Winter Round-up: Dec. 4-10

Park Hill Basketball

…had a tough series of games last week at the Blue Springs McDonald’s Tournament. After losing to Blue Springs 57-35 in the opening round, the Trojans saw two close games slip out of their grasps against tough opponents in Jefferson City (59-55) and Schlagle (55-50). Park Hill had the lead going into the fourth quarter of their final game against Schlagle, but Schlagle went to the free throw line 20 times in the last period to pull out a five-point victory. Through their first five games, the Trojans have seen a fairly balanced scored attack with sophomore Landry Shamet averaging 6.6 points/game while Devonte Thornton pulling in six rebounds/game. Now 1-4 on the season, Park Hill next sees action when they host Blue Springs South on Thursday.

Park Hill Girls Basketball

…lost both of their regularly scheduled games last week against North Kansas City (51-22) and Staley (59-25). The Trojans have been plagued by turnovers so far in this early season with 27 against NKC and 35 against Staley. Park Hill continues to see scoring from a number of contributors. Amanda Alexander led Park Hill in scoring against NKC with 7 points while Kaylyn McGee's eight points was tops against Staley. Even though they are experiencing some rough bumps in the road in their first couple games, Coach Aaron Neeser believes it will pay off at the end of the season as young players become more experienced at the varsity level. Now 1-5 on the year, they next look to a home game Thursday when they host Kearney.

Park Hill South Girls Basketball

…won both of their games last week with a 60-50 win over North Kansas City at home before traveling to Oak Park to pull out a 52-34 victory. The Panthers’ win over North Kansas City was particularly satisfying because of the talent level they were matching up against.

“This was a big win for us since they are a really good team,” Park Hill South Jenny Orlowski said. “This was truly a team effort and our best game of the season to date.”

Jessica Lee led the Panthers in scoring with 16 points while Courtney Claassen (11), Anna Courtney (11), and Madeline Homoly (10) all scored in double figures. Homoly would lead the Panthers in scoring against Oak Park with 16 points and 7 rebounds.

Park Hill South (4-1) next plays at Raytown South on Thursday. 

Park Hill Wrestling

The Walsh Jesuit Ironman Wrestling Tournament in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio is one of the nation’s premier high school wrestling tournaments each year. The competition is so tough, teams that eventually go on to win state titles sometimes only scratch the surface of the leader board in this early season tournament.

Park Hill did their part to change their past performances at the tournament last weekend as they did well by placing 17^th out of the 78 team field with several wrestlers earn high placements. Ke-Shawn Hayes advanced all the way to the title match in the 113 weight bracket before losing a close 4-3 match. In doing so, Hayes became Missouri’s first wrestler to be a finalist in the tournament.

Also leading Park Hill were John Erneste, Hunter Roberts, and Malik Coulding, all three of which finished in the top 12 of their respective weight classes.

Park Hill South Wrestling

…continuing to battle through injuries and a scheduled ACT Test Day that left several wrestlers unavailable, Park Hill South didn’t expect to make too much noise at the Lee’s Summit North Tournament over the weekend. But even with four weight classes going unfilled, the Panthers were able to put together several high placing performances for a second place overall finish.

“Getting second as a team was a big surprise to us and speaks volumes on how well the team wrestled this weekend,” Park Hill South coach Dan Dunkin said. “We could be dangerous if we ever get healthy.”

Park Hill South brought home three first place finishes from Jimmy Carpenter (132), Kendric Cook (170), and Chase Gray (182) while Alex Fortuna (120), Tyler blyth (195), and Logan Gillespie (220) took second. Other Panthers competing who had good days included sixth place finishes from Blake Barth (126) and Dillion Propes (152) as well as Erik Elder’s seventh place finish at 145 and Zak Horton’s ninth place finish at 138.

Park Hill South will travel to Lee’s Summit once again this weekend for the Lee’s Summit Invitational.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball

...is off to a hot start in early season play as they've compiled a 4-1 record which led them to the title game of the Liberty North Tournament last weekend where they feel just short of bringing home first place. The Panthers opened up tournament play with a convincing first round victory against Pembroke Hill 67-28 before edging out Kearney 48-36 in the tournament's semifinal round. Park Hill South would earn a first half lead against Liberty North, taking a 24-15 lead into halftime. However, they would go cold in the second half, only scoring 16 points for the rest of the game which allowed the Eagles to earn a fourth quarter lead and go on to win 50-40.

