2011 was a busy year for county politics

It’s almost a new year, but before looking to 2012 (which we'll do next week) let’s take a broad look back at some of the local political events that shaped 2011. One thing I found amusing this past spring was the mention of it being an 'election year'. If 2011 was an election year, it’s disappointingly safe to say every year is; another blow to people who believe governance in action is the answer, not more campaigning.

After Republicans swept every locally elected position on the ballot in 2010, it was probably expected government on the county level would have a calm, low partisan tone in 2011 with Republicans having little to argue about amongst themselves. The County Commission with new Presiding Commissioner Jason Brown started off the year by cutting expenses in the county budget. It was a generally accepted action based on economic realities even fair-minded Democrats probably agreed with. The budget itself was heralded as a conservative achievement.

In March, the County Commission passed a successful building permit fee moratorium. Contemplating before eventually agreeing with it, I browsed through the County Permit Packet which explains how to get a building permit. Trying to figure out the requirements of obtaining a permit and its costs were almost more difficult than actually paying for the permit itself.

Also in March, Kansas City picked a new Mayor. Sly James edged Platte Countian Mike Burke with 53% of the vote. While there is certainly less controversy and negative attention surrounding the Mayor than before, judging his progress will need to wait until 2012. It’s fair to say the challenges to James, his colleagues, and Kansas City in general are significant.

The first week of April brought the renewal of the one percent Kansas City earnings tax to the ballot. As mentioned above, the city has many problems, one of which is managing its finances. I voiced my support for the tax to a democratic group, but sharing that it could and should be used more efficiently didn’t go over too well. The ‘Yes, but…’ is always a tougher sell than a straight ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. I maintain my position. The tax went on to be renewed by an overwhelming 78%.

May brought a conclusion to the Missouri state legislature’s 2011 regular session. Five months produced little results in passing a state economic or jobs bill, so after negotiating and reaching a tentative deal, they went back in September only to find they still couldn’t agree on a package and finally decided to call it quits for the year. It was an opportunity missed by the Republican-controlled legislature that could have produced dividends for the state’s economy.

In September the County Commission lowered the 2011 tax levy rate for the general fund from two cents to one cent of every $100 of assessed valuation. Property owners will see a slightly lower tax bill, but likely less flexibility and further cuts in the 2012 budget.

In November, as Clay and Jackson Counties went to vote on implementing a Kansas City Zoological Tax District, Platte did not. The County Commission refused to place the issue on the ballot citing the cost of an election, administrative costs of implementing the district, and other costs imposed on taxpayers. Instead they decided the battle was, and will be, best fought in court. One possible line of thought leading to the Commission’s decision was the lack of organized opposition the tax would have. Republican consultant Jeff Roe, who managed the campaigns of many current Republican office holders and organized opposition to the Parks Tax in 2009, consulted as a proponent of the tax ensuring what would have been easy passage. It didn’t happen in 2011, but this issue could still end up on a ballot in the future.

Also in November, it was decided County Assessor David Christian would not see any action taken against him on alleged ‘illegal bonuses’ given in his office in August. Following the interim period between the passing of former Assessor Lisa Pope and appointment of Christian when there was no Assessor’s salary being paid, funds budgeted under the Assessor’s salary were dispersed to employees who filled the void and took on the added workload experienced while the department was without a leader. Christian paid the County back out of his pocket to clear up any potential impropriety. As the only Democratic office holder running for election in 2012, it’s hard to think, both legally and politically, why no action resulted if in fact a law was broken after the rush to initially make the story public.

It's safe to say NBC Action News investigative reporter Russ Ptacek isn't a very popular guy at Parkville City Hall after several stories this year. The first stemmed from the complaint of an Alderman living outside city limits leading to his eventual resignation. During the initial investigation he ran across two more questionable situations. One involved reimbursements through the City Administrator's office. The other involved a complex and an initially unnoticed acquisition of property bordering the National Golf Course for a discounted price with funds donated by interests associated with the golf club and homeowners association. While the recent golf cart ordinance, also likely influenced by the National, provided a headline (and easy punch-line) to end the year, Parkville officials are hoping Ptacek stays in Kansas City proper next year.

School districts were pressed to meet budget restrictions for the second year in a row while Park Hill and West Platte began searches for new superintendents. Spending cuts has been the preferred action in managing lower revenue projections, but how long budgets can be balanced without levy increases is one of the tougher questions boards will face in 2012.

At the beginning of 2011, I wrote it would be a year of positioning. Aside from all the attention the national and statewide races will bring in 2012, much of that positioning will lead to some interesting local storylines for what will be a busy 2012.

