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. 9-14

Park Hill South Girls Soccer
…took control of their conference last week with three conference victories. Anna Courtney scored two goals in South’s 4-1 victory over Raytown South with Crystal Lenhert and Katie Lindsey also putting in goals for the Panthers. In a 4-2 win over Raytown, Shay Jackson, Alysa Guzman, Courtney Claassen, and Abbey Johnson contributed goals. To end the week, Jessica Lee secured her seventh shutout of the year as Park Hill South defeated William Chrisman 3-0. They will be competing in the Blue Springs South Tournament all this week before returning to home to play against Fort Osage next week.
Courtney Claassen leads team in goals (1st in points), Shay Jackson in assists (2nd in points). The Panthers are now 8-1 overall, 6-0 in conference on the year.

Park Hill South Girls Track
…took first place at Northwest Missouri State University out of 11 teams early last week in the Bearcat Invite, edging out Chillicothe by 17 points out of nearly 1000 earned. Leading them were first place finishers Audrey Rothers in the 110 hurdles and Blake Reser in the triple jump. Reser also brought home second in the long jump. Contributing additional team points with their third and fourth place finishes were Tori Kerr in the discus (3rd), De De O’Toole in the 3200 meter race (3rd), Rothers in the high jump (4th), Morgan Keesee in the shot put (4th) and discus (4th), and the 4x800 relay team of Erin Stump, Lizzy Jurries, O’Toole, and Madeline Homoly (4th).
Park Hill South took eighth out of nine teams at the Winnetonka Invitational later in the week. Jessica Hayes placed second in the high jump while fourth place finishes were secured by Kyndal Mills in the triple jump and Jessica Hayes in the 300 hurdles.
They host the Park Hill South Invitational this Friday.

Park Hill South Boys Track
…finished fourth out of 11 teams at Northwest Missouri State University’s Bearcat Invitational to start last week. The 4x100 relay team of Bryan Robinson, Craig Scott, Marcus Harris, and Nick Griffith clocked in a first place time. With second place finishes were Jalen Ross in the 300 hurdles, Max Rodgers in the pole vault, and the 4x800 relay team of Mitch McDonald, Mason Homoly, Lendon Calhoun, and Abdi Sarbessa. Cody Kildow took third in the discus.

The Panthers didn’t finish the week they way they were hoping to at the Winnetonka Invitational last week as they finished last out of nine teams with just 19 points.

Park Hill Baseball
…increased their winning streak to four to end the week last week with two wins. The first came against North Kansas City when the Trojans rallied from a 6-2 deficit to score five runs in the final inning to win 7-6. Zach Anderson contributed two RBI’s while Zach Thompson and Dalton Moats scored two runs apiece. Moats struck out nine in his outing against Smithville on the way to a 7-1 victory over Smithville on Friday. Moats, combined with Nick Jones and Cooper Gardner to hold Smithville to only three hits the entire game. Austin Lewis, John Balsamo, and Moats had two hits apiece while Jacob Vanvacter contributed two RBI’s.
Park Hill is now 8-2 coming into the Northland Tournament this week.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
…split their two games at the Smithville Tournament last weekend. Despite allowing a goal in their own net, Park Hill was able to defeat Harrisonville in penalty kicks 4-3 after the game was tied 1-1 after regulation. The Trojans fell to Staley 2-1 in the next game. Abby Peoples scored Park Hill’s only goal.

Park Hill/Park Hill South Golf
Park Hill South came away with a match victory after a strong outing against Liberty, St. Joe Central, and Park Hill last week at The National. Austin Dorrell medaled for the Panthers with a score of 74. Park Hill South’s top score of 313 bested Liberty at 334, St. Joseph Central at 388, and Park Hill at 389.

Park Hill Boys Track
…placed fifth out of 13 teams at the Blue Springs Invitational last weekend with 61 team points. Leading the way with their first place finish in the 4x800 meter run was the team of Riley Fahrenholz, Kyle Pudenz, Joe Walton, and Nate Huffer. Deven Belew in 400 and Cain Winebrenner in the 1600 took home second place finishes. Steven Clopine in the high jump and Dondrell Hardiman in the 300 meter hurdles placed third.

