Park Hill girls welcome return of senior leader

When senior guard Kyleesha Weston suffered a concussion towards the end of December, the Park Hill Lady Trojans lost their leading scorer and top defender. In a three game stretch leading up to Monday night’s game against St. Joe Central, Weston was forced to watch the team she considered her own go 1-2 including a 51-22 thumping from Truman in a conference game last week.

Stepping up for Park Hill to fill the void was senior guard Bethany Sullinger who led the team in scoring with 11 points per game during the three game stretch including a 17 point game against Liberty North in a 47-38 victory. K.K. Rettinger also stepped up contributing an average of eight points a game.

While Coach Aaron Neeser says Weston’s absence did not change the overall team philosophy and how they approach the game, he realizes the difficulties they encounter without her on the court because of her ability to not only score, but draw multiple defenders and find open teammates who can.

“I don’t think our philosophy changed,” Neeser said. “She just opens the floor up for us. She’s a player that makes everyone around us better. We just had to work a little harder to score.”

Probably most frustrated about the concussion was Weston herself, who couldn’t wait to get back on the floor Monday night with her teammates.

“When you sit there at practice on the sidelines, you want everything for your team, but you want most to get back into the game,” Weston said.

She came back in a big way, leading both teams in scoring with 22 points. Despite being down throughout the game and never holding a lead, the Trojans gave St. Joe Central a run for their money battling back from nine points down to narrow the lead to two with just seconds remaining. Unable to convert a put-back on a missed free throw left Park Hill on the short end of a 58-56 loss.

Even with the loss Park Hill is ready to move forward with the second half of their season and focus on the two things that have troubled them throughout the season.

“It wasn’t only good for me (to return), but good for my teammates because I’m able to get them open,” Weston said. “I’d say fouling and getting in there to get rebounds. If we rebound, we win games like this. If we do that we show who the better team is.”

Now at 4-6 on the season and 0-2 in conference, the Lady Trojans travel to Lee's Summit West Thursday before participating in the Basehor-Linwood Tournament next week.

Winter Roundup: Jan. 3-9

Park Hill Wrestling
...after a rough first half of the season participating in some of the region's toughest wrestling tournaments, battling through injuries, and dealing with the growing pains that come with having a young team, the Park Hill Wrestling team is bouncing back to start the second half of their season. A pair of victories last week against traditionally strong teams Lee's Summit West and St. Joe Central early in the week followed by wins against Columbia Rockbridge 42-15 and Staley 25-22, has given the Trojans momentum as they look to start their ascent towards the time when they need to be at their best, the district and state tournament.

"Over Christmas we talked about how there are two halves to the season, the season is what counts," Coach Bill Erneste said.

Last season, Park Hill experienced a similar tough start to their season, but were able to roll through the second half of their schedule, taking first in the district tournament on the way to a third place finish at state. It's something Erneste says can be especially evident in younger teams and a view into their improvement from start to finish in a season.

"We're used to seeing that with young teams," Erneste said. "We went back to the cave, which is the practice room, we shut the doors, let people heal, and we're coming out ready to make a run.We have some guys in our lineup really making a push to move forward."

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
... in a rematch of their overtime victory from the William Jewell Tournament, Liberty came to Park Hill South last week. It was another nail-biter, but instead of a three pointer to send the game into overtime, it was Park Hill South this time that fell on the wrong side of the final score. The Panthers, down one point at the half, had several chances in the last minute to even the score, but the Blue Jays edged them out 41-37. Anthony Woods led Park Hill South with 12 points.

Later in the week the Panthers found themselves overmatching Raytown, but unable to pull away on the scoreboard. Nonetheless, Park Hill South pulled out a 38-27 victory. Coach John Sedler was satisfied with the victory, but not the performance as they went 1-9 from three point range in the first half in what he attributed to  a young team needing to learn how to maintain and hold a lead against a team he thought they were better than the score reflected.

