Player’s death has left positive legacy through alumni game

Sometimes when people experience tragedy it isn’t necessarily the initial event that people remember, but what comes out of it and whether it can be turned into something positive. Darren Floyd, a junior at Park Hill High School, was involved in a car accident that claimed the life of him and classmate Brandon McPherson in the spring of 2004. Unfortunately, the accident hit home for me as both were good friends of mine and we had only left minutes apart on our ways home. The effect their deaths had not only on me, but parents, teachers, family, and friends was enormous. It isn’t death and sadness I want to focus on though, but how the tragedy has resulted in the creation of something special at Park Hill High School that will be on display this Saturday night in the school’s gymnasium.
Darren, an avid athlete, had previously finished his junior basketball season by receiving team awards for his high three-point shooting percentage and the team leadership award for his outstanding character and attitude. Knowing about his love for the game, parents and friends decided to name a scholarship fund in his memory. Not only would they start the scholarship, but they would fund it by putting together an exhibition basketball game featuring former players in a friendly hoops game. The first game was held in January of 2005 and a crowd usually un-seen at regular varsity games filled the gymnasium in an outpouring of support. Thousands of dollars would be raised over the next three years; eventually it was enough to officially endow the Darren Floyd Memorial Scholarship with the Park Hill Education Foundation and an additional scholarship to be awarded to a graduating member of the boy’s basketball team for college. In 2007, Darren’s #14 was retired by the program and remains the only basketball player to have had that privilege.
After the scholarship had been endowed and Darren’s number retired, there were some who thought there wasn’t a need to continue the game as an annual event. What they hadn’t realized though, is the game in and of itself had become something meaningful in ways the inaugural organizers had not envisioned. It was something former players started to look forward to each year. As it tends to be the case with high school, some alumni didn’t have any other reason to come back, but would for a worthy cause. For recent graduates, it was something they had come to expect to participate in as new alumni. Even those who weren’t familiar with the original circumstances or the person for which the game is named would have at least one thing in common, a love for the game. With the demand so high, a new energized group of current basketball parents and friends put forward their time to make sure the alumni game stayed alive along with the different symbolic meanings it had for each person involved.
With that in mind, one of the only events of its kind in the area is set to tip-off again this Saturday. The fifth annual game features the largest contingent of returning alumni players yet. The game will once again be a reminder of how fragile life is, but also how positive things can result from the most tragic of circumstances. It wouldn’t be able to happen if five years ago a committed group of people didn’t try to do the right thing and bring a community in mourning together. The feeling those in the gym on Saturday night will experience can be credited to Darren because of the 17 years of life he lived and also a reflection on us in the previous five years he’s been absent.

Lady Trojans look to big week ahead

Coming off a Fort Osage Tournament Championship run, the Park Hill Lady Trojans were back in action last Tuesday as they played their home opener against Ruskin. The Trojans built a gradually increased lead throughout the first half resulting in a 22-13 halftime score. Park Hill increased their lead in the second half to end up winning 41-30. Leading the Trojans in scoring were Laura Bennett with 11 points and Katy Plummer with 10.

After such impressing performances last week, Coach Brian Rockers felt his team could have played better.

“Overall, not one of our better performances so far this season,” he said.

Although they didn’t shoot very well from the field (32%) and had more turnovers than they would have liked(31), their defense was able to put up enough pressure to pull out the win.

“We have a lot to work on before a big week next week,” Rockers said of their upcoming matchups.

Those three big games will be a measuring stick of the season up to this point. They travel to Truman on Thursday to face a 1-5 Patriot team in a conference game, and then host defending state champions Platte County (6-0) on Friday night. Rockers emphasized the importance of both games in the pre-season and what potential wins against those opponents could do momentum and confidence-wise.

Park Hill Boys off to fast start

The Park Hill Boys Basketball team is off to one of its better starts in recent years after defeating Truman and Oak Park last week. The Trojans, now 4-1, won’t have much of a break though, because they’ll be preparing to take on highly ranked Grandview the day after Christmas in the first game of the William Jewell Tournament in Liberty. Grandview comes in with a record of 3-3 after beating Shawnee Mission East last weekend in the Hy-Vee Shootout at Avila University.

