Park Hill Soccer storming through conference play

The Park Hill boys soccer team knew they wouldn’t sneak up on teams this year like they did last year on the way to their third place finish at state, but they’ve cruised to a 13-2-1 record so far this year with their most recent string of victories coming in Park Hill South’s Panther Classic last week as they won three straight to take the title for the second year in a row. Park Hill will now face a competitive week of non-conference games before finishing out the second half of their conference season before looking to district play.

To open the tournament, Park Hill shutout Platte County 6-0 with three goals from David Zdvorak along with scores from Cole Walker, Ray Lee, and Joel Gordon. The Trojans advanced to the title game against Park Hill South after a Zdvorak goal in overtime led to a 1-0 win over a resilient Smithville team. Walker’s two goals led Park Hill to a 2-0 win in the championship over the Panthers.

While the Trojans return nearly their entire lineup from last year, they admit they haven’t been able to turn themselves from a good team into a great team, but find it’s within their grasp.

“We create a lot of opportunities, but we have trouble finishing them sometimes,” Coach Dustin Sollars said. “We’re getting production from the people we thought we would, but the numbers could be a lot better.”

Being able to control the ball and see opportunities on the offensive end of the field is a strength the Trojans have, but it won’t take too long to notice a physical and aggressive team on the defensive end as well. Frustrating to opponents, it has a way of getting into their heads while forcing other teams into making unforced errors.

“We’re a physical bunch. A lot of time it looks more physical than it really is on the field,” Sollars said. “We play fast and hard. Sometimes a tackle looks hard, but that’s just the way it goes.”

 With a new conference schedule this year, the Trojans find themselves at the top of conference leader board going 5-0 so far and outscoring their opponents 20-3. Their sights set on another run into the playoffs, the Trojans hope their upcoming games against the likes of Rockhurst and a pair of St. Louis teams gives them more competition than their conference schedule provides which will better prepare them for some of the tough matches they’ll likely face in district play.

Park Hill stumbles into district play hoping to rebound

Park Hill’s first half last week against Lee’s Summit West was one to forget for the Trojans as a 31-0 score at halftime featured unsatisfactory results on all sides of the ball on the way to a 38-14 loss. With Lee’s Summit West out-sizing the Trojans on the line, Park Hill was already at a disadvantage in regards to their traditional power football approach, but poor special teams play gave the Titans early opportunities which they took advantage of. Park Hill (4-3) will begin district play this Friday against another tough opponent in Staley (6-1).

While the first half left a sour taste in Park Hill’s mouth, there was a simple message Coach Greg Reynolds had for his team going into the third quarter: get better.

“We have to win the second half,” Reynolds said. “It’s not likely we’ll win the game, but we have to get better in the second half to get ready for districts.”

When it would be easy for most teams to fold and allow the game to turn into an embarrassment, Park Hill came out with a humble approach in the second half. In one of the only offensive highlights of the game, Nate Wilson hit De’Aris Flint for a 44-yard reception to put the Trojans at the one yard line before Jordan Wang ran in Park Hill’s first touchdown. The seven play, six minute drive was followed on their next drive by an eight play drive ending with a two-yard Chris Heustis touchdown.

Control of the game could be shown through the amount of plays ran and rushing yards the Titans were able to post which kept Park Hill’s defense on the field for long amounts of time. Their 282 yards rushing outgained the Trojans’ 128 yards rushing and 72 yards passing combined.

“I’m pleased that our kids played hard all the way through,” Reynolds said of the second half.

This week’s game against Staley could possibly be a deciding game in who will take a tough District 16 title. Last week Park Hill South played Staley close, but Staley pulled out a 19-10 victory.