Winter Round-up: Dec. 19 - 23

Park Hill Boys Basketball
...fell to 3-4 on the year with a conference loss to Ruskin last week 66-55. Connor Farmer led Park Hill with 21 points. Park Hill plays Liberty North in the opening round of the William Jewell Tournament Wednesday night. Win or lose they will play Thursday during the day.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
...improved to 7-2 last week with a victory against conference foe Fort Osage 65-52. The Panthers won every quarter and were led by Anthony Woods' 17 points along with Payton Meek's 16 points. Park Hill South began play in the William Jewell Tournament Tuesday night against Liberty in the Patterson Division. If they win they'll play at 9 p.m. Thursday. A loss will send them to the consolation bracket in a game to be played Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m.

Park Hill Girls Basketball
...fell to 3-4 overall with a loss to Blue Springs South 58-22 last week. Bethany Sullinger and K.K. Rettinger led the Trojans with 11 points a piece. They have the week off before beginning the core of their conference schedule.

Lady Panthers pull out close win over Trojans

Pre-Christmas high school basketball isn’t always pretty as teams try to find their early season identities, but streaks of potential greatness can be seen at intervals for what their best might look like come February. This was the case Monday night when the Park Hill South Lady Panthers took on the Park Hill Lady Trojans.

South jumped out to an 11-2 lead early in the first quarter before the Trojans narrowed the lead to 13-10 going into the second. Park Hill narrowed the margin further to 23-22 going into halftime. A key matchup was Park Hill’s Dominique Broadus challenge to South’s freshman center Madeline Homoly. Homoly held her own with 14 points. Both played a big role pulling in rebounds in a rough game under the basket.

“Dominique is good at posting up down low and turning towards the basket while Madeline is a little quicker and can step out of the post,” South coach Jenny Orlowski.

Park Hill would jump ahead in the third as Kyleesha Weston’s scoring put the Trojans ahead for the first time. Up 30-26 with three minutes to play in the third quarter, Weston was called for her fourth foul and showed a slightly emotional disapproval resulting in a technical and her fifth foul, ending her evening. She finished with 13 points. With their top scorer out, guard Bethany Sullinger filled Weston’s void with several key baskets. Sullinger led all scorers with 16 points. Park Hill led 36-28 going into the fourth quarter.

“She was stepping up for a teammate,” Park Hill coach Aaron Neeser said of Sullinger.

Both teams wavered in their free throw shooting down the stretch, but it was a pair of baskets caused by full-court pressure that turned the game in the Panthers’ favor. On the back of aggressive defense and well-balanced offense, South took the lead with three minutes to play in the game, never relinquishing it. A one basket game until the end, Park Hill’s three-point attempts fell short in the closing seconds giving Park Hill South a 52-49 victory. Samantha Roy also scored 14 points.

Both coaches admitted room for improvement and mirrored each others’ concerns.

“I’m glad we’re at 5-4, but we have a lot of things to work on during break,” Orlowski said.

“They (South) played well; I’m not going to take that away from them. We missed free throws, didn’t execute, and lost our composure. We’ve got a lot to work on,” Neeser said.

Winter Round-up: Dec. 12-17

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
… won all three of their games last week including two conference games behind strong defensive efforts as they knocked off William Chrisman, Belton, and Winnetonka. Anthony Woods led the Panthers with 17 points against William Chrisman in a 50-41 victory. Hudson Welty added 15 points and nine rebounds while Robert Lane grabbed 12 rebounds. A 21-4 run in the second quarter against Belton fueled by Woods and Payton Meek pushed them towards a 58-44 win. Woods led all scorers with 21 points while Welty and Lane added 10 points apiece. Park Hill South pulled out a close 40-35 win over Winnetonka to close the week. Woods led again with 13 points. The Panthers, now 6-2, have this week off while preparing for the William Jewell Invitational after Christmas. Starting the season off with little varsity experience, the tournament will give the Panthers several strong opponents from which they’ll be able to gauge their early season success against.

Park Hill Boys Basketball
…continued a tough stretch of games last week as they fell in their only game to Kearney 60-33 bringing their record to 3-3 on the year. Despite getting down early, Park Hill battled back from a 30-11 deficit to narrow the margin to within 12 points late in the third quarter, but it would not be enough. The Trojans are facing several obstacles in the early season with three key players out due to injuries, Marcus Cross, John Harris, and Brent Collins. After their game Tuesday against Ruskin, Park Hill gets a week off to get healthy and rest before competing in the William Jewell Invitational the last week of December.