A win against Truman last week by a score of 76-65 was a big road victory as the Trojans were able to contain top guard Antonio Winn especially in the second quarter as they were able to go into halftime with a 33-19 lead. Justin Leathers turned in an outstanding performance with 35 points while De’Aris Flint added another 15. They were able to see gains from their defensive rebounding and control of the ball in their offensive sets. Chris Nsenki put up 13 points while battling a sprained wrist. He’s expected to return to the lineup next week.

Then last Thursday, facing a young and inexperienced Oak Park Northmen squad, the Trojans used their athleticism and active defense to take a steady halftime lead of 30-24. It was at that point when De’Aris Flint took center stage and went on to score 14 points in the third quarter which he capped off when he received a Steven Clark pass and took it in for a dunk. Flint finished with 26 points.

“It was a night when he was finishing it whenever he had a chance to get a shot off,” Garrison said of Flint.

“As a basketball player, when you get that moment when you have that kind of confidence, you have to go for it. Otherwise, you’re hurting yourself and the team,” Garrison said of some of his players’ ability to take over a game.

Park Hill only allowed three Oak Park points and had gained a 41-25 score going into the fourth quarter. The Trojans continued to pull away before posting a final score of 56-34.

“Nathan Wilson, Burt Taylor, Steven Clark all gave us some good minutes. Especially with Chris (Nsenki) out, we were able to overcome that. Anthony Walker stepped up and he can start for us if we need him to,” Garrison said of his team’s bench play of late.

Park Hill will now look to an early morning game on December 26 against Grandview who will pose some difficult challenges to the Trojans. Their reputation is one that includes a fast-paced style of play possibly not similar to any opponent Park Hill has seen.

“They’ve got some height and some kids who are very fast,” Garrison said. “They like to play in the full court.”

Park Hill looks to build momentum going into William Jewell Classic

The Park Hill Boys built on their first home victory by pulling out a win against North Kansas City last Tuesday. It was a quality win to build momentum coming into this week with games at Truman and then against Oak Park this Thursday before having a week off to prep for the William Jewell Tournament over Christmas break.

In the first half, the Trojans allowed themselves to get into foul trouble as Chris Nsenki, Justin Leathers, and De’Aris Flint all had two apiece, but went into the locker room at halftime with a 42-36 lead. Stepping up for their teammates in foul trouble was Brady Kreitzer who finished with 24 points and 8 rebounds along with Anthony Walter who added 13 points.

Nsenki and Leathers came back in the second half to round out a Trojan offense that presented a balanced scoring attack with 20 and 11 points respectively. Nsenki also grabbed seven boards.

The Hornets were able to cut the margin to three going into the fourth quarter. That’s went Park Hill went to work at the free throw line. As many coaches have said over and over again, free throws win games, and that was the story for Park Hill last week as they made 27 of 34 in the game. With that, the Trojans increased the margin to 82-73 for the final score.

“We did a great job of getting to the free throw line and converting,” Coach David Garrison said.

Park Hill is now 2-1 on the year as they’ll play key conference games against Truman who is off to an undefeated start to the season after winning the Blue Springs/Blue Springs South Tournament this past weekend. Oak Park at 2-3 then travels to Park Hill following a lose against Southeast last Friday night.

Lady Trojans start season undefeated, look to Platte County

Coming off a Fort Osage Tournament Championship run, the Park Hill Lady Trojans were back in action last Tuesday as they played their home opener against Ruskin. The Trojans built a gradually increased lead throughout the first half resulting in a 22-13 halftime score. Park Hill increased their lead in the second half to end up winning 41-30. Leading the Trojans in scoring were Laura Bennett with 11 points and Katy Plummer with10.

After such impressing performances last week, Coach Brian Rockers felt his team could have played better.

“Overall, not one of our better performances so far this season,” he said.

Although they didn’t shoot very well from the field (32%) and had more turnovers than they would have liked(31), their defense was able to put up enough pressure to pull out the win.

“We have a lot to work on before a big week next week,” Rockers said of their upcoming matchups.

Those three big games will be a measuring stick of the season up to this point. They travel to Truman on Thursday to face a 1-5 Patriot team in a conference game, and then host defending state champions Platte County (6-0) on Friday night. Rockers emphasized the importance of both games in the pre-season and what potential wins against those opponents could do momentum and confidence-wise.

