Trojan Baseball having up and down season, but win when it counts

With a large contingent of experienced seniors returning to this year’s Park Hill baseball team, expectations are high. After a strong start supported by both offense and pitching, the Trojans are now trying to find what many teams are searching for at the mid-way point in the season, consistency. While 4-0 in conference, a 6-4 record has come with its ups and downs as the Trojans look to find its groove.

“I don’t think we’ve improved where we need to yet, we’ve been inconsistent on both sides,” Coach Greg Reynolds said.

Last week was reflective of how the season has gone up to this point as they lost an extra inning game 6-4 to Excelsior Springs in what Reynolds says was one of their worst performances of the season. They bounced back the very next day against Staley as a 12-strikeout performance from Clay Smith led the Trojans to a 7-4 victory, described as one of their best performances. The following day, pitcher Daniel Jessen held a talented Kearney team to just three runs through six innings before the flood gates opened in the seventh resulting in a 10-0 loss.

“Some of the up and down can be attributed to the pace of the high school game because it revolves so much around the pitching rhythm and the speed at which they work,” Reynolds said.

While it has been hard to tell which Trojan team will take the field each day, they’ve won the important games they’ve needed so far in conference play and are leading the chase for the title as they enter the second half of their conference schedule. With seven games this week, the Trojans will have the plenty of chances to work out some of the kinks as they’ll finish the week at the Kearney Tournament with four games in three days.

“Our highest expectations come from ourselves,” Reynolds said. “Just because you have a lot of seniors coming back people think it makes it easier and it just happens on its own, where in reality other teams know that so they’ll usually put their best pitcher up against you.”

The next two weeks of conference games will likely decide the champion, but with Truman and Park Hill South just behind Park Hill in the standings, Reynolds says it might come down to the last game when Park Hill plays Park Hill South on May 15. By then, the Trojans hope to be back to full strength after resolving some of their injuries and exhibiting the consistency they aim for.

Spring Roundup: April 19 - 23

Park Hill Boys Golf
Before placing third at the Conference tournament, Park Hill boys golfers appeared to be peaking at the right time last week as they shot their best team score of the season with an overall 328 at the Liberty Invitational. Unfortunately for the Trojans, other area teams are also improving as the Trojans’ top performance only placed them in tenth out of 20 teams. Austin Dorward led Park Hill along with Victor Sodenholm who both shot 78.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
After rattling off three straight victories improving their record to 6-5, the Trojans hoped a showdown with the 9-1 Liberty Blue Jays would show some of the strides they had taken in this year and that they were ready to take the next step. It wasn’t so, as the impressive offense displayed over recent games for the Trojans was shut-out as they were defeated 10-0. Three games this week include a home game against Truman along with games at Winnetonka and Platte County. Park Hill is 6-6 on the year.

Park Hill Boys Tennis
The Park Hill Boys Tennis team turned out an impressive performance last week in their only match as they defeated Oak Park 9-0. Top singles player Sam Barth defeated his counterpart in consecutive sets 6-2 and 6-0. Mike Merchant and Brian Hillix have surfaced as the Trojans’ top doubles combination. They also won in consecutive sets by scores of 6-1 and 6-0. This week they’ll travel to Columbia to compete against Rockbridge.

Park Hill Boys Track
Last Friday the Park Hill Boys Track team competed in the Gary Parker Invitational at Blue Springs High. Liberty, Lee’s Summit West, and host school Blue Springs were just the start of a field featuring some of the city’s top athletes. Finishing eighth overall out of ten teams with just 48 team points compared to Blue Springs’ 111, the Trojans performed well in several areas. They leaned on what have been their strengths up to this point in the season including the distance relays, shot put, and discus. Adrien Esaw placed second in the 300 meter hurdles with time of 40 seconds, James Leach placed second in the 800 meter run at 2:00, Nick Smith placed 2nd in the shot put and 4th in the discus. The 4x800 meter relay placed third with a time of 8:18. They’ll prepare for the Park Hill Invitational featuring a number of area teams this Thursday afternoon at Park Hill District Stadium.

Trojan catalyst - Gossett always in thick of the action for resurgent Park Hill girls

After two seasons of averaging the same amount of wins as losses, the Park Hill girls soccer team is looking to break the trend this season after a recent string of victories.

“We are improving daily, the chemistry and the work rate grows on a game by game basis. Up to now we’re telling the girls that this next game is the most important of the season and they should treat it as such,” coach Manny Catano said.

