Northland misses opportunity; PH candidates aligned in two camps

Yet another election date is before us on April 5th as school board, municipal, and Kansas City’s earning tax are on the ballot this coming Tuesday. But before broadly touching on those subjects, it’s important to note the significance of last Tuesday’s Kansas City mayor and council elections. Although the Northland missed its chance to elect the first mayor from north of the river, it also missed an opportunity to solidify itself as a stronger voting bloc in relation to its growing population. Only 20,000 of the 70,000 votes cast were from Northland voters, nearly 28% of the vote compared to the approximately 35% of Kansas City’s population living north of the river.

Voter turnout in the Northland is just one of the reasons Kansas City’s earnings tax will pass. Without a considerable turnout and vote margin in the Northland there is an unlikely chance the tax will be repealed. Voters who oppose the earnings tax are more likely to hold conservative positions on taxes and the Northland is generally considered more conservative leaning than other areas within in the city limits of Kansas City.

There are several issues on the ballot for the Park Hill School District. First is approval for the issuance of $49 million in bonds for the construction of a new elementary school, infrastructure projects, and security upgrades. District officials have gone to great lengths to explain the specifics of the bond in promoting its passage. The key selling point is it doesn’t require an increase in taxes because the district is able to pay for the bond payments under the current debt structure already in place. Funds made available through the bond issue would then be able to be used towards capital projects that without passage will need to be paid for through the general operating budget. Requiring these improvements to be paid out of the operating fund would leave the district more vulnerable to state funding cuts that have affected school districts in recent years with the most recent round of budget reductions totaling more than $2 million dollars. There is no organized opposition to the bond.

Also before Park Hill residents will be the task of electing four people to the Park Hill School Board, three for three-year terms and one to a fill a one-year unexpired term. While there are now 11 candidates for the four spots, two different slates of candidates seem to have formed. The first is made up of incumbent board members Fred Sanchez and Pauli Kendrick along with Boon Lee and Rick Turley. All are endorsed by the teachers of Park Hill’s chapter of the National Education Association. The second ticket consists of Timothy Thompson, Chris Seufert, and David Cox who seem to have joined their campaign efforts together. Also running is incumbent Janice Bolin, Michael Atchison, Josh Blackman, and Todd Burr.

The NEA slate for the most part resembles a politically diverse makeup of two Democrats, one Republican, and an Independent while the opposing ticket has is contrasting itself as strongly conservative. Unfortunately, the intentional nonpartisan nature of school board elections has been lost to some extent. This was reinforced earlier this week when the conservative slate announced an endorsement from the Club for Growth PAC, a group traditionally focused on electing like-minded members to Congress and whose education policy revolves around the issuance of school vouchers, essentially a free-market system of educational choice. When this happens, more of a politically charged debate takes place about finances, classroom experience, and the district’s future. Perspective, practical ideas, and electing quality board members take a backseat to ideology. Presenting candidates to voters in the form of a slate also leaves open the opportunity to elect less qualified board members instead of selecting an individual candidate on their own merit.

Park Hill’s board has had a mix of ideologies throughout the years, but has avoided the political battles we often see fought in other public arenas. While challengers to the current board should be welcomed, and even encouraged to ensure the best board member makeup as possible, be sure to note the number of state and national awards the district has been recognized with in regards to overall performance, financial management, student achievement, top administrators, and quality teachers in recent years before you’re led to believe arguments about needed changes and misplaced priorities.

Measuring stick: Park Hill, PH South skippers use season-opening tourney for evaluation

Seeing a season start off on a good note is something all coaches strive for, but after all the games are played at the end of the season it’s what you accomplish in those key conference and district games that count the most. Those sentiments were echoed last week from Park Hill and Park Hill South coaches Greg Reynolds and Josh Walker as neither team walked away from the KC Metro Leadoff Tournament satisfied with their first performances of the year.