"I don't care if we shoot three's as long as we go inside and move it around the outside as well," Sedler said.

But it's easy to point out the particulars in a team that's had such early season success, now 10-4 with a 5-0 conference recording going into Tuesday night's tough matchup against Raytown South. Brian Robinson has seen more action at the point guard position, moving Anthony Woods, the team's top scorer, over to the two-guard position putting him in a more natural scoring role. Moving forward, Sedler says the two keys for the Panthers will be handling defensive pressure by allowing fewer turnovers and reboundings.

"Everyone is upping the ante with defensive pressure this time of year," Sedler said. "We've been concentrating more on rebounding, we went back to the basic fundamentals of it. Rebounding is pretty simple, you just have to make a decision you're going to get it. You can call it different things or use different techniques. If we get 5 guys to make that commitment we're going to get it 100%, if we get 4 guys, then 80% of the time, and so on. Our last couple games we've done better at it."

Park Hill South travels to Belton in another conference match-up Friday night.

Park Hill Boys Basketball
...snapped a five game losing streak against North Kansas City last week with a 65-47 win. Park Hill was led by Connor Farmer in scoring with 23 points. Also contributing were Zach Anderson and John Harris with 11 points a piece. They'll travel to play Truman on Friday. The Trojans are now 4-6 on the year.

Park Hill South Girls Basketball
...started the year off with encouraging results. Despite losing, the 63-61 loss at William Chrisman earlier last week, the Panthers offense is now averaging more than 50 points a game, most of which is being spread evenly among players.

"The scoring is beginning to really be spread out as the girls share the ball more and play more as a team.  I’m very pleased with our progress so far," Coach Jenny Orlowski said. "In the Chrisman game, we just made some mental errors in the last three minutes of the game that cost us that one."

Later in the week they used that encouragement to blowout Belton 65-19 to add a conference victory to their record. They were led in scoring by Madeline Homoly who added 10 points. Seven other players contributed with seven or more points a piece. Morgan Keesee and Jessica Lee pulled in seven and six rebounds respectively. 

Samantha Roy continues to lead the Panthers in scoring, averaging 9.9 points a game. Madeline Homoly and Mackenzie Stout aren't far behind with 8.4 and 7.8 points a game. Homoly also leads the team in rebounds with 5.5 a game.

The Lady Panthers are now 6-5 overall, 3-2 in conference and host Fort Osage Thursday night before playing in the Oak Park Tournament next week.

Park Hill South Swimming
... took second place behind Notre Dame de Sion in the Park Hill Invitational over the weekend with 278 team points. They were led by strong performances in two of the three relay events including the second place finish in the 200 yard medley with swimers Mariah Bryant, Helen Yeater, Rachael Norfleet, and Miranda Henderson. Taking third in the 200 free relay was Henderson, Bryant, Samantha Burford, and Olivia McLain. Hannah Bortnick placed second in the one meter diving portion while McLain placed second in the 100 meter freestyle. Norfleet took third in the 100 breaststroke. They'll participate in the KC Classic this weekend.

Park Hill Swimming
...placed 11th as they hosted the Park Hill Invitational last weekend with 105.5 points. Madison Heydinger led the Trojan swimmers with a second place finish in the 200 freestyle. They will compete in the KC Classic this weekend.

Steady Hand: Longtime PH South AD has been a calming influence for a young Panthers squad

The Park Hill South boys basketball team started the season with losses in two of their first three games. It was a start expected out of a young and untested team, led by a new coach, that had less than a combined 40 varsity points returning from last year. Those thinking the Panthers might be in for a long year have been proven wrong, though.

After rattling off seven straight victories, starting with a 43-31 win over Staley on Dec. 8 and including an overtime victory against Liberty 44-43 in the opening round of the Bank Midwest /William Jewell Holiday Classic last week, their streak came to an end against a previously undefeated St. Joseph Central squad in the tournament semifinals, 58-52. Park Hill South rebounded and closed out the first half of their season and the 2011 year with a 52-49 third-place game victory over Fort Osage.

