Park Hill, South look to Jewell Tournament

The William Jewell Holiday Tournament features some of the best high school basketball action and teams from around the metro year to year. 2012 will be no different and will provide some steep competition for Park Hill and Park Hill South who will be a part of the 24 team field, competing in separate brackets.

Park Hill came into their opening round matchup against Rockhurst (4-2) Wednesday afternoon after a slow 2-6 start to the season, but went into the Christmas break with an impressive win over North Kansas City (59-37), which they hope will give them some positive momentum to take into the tournament.

The Trojans have looked to sophomores Landry Shamet and Devonte Thornton to lead them offensively in the early season. Thornton led Park Hill with 15 points in their win over North Kansas City last week. Both have strong growth potential in the coming years. While Thornton will scrap down low, Landry can be a threat from the outside as well as attack the basket.

“He’s a very heady basketball player, a good shooter, and very good at getting himself to the basketball,” Park Hill coach David Garrison said. “He jumps really well, which I think surprises some people. I think as he gets older and stronger, he’ll be a good player for us.”

Park Hill has seen some tough competition in the early season, which they believe will benefit them as they face the heart of their conference schedule starting in January.

“We’ve played some really good teams before Christmas,” Garrison said. “Blue Springs, Blue Springs South, Jefferson City. This (tournament) is going to be another tough test for us.”

Depending on the outcome of Wednesday night’s game, Park Hill will next face St. Pius X or Harrisonville. Other possible opponents in the Trojans final game could include Kearney, Raytown, Truman, or Liberty.

In addition to having the potential to shoot the ball really well at times, Garrison said another key factor is their defensive pressure away from the ball.

“We’re really trying to emphasize our off-the-ball pressure defensively. We’ve put forth a good effort, but sometimes we let the ball go by us. We’re doing better, but that will be critical for us,” Garrison said. “We’re a work in progress and I think as we keep doing that, when we get into conference play, we’ll be playing a lot better.”

Garrison said seniors Keaton Anchors, Austin Truvillion, and Ricky Trammell have all contributed in different roles and with more confidence they’ll become even better.

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Park Hill South goes into the William Jewell Tournament as a two-seed with their 6-1 record and will match-up against Ray-Pec (2-4) in the Cardinal Division’s first round at 6pm Thursday. With a win, the Panthers hope to play Blue Springs the next day for the right to a title game appearance.

Park Hill South’s most recent victory came in a close 63-54 win over Belton on the road before a one week break leading up to this week’s tournament.

Under the leadership of first year head coach Rick Zych and a number of experienced players, Park Hill South got off to a hot start in the first half of their season. Combining a sometimes devastating balance between their physical post presence and soft outside shooting touch, the Panthers have positioned themselves as a team to watch in this tournament as well as going forward the rest of the season.

South Girls end first half on hot streak

… finished the first half of their season with two impressive victories last week. The Lady Panthers improved their overall record to 8-1 going into the holiday break.

Despite going into halftime after St. Joe Central with a one-point deficit, Park Hill South pulled away in the fourth quarter for a narrow 44-39 victory behind some solid free throwing shutting in the final minutes. Jessica Lee led the Panthers with 15 points while Madeline Homoly pulled in 8 rebounds.

They wrapped the week up with a convincing 55-17 win over Grandview. Samantha Roy posted 19 points and seven steals in the victory. Homoly posted 10 points while Lee grabbed 11 rebounds.

Winter Round-up: Dec. 11-17

Park Hill Basketball

…suffered two tough losses last week with a 54-36 loss to Liberty and a 65-47 loss to Blue Springs South. The Trojans only scored 11 points in the first half against Liberty which put them in a difficult position early, despite playing the Blue Jays fairly even in the second half. Again later in the week against Blue Springs South, the Trojans weren’t able to piece together a complete game as coach David Garrison said his team played the best through three quarters that he’s seen this season. After going on a scoring streak, the Jaguars pulled away to their eventual 65-47 win.