“You can either go into this thinking you need to win all five games in order to get a good start to your season or you can approach it like spring training and get a better idea of what you have. We used more pitchers than we usually would,” Reynolds said. “I like it because you find out a lot about your team.”

Park Hill went 2-3 on the week with victories over Lee’s Summit North (13-6) and Ray-Pec (10-9). Other than Rockhurst, two of their three losses came in games where they carried a tie into the sixth inning, but gave up four runs each time to end the game. Those losses were at the hands of Staley (5-1) and Oak Park (13-9).

“I was pleased we were in every game except against Rockhurst,” Reynolds said. “With so many inexperienced guys on varsity, I think it woke some guys up.”

Reynolds says he was glad to see the ability to use the sacrifice bunt as well as they did, but would like to see improvement on their base running despite not having great speed. He expects Nathan Shores and Luke Burnidge to contribute on the pitching mound while three or four others attempt to player their way into the rotation. Park Hill also hopes a strong closer will emerge in the coming weeks that will be able to prevent those costly runs associated with fatigue in later innings.

Park Hill South didn’t see very much success either as they fell in four of their first five games last week in the lead off tournament. Their sole victory came with a 9-2 win over William Chrisman. The Panthers also saw two close games slip away in the late innings. In fact, they went to extra innings both times. The first was an eight-inning pitching duel against Blue Springs South 3-2 followed by an 11 inning game against Lee’s Summit West in which they eventually fell 10-6.

“We did not have a good week,” Walker said. “We made a lot of errors, but our pitching was pretty good. Nick Ferraro had the best week on the mound.”

While their defense was shaky, the first week did show signs of optimism in the Panthers’ hitting which was initially a concern. Scoring runs did not seem to present a problem for South as they averaged a strong seven runs a game over the course of their first five games.

With the season now well underway the 1-4 Panthers look to Staley, Fort Osage, and Raytown this week to establish more winning ways while the 2-3 Trojans Liberty, Oak Park, and St. Joe Central.

Spring Weekly Roundup: Mar. 21-26

Park Hill South Boys Golf
Started their season out in prime form as they took first place in the Truman/William Chrisman Invitational at Drumm Farm to kick off the season. Their 313 team score bested second place Liberty by four strokes. Senior Cameron Probst tied for first place individually while three other Panthers brought home medals. South also took first out of four teams including Oak Park, Ray-Pec, and North Kansas City in their first quad meet of the season. Sophomore Austin Dorrell placed first individually.

Park Hill Boys Golf
Took ninth at the Truman/William Chrisman Invitational with a score of team score of 362. Colby Buehler led the team with an 84. It was Buehler once again later in the week leading the Trojans as his 42 earned him a medal and put Park Hill ahead of Platte County and Mid-Buchanan with a team score of 187. They host Kearney this week at home.

Park Hill Girls Soccer
Did not get off to the start they would have liked as they went 0-3 in the first week of competition at the Lee's Summit Tournament. Sydney Hultz and Katie Hibbeler scored goals in a 4-2 loss to Ray-Pec in the opener while the Trojans were unable to score in their tournament finale against Lee's Summit North falling 5-0. They play at Lee's Summit West Thursday.

Park Hill South Girls Soccer
... had an impressive opening week as they went 4-0. The Panthers were not shy against Belton in their opener as they blasted the Pirates with a 10-0 victory. Two goals a piece were registered for Courtney Claassen, Katy Riojas, Ashton Anderson, and Abbey Johnson. Katy Lindsey and Alyssa Guzman added a pair for good measure as Alexis Mikulich recorded the shutout. South went on to beat Oak Park 2-1 before they traveled to Springfield for the weekend where they defeated Ozark 7-0. A 2-0 defeat of Springfield Kickapoo capped a success week as Guzman and Haley Shelton goals padded another shutout by Mikulich, her third of the week. They'll play in the Olathe Northwest Invitational this week.

