, which includes those who’ve won and been nominated for the DiRenna Award (Kansas City’s top basketball player) and gone on to play division one college basketball, Zych says he’s been lucky to have had such talent.

“When we talk about ‘this is the kind of player you can be’ and compare it to those players, I think kids react to that,” Zych said. “I brought my whole staff from Bishop Miege. We've had teams that have overachieved and underachieved. That's the fun of it. And we're looking forward to doing that again, this time at a different school.”

One thing that stands out to Zych which has held true over the years is the quality of play his teams have at the end of the season.

“I think our teams at Miege were known for one thing, playing real well at the end of the year. Sometimes parents and others don't understand that, but you have to realize the big prize comes at the end of the year,” Zych said. “14 of 16 years making it to the state tournament. When you get that reputation, you get kids to believe in it and word spreads pretty quickly. When you win it’s easier to ask for a commitment and it kind of snow balls from there.”

In the end, he looks back to the players who he says win the games, not him.

“It’s all about players,” Zych said. “You can have John Wooden there, but without them it makes it difficult.”

Park Hill/Park Hill South Mid-Season Track Update

PH Boys Track
…took first place at the Park Hill South Invitational last Friday as they ran away from the competition with 226 team points. Coming away with first place finishes were Anthony Arens in the 100 meter run, Devon Belew in the 400 meter run, Cain Winebrenner in the 1600 meter run, Dondrell Haridman in the 110 hurdle, and Devonte Thornton in the high jump.

What really distinguished the Trojans from the rest of the field were the Trojan relays which swept all races including the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, and 4x800. Athletes participating in these events included John Harris, Lavonte Hickman, Mike II Williams, Anthony Arens, Dondrell Hardiman, Dominique Anderson, Jon Saucedo, Vince Tutorino, Jessie Witherby, Nate Thomas, James Pitia, Matt Pitts, Michael Bidwell, and Nate Thomas.

Park Hill hosts their home invitational this week with Conference and District meets to follow the following weeks.

PH Girls Track
…saw several successful finishes at the Park Hill South Invitational last Friday as they placed second with 212 points, just 3.5 points behind Park Hill South who won the final race to pull ahead overall in the final standings. Earning first place finishes were Anesia Jamerson in the 100 meter, Brooke Bischof in the 800 meter run, Merecedes Robinson in the 3200 meter run, Bailey Cation in the high jump, and Taylor Cofield in the triple jump. The 4x800 relay team of Joanna Grauberger, Kim Rau, Chelsay Lewis, and Brooke Bischof also placed first.

The Trojans are making do with what they have in the sprints after losing several of their top runners early in the season. Coach Tari Garner says the team has fared pretty well so far.

“We lost a couple kids in our sprints that were hard to replace. The kids are working well together and pretty good for a team that didn’t have a lot going. Our coaches have done a good job of bringing those kids up to the next level,” Garner said. “Our goal for the team is top three for conference. We are who we are and in the end have to show up and perform that day. That’s what I tell the kids.”

One pleasant surprise for Park Hill has been the addition of freshman Mercedes Robinson, who joins Kim Rau in the 3200 meter run. While Rau has been one of the Trojans’ top runners all season, Robinson has come onto the scene as of late improving at an impressive weekly pace. Talent and following what has become somewhat of a new superstitious diet has been part of the equation.

“Mercedes doesn’t know how good she is, to drop 20-30 seconds a week is crazy,” Garner said. “In my class, I have the kids design a fitness program and then teach it to the class. This one group presented yoga and then served low-fat cappuccino and other snacks. That day, she (Robinson) set a personal record dramatically. So ever since, on meet days, she eats carrots, pita chips, and hummus with cappuccino. It’s kind of a funny story."

Robinson and Rau appear to have good opportunities at qualifying for sectionals along with a number of other field event participants and runners. Park Hill will have one more tune up this week before conference when they host their home meet, the Park Hill Invitational Thursday.

PHS Boys Track
…placed second behind Park Hill in the Park Hill South Invite last week as they rounded up 160 team points. The Panthers took first place in four events including CJ Whisnant in the 200 meter run, Cody Kildow in the discus, Nick Griffith in the long jump, and Jalen Ross in the triple jump.

Park Hill South is stocked full of young athletes, of which many are facing varsity competition for the first time. With only four seniors, the approximately sixty freshmen and sophomores on the team make up the majority of the team. This has provided short-term frustration, but will be healthy over the long-term.

“We have a ton of freshmen and sophomores that have been performing well, but they’ve been frustrated all year running as our varsity teams because they’ve been running in all these varsity meets instead of what would normally be freshmen meets,” Coach Clay Lenhert said. “If we can hold them together for the next couple years, we’ll be back on the map. We can compete against any freshmen and sophomores in the city and with growth we will be good in time.”