“We have three guys who should return at least by Jewell. We have some work to do offensively. We left a lot of opportunities on the floor, and you can't do that against good teams,” Coach David Garrison said after last Friday’s game.

Park Hill Wrestling
….placed 12th with 302.5 team points in the KC Classic held at Hale Arena over the weekend. Ke-Shawn Hayes placed third, followed by Nolan Smith’s fifth place finish, Colston DiBlasi sixth, and John Erneste seventh.

The Trojans come out of a tough three week span in which they wrestling some of the top competition in the region, but their strong early season schedule is intentional and meant to challenge them for when they need it most come February.

“Our first three weeks can be summed up with ‘That which does not kill you will make you stronger’. We were fortunate to wrestle in the Park Hill Duals, the Iron Man in Cleveland and the Midwest USA-Dollamur (KC Classic) three straight weeks,” Coach Bill Erneste said. “Our guys made it out of that healthy and it definitely gave us target areas to work on over Christmas.”

Park Hill gets a break from competition for the next week while they eye the start of the conference schedule with St. Joe Central on January 3rd.

Park Hill South Wrestling
…lost their dual against Kearney last week 43-18. Five wrestlers came away with victories in their matches including Bradley Wright at 106, Alex Weatherly at 160, Nick Gillespie at 195, and Tyler Blythe at 220. George Barth recorded the Panthers’ only pin with his win at 132. They are off over the holidays as they prepare for their conference schedule to begin in January with Fort Osage on January 3rd.

They placed third in the Lee's Summit Holiday Invitational over the weekend with 237.5 team points. Only half a point separated them from Columbia Rockbridge's 238 points. Brett Rounkles finished second at 120, George Barth took third at 126, Adam Weatherly placed fifth at 145, Chase Gray took second at 182, and Tyler Blyth placed fifth.

Park Hill South Girls Basketball
… after a 60-29 victory over Raytown South to start the week, the Panthers split their remaining two games with a 39-33 win over Grandview and a 54-46 loss to William Chrisman. Mackenzie Stout led in scoring with 12 points against Grandview while Madeline Homoly pulled in seven rebounds to continue leading the Panthers in rebounding with 5.5 per game. Homoly led Park Hill South in scoring with 11 points against Chrisman.

“As a young team, our Raytown South and William Chrisman games were both positive learning experiences for us. In both games, we played well and executed both offensively and defensively. Despite an 8 point loss to Chrisman, I was proud of the way our girls played. They are maturing on the court and still learning how to play together,” Coach Jenny Orlowski said.

Park Hill Girls Basketball
…after losing early in the week to North Kansas City 38-31, the Lady Trojans came back strong to beat Belton 72-19. Kyleesha Weston recorded a triple-double with 14 points, 10 assists, and 12 steals. Dominique Broadus added 10 points while Shelby Blanchard and Amanda Lawrence each contributed nine points.

Winter Round-up: Dec. 5-12

Park Hill Girls Basketball
…improved their record to 3-2 overall last week with a convincing 61-20 win over Platte County. Kyleesha Weston led in scoring with 26 points. Weston, who has gotten off to a hot start to her senior campaign, is scoring a good chunk of her points on the defensive side of the ball from causing turnovers. They lost a close matchup to North Kansas City 38-31 to start this week. Coach Aaron Neeser says he is happy with his team’s performance so far and is seeing contributions from the entire team. The Lady Trojans face Belton, Park Hill South, and Blue Springs South in the next week before Christmas Break.

Park Hill Boys Basketball
…Lost to Blue Springs South 79-59 in the opening round of the Blue Springs/Blue Springs South McDonald’s Tournament despite spread out scoring (Santo Smiroldo had 11 points, Zach Anderson 10, Keaton Anchors 9, Darin Jones 9, Garrett Wooldridge 9). They came back to defeat Lincoln Prep with a close 56-52 win. Connor Farmer led the Trojans with 14 points supported by Smiroldo’s 11 points and Wooldridge’s 10 points. Park Hill fell to Park Hill South in the fifth place game 62-59 despite staging a fourth quarter comeback. Connor Farmer led all players with 22 points. Wooldridge added a strong 20 points as well. The Trojans, now 3-2 and hoping for injured players Marcus Cross and John Harris to return, will face Kearney and Ruskin before playing in the William Jewell Tournament over the holidays.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
.. Lost their opening round game in the Blue Springs/Blue Springs South McDonald’s Tournament to Rockhurst by a score of 61-31 after falling behind 21-4 in the first quarter. Anthony Woods led the Panthers in scoring with 11 points. They came back later in the week to beat Staley 43-31. Robert Lane busted out down low with 19 points in that game. In the fifth place game, four players scored in double figures as the Panthers went on to beat Park Hill 62-59. Hudson Welty led with 15 points followed by Robert Lane’s 14 points, Payton Meek’s 13 points, and Anthony Woods’s 12 points. Now 3-2, they’ll face Winnetonka this week before going onto the William Jewell Invitational between Christmas and New Year’s.