Park Hill Boys Tennis
In what coach Tim Kalis described as one of his team's initial tests, the Park Hill boys tennis team passed it in convincing fashion with an 8-1 team victory. Although top singles player Mike Jones fell 10-3 in his first competition of 2011, him and Blake Barnard later came back to win 10-8 in the top doubles competition to led Park Hill to their first victory of the year. They play Park Hill South and Lee's Summit West this week.

Park Hill South Boys Tennis
Park Hill South also defeated Liberty this week with a 6-3 team victory to start off the season. Senior Griffin Smith won his top singles match 10-4 and teamed up with Zack Royle in doubles to defeat the top Liberty pair 10-5. The Panthers followed it up with a close 5-4 victory later in the week to improve to 2-0 on the year. They'll faceoff against Park Hill and Fort Osage next week along with compete in the Cameron Invitational.

Park Hill South baseball will lean on strong pitching

After achieving a 14-9 record last season, the Park Hill South Panthers lost a group of seniors known for their hitting. While the 2011 campaign will bring back a core of seniors to take their place, Josh Walker’s team will need to find a way to replace the hitting in order to be successful behind what is sure to be a talented pitching staff.

“I think our overall record will hinge on our hitting. With our pitching and defense we’ll be alright there,” Walker said. “We’ve got a core group back from last year. It’s not the same core, but they have the same values that are carried on and learned from their peers.”

The Panthers’ strength will be on the pitching mound with their senior left-handed ace Adam Schemenauer towering at 6’9”. With a letter of intent already submitted to Louisville, Schemenauer will be looking to lead Park Hill South to a strong season while also keeping one eye on being potentially drafted later this year.

“I think I’d do a disservice not to tout him. I’ve got a lot of scouts contacting me, I mean 6’9” lefties don’t grow on trees,” Walker said. “He’s got a lot to look forward to.”

Don’t expect a step down when Schemenauer is out of the rotation though, as first basemen John Christopher will also play a role for the Panthers on the mound.

“John is getting looks from colleges too, so it’s not like we’re losing a lot when we go from Adam to John,” Walker said. “We’ve got some other guys that can give us some big innings too.”

Walker says his team has focused heavily on scrimmaging in the early season. Getting innings under their belt early will allow them to work on the more particulars as the season progresses. While South is neither a veteran or young team, they could start as many as eight seniors on opening day, but along with their sophomore catcher will see a few underclassmen fighting for positions. Returning with varsity experience from last year include infielders Brice Turner, Kendrick White, and Kyle Wilenbrink which will give the Panthers a good foundation to build around.

“We’ve got some experience,” Walker said. “Looking pretty good defensively and pitching wise, just have to get them to swing the bats.”

South will start the season with five games in six days and their conference schedule will feature some long-distance trips with Belton, Raytown, and William Chrisman. The closest match-up might be their toughest as Winnetonka will bring back a quality squad this season.

From year to year, Walker believes there is one constant that he hopes shines through each season and that is having kids who are also good teammates.

“We carry over some strengths like communication and teamwork,” Walker said. “I think the kids get along well with each other which is something we try to build into the program.”

Park Hill baseball hopes to build on stellar 2010

After coming off the school’s best baseball season in history where their 17-6 record advanced them to the state quarterfinals for the first time, Park Hill returns just two starters and a handful of lettermen to the 2011 squad. While this year’s team will have a lot of new faces, the Trojans and coach Greg Reynolds know in order to build a program it requires successful seasons every year.

“Last year was great, but this year we have a chance to put our program where we want it to be,” Reynolds said. “Coming back after losing 11 seniors, playing well, putting together a record we want and getting back to the playoffs, now that would put our program where we want it.”

The three most experienced players returning include first baseman and slugger Adam Vanderpool, second baseman and pitcher Nathan Shores, and pitcher Luke Burnidge. These three will serve as the most experienced of their fellow teammates, but Reynolds believes there are several advantages to having a young team with positions up for grabs and players needing to prove themselves.