Park Hill will participate in the Park Hill South Invitational this Friday.

Park Hill Girls Track
…took ninth place out of 11 teams with 26 points last weekend at the Blue Springs Invitational. Taylor Cofield took fourth in the pole vault and fifth in the triple jump to lead the Trojans in points. Also getting fifth place finishes were Kim Rau in the 3200 run and the 4x800 relay team of Rau, Joanna Grauberger, Chelsay Lewis, and Brooke Bischof.

Park Hill will participate in the Park Hill South Invitational this Friday.

SPRING OUTLOOK: Park Hill South Boys Track

The Park Hill South boys track team returns just a handful of athletes from last year’s third place conference team, but with the nine letter winners they do return and more than 70 underclassmen coming out for this year’s team, the Panthers could be poised to be a surprise.

Senior Dedric Johnson is the only state qualifier returning from last year after he served as the anchor on the 4x400 relay team that finished sixth at state. Joining him will be Cody Kildow in the shot put and discus, Max Rodgers in the pole vault, Keith Loveless in the hurdles, Alex Augspurg in the high jump and sprints, and Abdi Sarbessa in the distance events.

Craig Scott and Marcus Harris will contribute in the sprinting events, but will also be joined by Nick Griffith in the triple and long jumps this year. Their speed and strength could allow them to compete with some of the metro’s top jumpers. Coach Clay Lenhert says the three provide each other with healthy and beneficial competition.

“The practice group of Harris, Scott and Griffith will be interesting in the long jump.  Often when you have 3 guys of this caliber the competition in practice each day turns into really nice performances at meets,” Lenhert said.

While at first glance the Panthers appear most strong in their field events, Lenhert sees a lot of promise in his younger runners as well. While the Panthers will lean on their returning letter winners, it won’t be enough if they want to compete at a high level as a team.

“Many athletes from the junior varsity and freshmen teams last year are expected to step up to the Varsity level and make an impact,” Lenhert said. “We have some young distance runners whom could perform well.  Last year's varsity sprinters have all departed but we have some younger guys whom will work diligently to keep the relays in the battle.”

With Park Hill South’s conference competition featuring some of the best in the metro, the Panthers know track isn’t a sport where they can affect how the other team performs, just themselves.

“Character development is what is in our realm of control and this is will be the key to our success this season and beyond,” Lenhert said. “We can’t control anything or anyone in the conference, we simply develop character, work hard and let the chips fall where they may.”

Park Hill South starts the season with a dual meet against Park Hill March 27^th.

SPRING OUTLOOK: Park Hill South Girls Track

In 2012, the Park Hill South girls track team will defend their conference title with a handful of returning varsity athletes who saw success last year. While the Panthers weren’t able to qualify anyone for the state meet, they return two athletes that came up just short of qualifying in Blake Reser and Audrey Rothers, who will be a core piece of the 2012 team in events like the long jump, triple jump, hurdles, and a mix of different relays.

Hannah Carlson in the hurdles, Taylor Termini in sprints, Tia Square in jumps, and pole vaulter Kelsey Sadler also return for the Panthers along with a handful of seniors who will fill in to play a role throughout the upcoming season. While Coach Andy Keefer has some key athletes returning, the unique thing about his teams from past years aren’t stellar performances from standout athletes, but ones which exceeded expectations and led to overall solid team results.

“The team stepped up really well (last year),” Keefer said. “We’re lucky to where we’re usually pretty deep and we get a lot of second, third, and fourth place finishes. We had a lot of people step up for us.”

A lot of those finishes created the motivation for improvement, which led many athletes to put in the time working in the offseason. Work they hope pays off in the form of a potential opportunity to compete in college.

“We had a lot more commitment in the offseason with people getting into it. We’ve got a couple girls looking to do this in college and move to the next level in it,” Keefer said.

While the Panthers hope to build on their success in the jumps and hurdles, there is plenty of potential throughout the events to propel Park Hill South to another competitive season.

“Our jumps are probably our strength right now. We’ve got some freshmen that look pretty quick so we’ll see how that progresses, but we won’t be able to tell until down the road,” Keefer said. “By the time we get to the Kearney meet, we’ll have a better idea of where people are going to be. We have a lot of other people potentially, but no one who has quite shown that yet.”