Park Hill South Girls Basketball
… have gone 2-1 over the last week with a loss to North Kansas City before bouncing back with impressive wins over Winnetonka and Raytown South. Coach Jenny Orlowski says their game against North Kansas City was closer than the score indicated in their 68-55 loss early last week. While the Panthers were down throughout the game, they battled back to within a few baskets, but weren’t able to get over the hump. Jessica Lee led in scoring with 17 points along with support from Madeline Homoly’s 12 points.

Despite not coming out very sharp against Winnetonka, Park Hill South eventually pulled away with a 63-27 victory after regrouping at halftime. Mackenzie Stout led with 12 points while Samantha Roy added 10. One area of concern for the Lady Panthers, possibly indicating their youth, was the 37 turnovers they accumulated in the game.

In a 60-28 rout Monday night, the Panthers displayed a full team effort starting off the game on fire from the outside before eventually balanced out the offense overall. Lee led all scorers with 12 points from the post. Stout and Anna Courtney added 10 and nine points respectively from outside.

“It was probably our best game so far in terms of execution. I talked to the team before the game and there were some goals we wanted to accomplish, we did those for the most part,” Orlowski said. “We’re better at shooting than we were last year so we’ll be focusing on that in practice, but I like to see a touch down low every three to four passes.”

Now at 3-3, the Panthers next look to games against Grandview and conference opponent William Chrisman this week, where they hope to build on their early

“Every conference win is big, we can’t take anyone too lightly,” Orlowski said.

After six games, Roy leads the team in scoring with an average of 10 points a game. Several Panthers are averaging near four rebounds a game including Roy, Homoly, Lee, and Morgan Keesee.

Park Hill Wrestling

…placed 42nd in the Walsh Jesuit Ironman Tournament (Cleveland, Ohio) with a collective 25 team points. Ke-Shawn Hayes, John Erneste, and Nolan Smith had quality tournament performances by going 3-2 on the weekend.

Park Hill South Wrestling

… won one of two in their tri-dual against Platte County and Ray-Pec last week. The Panthers defeated Ray-Pec 47-27 led with an impressive seven pins by Alex Fortuna, George Barth, Justin Haughenberry, Adam Weatherly, Alex Weatherly, Chase Gray, and Nick Gillespie. They fell in a close matchup with Platte County 36-30 despite three pins from Fortuna, Haughenberry, and Adam Weatherly.

Winter Round-up: Nov. 28 - Dec. 2

Park Hill South Girls Basketball
The Lady Panthers kicked off their season with a 47-41 win over Oak Park in the Winnetonka Invitational last week. Park Hill South fell in their following two games with a 55-38 loss to Kearney and then a 45-31 loss to Smithville. They come into this week with a 1-2 record and look to Winnetonka on Thursday.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
…Started off the season with a close loss to North Kansas City 55-54. Hudson Welty led Park Hill South with 20 points while Anthony Woods scored 15 points. The Panthers came back to close the week with a victory against William Chrisman 56-44. Woods led in scoring with 17 points while Robert Lane added 13 points. They play in the McDonald’s Invite at Blue Springs next week.

Park Hill Girls Basketball
….Came out of the Belton Tournament with a 2-1 record after rattling off an impressive 62-30 win over Grandview and a 53-45 victory over Harrisonville. They fell in the title game to St. Joe Central 49-40. Kyleesha Weston averaged 17.3 points per game for the tournament while Shelby Blanchard added an average of 8.3 points. They’ll take on North Kansas City and Belton next week.

Park Hill Boys Basketball
…Opened the season with a 2-0 record as they ran over Staley by a score of 51-26. Smiroldo led the Trojans with 12 points. They followed that performance by pulling out a close 35-32 win over Oak Park. Marcus Cross led the team in scoring with 11 points.

Park Hill & Park Hill South Wrestling
It came down to the final match, but in the end it was Park Hill South pulling out a one point semi-final round victory over the hosting Park Hill Trojans by a score of 36-35 to advance to the first place dual against Kearney. Kearney would eventually take the Park Hill Invitational title leaving Park Hill South with a second place finish and Park Hill a third place finish in the Black Division. Park Hill South went 3-2 as a team for the tournament while Park Hill went 4-1. Winnetonka took the title in the Red Division. Park Hill travels to the Walsh Jesuit Tournament this weekend. Park Hill South will participate in the Lee’s Summit North Tournament.