“One of their strengths is they are understanding things a little quicker than some of the more experienced teams we’ve had around,” Reynolds said. “We’ve got a lot of options for the things we consider holes right now and fighting for varsity jobs which will make us better, the competition will help.”

The firepower that came with last year’s team will be substituted for the Trojans’ focus on sound strategy and basics which thankfully cater to some of their emerging strong points.

“We’ve got some guys that can put the ball in play, but not with the power we did last year,” Reynolds said. “We’re going to have to play more small ball this year.”

There are a handful of players Reynolds will seek additional support from. Zach Thompson (SS), Zach Anderson(C), Jake Jones (3B), and Adam Fossett (2B/OF) will contribute to what will likely be a strong infield. While Jones and Fosdick will be interchangeable at the lead-off and middle lineup slots in the order at first, Reynolds says Thompson is baseball savvy and Anderson can play just about any position he’s needed at, creating a well-rounded group of athletes.

Reynolds sees two keys to this year’s squad. The first is the amount of walks his pitchers give up. Secondly, being able to bat around .300 as a team or slightly below means they won’t have to rely on the long-ball as in the past.

A young team will be paired with a difficult schedule featuring district or conference implications almost every time they step on the field. The untested Trojans hope to use it as a challenge.

“Every game will be very important. I don’t see a lot of games where it won’t mean very much,” Reynolds said. “Plus, with our kids wanting to prove themselves in a fighting battle for every game, I’m thinking we’ll take each pitch a little more seriously.”

Park Hill South girls soccer looks like a contender

Two losses to Truman, one of which was in the middle of a four game losing streak last year, made the difference between what was a second place conference finish for the Park Hill South girls soccer team and a conference title last year. Not only do the Panthers have their sights set on winning that conference title in 2011, but they’re also keeping an eye on Northland rival Liberty as they hope to have the opportunity to avenge a season ending loss in the district championship last year with a late season matchup and possibly again in the state playoffs. No, the Panthers are not looking too far ahead, but with eight all-conference selections returning from a 15-7 season last year, it’s easy to see how they have established high goals this season.

“We have a lot of talent returning,” Coach Joe Toigo said.

First teamers Haley Shelton, Katie Riojas, and Emmy Hanlon put three pillars to build around on each third of the field. Riojas and Hanlon accounted for over a third of the Panthers scoring last season with 29 goals. Second teamers Katy Lindsey, Courtney Claasen, and goalkeeper Alexis Mikulich surround them and combined for another 10 goals last season. Lindsey led the team with 15 assists in 2010 while Mikulich recorded six shutouts. Honorable mentions Allie Roy and Mackenzie Williams also return for the Panthers.

With such a strong core group returning, Toigo believes his team will compete with some of the top teams in the metro this season. Knowing your team has talent is one thing; taking advantage of it is another. Their coach emphasized improving in games throughout the season, even against lesser opponents, in order to be ready when it’s time to play for higher stakes.

“The adjustment that has to be made is how you play when you are not controlling the majority of the play, and territory,” Toigo said. “Most of our season we are not in the situation of defending for the majority of the game.”

Due to re-districting, Park Hill South will not face Liberty in district play, but they are scheduled to face-off in the last regular season game April 29th and if things work to their advantage a sectional state playoff game. The two Northland teams are familiar with each other as the players have been competing with and against each other since childhood. While the Panthers have some talented players likely to extend their careers into college, Toigo says Liberty has players who have already been offered roster spots at Division I programs. Differing from what they will likely see during most of the regular season, the Panthers could be more on the defensive in a handful of games against opponents like Liberty and they believe how they play then is what will define their season.

“If they score on us, we've got to be able to turn it around real quick and strike back,” Toigo said of answering opposing team goals.

The Panthers kick-off their season with a pair of games against Springfield area teams Kickapoo and Ozak followed by a challenging appearance in the Olathe Northwest Invitational the last week of March.