“I think earlier in the season one of our weaknesses was just selflessness, we weren’t playing as a team and I think we’re starting to come into our own as a team,” assistant coach Tara Southwick said.

Some of the Lady Trojans’ momentum can be attributed to the leadership and player of senior Emma Gossett. Whether it’s diving on the basketball court for a loose ball or breaking through the defense for a goal on the soccer field, you’ll usually find Gossett in the middle of the action. Although hardly a surprise, last year’s conference defensive player of the year doesn’t shy away from the physical nature of the game.

“I don’t like getting pushed around, I’m not gonna let it happen. I’ve got an older brother so I’ve kind of learned to handle my own,” Gossett said of her aggressive style.

“Emma is an asset to any team. She has a lot of determination and her work rate in games is simply our best,” Catano said of Gossett’s contributions. “She can step up and compete against our opponent’s best player and shut them down.”

Known as a tenacious defender, her skills were on display last Thursday against Raytown South, but it wasn’t necessarily on the side of the field you might expect. The loss of several offensive players to graduation and unexpected injuries this season has created the need for Gossett to play both offense and defense. Streaking through the Cardinal defense from almost a third of the field’s length, Gossett scored the first of what would be a standout three goal night.

Shared credit followed the strong performance as the Trojans’ top defender and leading goal scorer praised her teammates.

“They fed me perfect balls so I could do it,” Gossett said.

Attending Northwest Missouri State next year, Gossett will hang up the competitive soccer cleats for good at the end of this season, but a common theme has been expressed from Gossett and her team about what they’d like to accomplish before then.

“I definitely want to beat South,” Gossett said. “I don’t think we played some of our best soccer the last time we played them.”

Gossett was at it again on Monday night as she scored five goals for the Trojans in an 8-0 rout of William Chrisman. It's clear now no matter what the rest of the season brings Park Hill, you can be sure Gossett will be causing a stir for opposing offenses and defenses alike.

Spring Roundup: April 12 - April 16

Park Hill Baseball
Park Hill Baseball had another strong week last week as they added two victories to their record. They found themselves down against Park Hill South on Thursday, but a 3-0 deficit turned late in the game when the Trojans scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning behind Daniel Jessen’s two-run double, Adam Vanderpool’s sacrifice fly, and Alec Kennedy’s triple. South tied the game up 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth before the Trojans added three runs in the seventh after Chris Burr batted two runs in and Vanderpool added another as Park Hill won 7-4.

Against Truman on Wednesday, the Trojans found themselves down 2-0 before J.D. Weyer clocked a grand slam putting them up 4-2. They never looked back as Alex Otto added a two-run homer. Clay Smith took the victory and Otto came in to finish the game as Park Hill won 9-5. The Trojans are now 5-2 overall, 4-0 in conference as they’re participating in the Northland Tournament this week against the likes of Excelsior Springs, Staley, and Kearney along with the rest of the Northland.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
The Lady Trojans seem to be gaining some momentum after rattling off two wins last week and haven’t given up on a conference title yet says coach Manny Catano. Emma Gossett took over on offense against Raytown South last Thursday as she drilled home three goals along with scores from Catherine Netwal and Ashley Sutlief. A 2-1 victory against Oak Park last Monday was led by goals from Heather Schieber and Olivia Derry.

“Preparation has been key for us and the kids are applying themselves more and more. I expect great competition in the next weeks as we see several opponents that are top notch teams such as Liberty, Platte County, Kearney, Park Hill South and Truman,” Catano said.

Park Hill Boys Golf
In a triangular match last Thursday, Park Hill placed second between Blue Springs and William Chrisman as they shot 172 on nine holes. Victor Soderholm and Colby Buehler both shot 40.The Trojan golf team placed 15th out of 22 teams last Monday in the Sedalia Smith-Cotton Tournament as they shot a combined score of 340. Soderholm led with an 81.

Park Hill Boys Tennis
The Park Hill tennis team ended last week with a showing at the Blue Valley Northwest Tournament where they placed sixth overall among some of the top teams in the region. Placing 6th and 11th in singles, the Trojans finished in 10th and 19th place in doubles.

“The guys played really well throughout the day especially considering that each of them had 5 matches. We had some big individual wins,” coach Ryan Kalis said.