With the defense of their conference title on the line in the Suburban Conference, Raytown South appears to be the Panthers most clear challenger to the start the season. Park Hill South starts the season with a dual meet against Park Hill March 27^th.

Trojans, Panthers see mixed results at state track

Park Hill Boys Track & Field
Nick Smith provided the most consistent results for the Park Hill Trojans track team at the state meet last weekend, just as he had all season. His seventh place finish in the shot put and twelfth place finish in the discus were the highest finishes for Park Hill at the state's highest level. The 4x800 team of Nathan Koehler, Riley Farenholz, Cain Winebrenner, Joseph Walton finished 15th with their time of 8:11. Dondrell Hardiman was unable to advance to the finals of the 300 hurdles as well as the 4x200 relay team.

Park Hill South Boys Track & Field
James Bowlin finished sixth in 800 meter dash capping off a successful senior year and accounting as the Panthers top finisher and only athlete to compete in a final race.

Top-four finishes add up for Park Hill South track teams

Track and field is not a sport known for its contact, but the Park Hill South girls could be described as scrappers nonetheless. Their second consecutive conference title two weeks ago and fourth place finish in districts this past weekend were evidence of this by showing how a full-out effort in every event can provide results for the collective team.

“Basically, it was because we had a lot of great kids who did their best and got a lot of second, third, and fourth place finishes which adds up in terms of team points. I think we only won first place in about four events,” Coach Andy Keefer said of his team’s conference performance.

And so it was much the same this past weekend at the district track meet at Park Hill District Stadium where the Panthers weren’t able to grab the top spot in any event, but grabbed enough top four place finishes to qualify a handful of athletes in events to advance to the sectional meet next weekend at Staley. The top finisher, Audrey Rothers in the 100 meter hurdles, finished second. Rothers, who also placed third in the high jump, finished one place above Jen Carlson’s fourth place finish. The 4x800 relay team of Lizzy Jurries, Samantha Roy, Logan Tucker-Nelson, and Jessica McCoy finished third along with Blake Reser’s third place finish in the triple jump. Freshman Samantha Roy who has already set the school record in the 800 meter dash and the 4x100 relay team of Hannah Brown, Allyse Edwards, Jillian McDaniels, and Reser finished in fourth place to wrap up the last of the Panthers’ sectional qualifiers.

While coming into the district meet Park Hill South was projected to finished seventh or eighth, their fourth place finish was a pleasant surprise for Keefer, but also coincides with what they expect their goal to be when they start the season each year.

“A little better than expected, but that’s what you hope for this time of year,” Keefer said.

There were also a few event finishes barely falling on the wrong side of sectional qualifying as Logan Tucker-Nelson in the 400 meter dash, Tori Kerr in the discus, Kelsey Sadler in the pole vault, Reser in the long jump, and Gonner in the triple jump all finishes just short with fifth place finishes. Going into sectionals, Keefer expects many of his athletes to be on the brink of qualifying for the next round, state, once again.

“We’re hoping it will be a great weekend, most of them will be seeded fifth, sixth, or seventh, and we’ll just have to see what happens,” Keefer said.

On the boys’ side of the track, James Bowlin has been burning up the tread this season and did so again last weekend with his first place finish in the 800 meter dash. While he was a sectional and state qualifier last year, Bowlin’s coach feels he’s ready to break loose and vindicate a poor showing in last year’s state preliminary race.

“He’s ready to bust one here pretty soon,” Coach Clay Lenhert said. “He’s got a chance in the 800. He’s been there before and has been running at the 1:57-1:58 mark, but is ready to bring it down to 1:55 or so.”

While as a team, the boys placed fifth with 59 points, they see a wide disparity between some very talented and experienced seniors who have qualified in the past and some very promising sophomores.

“Track is so different for so many kids. You know when you return some sectional qualifiers, they’re some pretty good guys. They’re going to progress differently than others,” Lenhert said. “We’ve got a lot of sophomores that have progressed like crazy, but don’t quite have the mental side those previous sectional qualifiers have and they’re not quite ready yet.”