Park Hill soccer wants to rely on speed

With the loss of a handful of leading scorers from last year's 9-11-1 team to graduation, the Park Hill girls’ soccer team will attempt to surpass the .500 mark for the fourth straight year in hopes of becoming a recognized threat to the competition. Coach Manny Catano will look to counter the lost scoring with a more balanced attack this year.

“We’re want to be balanced offensively and defensively,” Catano said.

Returning to the fold are Sydney Hultz, Rayci Lee, Shelby Blanchard, Marisa Manzo, Catherine Netwal, and Holly Maier. Catano says he has seen good things so far and expects Lee and Hultz to step into scoring roles for the Trojans as they scored six and four goals respectively last year.

One benefit to being young last year is that many of those players return this season with some experience. But as the saying goes, Park Hill will be out with the old and in with the new in a sense this year. While the Trojans welcome back some key pieces from last year’s team, they will demand a high level of contributions from their incoming freshmen class, one Catano says is mature and talented. It also includes the program’s only goalkeeper, Claudia Fonseca , who will serve as Park Hill’s last line of defense against opposing offenses.

“I’m very impressed with how they’ve handled the first couple weeks of practice and what they’ll be able to add to our team,” Catano said. “They’ll be something to watch.”

Something Park Hill hopes they can really take advantage of teams at is their quickness and speed on the outside. Without control, one of Catano’s most important focuses, they won’t be able to take advantage of the potential scoring opportunities.

“Being composed and able to control the ball without losing possession is one of our highest priorities,” Catano said.

In a game where one burst of momentum could mean the difference in a low scoring game, keeping possession and using their speed are two areas Park Hill will need to excel in to achieve a satisfying record against what appears to be a very competitive schedule. Their season will kick-off with the Lee’s Summit Tournament and will follow with tough matchups against Lee’s Summit West twice, Liberty, Park Hill South, and Kearney.

Park Hill tennis faces challenge to stay on top

The last couple years of Park Hill boys tennis have been memorable ones with several state playoff runs and even a couple close contenders for individual state titles. Tim Kalis’s program has risen to the top of Kansas City’s best competition. In 2011, with the loss of their four top players to graduation, the Trojans will face the challenge of living up to and maintaining the expectations set by those that came before them.

Asked what he has coming back this season, Kalis will tell you ‘a lot of hard work’, a sign of the progressive steps Park Hill hopes to take throughout the season. Even with an inexperienced and, in some cases, young team nothing has changed in terms of the end game.

“It’s going to be tough, but the guys have the same goals as they always have,” Kalis said.

The only two returning starters are seniors Michael Jones and Austin Caldwell. Joining them will be Blake Barnhard, Christian Reinmiller, Chris To, Drew Nickel, Ian Pauley, Nick Merchant, and Max Schoettger.

“You’re going to see our lineup changing and guys moving around. The bottom four spots are going to switch up because of the strong competition we have,” Kalis said. “We have some guys that played four, five, and six last year that could play in those same slots this year.”

While Park Hill may not come into the season with an obvious or dominant number one in their rotation, the Trojans could gain more favorable matchups as they move down the lineup. Some teams see a great disparity between their top varsity player and the last member of the varsity roster, but the closer parity and competition between his players is something Kalis hopes can translate into a better overall team.

“We kind of have a different attitude this year because we want to be able to grind teams out in tournaments,” Kalis said.

Kalis admits that depth is going to be a weakness along with experience, but leadership is something the Trojans aren’t lacking at this early stage in the season.

“I’ve been real pleased with the leadership,” Kalis said. “I’m proud of our juniors and seniors, but also impressed with the maturity of our freshmen.”

Park Hill’s conference title will most likely need its heaviest defense against a talented and experienced Lee’s Summit West team that returns all but one member from last year’s squad. Kalis echoed assistant coach Rustin Reys’ emphasis of the matchup against Liberty and Park Hill South early in the season as an indicator of how the season will play out followed by Pembroke Hill later in April.

“Those are right off the bat,” Kalis said. “That’s going to tell us a lot of what we need to know.”