While the Panthers have several running events along with the pole vault, discus, and shot put which have chances at sectional qualifications, Park Hill South will continue to develop their young talent and place a foundation in 2012 for what they hope it future success.

PHS Girls Track
…came from behind as a team to win their own invitational last Friday as they pulled ahead of Park Hill in the closing events for a narrow victory with 216 points. Coming out of the event with first place finishes were Audrey Rothers in the 100 meter run, Jordan Hammond in the 400 meter run, Blake Reser in the long jump, the relay teams for the 4x100 and 4x400 races, and Morgan Keesee in the shot put and discus.

Keesee, who set the school record in the shot put earlier this season, is someone who head coach Andy Keefer says has worked hard for her success and looks forward to continued success as she is only a sophomore.

“There’s an excellent example of someone who’s dedicated, works hard, and wants to get better. This winter, she went to every clinic she could go to, worked hard in the weight room. Last year she did well, but nothing near what shes doing now,” Keefer said.

She is not alone in contributing as an underclassmen. South has several young athletes who’ve had surprising seasons including freshman Jordan Hammond, Sydney Minnis, Erin Stump, Madeline Homoly, and several others have stepped up for the Panthers.

Asked what he thought his team’s chances were on repeating as conference champions next week, Keefer remains optimistic.

“I’m very confident and think we’ll do pretty good. I sure hope so,” Keefer said.

The Panthers have this week off while they prepare for Conference at Staley next week.

Spring Roundup: Apr. 16-23

Park Hill Boys Golf
Beat Platte County in their final dual match of the season last week at Tiffany Greens with a 171-182 victory. Colby Buehler medaled with a score of 41.

Park Hill South Boys Golf
Bested Ray-Pec last week by a large margin with a 178-202 win. Matt Barry medaled in the match with a score of 39.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
…despite a 3-0 loss to Liberty to start the week, the Lady Trojans bounced back with two wins against St. Joe Central and Truman to improve their record to 7-9 on the year. Karra Kennedy, Regina Bolin, Lyndi Plattner, and Allison Maier contributed goals in their victory against St. Joe Central. Katie Hibbeler accounted for the lone goal in Park Hill’s 1-0 win over Truman.

Park Hill will participate in the Oak Park Tournament over the weekend.

Park Hill South Girls Soccer
While a tie is not a loss, it certainly isn’t a win as Park Hill South knows all too well from playing to two unsatisfying ties last week, the first a 1-1 tie against Lee’s Summit and the second a 2-2 tie against Notre Dame de Sion. The Panthers did manage to put out a 2-1 victory against Blue Springs South in their final game of the week improving their overall team record to 10-1-2 on the season. Crystal Lenhert and Courtney Claassen scored South’s two goals. Claassen continues to lead the team in goals with 16.

They play Liberty on Friday, hoping to end their losing streak to the Blue Jays, who ended their season last year in sectional play.

Park Hill Baseball
…improved to 10-3 on the year last week after going 2-1 in the Northland Tournament. They opened the week with a close 2-1 loss to Fort Osage. Logan Sloniker gave up two earned runs, but struck out eight batters in five innings. Park Hill bounced with a 9-5 win over Platte County in extra innings after Zach Anderson’s three run homer opened up the Trojans margin in the tenth inning. Park Hill went on to defeat Liberty North the next day 2-0. Dalton Moats pitched a complete game, striking out an impressive 15 batters and only allowing three hits.

Park Hill South Baseball
…got some much needed victories in the Northland Tournament last week after suffering two losses to Liberty North and Staley. They beat Platte County 12-2 and Kearney 4-0 after solid pitching performances from Ryan Cockriel, who struck out six against Platte County, and Corey Land, who struck out eight against Kearney. Coach Josh Walker says their offense has come along and added to their quality pitching of late.

“We a finally taking good at bats and getting great starting pitching,” Walker said.

Park Hill Tennis
…improved their team dual record to 11-2 last week with two additional wins against Staley and Liberty after previously beating Park Hill South earlier in the week. The 6-3 victory over Liberty marked a fitting way to commemorate Senior Night for three seniors who won their final home watches.

The Trojans will participate in the Suburban Northland Tournament and Brandon McPherson Doubles Classic over the next two weeks before defending their district title at Staley the second week of May. Varsity starters’ records for Park Hill are as follows: Michael Jones (10-5 in singles, 10-3 in doubles), Max Schoettger (11-5, 10-3), Chris To (8-5, 9-4), Louis Reinmiller (7-6, 9-7), Noah Higgins-Dunn (7-6, 8-9), and Trevin Howerton (9-2, 10-4).