Park Hill South hosts Lee's Summit at home Friday night before traveling to Belton the following week. The Panthers will get a short break before gearing up for the William Jewell Tournament December 26-30.

Park Hill boys' hoops looking for their identity

The Park Hill boys basketball team saw its share of ups and downs as they went 1-1 in their opening week of play, but as they head into the highly competitive Blue Springs Tournament this week, they know there is a lot of upside to their potential if they’re able to be patient and learn from a tough December schedule.

“The thing about us is we’re trying to find our identity,” Park Hill coach David Garrison said. “We have some strengths and there are some things we’ve worked on with our guard play. Anytime you do something new, it’s going to take a while to grasp it. If we stay focused and we keep working hard, we’re going to improve tremendously, which I’m excited about.”

After trailing Kearney by just two at halftime of their season opener, the Trojans came out cold in the second half and weren’t able to get to the free throw line, leading to a 54-40 loss. Their home opener against Oak Park on Friday night had a slightly different tempo to it as Park Hill saw themselves fall behind in the first half of a closely contested matchup. Park Hill took a lead they would not relinquish in the third quarter on the way to a 61-52 win over the Northmen.

While the tone and atmosphere gave the feeling of a district playoff game, there was plenty to resemble an early season game with shaky fundamentals, decision-making, and a 15-36 performance from the free throw line.

“The back and forth was the February part, but our performance and how consistent we were, was definitely the November part,” Garrison said. “They outplayed us in the first half, we didn’t match them effort-wise or energy-wise. We needed a couple things to go our way in the second half to get a win.”

Sophomore guard Landry Shamet led the Trojans in scoring for the second straight game with 14 points.

Drawing Blue Springs South in the first round of the Blue Springs Tournament, the Trojans will face some steep competition over the next two weeks including a ‘Coaches vs. Cancer’ game at Liberty on December 11, a rematch with Blue Springs South at home on December 16, and North Kansas City on December 18.

“We’ll be playing some good teams, so by the time we get to Christmas we’ll have some pretty good experience,” Garrison said.

South wrestling banged up early, but optimistic

While battling several key injuries, Park Hill South was able to turn in a satisfactory performance at the Park Hill Duals last week to earn a fifth place finish. While they undoubtedly would have liked to end the day closer to the top of the field, Park Hill South coach Dan Dunkin says some early season injuries have weaken his team’s early performance.

“We’re a little weak right now, but we’ll be fine. We’re not really too big about what happens in December,” Dunkin said. “We’re still in good spirits and we’ll right the ship here pretty quick, I think.”

The Panthers beat Lee’s Summit North 46-24 earlier in the week leading up to the tournament and will travel to Lee’s Summit North this weekend for their annual tournament.

“Anytime you can beat a Lee’s Summit team who has good athletes, that’s a good thing,” Dunkin said.

Park Hill South’s strong senior class has led the way so far this season and the coaching staff is encouraging them to rack up points the best they can so they are ready for matchups where every point will count.

“Our seniors are doing really well,” Dunkin said. “We’ve been pushing them all day to rack up points. They’re responding well on the mat.”

Park Hill wrestling takes second in own tournament

After having to settle for third in the Park Hill Duals last year, the Park Hill wrestling program was looking to return to the title round this year for the chance to claim first place in their own tournament. Cruising through pool play, the only obstacle left in their way was the top-seeded and nationally ranked Kearney Bulldogs. Despite being the underdog, Park Hill would win several key matchups in the lower weight classes and continue to maintain a narrow into later matches. It would all come down to the final match though when Kearney was able to get a pin in the heavyweight class to pull the Bulldogs over the top 31-27 to clinch a first place finish, their second in as many years.

While the Trojans take consolation in nearly pulling off the upset against a talented Kearney program, second place is not something they are comfortable settling with because it doesn’t align with their ultimate goal.

“Every single match and tournament this year is the state tournament. What we did was we picked up right where we left last year and took second as a team,” Park Hill coach Bill Erneste said. “What we wanted to do was beat Kearney here. We wrestled our tails off and did everything in our power, but Kearney was stronger today. was fun, but it’s only really fun when you come out with a W.”