Park Hill, now 1-6, was in action Tuesday night against North Kansas City as The Citizen went to press. They have a week off before competing in the William Jewell Holiday Tournament starting December 26^th against Rockhurst at 4:30pm.

Park Hill Wrestling

…used their success two weeks ago at the nationally renowed Iron Man Tournament to propel them to a win and top tournament finish last week. The Trojans beat Staley and Columbia Rockbridge by scores of 50-10 and 58-18. Park Hill then focused its attention on the Kansas City Stampede Wrestling Classic at Hale Arena over the weekend where they took fourth place out of 38 teams. Ke-Shawn Hayes placed first in his weight class and John Erneste was a runner-up. Colston DiBlasi took third place, Malik Colding placed fourth, and Ryan Hosford took sixth. Hunter Roberts and Canton Marriott placed eighth.

Park Hill has a dual on the road against Liberty and Ray-Pec on Wednesday before going on a two week break from competition, resuming January 8^th.

Park Hill South Girls Basketball

…continued their early season hot streak last week with two wins over Winnetonka (62-23) and Raytown South (52-35). Jessica Lee led in scoring against Raytown South with 13 points and while Samantha Roy posted 19 points and eight steals in their victory over Winnetonka. Now 6-1 on the season, they host Grandview on Wednesday before going on holiday break until the beginning of January.

Park Hill Girls Swimming

…finished ninth out of 22 teams at the Independence Invite over the weekend with 108 team points. Madison Heydinger led the Trojans in several events including a second place finish in the 500 free and a fifth place finish in the 200 free. Park Hill also took fifth place finishes in the 200 free and 400 free relays. They will get a two week break before heading into the heart of their schedule at the beginning of the year.

Park Hill South Wrestling

…for the second week in a row, the Panther wrestling squad was able to pull out a second place tournament finish despite being short-handed due to injuries. Last weekend at the Lee’s Summit Wrestling Invite, seniors Jimmy Carpenter and Chase Gray advanced through their weight classes to bring home tournament titles. Adam Weatherly came up just short with his second place finish. Other Panther wrestlers to place in the top four included Kenric Cook, Cody Vaughn, Alex Fortuna, Alex Carpenter. Park Hill South will next see action on January 8^th.

Park Hill Girls Basketball

After a thrilling win over Platte County early last week 51-39 that Park Hill coach Aaron Neeser described as one of their best performances of the season, Park Hill wasn't able to keep the momentum going as they fell to Kearney (71-27) last Thursday and then Liberty North Monday night. While Park Hill got out ahead of Liberty North Monday night with a 15-7 advantage going into the second quarter, the Eagles would take control from there on the way to a 64-50 win over the Trojans. Jaeden Cordes and Amanda Alexander led in scoring during Monday night's matchup with ten and nine points, respectively. Cordes also pulled in five rebounds.

"I think we are improving and our kids are learning how to compete every second of every game," Neeser said. "I think we are growing into our roles.  I like this team and what they are doing together to improve."

The Trojans, now 2-7 on the year, will have a two week break during the holidays before hosting Truman at home on January 7th.

Trojans coach says 13 years is enough

The Park Hill football program will be absent of a significant presence they’ve had on the sidelines the past 13 seasons next year. After building the program into one of the most consistent contenders in the metro, last week during a team meeting head coach Greg Reynolds announced he was stepping down.  Citing his intention to pursue other opportunities including a possible role in administration, Reynolds said the decision and timing were made on his own after considering it in recent months and discussing it with assistant coaches and Athletic Director Bill Sobbe.

“I had been thinking about it for a couple months. I decided now was a good time to do something different and pursue some other opportunities,” Reynolds said. “If it doesn’t work out, coaching is always something I can come back to in the future.”

Mindful of waiting until after his team’s annual end of the season banquet, he wanted to make sure they got the recognition they deserved without distraction.

“The banquet is about the players and recognizing their efforts, nothing else, so I wanted to wait until that happened.”