Park Hill had several wrestlers do expectionally well in the tournament by going 5-0. They included Ke-Shawn Hayes (106), John Erneste (113), Colston DiBlasi (132),  and Nolan Smith (285).

Park Hill South's Nick Gillespie and Alex Weatherly went undefeated with 4-0 records in the tournament. Two key matches for South against Park Hill both included comebacks when George Barth and Kendric Cook sparked the Panther rally late in the competition.

Park Hill gridiron standout selected as U.S Army All-American

After a standout season, Park Hill High School defensive lineman Ondre Pipkins was named to the U.S. Army All-American team last Friday in a ceremony held at Park Hill High School.

Pipkins will play in the Army All-American All-Star game Jan. 7, 2012 in San Antonio, Texas featuring the nation’s top 90 high school seniors as the East takes on the West. Accompanying Pipkins, will be his high school head coach Greg Reynolds and some members of his staff. The U.S. Army All-American game has in recent years featured the likes of NFL players such as Adrian Peterson, Mark Sanchez, and Tim Tebow.

Pipkins was also named first team all-state last week and will attend and play at the University of Michigan next year.

PH South boys basketball: new coach, new roster

Park Hill South is a basketball program that prides itself on defense. It’s been defense which has been such a big part of netting them two district titles in as many years coming into the 2011-2012 season. It will be much the same this year as athletic director John Sedler takes over the head coaching duties of a team that doesn’t return a single letterman from last season and will be starting with an almost entirely new slate of varsity players.

“The mainstay of our program has always been our defense and we’re trying to keep it that way,” Sedler said. “We had a couple sophomores last year that played a couple minutes here and there, but we have less than 40 points scored in a varsity game coming back. Our seniors have just as many varsity minutes as the freshmen, so we’re trying to get them to mesh into what’s best for the team.”

What the Panthers lack in experience, they hope to make up for with athletic ability and that will start at the point guard spot with sophomore Anthony Woods, who gained some experience at the varsity level at the beginning of last season and will provide South with a basketball savvy leader.

“At the high school level, any team that doesn’t have a good point guard is going to struggle because you can’t get from point A to point B. At Park Hill South we’ve been fortunate to have those in the past, now we have Anthony Woods and I feel really strong about his abilities,” Sedler said.

Joining him in the backcourt will be Payton Meek, Spenser Braymer, and Mikel Blake. With a history of tall, natural post players, the Panthers will see a slight change in that this season with a pair of 6’4” power forwards including Hudson Welty and Robert Lane. Senior Dylan Huber and freshman Allan Hyatt will also be in the rotation down low.

“Our 6’4” kids have become our post players, which is something different, we’re not that big, but they’ve given us some good options inside. Those four guys will make the nucleus of our interior and they’ve gotten better and better,” Sedler said. “I’d say most of our posts are what you would call a hybrid, they can step out.”

Having been an athletic director and coach in the district for more than 20 years, Sedler knows what it takes for good teams to win and he boils basketball success down to a basic philosophy.

“Generally good teams rely on the intellect of their perimeter players and effort of their posts,” Sedler said.

The Panthers will for the most part be growing up on the basketball court this winter and with early games against William Chrisman and Rockhurst, they’ll find out fast how steep that learning curve will be. It won’t be so much about their opponent as themselves though.

“In our league, every game is going to be a dog fight. But it’s more a matter of us than our opponents, how we play,” Sedler said. “We’re not sure what the strength is. The potential is there to be competitive.”

Park Hill boys will reload with seniors

With the loss of eight seniors from a 16-11 team record and district runner-up finish in 2010-2011, returning only one starter would lead most people to believe the Park Hill Trojans should be going through more of a rebuilding season than one in which they would reload. Coach David Garrison, now in his fifth season, says it is very much the opposite as his team has another seven seniors to step up to the varsity level in 2011-2012.

Coming back as their most battle-tested player and a strong presence down low for the Trojans is senior Connor Farmer who stepped in as a starter mid-way through the season last year as a physical rebounder and post scorer.

“He had a good year for us last year. He’s definitely the one who’s been in the fire. He’s taken on a leadership role in wanting to step up and be a playmaker. At the same time, as a post player, there’s going to be times when two or three guys are sagging down on you and you have to find your teammates by being a good passer, kicking it out to an open guy and having confidence in them,” Garrison said.

Surrounding Farmer is what can be considered a mature team in terms of seniority, but somewhat inexperienced in regards to varsity playing time. This can be seen as a positive for the Trojans compared to a younger squad with the same description.