Erneste says he saw positive signs from a number of wrestlers throughout the tournament, not only his more experienced and decorated wrestlers like Ke-Shawn Hayes and John Erneste, but also those who have fought their way into the lineup for the first time like Anthony Enriquez and August Sobbing.

“I was proud of a lot of individual performances today,” Erneste said. “The fight of our big guys was pleasing since a lot of our big guys are new to the lineup.”

For Park Hill it is all about moving forward though, as each tournament represents an opportunity to be approach as if it is the state tournament. Their next big competition will be this weekend at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman Tournament in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio where some of the country’s best wrestlers will matchup.

“I like where we’re at on the staircase towards the goal of winning, but I’m never excited about taking second,” Erneste said. “We’ve got to get ready for the Ironman Tournament, our next chance at a ‘state tournament’.”

Winter Preview: Park Hill South Boys Basketball

New head basketball coach Rick Zych starts his first year at Park Hill South this season with plenty of success to grab his players’ attention. In 16 years as the head coach at Bishop Miege, the Stags played in five state championship games, winning two state titles. Now on the Missouri side, Zych will take the reins of a Panther basketball program that went 17-9 last year with a young group of talented players. The core of that team returns this season with heightened expectations from their new coach as well as themselves.

“They (the players) won a lot of games last year. They’re expecting success this year, and they know they have to work hard to get it,” Zych said. “We had a lot of sophomores that competed at a high level so we have some experience.”

Senior point guard Anthony Woods is expected to be one of the area’s most dynamic players this season.

“He’s worked real hard in the offseason and has a real good feel for the game. He’s probably one of the better defensive point guards, is real physical and moves his feet,” Zych said of Woods. “Offensively, there aren’t a lot of things he can’t do. He can take us about as far as he wants to go.”

Also joining Woods for their senior seasons will be Mikel Blake and Spenser Braymer who says will be looked upon early for leadership.

“They’ve been around and they are a big part of this program,” Zych said. “You’re only a senior once so there will be some weight on their shoulders.”

The Panthers will have considerable size with juniors Hudson Welty, Payton Meeks, Robert Lane and sophomore Alan Hitt, all of which are taller than 6’4”. Not only do they present a threat near the basket, but they’re versatile, making them dangerous on the perimeter as well.

“We are expecting big things from them. We’ve got some size and should utilize that,” Zych said. “If we stay out of foul trouble it will allow those guys to step out every once in awhile.”

Zych says he’ll bring a similar playing style to what he used at Bishop Miege, which was a fast-paced, up and down approach, but he also understands that each team is different.

“Every team is different; you can’t really compare it to Miege. This is the Park Hill South team of 2012-13 and we’re excited about it,” Zych said. “We’re going to try to get up and down a bit. Hopefully we’ll have the personnel to do it, but to make it work on offense you really just have to make shots and rebound, which we have to guys to do.”

Park Hill South hosts Lee’s Summit (Dec. 14) then travels to Belton (Dec. 18) before competing in the William Jewell Tournament between Christmas and New Year’s.

Winter Preview: Park Hill Boys Basketball

Park Hill boys basketball coach David Garrison only has two players returning with varsity experience from a team that went 7-19 last year, which ended on a high note with an unexpected run to the district title game. However, he does take comfort in knowing he’ll have a handful of seniors taking the next step up to lead his team who know what is expected of them.

“We’re young and have some older kids that don’t have varsity experience, but they’re kids who have been in the program,” Garrison said. “They know what we’re working on, it’s just up to them to go out, execute, and do it.”

After averaging eight points a game last season, senior point guard Keaton Anchors returns alongside junior guard Ricky Trammell as the only Trojans’ letter winners back for the 2012-2013 season. Garrison says he’ll look to Anchors to set the tone.

“Keaton started last year and improved as the season went on. You can tell he has the experience now,” Garrison said. “He’s going to be relied on to get the guys ready and provide some leadership.”

The Trojans could have up to 11 players seeing playing time this year. Seniors Erik Stratman, Devonte Thornton, and junior Kenny McConnell will present difficult matchups for opposing offenses with their athleticism. Seniors Seth Ell, Connor Samenus, and Austin Truvillion are in the mix as well to provide physical presence down-low. A handful of promising sophomores that will see playing time this year include Landry Shamet, Deionte Wilson, and Louis Reinmiller.