Fall Roundup: October 4-8

Park Hill Volleyball
Park Hill Volleyball had a tough last week going winless in three games to Lee's Summit North (25-9, 25-15), Lee's Summit West (25-15, 25-14), and Truman (25-18, 25-17). Alyssa Moran and Lindsey Grace led Park Hill in kills against Lee's Summit West with six and five respectively. Moran added on seven against Truman while Halley Knudson led the defense with ten digs. This week they'll play Kearney and North Kansas City. Park Hill is 12-13-1 on the season with district play on the horizon.

Park Hill Girls Golf
The sectional state golf tournament at Paradise Point produced two state qualifiers for Park Hill last week. Bailey Warlen led the Trojans with a 93 followed by Stephanie Atkinson's 94. Park Hill finished fourth in the eight team field with a score of 395. Warlen and Atkinson will compete in the state tournament at Sedalia Country Club on October 18th and 19th.

Park Hill Softball
For the second year in a row, the Park Hill Softball team came into district play as a lower seed, but peaked at an opportune time to reach the championship game. A convincing 13-4 win against number five seed Staley sent Park Hill into a semifinal matchup with top seeded Kearney. The Trojans eeked out a close 3-2 victory to set them up for a chance at the district title last weekend against second seeded Liberty. Unfortunately for Park Hill, that's where they ran out of steam as Liberty went on to take the title by shutting out the Trojans 9-0. Park Hill finishes the season just a shade under .500 at 13-14.

Park Hill Girls Tennis
Park Hill played some dominating tennis last week while winning the team portion of the District 16 title earlier in the week, then going on to have their top players win the individual singles and doubles portion over the weekend. Park Hill's Suzanne Barth defeated Kearney's Kayla Dysart in straight sets 6-0, 6-1 to lead Park Hill over Kearney 5-0 in the district semifinals. In the title match, it was Barth again winning 6-1, 6-1 against St. Joe Central's Logan Taylor to propel the Trojans to a 5-0 team victory to clinch another district title. In the individual portion, Barth won 6-0, 6-1 again to claim the individual title while teammate Ashleigh Bos placed third. Kate Skorija and Brooke Barnard won in consecutive sets 6-4 and 6-7 to win the doubles title. Barth along with the duo of Skorija and Barnard competed in the sectional round at Park Hill on Tuesday evening. Details on whether they advanced to the state tournament next week.

Year-round school would benefit students

It may be hard to notice in Platte County with some of the state’s best schools in our area, but education in our country is experiencing some difficulties when it comes to educating students of the 21st century. The United States is falling behind countries in several categories, especially when it comes to math and science. While on the national stage year-round school was brought up as one of the alternatives for a brief moment in the spotlight, I was glad to hear locally that the Park Hill School Board discussed it at one of their recent meetings. Year-round school itself may not solve the education deficiencies of our country as a whole, but I believe it will improve student achievement over the long-term.

We’ve heard the saying that our heart is a muscle and we must exercise it to make it strong, the brain is much the same way. The current school calendar is very similar to over a hundred years ago when many families lived on farms and it was developed to allow children the summer off from school to help at home. Much different now, it more or less serves as an opportunity for a family vacation or for kids to play outside in the summer sun. Three months away from school is a long time and that means it requires even more time to refresh children’s memory when they return in the fall instead of moving onto new material. It’s very similar to athletes who spend the first several weeks getting back into shape after a long offseason. Some may say the long summer break gives children a chance to recharge their battery and prevents overload, but I think they underestimate the capacity of the brain and how quickly children can catch onto things.

Several thousand schools have already experimented with the year-round school strategy. Although, it is only a small percentage of the total schools in the entire country, there are a lot more now than there were a decade ago. Most emphasize their idea is not about adding more time in school, but more of a rescheduling of the school calendar with shorter, more frequent breaks instead. On the contrary, imagine what it would be like if it meant kids would be in school more of the year. If another month of school were added to the calendar each year, over a period of 13 years that is an entire year of additional education. Another year of developing math, science, and other skills would give students a leg up when it came to being prepared for college.