The Panthers’ start is a promising sign not only considering their youth, but also because of the tough adjustments that sometimes come with a new coach’s first year. Long-time PHS athletic director John Sedler isn’t the typical first year coach, though. In fact, if there was anyone more reliable to maintain the high standard of basketball Park Hill South has set for itself over recent years it would be Sedler, someone with a strong reputation as a coach and administrator in the district.

So when Park Hill South found itself in the situation of not having a head coach weeks before school started this past August due to the sudden resignation of former coach Anthony Perry, who now faces charges that he tried to initiate sexual contact with a student, it was only natural Superintendent Dennis Fisher and Principal Dale Longenecker looked to Sedler to lead the program.

For Sedler, 56, a graduate of the Park Hill School District and Alumni Hall of Fame inductee, it was a chance for him to return to coaching. He previously coached for 10 years at Park Hill before becoming athletic director at Park Hill South in 1998 where he said he has a more direct role in shaping kids lives, the reason he started coaching in the first place.

“I got into this business because I like kids number one,” Sedler said. “These guys have a great passion for basketball which has made it an easy transition.”

It would’ve been easy to implement a whole new system tailored to Sedler’s preference, but with the help of assistants Dillon Higdon and Tracy Mangels the Panthers are building on what was already in place.

“One of the exciting parts was that Coach Higdon and Coach Mangels were returning so we were able to keep most of what they did last year, so we didn’t just get rid of everything, but wanted to build on what they already had in place,” Sedler said.

Sophomore guard Anthony Woods who averaged 15 points a game in the William Jewell Tournament last week contrasted Sedler’s style and echoed his thoughts on the team’s progress.

“He’s been great. I mean he’s a really calm guy, which is a little different (than last year),” Woods said. “We just want to play hard and with intensity. We’re not really worried about wins and losses, we’re worried about going out and playing the way we’re supposed to.”

With the completion of the first half of their season, they’ve passed the point where youth can be used as an excuse for inconsistency and look to what will be a tougher second half schedule.

“We’ve quit talking about being young, because no one cares, there’s no excuses anymore, they’re varsity players so they have to play like it,” Sedler said. “We’re definitely getting better, everyday.”

Park Hill South starts 2012 with two homes games including a rematch against Liberty Wednesday followed by Raytown Friday night before going on the road next week against Raytown South. In the meantime, neither Sedler nor his top guard believes their work is complete.

“We have a bunch of great young kids with great attitudes, they’ve been very receptive. It’s great working with them. They know they’ve got to get better,” Sedler said.

“We’re been working on trying to gel and keep everything together,” Woods added. “We need to cut down on the turnovers and keep our defense up so we don’t get lackadaisical.”

Politics will dominate 2012

With Iowa Caucus results coming in as we go to press, 2012 will be dominated politically by the Presidential race. There’s no doubt all races will be affected by it, but while the 2010 local election results mirrored those nationally with huge Republican gains, 2012 should see more balanced results nationally.

2012 will be a year of answers. We’ll learn much more than we did over the course of 2011. Elections tend to fast track those answers. Will President Barack Obama serve a second term? Can Congress accomplish… anything? Will Republicans complete their political takeover of Platte County? Or can local Democrats find candidates respected and strong enough to run despite a less than desired party backing? Will Republican county officials divide themselves into conservatives and moderates?

Commissioners will approve the County’s 2012 budget this week. Included will be a 10 percent employee health insurance cost increase, an estimated $10.7 million contract for emergency communication equipment upgrades and the funding of a $5.4 million community center expansion. Not included will be a three percent cost of living adjustment for County workers proposed by County Auditor Kevin Robinson which has not been done since 2006. The 2012 budget will be slightly smaller than Robinson’s recommendation and the finalized 2011 budget.