Reynolds said there were several factors that made the timing right. Since most opportunities within the district aren’t made available or decided on until later in the school year, he wanted to make sure a thorough search process could take place to find his coaching replacement well ahead of the start to next season. Another was due to several assistant coaching positions that will be open coming into next year. Having the flexibility to fill those positions with their own preference was something Reynolds said would be advantageous to a new coach.

Reynolds, who is also the varsity baseball coach, intends to coach the team through the end of this spring’s upcoming season.

During his 13 seasons, he compiled a 105-46 record (.695 winning percentage), 10 district titles, six state semifinal appearances, and a state championship in 2003. Before taking the top job in 2000, Reynolds served as an assistant coach for several years. He has been involved with the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association, serving as President in recent years and in 2010 was one of 100 coaches nationwide selected to attend the NFL-USA Football Summit.

The head coaching vacancy at Park Hill is now expected to be one of the most sought after football positions in the metro this offseason. Athletic Director Bill Sobbe said he will meet with Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Dr. Bill Redinger this week to discuss how the search process will be carried out. Sobbe said he believes applications will be accepted through the middle of January and a decision will be made by the beginning of February. While Redinger will oversee the process and make the final decision, Principal Brad Kincheloe along with Sobbe will also have a say in who the selection should be.

“We will be looking for someone with high character and someone who has the ability to get us to where we’ve been in the past so we can see that kind of success in the future,” Sobbe said.

Scott wins Otis Taylor Award

Displaying some of the most sure-handed skills for a receiver in the metro area over the last two years, Park Hill South’s Craig Scott broke every school record there was for a receiver during his high school career. Not only was his athleticism appreciated by his teammates and coaches in a season where the Panthers compiled a 7-5 record and district title game berth, but he also caught the eye of the committee who hands out the Simone Awards, who recognized him as a finalist for the Otis Taylor Award for the metro’s top receiver.

Capping off his senior season two weeks ago, Scott was announced as the award’s winning selection in front of a locally televised awards show at Blue Springs High School. Full of gratitude, Scott said it was a great honor to receive.

“It was just really a blessing,” Scott said. “It felt good to know all the hard work I put in was coming back to me now.”

With 131 catches, 1937 yards, and 32 touchdowns in three years at the varsity level, in talking with Scott, he doesn’t necessarily come off as the stereotypical image of a standout wide receiver. Mild-mannered, poised, and humble, Scott says he doesn’t necessarily enjoy bragging about himself in the limelight.

“Most people think receivers are really cocky (some are), but I don’t personally think I’m like that because I don’t like talking about the attention I get and my stats,” Scott said. “I try to be just a normal kid off the football field.”

While his hands are described as some of the best by those who’ve watched him play, he says the key is concentration that starts well before the opening kickoff.

“It kind of starts in pre-game, I pray a lot,” Scott said. “That helps me focus throughout the game because when you’re able to focus before the game, it takes away how difficult a situation might be during the game.”

Scott has always been an athlete, playing basketball and running track in addition to football, but hitting a growth spurt and gaining speed made being a wide receiver became his ideal focus. Looking back at a sophomore year where he gained his first varsity experience, Scott said it was an opportunity he truly appreciates.

“At such a young age, I was just playing football for the fun of it, but when I look back I see how blessed I was to have that opportunity,” Scott said.

At 6’1” 170 pounds, Scott certainly has athletic ability, but Park Hill South coach Mark Simcox says it’s his consistency and approach to practice that makes him such a reliable target.

“As a head coach, I like him for his consistency. We didn’t have to worry about him missing a rep in practice, being hurt, or being sick,” Simcox said. “He’s always the same, so you know what you’re going to get. And that’s part of the reason he’s so good is because of the way he practices. He caught 71 balls this year, but he probably caught 10,000 balls in practice.”

Good hands are one thing, but positioning is often an intangible that is hard to find in high school receivers.