“We’re inexperienced, but I think we’re inexperienced with a lot of kids in their fourth year so they know what to expect,” Garrison said. “They are a very unselfish group so far, doing their best to help each other out. We don’t have a lot of experience, so they’re asking questions and are responsive to the coaching they’ve received.”

Another benefit of having a large senior class is the depth it comes with. Seniors Brent Collins and Marcus Cross will join Farmer down low while you could see a number of different faces in the backcourt including seniors Garrett Wooldridge, Zach Anderson, Santos Smiroldo, and John Harris. Others contributing to the rotation include juniors Darin Jones and Keaton Anchors along with sophomore Ricky Trammel.

“With our three posts starting, we’ve working a little on our four guard looks in case they get in foul trouble or face injuries. It gives everyone a little more flexibility to go out there and play, not worry about where they’re supposed to be and just react to the defense. We’ve got a couple different styles we can do that we feel good about,” Garrison said.

With two district competitors in Staley and Oak Park on the first week’s schedule followed by the Blue Springs Tournament, Park Hill will be facing top competition right out of the gate to begin the season.

“After those two weeks, we’ll know where we’re at and what we need to concentrate on, but we’ve got to play our best in February when it counts,” Garrison said. “We don’t ever put a number on where we need to be, we just want to make the best out of every day. If we do that our record and performance will reflect that.”

Park Hill girls will lean on strong group of seniors

By most accounts, Aaron Neeser’s first year as head coach of the Park Hill girls basketball program was going to be rough. With a young team though, he was able to make more progress in the 2010-11 than expected and led the Lady Trojans to an 11-16 season. Not what he or his players would describe as successful, but one they could use as motivation coming into this 2011-12 campaign to build towards winning basketball.

“A lot of people put the over-under at single-digits last year, but we hit 11 wins. Was it acceptable for me? No, but it was an improvement. So are the expectations high this year? Absolutely,” Neeser said. “There is a lot of enthusiasm.”

With the return of several key parts to last year’s team, Park Hill will be returning a cohesive group of six seniors including leading point scorer and future Colorado Buffalo Kyleesha Weston, guards Shelby Blanchard and Beth Sullinger, and forwards KK Rettinger, Sarah Sumpter, and Amanda Lawrence. In the mix with this groups of seniors will be returning starter and 6’ 0” center Dominique Broadus along with Davon Thomas and Regina Bolin.

“I would say our strength is chemistry and people knowing their roles,” Neeser said.

Park Hill hopes their experienced group will come with a more aggressive nature resulting in a faster playing pace and more scoring opportunities.

“We’re going to try to push the ball because we have some depth and try to get a lot of shots up. We’re going to press when we can in our man defense, but we’ve also got a couple wrinkles we can use,” Neeser said.

Overall, Neeser and the Lady Trojans are looking forward to the season ahead and will look to two key early season matchups against North Kansas City and Park Hill South to gauge how far they’ve come since last season and in the opening weeks of practice.

“I’m excited to see all the work we put in the offseason, but we know we’re not a finished product and will improve throughout the year,” Neeser said.

PH South backcourt will power Panthers

Park Hill South’s 11-15 record in the 2010-11 season was a big improvement from their single digit win season the previous year, but this year is what head coach Jenny Orlowski is branding as a ‘fresh start’ yielding to the theme of the Panthers’ season: New year, new team, new attitude.

Confidence is high in the Panthers backcourt as they return their two starting guards from last year in sophomore Samantha Roy and junior Courtney Claassen as they will be a strong part of what Park Hill South does in the 2011-12 season. According to their coach, both have played well in practice leading up to the season opener with Roy improving her shot over the summer and Claasen building on her previous two varsity seasons.

A defensively solid Brandi Weymuth will serve as the Panthers only senior on a generally young team overall with post player and junior Jessica Lee joining Weymuth and Claasen as the only three upperclassmen on the squad.

“We’re young, so we have that fresh start kind of attitude,” Orlowski said.

Five of the team’s top eight will come from the sophomore and freshman ranks. Roy is joined by sophomore Morgan Keesee and freshmen Mackenzie Stout, Anna Courtney, and Madeline Homoly. While the freshmen will likely work their way more into the complete rotation as the season goes along, they’re very seasoned compared to most first year varsity players with the competitive AAU basketball experience they bring to the table. Still, how that past play translates into varsity results is yet to be seen.

“We don’t know where we’re going to be until those first couple games, right now we’re just looking to get experience early. We could have three or four players on the floor at any given time that haven’t played varsity before,” Orlowski said.