Another previous sectional participant, Christian Hildebrandt, qualified again with his second place finish in the triple jump along with the 4x400 team he’s a participant in with Bowlin, Lucas Gardner, and Dedric Johnson while the 4x200 team of Andrew Davis, Gardner, Josh Gordon, and Hildebrandt placed third. Sam Eickhoff also qualified in the shot put by placing third. The 4x800 relay team and Dillon Ryel in the pole vault just missed the sectional threshold with their fifth place finishes.

Spring Weekly Roundup: April 11-15

Park Hill Boys Tennis
... led by Michael Jones win 10-4 in the top singles matchup they beat Lee's Summit North 7-2 to start off last week. Blake Barnard and Christian Reinmiller also won in their number one double competition 10-6. They next welcomed Ruskin and with a combination of all skill levels beat the Eagles 8-1. Later in the week, they traveled to Pembroke Hill where they fell 5-0 before inclement weather prevented the meet from being completed. They'll compete against Liberty North Wednesday and Blue Springs South Thursday.

Park Hill South Boys Tennis
...improved their overall dual season record to 5-1 last week with a two 9-0 wins against Belton and Fort Osage. Top singles players Zack Royle and Griffin Smith are undefeated at 6-0 on the year.

"They're non-stop, they are just going after the ball constantly," Coach Glynis Chambers said of her top two players."Griffin's got a solid left-hand which can be an obstacle for many players and Zach is a really strong hitter."

Solidifying their lineup, the Panthers have Jim Geary, Justin Dixon, Josh Lukens, and Abhi Gullapalli contributing at the varsity level with Chris McCarthy finding himself pushing those above him in competing for and sometimes stepping into that sixth spot on the roster.

"Our top six players are not only great tennis players, they take their academics seriously, and are overall awesome young men," Coach Glynis Chambers said.

Park Hill Boys Track
.. had another strong performance last week as they placed first overall as a team in the Winnetonka Invitational. A number of Trojans earned top finishes with first place medal winners including Cain Winebrenner in the 1600 meter dash, Nick Smith in the discus (161' 2"), Luke Bossert in the pole vault (12' 6"), Trace Norfleet in the long jump (22' 5.25") and triple jump (44' 9"), and the 4x800 relay team of Nathan Koehler, Joe Walton, Riley Farenholz, and Winebrenner. Runners-up with second place finishes included Anthony Arens in the 100 meter dash (10.88), Quenton Noble in the 200 meter dash (22.8), Nate Huffer in the 3200 meter run (10:48), Smith in the shot put, Nick Shepherd in the high jump, and the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams. Burt Taylor in the 100 meter run, Joe Walton in the 800 meter run, Dondrell Hardiman in the 300 hurdles, and Artis Norfleet in the long jump all came in third with their respective performances. They'll compete this week at the Kansas Relays at KU before hosting the Park Hill Invitational next week.

Park Hill Girls Track
...saw some strong performances at the Winnetonka Invitational last week with two top finishes. Stephanie Atkinson continues to standout for the Trojans as she earned first place in the pole vault. Also finishing first was the 4x100 relay team of Thomas, Belcher, Moss and Battles. Marche Belcher in the 200 meter run and the 4x800 relay team of Lewis, Grauberger, Bischof, and Ebbrechet finished in second place while third place medal winners included Davon Thomas in the 200 meter run, Bailey Cation in the long and triple jumps, Belcher in the 300 hurdles, Chelsea Lewis in the 800 meter run, and the 4x200 relay team of Battles, Belcher, Moss, and Thomas.

Park Hill South Boys Track
...with a strong performance in the Winnetonka Invitational, the Panthers scored 101 team points which was good enough for third place. First place finishes included James Bowlin in the 800 meter run and Christian Hildebrandt in the high jump. Second place finishers included the 4x800 relay team of Bowlin, D.J. Johnson, Abdi Sarbessa, and Connor Allison, Johnson in the 400 meter run, and Dillon Ryel in the pole vault. Cody Kildow in the discus, the 4x100 relay team of Lucas Gardner, Jones, Josh Gordon, and Andrew Davis along with the 4x400 relay team of Bowlin, Gardner, Johnson, and Ryel all received third place finishes. They will compete next this Friday at the William Chrisman Invitational.