Filing to run for public offices begins in February. County officials expected to run for re-election include 1st District Commissioner Kathy Dusenbery and 2nd District Commissioner Jim Plunkett. Three officeholders announced their retirements in 2011 for the end of 2012. They include County Treasurer Bonnie Brown (Democrat), County Administrator Terry Edwards (Democrat) and Sheriff Richard Anderson (Republican). Republican Rob Willard, an attorney, has announced his candidacy for the Treasurer’s seat while Republican Mark Owen, a long-time captain with the department, will run for Sheriff. County Assessor David Christian, a Democrat, is expected to run for election after his appointment last spring.


Also in February (and again in March), Republicans will vote for their party’s Presidential preference. Missouri law requires a primary be held Feb. 7, but the results won’t be binding because the state legislature failed to move it to the Republican Party’s “official” date of March 17 when delegates will be decided by a caucus. In addition to your annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration, which might traditionally include an alcoholic beverage, Republicans can also pick a Presidential candidate. If you’re undecided, then said beverage may aid your selection. In Parkville, you’ll be able to drive your golf cart to the polling place by this point.

April brings school board elections. Possible levy increases will be a large part of those debates. After years of lowering tax levy rates during strong economic times, local school districts may need to reverse course in 2012 to balance their budgets. Similar to some people’s resolutions to lose weight, it’s great to say you lost it, but not as fun when you can’t keep it off.

All three local state representatives appear to be running for re-election in 2012. Galen Higdon, Nick Marshall, and Ron Schieber have no announced opponents so far. Redistricting is still to be finalized, but as the lines currently stand it can be said Marshall benefited with the addition of some strongly conservative neighborhoods in the south. Marshall’s benefit comes at Schieber’s peril as his district now has advantages to a possible Democratic challenger.

During the 2012 legislative session, balancing the budget and Mayor Sly James’s proposed takeover of the Kansas City Missouri School District will take center stage. While Kansas City representatives try to negotiate and pass legislation to address this, look for representatives from more rural areas of Missouri to leverage this to their own agendas. Education aside, Republican legislative leaders have had several months to review and discuss the stalemate within their own party. This will hopefully lead to more progress in 2012.

July brings the major league All-Star game to Kansas City. Where will most of those people come through to get there? That’s right, Platte County via Kansas City International Airport. There probably aren’t any promotions scheduled when the baseball world focuses in on Kansas City, but showcasing the economic and quality of life aspects of moving your residence, business, or convention to Platte County wouldn’t hurt.

August will feature some interesting primary contests along with a number of ballot initiatives. The biggest will be the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate with the winner challenging Senator Claire McCaskill. Former State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, Congressman Todd Akin, and businessman John Brunner are the announced Republican candidates. With President Obama’s poor outlook in Missouri, whoever advances will have a good chance against McCaskill. The thought of Independents voting for one, but not for the other in this case is unlikely.

While the state legislature is dominated by Republicans, four out of six statewide offices are held by Democrats. For local Democrats, these are probably some of the races that draw the most excitement in 2012 based on how races are shaping up early. Looking at the White House, President Obama is not where he’d like to be coming into 2012, but neither are his potential opponents. Despite any contrary Iowa results, Mitt Romney will be the Republican Party nominee for two reasons. He’s run a steady, smooth campaign with few mistakes and has the best chance at beating Obama. By most historical indicators, he should be the next President. On the other hand, Obama’s economic and approval numbers are trending positive. He’ll run against a Congress that passed less legislation in 2011 than even the infamous “Do-Nothing Congress” Harry Truman ran against in 1948. Could Obama lose the popular vote, but win the Electoral College? The map says it’s possible. The effect of a third-party candidate can’t be ruled out either.

Of course, this is just what appears on the 2012 horizon. Many more headlines will surface throughout the year. The Citizen will touch on various subjects throughout including the local issues, races and candidates themselves. In the meantime, here’s hoping you all have a great 2012.

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.