After two tough losses to local powerhouses Rockhurst and Liberty two weeks ago, the Park Hill tennis team rebounded last week with a third place finish in the Pembroke Hill Doubles Tournament, a win against Kearney 8-1, North Kansas City 9-0, and wins by Sam Barth in singles and Mike Merchant/Brian Hillix in doubles against Park Hill South led them to a 9-0 victory. The Trojans are now 7-2 overall in match play and will compete against Oak Park this week.

Swedish Swing

One of the brightest areas for the Park Hill golf team halfway through their season has been the play of senior Victor Soderholm. While Soderholm’s performance on the course is a topic of discussion on its own, his personal story adds even more interest.

Soderholm is a foreign exchange student from Sweden. A soft-spoken kid, Victor was shy at first, but has warmed to his teammates.

“Early on he was quiet and didn’t really interact with the kids,” Dorrell said. “Now he’s becoming more comfortable, starting to show more of a personality and is fun to be around.”

Last week was a breakout week for Victor as he led the Trojans with their lowest score four consecutive days including an 84 at the Ray Pec Tournament, a 77 at Liberty, a 40 (on nine holes) at St. Joe Central, and capped it off with a second place finish in Park Hill’s annual tournament by shooting a 78, besting over 50 other golfers in the field.

“No one has ever won (from Park Hill), I’ve now had two kids that have taken second, including Victor,” Dorrell said of his top golfer.

While he said the car and traffic flows of the U.S. were particularly different along with an apparent love for McDonald’s, for Soderholm some of the interesting contrasts are golf-related.

“You’re not really a member here,” Soderholm said of many of the local courses. “There you’re usually a member and pretty much play the one course.”

Victor finds himself in a unique education situation. Although an 18-year old senior at Park Hill, Soderholm is considered a tenth-grader in Sweden and upon the completion of this school year, he will likely return and attend two more years of high school. With such a high quality of skill, Victor would be a top candidate for a golf scholarship to attend a college or university in the United States, but the rules or requirements are uncertain.

“I have two more years in high school. I don’t really know how that works, but I’d really like to do it if I got a good offer,” Soderholm said.

Soderholm’s first exposure to golf was in 1999, but didn’t really start until 2003 when he and his father picked up the sport. Pending a waiting list, they were finally able to become members and started playing more and more.

“Someone has taught him very well and he’s had formal training,” Dorrell said of Victor’s talent level.

Even with the quick season high school golf has, Victor could be peaking at the right time. Saying his strength is approaching the green, he hopes to improve on his putting.

“I kind of knew in the beginning I would get better, and just kept my confidence to stay calm. I want to have an average around 77. The last week I’ve gotten closer and closer. I want to be as good as possible for the team, play well at districts and make it to state,” Soderholm said.

Spring Roundup: April 5 - April 9

Park Hill Baseball
Park Hill Baseball continues to rack up the runs as they defeated Winnetonka last week 11-1 in 5 innings. Clay Smith pitched the complete game while striking out eight batters, allowing just two hits and one earned run. Nathan Shores, James Vega, Austin Kepler, and Adam Vanderpool all drove home two runs apiece. Vanderpool hit his first home run of the season. The Trojans are now 3-0 on the season, with two of those victories coming in conference play. They will play Truman Wednesday afternoon in their only scheduled game.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
The Lady Trojans soccer team had a busy week with five games on the schedule including the Smithville tournament this past week. Kicking things off on the right foot early against Winnetonka, they secured a sound victory 10-1 with four goals from Emma Gossett, three from Rayci Lee, two from Olivia Derry, and one from Heather Schieber. Against district rival Park Hill South, the Trojans got down early in the first half after the Panthers were able to capitalize on two corner kicks resulting in goals before eventually losing 4-0. Coach Manny Catano was disappointed in the performance and missed opportunities, but were right back at it Friday and Saturday in Smithville as they took on Roger’s Heritage out of Arkansas along with Smithville and Staley High Schools. They’re currently 2-3 overall with a 1-2 record in conference play. Oak Park and William Chrisman are on the schedule for this week.