Garrison says the mix of raw potential and varying age levels will be something to watch as the season goes on.

“It’s going to be exciting to watch this team improve,” Garrison said. “When you’re inexperienced, you’re going to get better constantly every day. You can see it in practice.”

Garrison says the Trojans lack overwhelming size, so they will try to pick up the pace from time to time which could involve some four-guard sets. The key for Park Hill will be the development of their young shooters and the all-important fundamental of rebounding.

“We have to potential to be good shooters. We have some kids who can make shots, it’s just having the confidence once the game comes around to come through,” Garrison said. “The one thing we’ll have to do really well is doing a good job of rebounding since we aren’t that big.”

Park Hill will see early season action at the Blue Springs and William Jewell Tournaments in December.

Winter Preview: Park Hill South Girls Basketball

The youth movement Park Hill South has been going through the last couple years is one they hope pays off this year as the Lady Panthers return seven letter winners from a team that went 17-10 and finished third in conference last year. Excited for the opportunity to improve, the Panthers come into the season with a renewed sense of confidence and chemistry they hope to take to the next level.

“This is a chance to better our record from last year. From day one, they came in excited about the opportunity they have,” Coach Jenny Orlowski said. “Their goals are very realistic and number one on that list for everybody is districts.”

Among Park Hill South’s returning starters are First Team All-Conference selections sophomore forward Madeline Homoly and junior guard Samantha Roy. Homoly led the team in scoring with 10 points and six rebounds per game last season while Roy served as the team’s point guard and indispensible floor leader. Seniors Courtney Claassen (5 ppg, 2 rpg) and Jessica Lee (9 ppg, 4.5 rpg) will play valuable roles as will junior Morgan Keesee (5.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and sophomore guards Mackenzie Stout (6.8 ppg) and Anna Courtney (4.4 ppg).

Using their improved scoring abilities to create opportunities down low and around the three-point arc, the Panthers also hope to step it up defensively in the full court using their athletic lineup. With so many different weapons returning, the Panthers are faced with a good problem to have early in the season, which will be the amount of capable and deserving players eligible to start.

“My biggest dilemma is I can start any of our seven returning players on a given night and not see a letdown. We’re about ten players deep on the bench right now.”

Capitalizing on mistakes from last year, Orlowski hopes to instill a more composed playing style that can endure tough situations and limit turnovers; especially those teams commonly find themselves later in the season.

“We’re working on poise and confidence. I think there were a lot of games down the stretch (last year) that we lost because we were immature and decision making wasn’t great. So we’re working on when to slow it down compared to running like crazy,” Orlowski said.

The Panthers will face a formidable conference with defending champ Truman and Lee’s Summit West presenting tough matchups, but by picking up where they left off with their lineup last year, Park Hill South feels they can play with anyone.

“If we can be cohesive and play together as one, we should be a tough challenger in any game we play this year,” Orlowski said.

Winter Preview: Park Hill Girls Basketball

There are only a few contributors left from last year’s 16-11 team that made an appearance in the district title game. Losing seven of their top players to graduation or transfer, the Lady Trojans come into this season with only three players with varying levels of varsity experience. For the most part, Coach Aaron Neeser says his team is young and inexperienced, meaning each game will be an opportunity to learn and improve.

Sophomore Katie Reichert’s three points per game represent the only scoring Park Hill will return. Reichert along with senior Davon Thomas and junior Regina Bolin are the players who have played at the varsity level before. Neeser says while Thomas and fellow seniors Jaeden Cordes and Darion Peterson have done a good job of leading the team so far in practice, they will be just like the rest of the team in looking to overcome their lack of experience.

“They’ve been working hard. They do everything we ask them to do, there’s just not a lot of experience,” Neeser said. “Until we get more experience under our belt, we’re going to have a hard time being competitive.”

Speed is one thing the Trojans hope they can use this season to attack teams on defense with, especially since most of the lineup is made up of guards.

“We don’t have very much height, but we do have some speed so we’re going to try to use that to the best of our ability,” Neeser said. “We’re going to try trapping a little and spread it out, so we can maybe get a few easy layups.”

Park Hill will have a whole host of players in different roles as the season goes on including sophomores Murphy Crowl, Kaylyn Magee, and Jaleiyah Gibbs. As their coach said, we won’t know much about this year’s Lady Trojan squad until their first couple games.