Park Hill South Girls Track
...placed second in the Winnetonka Invitational. The handful of first place finishes came from Tori Kerr in the discus, Blake Reser in the long jump and triple jump, and the 4x800 relay team of Jessica McCoy, Lizzy Jurries, Logan Tucker-Nelson, and Samantha Roy. Roy also placed first in the 800 meter run. Jen Carlson in the high jump, Tucker-Nelson in the 800 meter run, Hannah Carlson in the 300 hurdles, Lauren Goner in the triple jump and the 4x100 relay team of Chandler Termini, Allyse Edwards, Hannah Brown, and Reser all finished as runners-up in second place. They will compete next this Friday at the William Chrisman Invitational.

Park Hill Baseball
... entered this week with a four game winning streak after victories against Park Hill South (5-2) and North Kansas City (1-0). Nathan Shores (.381, 12 RBI's) and Zach Thompson (.326, 9 RBI's) continue to lead the Trojans on offense. But Shores's impressive 0.69 ERA in 20 1/3 innings and Logan Sloniker's 33 strikeouts seem to be what are making the difference for Park Hill which is now 8-6 on the year. They hope to continue their success in the opening round of the Northland Tournament this week against Excelsior Springs, Staley, and Smithville.

Park Hill South Baseball
... despite a solid win against William Chrisman 6-0 earlier last week, the Panthers continued to see a lack of run support for strong pitching performances as they dropped games against Park Hill (5-2) and Winnetonka (2-0). Park Hill South, now 5-9 overall, will hope to combine their good pitching outings with some offense this week as they play three games against Liberty North, Oak Park, and Kearney in the Northland Tournament this week.

"Our pitchers all threw well, but we did not back them up with anything," Coach Josh Walker said.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
...had a rough week at the Smithville Tournament last week. Losses to Smithville (2-0) and Staley (4-2) started out the week, but the Trojans were able to salvage the last game by pulling out victory against Harrisonville after the game went to penalty kicks after a 1-1 score during regulation. They're now with a remaining game against Truman this week followed by matchups with Liberty North and Lee's Summit West next week.

Park Hill/Park Hill South Boys Golf
Park Hill South pulled out a one stroke victory ahead of Liberty last week in a quad meet competition that also included Park Hill and St. Joe Central at the National II last week. Park Hill South's 336 total team score bested Liberty's 337. Park Hill followed with a score of 352 and St. Joe Central trailed with a stroke total of 377.

Spring Weekly Roundup: April 4 - 9

Park Hill South Girls Soccer
... cruised through another week with three victories to increase their impressive record to 9-1. All three games were blowouts with wins against Raytown South (10-0), Winnetonka (9-0), and Fort Osage (7-0). Katie Riojas and Emily Hanlon are leading the team in goals with 10 and 9, respectively. Abbey Johnson and Courtney Claassen follow with seven a piece. Claassen has also contributed 13 assists. Alexis Mikulich continues to dominate as the Panthers' goalkeeper as she has only allowed three goals all season and has recorded eight shutouts in nine games. The Panthers are currently 4-0 in the conference as they look to run the table undefeated. They'll host William Chrisman before playing in the Blue Springs South Invitational next week.

Park Hill South Girls Track
... had several athletes excel at the Kearney Classic last Friday afternoon. Leading the pack for the Panthers was Hannah Carlson's second place finish in the 300 meter hurdles. Also placing in that event was Audrey Rothers with her eighth place finish. Blake Reser finished third in the long jump with a distance of 15', 8.25". Reser also placed fifth in the triple jump. She was accompanied with several other fifth place finishers in the likes of the 4x800 and 4x100 meter relay teams, Audrey Rothers in the 110 hurdles, and Samantha Roy in the 800 meter dash. Their next competition with be in the Winnetonka Invitational at Staley this Thursday.

Park Hill South Boys Track
... Max Rodgers in the pole vault and Cody Kildow in the discus led the Panthers with third place finishes in the Kearney Classic last week. The 4x100 relay team placed third with a 44.86 time while James Bowlin placed fourth in the 1600 meter run coming in with a time of 4:31. South hopes to improve on some of their performances with higher finishes this week in the Winnetonka Invitational.