Park Hill Boys Golf
Park Hill Golf is coming off a very busy week with four competitions in four days. Last Monday at the Ray Pec Tournament they shot a 352 team score with Victor Solderholm leading the team with an 84. Tuesday at Liberty against Liberty, Lee’s Summit, and Lee’s Summit North the Trojans trailed the field placing fourth with a score of 341. Solderhold led with a 77. Park Hill took first out of three on Wednesday in St. Joe against St. Joe Central and Oak Park with a 183 on nine holes. Solderholm was a match medalist with a score of 40. Other Trojans scores: Austin Dorward 46, Colby Buehler 47, and Collin Pummill 50. In the annual Darren Floyd Memorical Tournament, Park Hill took fifth as the host school with a team score of 348 behind first place team Liberty which scored a 320. Solderholm placed 2nd with a 78, one stroke off the first place finish of 77 from Sam Mears of Liberty. Competitions this week include Sedalia Smith-Cotton and William Chrisman.

Park Hill Boys Tennis
Park Hill Tennis knew they would have a tough test last week going into their matches against local powerhouse Rockhurst, but in order to be the best, they believed they had to beat the best. As a tune up to the showdown between the two programs, Park Hill was able to bring home a 5-1 victory against Winnetonka earlier in the week. Mike Merchant defeated Tonka’s Wollard 10-4 in the number one singles match before rain caused the cancellation of the doubles competition. Unfortunately for Park Hill, Rockhurst came out strong last Thursday. Although a tough, hard fought match, Rockhurst’s Edmonds was able to edge out Merchant in the number one singles match. Then, Edmonds along with teammate Nelson went on to defeat the doubles team of Merchant and Brian Willis 6-0, 6-3. The loss was the first for the Trojans on the year. They are now 4-1 on the year.

Park Hill Boys and Girls Track
The girl’s team finished 6th overall at the Jerry Crews Relays at Staley last Friday. The top three finishers include Helena Hudson (3rd) in the 100 m hurdles, Kyleesha Weston (2nd) in the discus and Stephanie Atkinson (3rd) in the pole vault.

"Things are starting to come together but still need to improve in several areas. It was a nice surprise with Stephanie in the pole vault," head coach Tari Garner said.

On the boy's side, James Leach took second in the 800 meter run, Cain Winebrenner took fourth in the 1600 meter run, Adrien Esaw placed fourth in the 110 hurdles and second in the 3200 hurdles, and the 4x800 relay team of James Leach, Fernando Garcia, Nathan Koehler, and Ricardo Garcia continued to dominate with a first place finish. Nick Smith placed first in both the discus and the shot put.

Both teams will week compete in the Winnetonka Invitational on Thursday followed by the Kansas Relays in Lawrence over the weekend.

Park Hill and Park Hill South Boys Basketball
Park Hill’s Justin Leathers was named as a member of the Class Five Second Team All-State Missouri basketball team last week by Missouri sportswriters and broadcasters. He also participated in the annual Missouri/Kansas High School All-Star Challenge last weekend at the Independence Event Center. Leathers averaged 19 points a game this past season.

Park Hill South’s Anthony Perry was named the Class Five Coach of the Year in the state of Missouri. His Panther squad made an unlikely journey to the state’s Final Four and took home fourth place on their way to a 21-11 season and finishing sixth in the final rankings.

Park Hill tennis duo causing rackets

A little friendly competition never hurt anyone, right? For Sam Barth and Mike Merchant, Park Hill’s top tennis pair, this rings especially true. After completing an undefeated conference season last year, the two Trojans met each other in the singles final of the district tournament with Barth edging out teammate Merchant 6-2, 6-0 for first place. Nevertheless, having both in the title match helped Park Hill claim the district title and both went on to qualify for the state tournament.

Head coach Ryan Kalis is impressed with the amount of work his top six players, all seniors, have put in during the offseason saying that both Barth and Merchant have raised the level of their game. Also the top doubles combo for the Trojans right now, it has yet to be determined whether they will attempt to meet again as individual opponents in the district final or try to make their run through the state playoffs in doubles since they can only pursue one route.

While Barth and Merchant are constantly competing against each other, whether in match play or working to improve themselves in practice, they’re also friends off the court.

“They’re all pretty good friends which is pretty cool with the amount of seniors on the team,” assistant coach Rustin Reys said. “I think the experience of playing together for four years has been really helpful.”

After dominating their first two matches of the season against St. Joe Central and William Chrisman, Merchant, Barth, and Brian Hillix, who also adds to form a talented mix, will compete in a busy schedule of five matches this week. While it’s easy to potentially play down to poor competition, the Trojans have a challenging schedule and will focus on smart shot selections.