While depth and experience may not be a bedrock for Park Hill South, quickness and speed will be. Orlowski says her team has shown a desire to run in preseason workouts, something that plays well to their lack of a tall post presence.

“Quickness is definitely something we’ll have this year that we haven’t had in recent years,” Orlowski said. “We’re going to get up and down the floor a lot faster this year, our posts are generally shorter, but they’re quick defensively.”

Fresh starts come with their share of trial runs, but the Panthers hope it’s the new attitude along with their fast paced style of play that give them a chance this season at taking a step up from last year’s improvement.

“We’re really young and we’ll probably make some mistakes right out of the shoot, but I think we have potential on any given night,” Orlowski said.

PH South grapplers not content with league title

Park Hill South Wrestling had a breakout year in 2010-2011 by going 16-3 and winning the school’s first conference wrestling championship with a 6-0 record, all while fighting through various injuries. They then expanded on it more by taking second place in districts and advancing six wrestlers to the state tournament. The goal for the Panthers as they come into the 2011-2012 is taking the next step by building on last year’s success by bringing home some state medals.

“Last year’s team did a great job achieving their goals. Many of our wrestlers were good enough to go to state last year,” Park Hill South coach Dan Dunkin said. “I think we need to be a little greedier when we get there. Just going to state is not enough. I want our South boys to bring back medals.”

A lot of what Park Hill South wants to accomplish will add higher focus to the two end of the year events: districts and state. The days of just getting to state being considered a worthy goal are of the past, replaced with the intent to do well once they get there and regularly aimed for by the top programs in the state.

“As a coach, we’re still going to try to win conference, but the main focus around our season isn’t going to be about conference, that’s just going to be something we do,” Dunkin said. “Most of our focus is going to be towards end of the year competition, whether it is districts or state. Most of the kids we return have won a match down at state. We did a lot of good things last year, I think we were happy to get to state. I’m going to make sure that we’re not happy to just get there.”

The Panthers return five state qualifiers from last year’s team including senior captains Brett Rounkles and Nick Gillespie who provide two different leadership styles according to their coach that benefit the rest of the team depending on how they’re best motivated.

“Brett is a leader in the room, he lets them know what they should do so the coaches don’t have to,” Dunkin said. “Nick’s a little livelier, charges the guys up more, Brett is more of a ‘get down to business-type guy. So they complement each other well.”

State qualifiers Junior Chase Gray, an experienced two-time captain, Alex Fortuna, and Jimmy Carpenter also return as strong competitors. Also returning are Justin Haughenberry, Adam Weatherly, and Alex Weatherly who were strong pieces to the Panther team last year before their seasons came to an early end.

“All three of their seasons ended with an injury. I’m not sure I would call these three a surprise, because they’re as tough as anyone,” Dunkin said. “The expectation for these three is as high as anybody else on the team. If they can stay healthy, they will be good.

George Barth, Alex Carpenter, Kendric Cook, Jake Crawford, Tyler Blyth, Daniel Long, Jon Holden, and Ron Anderson will also contribute towards Park Hill South’s success this season.

Their first big test will come in the Lee’s Summit Holiday Tournament over winter break, but they’ll also see a more competitive conference schedule as all schools look to be bringing back more experienced teams. All challenges Park Hill South will have to battle through in order to pick up where they left last year at the state tournament come this February.

Trojans squad will include five returning state qualifiers

Last year the Park Hill wrestling program opened up their season with several performances they weren’t satisfied with, but after recovering from some injuries and taking the right kind of lessons from those early obstacles, the Trojans went on to take first place in the district tournament, advancing nine wrestlers to the state tournament where they went on to take third place overall. For the 2011-2012 season, if it takes that kind of rough start to get where the Trojans did last year or better, they’re willing to roll with the punches.

“I considered it one of our better tournaments (state),” Park Hill coach Bill Erneste said. “I’d much rather struggle in the beginning than the end, the team peaked at the right time and I think we’re in similar territory again this year.”

Park Hill welcomes back state qualifiers Nolan Smith, Connor Shene, Russ Coleman, Paxton DiBlasi, and John Erneste this season along with junior Nick Harper who was one match away from a state appearance. Joining them will be Isaih Williams and Malik Coulding, two athletes who have moved up through the program and now hope to have their chance. The Trojans will feature three talented freshmen in the lower weight classes with Colston DiBlasi, Ke-Shawn Hayes, and Hunter Roberts. With the introduction of new expanded weight classes this year, many of the weights wrestlers will settle into have yet to be determined.