Park Hill South tennis team looks strong again

Park Hill South boys’ tennis is on their way to what they hope is the formation of a top-notch tennis program in the Kansas City area. The key word is ‘program’ which requires success year after year and by the looks of it the Panthers are moving forward to build off their 2010 finish. Returning from a state qualifying team after going 12-2 including an undefeated team conference championship is state qualifier Griffin Smith and Zack Royle. Smith was 13-1 individually last season and won three tournaments while Royle was an impressive 9-2.

In her second full season as head coach, Glynis Chambers says she thinks it is a benefit to have the same coaching staff back in order to have consistency and for the players to have a familiarity with their approach.

“We are looking forward to a strong season,” Chambers said. “Our goals are the complete the regular season undefeated, win conference, and qualify as a team for state.”

Even though the Panthers return their top two players, they graduated five seniors and filling those spots will be challenge in order to make sure they’re able to step up while keeping the team goals within reach. Freshman Justin Geary and older brother Bob Geary along with seniors Justin Dixon and Josh Lukens appear to be the four players who have separated themselves from the rest of the competition to fill the remaining varsity spots.

While the Panthers’ newcomers adjust to playing at the varsity level, Smith and Royle will contribute immediately as examples to their teammates. In addition to being two of the most skilled players in the Northland, they bring a competitive edge which won’t just give themselves an advantage, but give their teammates sturdy competition to play against in practice. There’s no surprise both want to win state and eventually play tennis in college.

“Both Griffin and Zack lead by examples. They are always positive, ready to work, and believe in the process we play by,” Chambers said. “Griffin wants to get every ball back every time and never give in. Zack wants to hit the ball as hard as he can, over and over again.”

With Smith and Royle’s performance on the court as the anchor, the play of those around them could make the difference for the Panthers as they head down the stretch. Park Hill South will start the season off with three road competitions against North Kansas City, Park Hill, and Fort Osage before competing in the Cameron Invitational on April 1.

Three seniors to lead Park Hill golf team

Trying to get your swing back after a long winter can be one of the most frustrating things for avid golfers, but along with hitting familiar with the links again the Park Hill boys golf team will also be developing what coach Zach Dorrell describes as an inexperienced and, in some places, young team. While the Trojans will be led at the top by three seniors in Travis Perry, Collin Pummill, and Austin Dorward, only Perry and Dorward have varsity experience leaving the rest of the 15 member squad in a situation to be exposed to their first serious competition.

“We don’t have a lot of kids that play just golf,” Dorrell said of his team. “It’s going to be a good year for them to get some experience, play against the competition, and get them to buy into taking the game more serious into the future.”

Junior Colby Bueller and senior Robert Lawrence will likely round out the last two spots on the varsity roster for the Trojans. Park Hill has their work cut out for them, but Dorrell believes his team should easily be able to collectively shoot under a 330 by the end of the year. Currently holding the top spot on the roster, Perry appears to be the most consistent early in the season.

“I think Travis has an opportunity,” Dorrell said of his chances of qualifying for sectionals. “He’s a real steady player and should be consistently around an 80 or 82; possibly drop down to 78 or 79 once in awhile.”

Although lacking in experience, the Trojans are a fairly grounded team and realize that could benefit them on the course.

“They’re all good kids, none of them are real flashy, but they have good attitudes and they understand they’re not going to the tour,” Dorrell said. “We have to understand what our capabilities are and play up to those.”

Finishing third in their conference last year, the Trojans believe they can match or beat that this year and talented Lee’s Summit West and St. Joe Central teams will likely be the contenders. The beginning of April is when Dorrell believes they’ll have a good idea of what they can achieve as a team when they host the Darren Floyd Memorial Tournament at Tiffany Greens.

“Our tournament is a good one, barring weather, and it can tell us where we’re at,” Dorrell said.

Park Hill will compete in two big tournaments prior to their own at Lee’s Summit and Ray-Pec. They open the season this week with duals against Truman and Platte County.