“The tough thing is to keep guys focused on the end of the season,” Reys said. “Where do we need to be? How can we play aggressive, but under control? Against good opponents, you don’t get away with the things you might otherwise.”

While the district tournament is still over a month away, it will take time to decide which direction the Trojans should take. Several factors come into play in figuring out the best approach for Barth and Merchant. Reys said they’ll look closely at what kind of wins they have and how the chemistry is, not only between the two, but also among a mix of other possible player pairings they will use. The top priority is a team district title and qualifying the team for the state tournament, which will heavily guide the decision. In the end, it will be interesting to see whether we’ll see them in May as a dynamic duo in doubles or as competing individuals in singles.

Spring Roundup: Mar. 29 - Apr. 2

Park Hill Baseball
The Trojans kicked off their season with two victories against Northland opponents Oak Park and North Kansas City last week. A 20-7 win on March 29th against Oak Park was led by catcher Austin Kepler’s 3-for-3 performance including a double and home run accounting for two runs and six RBI’s along with J.D. Weyer’s 4-for-4 outing with four runs scored and two RBI. Clay Smith gained the victory while Alex Otto closed out the game.

Park Hill added their offensive production on top of five scoreless innings from pitcher Marcus Cross against North Kansas City as they clinched a 9-2 victory on March 31st. Third Baseman Daniel Jessen was 2-for-3 with a double and triple as he scored two runs and drove in three more. Shortstop Chris Burr also added two hits, one of which was a double. Luke Burnidge pitched the final two innings, but an error committed in the 7th inning led to two unearned runs, spoiling the shut out. The Trojans, 2-0, will face Winnetonka and Park Hill South this week.

Park Hill Boys Golf
Travis Perry shot an 82 for the Trojans at Lee’s Summit and Lee’s Summit North’s Klint Andres Invitational last week at Fred Arbanas Golf Course. Park Hill finished with a team score of 347 placing them in the middle of the pack at 12th out of 21 teams. They’ll play a match at Liberty this week before hosting the Darren Floyd Memorial Tournament at Tiffany Greens on Thursday.

Park Hill Boys and Girls Track
A warm-up time trial and competition against Park Hill South on March 30th prepared both the Park Hill boys and girls track team for their first meet of the year on April 1st at Blue Springs South’s Rusty Hodge Invitational. On the boys side, the 4 x 800 team of James Leach, Fernando Garcia, Nathan Koehler, and Ricardo Garcia took first place with a time of 8:18.92. Nick Smith set a new school record in the shot put by posting a 55’ 2” throw. Smith also took fifth place in the discus while teammate Jack Pearl edged him out to take fourth. Burt Taylor took seventh in the finals of the 200 meter dash.

For the girls, Helena Hudson placed second in the 100 meter hurdles and fifth in the long jump. In sprints, Angie Reagan placed sixth and Anesia Jamerson placed seventh in the 100 meter dash while Kyleesha Weston was sixth in the 200 meter dash. Weston was also sixth in the discus throw. Jordan Cox placed sixth in the shot put.

Girls head coach Tari Garner expressed satisfaction with their early season performance and sees potential to build on going forward. “It was a good performance for early season, but lots of room for improvement. Our young athletes are strong and returning letter winners are performing well,” Garner said.

Both teams will host a home meet this week against Winnetonka, Staley, and North Kansas City before participating in the Jerry Crews Relays at Staley on Friday afternoon.

Park Hill Boys Tennis
Boys Tennis defeated St. Joe Central 9-0 last week. Led by seniors Sam Barth, Mike Merchant, and Brian Hillix, the Trojans jumped out to a 6-0 lead after all singles matches were played. They finished off the match with solid doubles play to complete the match.

“The guys played tough and worked through a little rust on their way to winning their first match of the season,” coach Ryan Kalis said.

They also went on to defeat William Chrisman in match play last Thursday improving their record to 2-0 on the year. This week they’ll face a heavy schedule featuring Winnetonka, Rockhurst, Liberty, and tournaments at St. Joe Central and Pembroke Hill.

Park Hill Wrestling
Senior Alan Waters has been named the All-Metro Wrestler of the Year. After going 47-0 and setting a Missouri state record of 42 falls in a season, he completed his career by clinching his fourth individual state championship in February. He was only the 18th wrestler in state history to accomplish four state titles in a career. Next fall, he’ll be attending and wrestling at the University of Missouri where he hopes to be an NCAA champion and future Olympian.