Park Hill starts season with impressive performances

It was an exciting first week of the season for the Park Hill Boys Basketball team. They started off against a formidable opponent in tradition-strong Liberty. The Trojans knew coming into the game that it would be a key game early in the season to give them an idea of where they are and where they could be by the end of the season. With four starters in double-figures including Chris Nsenki’s 25, Justin Leather’s 14, Brady Kreitzer’s 13, and De’Aris Flint’s 10 points, the Trojans came out swinging. No team wants to lose, but the 73-68 score that left Liberty on top in the end was something the Trojans wanted to build on coming into their home-opener last Friday against Winnetonka.
The Trojans didn’t get the rhythm they wanted in their offense during the first half, but with a tenacious defense led by De’Aris Flint and an overall solid rebounding effort they went into halftime only down 21-17. Things started clicking in the second half when the momentum shifting to the Trojan’s favor when Chris Nsenki erupted for a series of three-pointers. The first gave Park Hill their first lead of the game mid-way through the third quarter and gave the crowd something to get behind.

“He has stretches where he can take over a game,” Coach David Garrison said of Nsenki’s shooting ability.
With the offensive runs they went on in the fourth quarter came a renewed intensity on the defensive end. Flint took a fast break pass and finished it with a dunk to open the fourth quarter to put the Trojans up by ten at 44-34. Winnetonka did not go quietly into the night though, as they went on a run that cut the lead to one at 48-47 with three minutes remaining.

“They’re very fast and they’ll make you pay for it,” Garrison said of some of the troubles Winnetonka gave the Trojans.
The Trojans’ high-energy defense frustrated the Griffins into fouling down the stretch, as Park Hill was able to make several key free throws to seal the victory. Justin Leathers, was key in putting the game away as he was able to make four free throws and a layup in the last minute to lead the Trojans to a 63-51 victory.

“Defensively, I’m happy with what we were doing,” Garrison said. “We just have to be consistent.”

Trojans bring home tourney championship

The Park Hill Girls Basketball team is off to quite a start after winning the Fort Osage Tournament this past week to start the season 3-0. A 69-44 victory over Ray-Pec in the first round featured a strong performance from the starting five as they all score in double-figures with Laura Bennett, Spenser Rhodus, and Helena Hudson all scoring ten points apiece along with Kyleesha Weston’s 11 points and Katy Plummer’s 17.

“We played well for our first game,” coach Brian Rockers said. “I was very pleased with our balanced scoring and total team effort.”

Next, the Trojans faced off against the host team, Fort Osage, in the second round. A second half adjustment to full court man to man defense allowed the Trojans to pull away after a close first half to win 53-41. Bennett hit two three-pointers on her way to 20 points added in with Weston’s 11 and Plummer’s 12 points.

In the championship game, Park Hill went up against Kansas City Central. And what a title game it was, with the two teams neck-to-neck the entire game. Central took a 21-18 lead going into halftime in what would be a low-scoring, defensive-oriented game. Going into the fourth quarter the Trojans had narrowed the margin to a score of 30-28 with Central still ahead, but an unusual strategy was taken by Central on offense as they held the ball for nearly four minutes to force Park Hill out of their half-court zone defense. The Trojans were eventually able to force a steal and convert it into a score to tie it up. Central sank two free throws to go up by two with 23 seconds remaining in the game, but sophomore Kyleesha Weston came up big when she received an inbounds pass with 3.2 seconds and hit a three-pointer to win the game along with bring home the championship trophy. The three-pointer was the only of the game for Park Hill and made up for three of Weston’s seven points. Plummer contributed 11 points and Bennett added 8.

“Gutsy effort from our girls as they held on and fought through some strange things to pull it off,” Rocker said.

They’ll come home to play Ruskin this week in their first home game, then play two tough conference games at Oak Park and Truman next week before playing a key game against Platte County on Dec. 18th.

