Fall Roundup: Oct. 3 - 8

Park Hill Softball
…despite advancing to the title game the previous two seasons as a low seed, Park Hill was unable to reach it for a third last week as the second seeded Trojans were upset in the semifinals by Staley by a score of 21-7. The loss was particularly disappointing for Park Hill due to the fact they handedly beat the Falcons in their two previous meetings this season.

“They’re peaking at the right time. They were really good today,” coach Stuart Sullinger said of Staley. “They scored in every inning and we just couldn’t gain any traction.”

Even though their season was cut shorter than they would have liked, Sullinger says it doesn’t take away from what the team accomplished during the season, their first conference title since 1994.

“As bad as this game was, they can’t let it take away from what they accomplished this season,” Sullinger said. “This was a special group and they’ve always taken care of each other.”

Park Hill South Softball
…started off district play last week with an 11-1 victory over William Chrisman to advance to the semifinals against Winnetonka. The offensive spark wouldn’t last though as it was the Griffins who came out swinging the bats. Winnetonka’s 14 runs gave them plenty of breathing room to advance to a district title game appearance, ending Park Hill South’s season with a 14-4 victory. South ends the season with a record of 15-14.

Park Hill Girls Golf
…posted their best round of the year at the absolute best time as the Trojans shot a 374 in the sectional tournament last week. Although fourth place was not high enough to qualify the team for state, three of the Trojans top five golfers qualified as individuals. Anna Kloeppel and Adrianna Elliott’s score of 86 and Bailey Wharlen’s 96 were good enough to advance them to the state tournament in Sedalia next week.

Park Hill South Girls Golf
…placed fifth at the sectional tournament last week with a team score of 404. The Panthers’ top golfer was Sydney Sanders, whose 99 left her just three shots short of qualifying for the state tournament next week. Lindsey Gile and Kelli Mulligan tied for 27th place with their scores of 101.

Park Hill Boys Cross Country
…Joey Walton continued his season as the Trojans’ top runner as he took first place in the Suburban Conference Red Division race last weekend with a time of 16:32. Also placing high were Nathan Huffer who finished in seventh place and Kainen Utt who finished in ninth. Park Hill finished third overall, just three points shy of the second place finisher, Lee’s Summit West. They’ll next compete in the district race over the weekend.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country
…Kim Rau brought home the Trojans top girls finish in last week’s conference meet with her eighth place finish. Emma Gaiser followed with her 16th place finish while Maddie Bischof, Mercedes Robinson, and Libby Lund came in consecutively at 19th, 20th, and 21st. The team finished third overall. The district race is next for the Park Hill Cross Country teams this weekend.

Park Hill South Boys Cross Country
…Tucker Melles continued his successful season with a first place conference finish last week, edging out Raytown South’s Daniel Worthington by a slim two seconds. Lendon Calhoun finished seventh along with Peter Thomas (11th), Mason Homoly (13th), Gus Whitman (16th), Barrett Hudson (22nd), and Westly King (23rd).

Park Hill South Girls Cross Country
…won their second straight conference championship last week by 17 team points in front of Winnetonka. Lizzy Jurries led the Panthers with her fourth place finish while Madeline Homoly came in sixth and Lauren Blair placed eighth. Other finishers included Erica Guzman (10th), Audrey Rothers (11th), Raven Jennings (13th), Rachel Evans (15th), and Kerry Maas (27th). They’ll compete next weekend in the district race.

Park Hill Volleyball
...saw two conference defeats last week against Lee's Summit West and Truman. Park Hill came out slow against Lee's Summit West and never recovered, falling by scores of 25-6, 25-11. They came up short in both sets against Truman losing by a score of 25-21 in both sets. The Trojans are now 9-13 on the season with an appearance slated at the Grain Valley tournament over the weekend.

Park Hill South Volleyball
...continued their tear through the regular season as they improved to 22-2 last week with wins against Winnetonka and Raytown. South handedly took the first match against Winnetonka Tuesday before dropping the second and coming back to seal the victory as they take two of three from the Griffins (25-14, 20-25, 25-17). The Panthers made quick work of Raytown, only giving up nine points in two matches (25-6, 25-3). They'll play Raytown South Thursday before heading off to their last weekend tournament of the year at Truman.

Park Hill Girls Tennis
…advanced past Kearney (5-0) and St. Joe Central (5-3) on their way a fifth consecutive district team title sweeping the team and individual portions of the tournament. Brooke Barnard won her second straight doubles title with Kaylin Lake by defeating St. Joe Central's doubles team in three sets 6-2, 0-6, 6-1. Suzanne Barth climbed through the singles bracket unscathed on the way to her individual district title. She defeated Alex Massey of Kearney in convincing fashion 6-0, 6-0. Barth, Barnard, and Lake all competed Tuesday in the sectional tournament for the right to advance to the state tournament. The team portion of sectionals will be held over the weekend at Macken Park.

Park Hill South Girls Tennis
…rolled through team district play last week, only losing one match, on their way to a district title. The top seeded Panthers defeated Fort Osage 5-0 before topping Liberty 5-1 in the championship round. The team will compete over the weekend in hopes of advancing to the team tournament next weekend in Springfield. Adele Royle and Marie Gehrke defeated Liberty's doubles pair by a score of 6-3, 6-3, advancing to individual sectionals at Rockhurst University which were still being played as of press time Tuesday evening. Emily Jackson and Addison Helling came in fourth and sixth place respectively in singles play. South ends their regular season with a 10-2 record.