The Trojans will be tested early with three tough tournaments on their schedule including their own Park Hill Duals, the Walsh Jesuit Tournament, and the Kansas City Wrestling Classic. All three will give the Trojans steep competitive, but Erneste believes it gives them an advantage at the end of the season.

“The first three weeks are pretty brutal. I want to make sure our guns get tested before we get to state, so you have to make sure they’re there first,” Erneste said. “These national tournaments get them ready for state. I want the state tournament to feel to our guys as if it wasn’t the toughest tournament they wrestled in all year.”

Every Park Hill wrestler’s benchmark is a state championship and with their only state champ from last year Bricker Dixon graduating, there are several determined to step up to fulfill goals left unaccomplished last year. Smith finished fifth last year at state in the heavyweight division, Shene won a big match early at state but did not place, Erneste is looking to improve on his third place finish, and Coleman took second after battling through a knee injury before falling in the title match for the second year in a row.

“He (Coleman) hasn’t won it yet, that’s the number one thing for him, he wants his name on the wall, he’s not going to stop working, and not going to lose track of his goal,” Erneste said.

While the Trojans will be tested early against some of the region’s best, they know when it comes down to it the sport is often as much a battle waged against one’s self as it is their opponent.

“You’re going to see a lot of heart, that’s going to be the key to our season. I would say we are cautiously patient, but we think there is a bright light at the end,” Erneste said. “If they’re training the hardest they can and come into February with confidence, usually good things happen.”

PHS swimmers chasing 10th straight conference title

Relying on strong relay teams on their way to a tenth place finish at the state swim meet last season, the Park Hill South girls swim team looks to this year with many of the same swimmers returning, having only lost two seniors to graduation.

Returning are three strong seniors with Miranda Henderson, Rachael Norfleet, and Mariah Bryant along with sophomores Shannon Brouk and Olivia McLain, the five of which will form the main components of what is shaping up to be another strong group of relay competitors. Adding to the mix will be freshman Helen Yeader, a strong swimmer in the breast stroke and butterfly.

Coach Steve Busenhart hopes some of the improvements his swimmers make in individual events will propel them to a higher finish at state, where before they had finished just outside the top eight which rewards teams with higher point totals. Last year’s meet saw Rachael Norfleet finish ninth and Olivia McLain finish 14th in the 100 meter breast stroke along with Mariah Bryant’s 16th place finish in the 50 yard freestyle. Stronger performances in those events will likely have the added benefit of stronger relays, something Busenhart says is a result of flexibility and depth.

“We have a very strong team because we have depth that is consistent so we can move swimmers around and that benefits us in other competitions,” Busenhart said.

The Panthers travel to St. Louis to participate in the Flyer Invitational in December, an event they placed first in last year, their first appearance in the event.

“Since that is a period where we are training the hardest, we probably won’t hit our main stride until the first part of the new year,” Busenhart said.

While a positive early season result will be welcoming, Park Hill South will only use it as an early test on their way towards another commonplace conference championship and opportunity for a top five finish at state.

Young Trojan swimmers aim to get experience

The Park Hill girls swim team comes into the 2011-2012 season with a mostly untested group of swimmers after a 24th place finish at the state tournament in 2010-2011. Leading them are five seniors, headlined by two-time all-state swimmer Brynn Guardado who finished fifth in the 500 freestyle and sixth in the 200 freestyle at state last year. Coach Karl Haley believes it will be another great season for Guardado and hopes it includes putting her name at the top of the wall lining the hall of swimming accomplishments at the Park Hill District Aquatic Center.

“She is looking to continue that along with setting a few new school records along the way,” Haley said.

Guardado will be joined by seniors Eleanor Parrott, Jordan Rowlett, Amanda Panich, and Lindsey Horstman. Junior Abigail Hill and sophomore Jasmine Jones also return after state qualifying seasons last year. Haley says the main thing for the Trojans this season is getting some of the more inexperienced swimmers exposed to the level of swimming they’ll face on the high school level.

“We have a fairly young team without a lot of experience in competition. So the key is getting them on board and teaching them how to compete,” Haley said.

Even with a young team, Park Hill still has their sights set on a conference title which they fell short of last year with a second place finish. In their way is a talented Lee’s Summit West program who hasn’t lost a suburban conference championship meet since the school opened in 2004.

“We would like to compete for a team conference championship. Lee’s Summit West has never lost a girls conference meet. They graduated a lot of talent last year, but they would still be the front runner,” Haley said.

Other swimmers looking to contribute this year include juniors Sarah Thompson and Madeline Hemphill along with sophomores Lynn Huynh, Braidey Howe, and Shannon Barry.