In addition to the time students spend away from the classroom during the summer, there are also resources being wasted at the same time. The valuable land and buildings still require maintenance, electricity, and cooling. Although, it isn’t as much as during the school year, there is still an asset not being utilized. Yes, year-round school would require a substance financial investment with salaries, transportation costs, and other expenses associated with operating schools throughout the year. That investment would be necessary though in order to generate the profits of a higher quality of education for our students and, more broadly, our communities.

It’s not an easy discussion to have with all the different aspects involved, which is another reason why I’m glad Park Hill had the foresight to bring it up. We’re not talking about a simple policy decision, but something that would result in social change, and anytime people think about something that could affect the routine of everyday life it makes them skeptical. It would take bold leaders to transform skepticism into trust, not to mention the research, thought, and community input to see that it is done the right way. If other school districts have been able to accomplish it, I don’t see why it can’t be done successfully here in Platte County.

Co-workers challenge each other in County Collector race

Platte Countians can rest assured their next County Collector will have a qualified background and experience to manage the office. Both candidates are currently employees in the Collector’s office and have worked as Deputy Collectors under current Collector Donna Nash who has decided not to run for re-election this November. Democrat Becky Dye has spent 32 years in the office dating back to December 1977 with Republican Sheila Palmer’s 17 years of service dating back to September 1993. Both hope to continue their service to Platte County as the head of the office that averagely collects over $175 million dollars worth of tax revenue each year and disburses it among the county’s many taxing districts.

Dye is a life-long resident of Platte County. Growing up in the Farley and Weston area, Dye graduated from West Platte in 1977. She is married to Denny Dye. They have four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently live in Platte City.

Palmer is also a Platte County native. She graduated from North Platte and went on to receive her bachelor’s degree from Central Missouri State University. Before working in the Collector’s office she worked for Tollie Freightways and United Missouri Bank. Her and her husband, Stan, have two children Nick, 16, and Maggie, 14. They also reside in Platte City.

Dye and Palmer have seen their fair share of changes in the Collector’s office and Platte County government over the years, especially in terms of technology. Dye was on hand in 1979 when the office received its first computer and in 1990 for the opening of the new administration building.

“At the time there was only one personal computer that sat in the corner and we had to take turns using it,” recalled Palmer when she joined in 1993. “We did everything by hand and typed all of our letters and reports on a typewriter.”

They’ve seen the way financial transactions have changed with the introduction of credit and debit card capabilities in the office. Both noted the growth Platte County has experienced and the challenges that come with it creating the need for the addition of the County Annex located in Platte Woods.

“Funds collected went from $10 million in 1977 to $175 million in 2009,” Dye said.

While the Collector’s office operates within a strict set of Missouri State statues that regulate its responsibilities, both have ideas they believe will not only allow the office to run more smoothly, but be a convenience to the taxpayer.

“I would like to see the process of using your tax receipt to obtain car tags an easier process,” Dye said. “It is very frustrating to the taxpayer when all things are not correct when trying to purchase car tags.”

Dye also added she would like to see the physical address of real estate printed on tax statements and the ability to use remote deposit for funds deposited in the Collector’s Office.

“If elected, I would like to offer the taxpayers the opportunity to pay their real estate taxes in quarterly installments,” Palmer said. “I believe this would be a great aid to Platte County taxpayers in helping to budget their finances in these tough economic times. I plan to stay current with new technology to make paying taxes as painless as possible.”

With a solid working knowledge of the Collector’s office and its operations, both candidates emphasized their dedication to and enjoyment in serving the taxpayer. It was also the underlying reason they believed they were the best candidate for the job.

Dye believes her work as Chief Deputy has equipped her with the necessary leadership skills and experience to effectively run the office.

“I will make myself available to the taxpayers and I will continue my dedication to the office. I know the job well and totally enjoy working with and for the citizens of Platte County,” Dye said. “It’s all in the name: Dedication, Years of service, and Experience. DYE.”

Palmer believes not only her years in the Collector’s office, but also those in other fields bring a diverse and customer-oriented strength to her candidacy.