“His spatial awareness relative to defenders is a gift, not necessarily something you can teach. In three years, in all the times we’ve thrown to him, I think there was only two times where it was intercepted. He’s going to catch it most of the time, but if he doesn’t he’ll make sure a defender doesn’t.”

Having attended summer camps across the Midwest this past year where he received interest from colleges around the country, Scott knows he wants to play football next year at the next level. Still weighing his options with visits to Kansas State, North Iowa, Idaho, and Tulsa scheduled in the coming weeks, he will make a official decision in January. Like most skilled receivers, he’s looking for a school with a team that can best help him do what he does best: catch passes, lots of them.

“I’m looking for a good coaching staff, but also a place where I can fit in,” Scott said. “I don’t want to go somewhere where I’ll be blocking 3-4 plays and then maybe catch a pass occasionally. I want to go to a program where I can show what I can do on the football field.”

Simcox believes his former wide-out has a chance to contribute immediately with some of his skills already where they need to be to earn playing time.

“He is going to come in as a pretty polished receiver. He’s going to have to get stronger and faster to play at a high college level, but in terms of ball skills and route running he’s pretty good. If he goes to the right place, he could play right away. He’s an outside receiver, so he’s best on deep fades and go-routes.

Park Hill South has strong first half of season

Following Park Hill South’s 75-60 win over Lee’s Summit last Friday, head coach Rick Zych told his team that on some nights they could beat some of the best teams in the city, but on others they could also lose to the worst. With a 5-1 record so far in this early season, the high expectations Zych seeks from his battle-tested squad have fared well with some impressive play leading up to the Christmas break.

After a run through the Liberty North Tournament which included wins against Pembroke Hill and Kearney, the Panthers came up just short of bringing home the championship trophy two weeks ago with a 50-40 loss to Liberty North, their only blemish so far this season. Park Hill South will now look towards the always competitive William Jewell Holiday Tournament where they will see first round action against Ray-Pec on December 27^th at 6pm.

Leading up to Friday’s game, the Panthers had a full week of practice to make some tweaks in their game, which allowed them to come out full throttle against Lee’s Summit as they built a 12-3 lead in the opening minutes and closed the first quarter with a 31-12 advantage.

“We had a lot of practice this week, but we hit a lot of shots tonight and came out ready to play,” Zych said.

Out-sizing and out-rebounding Lee’s Summit with the help of Allan Hyatt and Robert Lane, Park Hill South felt they found themselves in mismatches at certain points, but it ended up playing to their advantage as they maintained their lead at halftime, 45-29.

“We played hard and they were a difficult team to guard because we’re so big. Some of our 6’5”-6’6” post players were playing guards,” Zych said. “We executed on offense and got the ball where we wanted it.”

Park Hill South had five players score in double digits with Hudson Welty leading the way with 17 points. Anthony Woods added 14 points while Payton Meek put up 13 with Lane and Hyatt adding 12 and 10 points respectively a piece. Welty pulled in eight rebounds along with Lane’s seven. Even with their strong start, the Panthers know they have to play better to be where they want to be at the end of the season.

“We just have to keep getting better,” Zych said. “We saw some teams at the tournament and knew we just had to get better.”

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.

Park Hill boys' hoops looking for their identity

The Park Hill boys basketball team saw its share of ups and downs as they went 1-1 in their opening week of play, but as they head into the highly competitive Blue Springs Tournament this week, they know there is a lot of upside to their potential if they’re able to be patient and learn from a tough December schedule.

“The thing about us is we’re trying to find our identity,” Park Hill coach David Garrison said. “We have some strengths and there are some things we’ve worked on with our guard play. Anytime you do something new, it’s going to take a while to grasp it. If we stay focused and we keep working hard, we’re going to improve tremendously, which I’m excited about.”

After trailing Kearney by just two at halftime of their season opener, the Trojans came out cold in the second half and weren’t able to get to the free throw line, leading to a 54-40 loss. Their home opener against Oak Park on Friday night had a slightly different tempo to it as Park Hill saw themselves fall behind in the first half of a closely contested matchup. Park Hill took a lead they would not relinquish in the third quarter on the way to a 61-52 win over the Northmen.