Park Hill Baseball
... went 2-1 last week with victories against Truman (5-1) and Ruskin (18-0) while their lone defeat came to Blue Springs (7-0). The Trojans are now 6-6 on the season. They'll play at North Kansas City in their only scheduled game this week before competing in the Northland Tournament next week.
 
Park Hill South Baseball
…. went 2-1 last week with all three games being decisive. The victories included Raytown South 10-0 and Belton 5-0. John Christopher pitched a complete game and only allowed three hits against Raytown South while gaining run support from Sam Laney and Kendrick White who went 2-3. Adam Schemenauer struck out 18 Belton batters while Blake Phillips went 3-3 with 4 RBI’s. The sole loss on the week came at the hands of Liberty by a score of 11-1. Kyle Willenbrink and Ty Elley both went 1-1 in their plate appearances. Coach Josh Walker said their defense didn’t help them any in their loss against Liberty, but sees improvement overall even though they occasionally see setbacks.

Spring Weekly Roundup: March 28 - April 4

Park Hill Boys Golf
... took 13th out of 22 teams last week in Lee's Summit North's Klint Andrew Tournament. Austin Dorward led the Trojans with an individual score of 82. The following day they fell to Kearney when their 167 team strokes were best with the Bulldogs' 157. Kearney was led by Ryan Zeck who shot an impressive 33. The Trojans' top golfer was Travis Perry with a 38. They'll play at St. Joe Central before hosting their annual Darren Floyd Memorial Tournament Thursday at Tiffany Greens Golf Course.

Park Hill South Boys Golf
... finished ninth out of 22 teams last week in Lee's Summit North's Klint Andrew Tournament. They followed it up the next day with a second place finish out of three teams in a match at Lee's Summit West. Matt Barry led the Panthers with a quality performance of 37 on the par 36 course.

Park Hill Girls Track
... didn't get the results they particularly wanted when they finished 13th out of 16 teams with their 17 team points at the Rusty Hodge Invitational at Blue Springs South last weekend. Most of those points came from quality performances from Stephanie Atkinson in the pole vault (3rd), Bailey Cation in the long jump (5th) and triple jump (8th), and Chelsea Lewis in the 1600 meter run (8th). They'll compete in the Jerry Crews Relays at Staley High School this Saturday.

"We had a small crew on Friday at the Rusty Hodge Invitational due to school conflicts/some injuries," coach Tari Garner said. "We didn't fare well overall as a team, so there is always room for improvement."

Park Hill South Boys Track
James Bowlin led the Panthers in the Blue Valley Spring Classic over the weekend as he earned the highest place for South out of all athletes when he got second in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:04. Dylan Rylen placed third in the pole vault while Keith Loveless placed seventh in both the 110 and 300 meter hurdles. Also having notable finishes were the 4x400 relay team of Bowlin, Lucas Gardner, Dedric Johnson, and Christian Hildebrandt with their time of 3:34. Gardner placed eighth in the triple jump while Alec Gates placed seventh in the long jump. They'll compete in the Kearney Invitational this weekend.

Park Hill South Girls Track
The Park Hill South Girls Track team saw some good results over the weekend as they excelled in several areas at the Blue Valley Spring Classic against some quality area teams including Lee's Summit North, Lee's Summith West, Leavenworth, Olathe North, Blue Valley Northwest, Blue Valley North, Belton, and Topeka West. Although not being able to clinch any first place finishes, they were able to secure two second place medals along with several third place finishes. Lauren Gonner distance of 16' 1" in the long jump and Lauren Gonner's triple jump accounted for the Panthers second place finishes. Third place medalists included Tori Kerr in the discus, Mallory Ross's shot put, and Hannah Carlsonn the 300 hurdles. Other top finishers included Logan Tucker-Nelson in the 800 meter run (4th), Blake Reser in the triple jumpe (4th), and the 4x100 meter relay team of Alyse Edwards, Jill McDaniel, Chandler Termini, and Reser (4th). The next event they'll compete in will be the Kearney Invitational this weekend.