“I feel that I am better qualified because of the diversity of my past employment. I have been very customer service oriented in all my current and past positions and I feel this is key when working with taxpayers.” Palmer said. “I have completed course work in management and finance that will help me in the smooth transition of being in charge of the collector’s office.”

After announcing their intentions to run to succeed their current boss, both have maintained a positive working relationship within the office and indicated they would continue to do so after the election. No matter the results, Platte County taxpayers can be confident their next Collector will bring experience and professionalism.

Trojans face tough stretch ahead

Park Hill football fans were treated to quite a show last Friday as the Trojans defeated North Kansas City 48-6 during Homecoming week. It was likely the last game the Trojans (4-2) will come in as such a high favorite, before they enter a stretch of games that feature the likes of top ranked teams Lee’s Summit West and Staley over the next two weeks. Park Hill will travel to the more immediate threat, Lee’s Summit West (5-1), this Friday to face a team coming off a 42-0 thumping of Truman last week. Lee’s Summit West appears to be the toughest game standing between the Trojans and a conference championship. Both teams are currently 3-0 in league play.

“Even though we don’t put as much pressure on ourselves for conference, if we win this game we’ve at least set ourselves up for a tie,” Coach Greg Reynolds said. “We need to show ourselves we can go out and play with some of the best.”

Park Hill running back Trace Norfleet produced one of his top career performances with 195 yards rushing on 18 carries resulting in four touchdowns, one of which was receiving, last Friday against North Kansas City. Norfleet started the Trojans off with touchdowns in Park Hill’s first two possessions to put them up 14-0. The first a 21 yard scamper to the end zone with the second coming on a smoothly carried out 10 yard screen pass from Nate Wilson. Fullback Jordan Wang tagged on a two yard touchdown run before Norfleet’s 40 yard dash to the end zone put Park Hill up 28-0 at the half.
Naturally inclined to run to the outside, Norfleet has worked on seeing holes available to the inside of the field over recent weeks, which has allowed him to become more of an overall threat.

“The coaches thought I started to dance too much, and not getting up field,” Norfleet said. “I like to get on the outside, but today it showed that the hole can be anywhere and it paid off tonight.”

“We’ve told him we think there are some holes inside if he just makes a cut to get downhill,” Reynolds said.
While you won’t see Norfleet as outspoken as some of his senior teammates, he’s embraced the role of leading a younger team by example as a two-year starter.

“I think leading by example is just as important as being a big talker,” Norfleet said. “I’ve learned the heart and passion of the game. We’ve got a young team and I want to live up to their expectations.”

Norfleet would tag on another touchdown of 16 yards before being taken out of the game with a 35-0 lead. An interception by Gage Wright in the third quarter set Luke Bossert up for a 22-yard touchdown reception. The Hornets did manage to score in the fourth quarter before Park Hill’s Troy Bennett dealt the last blow with his late touchdown to make the final score 49-6.

PH Swim looks for conference repeat

There comes a point in every season, no matter what the results have been, where athletes get tired. They’ve been going through the same practice routine for months not including the months of preparation leading up to the season, but the end isn’t quite in sight. It has nothing to do with a lack of passion, drive, or physical ability. It has to do with mental fatigue and the urge to reach the point in the season where the rewards of their labor can pay off.

The Park Hill boys swim and dive team is at that point now, but they only need to look to last year’s conference swim meet to remember how it can all pay off. For over a decade Park Hill had trailed Park Hill South, who had won conference titles year after year. This changed last year when Park Hill beat their rival by a single point to win their own conference championship.

“Last year at the conference meet we found out how important each person on the team is,” head coach Karl Haley said. “If one person didn’t do what they did, then it wouldn’t have happened.”

Redistricting has separated the two schools into different conferences, but the measuring stick is still in place for the Trojans even though they were able to break through last season.