In honor of a fallen Marine

Early last week as we were in the process of printing our Thanksgiving edition, we learned of the tragic death of 20-year-old United States Marine Lance Cpl. Nicholas Hand. Hand was laid to rest early this week after. He killed on November 22 in an exchange of small-arms fire in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan while support Operation Enduring Freedom. After attending Park Hill High School, he graduated early from Oak Park High to enlist at age 17. He deployed to Iraq in April of 2008 for a tour lasting seven months, allowing him to return and spend the holidays with his family. In late October of this year, Hand was deployed again in a second tour of duty, this time to Afghanistan. The second-oldest of ten siblings, he saw the Marine Corps as a second family and performed the job of a squad leader with a great sense of duty. Hand approached the Corps much the same way he lived his life, disciplined, patriotic, and with a smile. Well-liked and encouraging to his peers, when he returned he was considering college and pursuing a career in politics. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Nicholas' name may be made to Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

Having not known him very well, but seeing him on various occasions, I was able to see his pride and dedication to the Marines on display because it was evident to those around him. For those of us who were fortunate to know him, even by associate, we are grateful. Thank you for your valued service and dedication to our country along with the happiness you’ve share with those closest to you. Our thoughts go out to your family.

Trojans Swim & Dive team looks to constant improvement as key

After winning their conference the two previous years, it was dissatisfying for the Park Hill Girls Swim and Dive team to come up short by finishing second in last year’s conference meet. But that leaves all the motivation in the world for Karl Haley’s team coming into this year.

Haley tries to focus his team on the importance of two meets all season: conference and state, where they finished 24th last year.

“We point all of our training towards two meets,” Haley said. “All the other meets are tests that occur along the way.”

They want those meets to be their best performances. In fact, last year each member of the team accomplished not only their best individual showings of the season in those meets, but also in their careers. The Trojans strive for that kind of constant improvement in order to get the kind of results they want when they matter most.

“We expect the same this year,” Haley said of his team’s approach.

Like all competitors, Haley says it’s about who can work harder and smarter than their opponents. With another successful swim program not too far away in rival Park Hill South, it’s an easy motivator for members of the team. Battling a rival for that top spot year after year makes it mean just that much more.

Park Hill will return several proven members of their team from last season. Brynn Guardado and Kori Wagner were a part of the team to set the school record in the 200 medley relay last year. Both were named all-state honorable mention. Guardado in the 200 free, 500 free, 200 medley, and 400 free relay events. Wagner in the 200 medley relay event. Kaley Hensel was also honored as an all-state honorable mention for her performances in the 100 breaststroke, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay. On the diving side, Eleanor Parrott returns after being a state qualifier. Erin Flagler, Halle Musfeldt, Molly Pennington, Hannah Pennington, Hannah Rank, Hannah Reichert, and Erin Barry round out the rest of the team as returning lettermen.

The Trojans’ big meets of the year will be their own Park Hill Invitational in early January followed by the KC Classic later in the month.

Trojans look to fast-paced approach, intense defense to reach next level

A 14-13 record last year for the Park Hill Boys Basketball team was just enough to declare their first winning season since 2002-2003. Gradual improvement for third year head coach David Garrison is what he’s looking for though. A foundation in place, the Trojans will be looking to take another step forward this season.

With first-team all-conference forward Justin Leathers and returning starter Chris Nsenki coming back alongside seniors Steven Clark, Bryan Willis, and Austin Kepler, Park Hill will be looking to use their athleticism to put pressure on Suburban Conference foes this season. Juniors Anthony Walter, De’Aris Flint, Nathan Wilson, Burt Taylor, and Brady Kreitzer will all be in the mix of what will be a team with good depth.

Garrison’s approach to the game focuses on basic defensive fundamentals: not fouling, blocking out, and rebounding.

“If we can do that every game, we’ve got a chance to win regardless of how we do on offense,” Garrison said. “After that it just comes down to decision making.”
The Trojans have stuck with a simple man-to-man defensive approach ever since Garrison took over the coaching position in 2007, but with the depth and ability of some of his players this year they may look to get away from the basket a little more and take their defense into the full court.

As is normal at this stage in the season, the Trojans have been working their bodies into game condition. Not only is there a focus on the physical side, but also the mental. A lot of time early on has been spent on making good decision and getting a good shot selection each time down the floor. Successfully handling situations late in the game is the goal of the early attention.

“You better be playing your best towards the end (of the game) or you’re not going to be successful,” Garrison said of the importance of playing well at the right time.

One thing the Trojans know for sure is that the next step forward won’t be easy as they’ll face top competition in what seems to be a loaded conference schedule. Park Hill South, Winnetonka, Truman, and defending champion William Chrisman all have different strengths they’ll have to compete against.

“You have to come and play every night because you’re playing against some outstanding coaches and players,” Garrison said. “You’re playing a 32-minute basketball game and if you have a bad three minute stretch it could come back and cost you.”