Park Hill Boys Track
... finished fifth out of 16 teams at the Rusty Hodge Invitational. Top performances were turned in by those familiar with high finishes including first place medals for Trace Norfleet in the long jump and Nick Smith in the shot put. Smith placed fourth in the discus while Norfleet's little brother Artis finished behind Trace in sixth place in the long jump. Quenton Noble turned in a fifth place finish in the 200 meter dash while Dondrell Hardiman finished fifth in the 300 hurdles, Cain Winebrenner finished fifth in the 1600 meter run, and the Trojans' 4x200 meter relay team placed fifth with a time of 1:33. They will compete next in the Jerry Crews Relays at Staley next Friday.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
... earned their first victory of the season last week as Rayci Lee and Olivia Derry scored goals in Park Hill's 2-0 victory over Truman. Claudia Fonseca recorded the shutout. They'll host Ruskin Thursday before playing Oak Park and Lee's Summit next week.

Park Hill South Girls Soccer.. improved to 6-1 on the season last week as they suffered their first defeat of the season in a 2- loss to Shawnee Mission West. They bounced right back against West's in-district neighbor Shawnee Mission South though with a 2-0 victory. They capped the week off with a 3-0 victory against Topeka Hayden with two goals from Katie Riojas and another from Ginny Tucker. Alexis Mikulich completed her second shut out of the week and fifth of the season. They'll play at Winnetonka before hosting Fort Osage on Friday before turning their focus toward a pair of home game against Raytown South and William Chrisman next week.

Park Hill South Baseball
… went 1-2 last week when they started off with two losses to Staley (4-0) and Raytown (8-1). Against Staley, Luke Covault gave six strong innings, but the Panthers’ offensive only generate three hits. South had trouble offensive again against Raytown when they only produced four hits. The Panthers concluded the week on a good note with a 6-1 victory over Fort Osage. Kendrick White went 4-4 with a home run, double, and two singles that produced seven RBI’s. Adam Schemenauer notched the victory with his six innings and nine strikeouts. Friday we beat Fort Osage 1-6.  Kendrick White was 4-4 driving in seven runs with a home run, double and two singles.  Blake Phillips and John Christopher collected two hits a piece. Adam Schemenauer got the win pitching six innings and striking out nine.

Park Hill South track teams feature plenty of experience

The Park Hill South boys and girls track team have a lot to look forward to in 2011 as they both return a good amount of athletes from last season’s teams. While the boys hope to jump up a spot from their second place conference finish, the girls will be in a position to defend their conference title for the first time in quite awhile.

“We had a great end to the season last year, first time we’ve done that in several years,” coach Andy Keefer said. “We essentially return everyone except for one of our throwers, so we’ve got a good group coming back.”

The Panthers’ 4x800 and 4x200 relay teams were the only teams to advance into sectionals from the district meet last season so with a team that features a quality group of seniors there is a focus on increasing the number of qualifiers.

“We’re going to be solid overall. If we work hard throughout the year, good things will happen at the end of the season,” Keefer said. “We have a great group of kids, especially in regards to senior leadership.”

Some of those senior athletes to keep tabs on these spring will be jumpers Jen Carlson and Lauren Goner, sprinters Alice Edwards and Jill McDaniel, and thrower Mallory Ross.

Keefer sees the conference as more difficult this season particularly in regards to the addition of Raytown South, which he believes will be one of their top competitors for the conference title. No matter what the competition, he says there is always one constant for his teams.

“We focus really on individual goals, not only what happens on the track, but also in the classroom to be the best they can be,” Keefer said.

On the boys’ side, coach Clay Lenhert will be harnessing a host of state and sectional qualifiers from last year. James Bowlin and DJ Johnson return hoping to improve on their state qualifying performances along with Josh Gordon, Christina Hildebrandt, Josh Hunt, and Daniel Jones. While these athletes will standout, Lenhert hopes their relays will serve as a consistent place for team points throughout the season.

“We try to focus and encourage quality Relay performances,” Lenhert said.

Mirroring his coaching counterpart on the girls’ side, Lenhert focuses his efforts on getting his team’s best performance at the end of year while also motivating his athletes to set their own goals in the process.

“Another goal is to coach and train our athletes to peak as individuals and as a team at the appropriate time of the season,” Lenhert said. “A key to our success will be to focus on ourselves... We can only control our effort and attitude. Our performance will be a reflection of how we apply effort and attitude to what abilities we have been given.”