“Until you turn on the lights, you can’t ever be sure what you have or what their potential might be,” Neeser said.

Park Hill starts the season off with some key early season matchups with North Kansas City (Dec. 6^th), Platte County (Dec. 10^th), and Kearney (Dec. 13^th).

Winter Preview: Park Hill Wrestling

There’s something about taking second place as a team at last year’s state wrestling tournament that doesn’t sit well for Park Hill Wrestling, a program defined by its state title aspirations. Not only did the Trojans take second as a team, but they also failed to bring home an individual champion. This has left a fire in the belly of a squad returning seven previous state qualifiers. Coach Bill Erneste says his team is using that for motivation as they come into the 2012-2013 season once again looking for a chance at a state title.

“What we do is talk about taking second,” Erneste said. “We’ve been talking about what the difference is and whether we’re willing to do that little amount more to get to first. It’s our job to make that decision in our minds.”

John Erneste (120) and Russ Coleman (145) return after finishing as runners-up at state last season. Third place medal winner Ke-Shawn Hayes (113) along with fourth place state finishers Hunter Roberts (126) and Malik Colding (170) and fifth place finisher Colston DiBlasi (152) all come back. Also in the mix again this year will be senior Paxton DiBlasi who qualified for state in 2011 at 138.

Adding to the Trojans’ strength will be two freshmen in Canton Marriott and Shawn Hosford, who Erneste says are anything but your normal newcomers.

“We have two ‘impact freshmen’, because they are freshmen by age only,” Erneste said. “They’ve had success on the national level already. It’s nice to be able to have those kinds of kids coming in from our youth club.”

Filling in the rest of the lineup will be several wrestlers who have earned roster spots including August Sobbing and Anthony Enriquez.

Electing team captains for the first team this year, Park Hill will have solid and proven leadership at the helm, which gives Erneste reassuring confidence his team will remain focused on the task at hand.

“They voted Russ Coleman (three-time state finalist), Paxton DiBlasi, and John Erneste,” Erneste said. “I have to be honest; I haven’t had to yell much at practice with them. Everyone remembers what second feels like.”

With another year of experience and physical conditioning in their favor, the Trojans bring back more than a handful of strong guns capable of lifting Park Hill back to state championship status. The question is whether the motivation they take away from their second place finish last year will be enough to get them there.

“I like this year’s team, we’re excited,” Erneste said. “The coaches, the wrestlers, and the parents are all committed to it.”

Winter Preview: Park Hill South Wrestling

If there’s one theme this year’s Park Hill South wrestling senior class has followed over its previous three seasons, it has been their determination to improve upon the previous year. Last year, that meant following the school’s first conference title in 2011 with a second in 2012, later sending the most qualifiers to state they have in program history (8), which resulted in a ninth place overall team finish. With the bar set high, the 2012-2013 Panthers hope to go above and beyond once again.

“We have a good senior group and they’ve been doing well the last three years for us. This group has always wanted to do better than they did the last year, so I hate to say what that is this year,” Park Hill South coach Dan Dunkin said. “Obviously, we want to be in position to push for a trophy at state. We won conference last year and want to give Park Hill a go at it this year.”

State runner-up and team captain Chase Gray will return to pursue a state title he came so close to with his 47-6 record last season.

“He wants to be a state champion now. There are two guys coming back in that weight class so it won’t be easy,” Dunkin said. “He wrestled real well last year to get to the finals and it’s going to be tough.”

Park Hill South will return five other state qualifiers including Alex Fortuna (120), George Barth (126), Jimmy Carpenter (132), Adam Weatherly (152), and Kendric Cook (170). Several were able to win first round matches before falling in later rounds. Fellow seniors joining them will be Tyler Blythe, Alex Weatherly, Logan Gillespie, and Erik Elder.

Dunkin says another added advantage of having a strong senior class is the competition it breeds among less experienced wrestlers. Nasser Baroqua, Daniel Gray, Kaleb Lenhardt, and Zach Horton are just some expected to step into roles this season.

With Park Hill and Lee’s Summit West within their conference for 2012-2013, the Panthers know the competition will be tough, but also have the leadership to guide them through it.

“Our schedule didn’t get easier,” Dunkin said. “But our kids are comfortable and we’re not going to lay down either.”