“The perpetual monkey is off our back, but we’ll still see them throughout the season,” Haley said. “They’re a good team and we know if we can compete with them, we’ll be a good team too.”

This year, Park Hill has Lee’s Summit West as an obstacle to a second straight conference title. The Trojans beat the Titans in their opening meet this season by just ten points. In building up to that point, one of their more competitive meets of the year takes place next weekend in the Kansas City Classic which brings together Columbia, Springfield, and Kansas City’s top teams.

“The biggest thing for us right now is everyone is real tired, but they just have to keep swimming fast,” Haley said. “It’s a mental sport, we do all this hardcore training to build up to the last two weeks of the year and a lot of kids want to see the pay off immediately.”

The Trojans return a number of lettermen and state qualifiers from last year. Diver Toby Parker has already qualified for the state meet after significantly improving from last year.

“You could really see he wanted to do better, so he put the effort in the off season, joined a club team,” Haley said. “He has a chance (to win), but will definitely score some points.”

Ben Svoboda, Chris Greger, Matt Johnson, Matt Wagner, Sam Blacksher, and Vince Tutorino have already qualified for events in the state meet in November.

The theme is much the same for other athletes looking to clinch a spot as a state qualifier, but the overall meter of success midway through the season is where they were last year at this time.

“As a coach you always expect more, but we’re past where we were a year ago so that’s what we’re looking for,” Haley said.

Fall Roundup: September 26 - October 2

Park Hill Softball
Park Hill softball has seen a busy stretch of games over the final two weeks of the season as they've gone 3-3 to improve to 10-13 on the year before heading into district play. During that time, Park Hill lost a close 1-0 game against conference member Lee's Summit West. They then traveled to Columbia for the Hickman Kewpie Classic where they defeated the host school 5-3 with some clutch hitting from Bethany Sullinger, Samantha Snodgrass, and Paige Downs along with Mackenzie Porter retired nine of the last ten batters. Falling in the next game 11-2 to Blue Springs South, the Trojans came back to beat Blair Oaks in extra innings 3-2 before falling in their final Classic game to St. Dominick's 12-4. Late last week, Park Hill thumped North Kansas City 20-4 as the bats came alive and Porter added her ninth win of the season. Park Hill starts district play this week as the four seeded playing Staley, a rematch of last year's district championship game. If the Trojans win they'll go on to play top seeded Kearney in the semi final round.

Park Hill Soccer
Park Hill defeated Lee's Summit West with penalty kicks last week 1-1. Matt Russell scored the only goal in regulation. After no scoring took place in overtime, the Trojans won 4-3 in the penalty kick round. Traveling to St. Joe Central, the Trojans came home with a 3-1 win with two goals from Cole Walker and another from David Zdvorak. They'll participate in the Park Hill South Panther Classic all this week before facing Ruskin and Rockhurst next week. The game against Rockhurst will be a rematch of the upset Park Hill pulled when they beat soccer powerhouse Rockhurst on their home field. Park Hill is now 11-2-1 on the season.
Park Hill Volleyball
Park Hill Volleyball pulled out two conference wins last week as they went 2-1. After starting off the week with a tough loss at Blue Springs (25-14, 25-10), the Trojans handedly beat Rusking 25-16, 25-16 and St. Joe Central 25-21, 25-13 to improve to 12-10-1. Jenny Riddle and Ashlea Williams had 7 kills a piece against Ruskin while Alyssa Moran's 10 kills and Halley Knudson's 8 digs led Park Hill past St. Joe Central. This week they'll play Lee's Summit West and Truman.

Park Hill Girls Golf
The Park Hill Girl’s Golf Team placed third out of 11 teams in the district tournament with a team score of 396. Four of their five golfers advanced to the sectional competition to be held this week. Anna Kloeppel placed third overall with an 86. Kloeppel was All-District First Team. The other sectional qualifiers were Stephanie Atkinson, Samantha Brunker, and Bailey Warlen.