While the tone and atmosphere gave the feeling of a district playoff game, there was plenty to resemble an early season game with shaky fundamentals, decision-making, and a 15-36 performance from the free throw line.

“The back and forth was the February part, but our performance and how consistent we were, was definitely the November part,” Garrison said. “They outplayed us in the first half, we didn’t match them effort-wise or energy-wise. We needed a couple things to go our way in the second half to get a win.”

Sophomore guard Landry Shamet led the Trojans in scoring for the second straight game with 14 points.

Drawing Blue Springs South in the first round of the Blue Springs Tournament, the Trojans will face some steep competition over the next two weeks including a ‘Coaches vs. Cancer’ game at Liberty on December 11, a rematch with Blue Springs South at home on December 16, and North Kansas City on December 18.

“We’ll be playing some good teams, so by the time we get to Christmas we’ll have some pretty good experience,” Garrison said.

South wrestling banged up early, but optimistic

While battling several key injuries, Park Hill South was able to turn in a satisfactory performance at the Park Hill Duals last week to earn a fifth place finish. While they undoubtedly would have liked to end the day closer to the top of the field, Park Hill South coach Dan Dunkin says some early season injuries have weaken his team’s early performance.

“We’re a little weak right now, but we’ll be fine. We’re not really too big about what happens in December,” Dunkin said. “We’re still in good spirits and we’ll right the ship here pretty quick, I think.”

The Panthers beat Lee’s Summit North 46-24 earlier in the week leading up to the tournament and will travel to Lee’s Summit North this weekend for their annual tournament.

“Anytime you can beat a Lee’s Summit team who has good athletes, that’s a good thing,” Dunkin said.

Park Hill South’s strong senior class has led the way so far this season and the coaching staff is encouraging them to rack up points the best they can so they are ready for matchups where every point will count.

“Our seniors are doing really well,” Dunkin said. “We’ve been pushing them all day to rack up points. They’re responding well on the mat.”

Park Hill wrestling takes second in own tournament

After having to settle for third in the Park Hill Duals last year, the Park Hill wrestling program was looking to return to the title round this year for the chance to claim first place in their own tournament. Cruising through pool play, the only obstacle left in their way was the top-seeded and nationally ranked Kearney Bulldogs. Despite being the underdog, Park Hill would win several key matchups in the lower weight classes and continue to maintain a narrow into later matches. It would all come down to the final match though when Kearney was able to get a pin in the heavyweight class to pull the Bulldogs over the top 31-27 to clinch a first place finish, their second in as many years.

While the Trojans take consolation in nearly pulling off the upset against a talented Kearney program, second place is not something they are comfortable settling with because it doesn’t align with their ultimate goal.

“Every single match and tournament this year is the state tournament. What we did was we picked up right where we left last year and took second as a team,” Park Hill coach Bill Erneste said. “What we wanted to do was beat Kearney here. We wrestled our tails off and did everything in our power, but Kearney was stronger today. was fun, but it’s only really fun when you come out with a W.”

Erneste says he saw positive signs from a number of wrestlers throughout the tournament, not only his more experienced and decorated wrestlers like Ke-Shawn Hayes and John Erneste, but also those who have fought their way into the lineup for the first time like Anthony Enriquez and August Sobbing.

“I was proud of a lot of individual performances today,” Erneste said. “The fight of our big guys was pleasing since a lot of our big guys are new to the lineup.”

For Park Hill it is all about moving forward though, as each tournament represents an opportunity to be approach as if it is the state tournament. Their next big competition will be this weekend at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman Tournament in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio where some of the country’s best wrestlers will matchup.

“I like where we’re at on the staircase towards the goal of winning, but I’m never excited about taking second,” Erneste said. “We’ve got to get ready for the Ironman Tournament, our next chance at a ‘state tournament’.”