Park Hill Girls Cross Country
The Trojan cross country team continues to make strides as they placed ninth out of 26 teams at the KC Metro Classic at Ray-Pec last weekend. Kim Rau placed eleventh individually with a time of 19:29 in the 5k race. Brook Bischof (36th), Maggie Lanham (56th), Joanna Grauberger (67th) and Maddie Bischoff (97th) finished off the Park Hill team. Over 180 runners participated in the race.

Top tennis player puts on game face

Some true competitors are hard to spot when they’re not in action. Even on the surface when initially meeting them, you may be surprised they’re able to aggressively excel as much as they do when they present such a welcoming and innocent demeanor. The high school sports world is full of these types of competitors and you can see the change take place as they step from non-playing surface to playing surface.

Park Hill junior Suzanne Barth is one of those athletes and it’s even more evident this season as she is working to not only return to the state tennis tournament’s championship match again, but to win that match after coming in second a year ago. Kirkwood’s Rachel Stuhlmann, who Barth lost to in consecutive sets (6-0, 6-0) last year, has graduated leaving Barth with the added motivation to claim what she had come so close to doing last year as a sophomore. Coach Rustin Reys doesn’t believe it’s a matter of ability, but mentality.

“She’s so talented that she just has to learn to use her weapons to the best of her ability,” Reys said. “If her game plan and approach is right, she can’t be beat.”

Asked what it was like to be selected as one of the team captains as a junior, Barth will respond humbly, but her coach says she is a natural selection based on her own work ethic. While she may be soft spoken in the hallways of Park Hill, Barth seems to become someone different when she steps onto the court for practice or a match.

“She’s very authoritative when it comes to leading the team and pushing herself hard,” Reys said. “She’s very competitive and wants to win 10-0 every match.”

“I don’t like losing,” Barth said of her approach to competing. “It’s important to stay mentally strong all day.

Park Hill lost its first conference meet in several years to Lee’s Summit West last week. Although Barth did not play, as a captain she knew how important it was to shake the loss off and set their sights on the post-season.

“We need to stay positive,” Barth said. “We lost the match earlier in the week, so we just need to stay together.”

Although bummed with a sore left wrist of late, Barth’s one more year of experience and practice could bring her back to the state tournament as a more mature player and her coaches believe it will be the way she handles adversity that could be the difference maker.

“She has all the skills to be a state champ because she has no shot that needs improvement,” Reys said. “If she can make good game decisions, she will do well.”

Park Hill looks to Homecoming

After a disappointing road trip and defeat at Jefferson City last week 40-14, the Trojans will return to their home field this week as they host North Kansas City and hold homecoming festivities at Shorty Preston Field. North Kansas City comes into Friday’s game with a 1-4 record after winning their first game of the season last week against Ruskin by a slim 22-20 margin. In addition to a conference game, this will be a final tune-up for both teams as next week will be the first round of district play.

While Jefferson City has more than a one hundred year football history, Park Hill coach Greg Reynolds hoped his Trojan team would be able to match their own recent decade of successes with the Blue Jays last week. Park Hill struck first when Trace Norfleet put the Trojans on the board with his four yard touchdown run. Jefferson City bounced back by scoring two touchdowns. The first was a 25 yard run by Same Turner while the other was a 42 yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Tisdel. Park Hill tied it up at 14-14 before the half when Nathan Wilson found De’Aris Flint for a nine yard touchdown pass.

Tied at the half on the road against a good team was a good place to be in for the Trojans, but Jefferson City came alive in the third quarter by scoring 19 unanswered points followed by another touchdown in the fourth quarter. Jefferson City’s Devon Moore produced several long runs against the Trojans included the first two touchdowns in the half. He ended the night with seven carries for 106 yards. While Park Hill’s Trace Norfleet had 138 yards rushing, he needed 26 carries to get it, which is well above his season average.

Park Hill is now 3-2 on the season with a 2-0 conference record coming into this week.