Park Hill senior Mackenzie Moretina gets ready to take the baton in the Kansas City Suburban Conference Silver Division Champion 4x200 that finished in 1:44.7 on May 1.
LEE’S SUMMIT – Needing to beat the Staley girls in the final race to claim second place in the Kansas City Suburban Conference Silver Division Track and Field Meet, Park Hill did just that with a 4:08.37 4x400 at Lee’s Summit North High School on May 1.
Going into the 4x400, Park Hill and Staley were in a tight race for second place – well behind conference champion Liberty, which ended with 168 points. When the final event concluded, the Lady Trojans stood above four other schools with 99 points, outlasting the Lady Falcons’ 97.5.
The Park Hill boys ended in sixth place with 64 points, eight shy of its cross-town rivals. Park Hill South rounded up in fifth place for both boys and girls with 72 and 74.5 points.
The Park Hill girls dominated in the relays, taking the crown in the 4x200 in 1:44.7, earning second place in the 4x400 in 4:08.37 and placing third in the 4x100 in 50.21 seconds. Park Hill South ended in third place in the 4x800 with a time of 10:46.5.
Park Hill senior Jamari Ervin took second place in the 100, crossing the finish line in 12.82 seconds. In the 200, she trailed Caroline Schaag – who ended in fourth place in 26.35 seconds – by two places and 1.9 seconds.
Park Hill South sophomore Madilynn Conklin claimed all-conference honors twice when she ended in third place in the mile and the 2-mile with times of 5:20.08 and 12:18.07, respectively. Zoe Flook and Lauren Bishard were the fifth and sixth runners to finish the 2-mile, doing so with times of 12:26.66 and 12:43.12, respectively.
Natalie Gerdes was the Silver Division runner-up in two long-distance events. The Lady Trojan senior ended the mile with a time of 5:18.38 and finished the 2-mile in 11:48.57.
Mackenzie Moretina became a conference champion in the 100-meter hurdles, ending in 15.15 seconds. Park Hill South sophomores Renae Masson and Brooklynn Verdi took third and fourth places in 16.66 and 17.16 seconds, respectively.
Masson put another all-conference notch in her belt in the 300-meter hurdles, taking third place in 48.05 seconds. Junior LaNicia Parker beat everyone in the event in 47.34 seconds.
The Lady Trojans relied on Brooke Boehm in the jumping events. The senior won the high jump in 5’1 and won the long jump in 18’5.25.
For the Lady Panthers, Parker was the runner-up in the long jump with an 18’2 leap. Audrey Steitz was the third-place triple jumper with a 33’11 hop.
Park Hill junior Grace Hodge and Park Hill South junior Lauren Smith were in a battle in the pole vault. They both cleared 9’0.25 to earn all-conference honors, beating out Lady Panther senior Aubrie Boehler who tied for sixth place with an 8’8.25 vault.
In the javelin, Park Hill freshman Mandia Bock outlasted Park Hill South junior Erin Stewart. Bock took second place with a 116’0.25 throw and Stewart was one place behind her with a chuck of 106’0.75.
Thomas Garrett was huge for the Park Hill South boys, earning all-conference in two long-distance races. The sophomore was the Silver Division champion in the mile with a time of 4:21.44 and took fourth place in the 800 with a time of 2:01.5.
Panther senior Tanner Clippard just missed out on all-conference in the 800 and the mile, taking fifth place in both, being .8 and 1.22 seconds behind a fourth-place finish. The senior ran the mile in 4:28.96 and the 800 in 2:02.3, respectively.
The Panthers had back-to-back finishers in the 2-mile, led by Grant Windmeyer in fourth place with a time of 10:03.26. Cole James finished in 10:05.51, followed by Simon Ketter in 10:07.86.
Park Hill South continued doing damage in the long distance when it came to relays with the 4x800. That was the only all-conference relay team, claiming second place in 8:14.7.
Braylon Agee was the only Park Hill runner to bring home conference honors individually when he took third place in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.61 seconds. The Trojans’ 4x400 earned all-conference status, crossing the finish line in 3:33.88 receiving fourth place, along with their 4x800 that took fourth place in 8:32.53.
Three of the top-4 long and high jumpers in the Silver Division were from Park Hill and Park Hill South. Trojan senior Desire Tonye-Nyemeck became a conference champion in the high jump by two inches, clearing 6’4.75.
He was followed by his teammate Legend Freelon and Park Hill South senior Damon Stacker who tied for third place. They both jumped 6’0.75.
Zeshaun Ballance-Gray led the way for the Panthers in the sand pit, winning the triple jump with a 46’8 leap and having the third longest long jump in 22’1.75. For the Trojans, Jordan Smith took second place with a 22’3.75 long jump and Fredrick Marshall Jr. ended in fourth place with a 21’7.75 hop.
Smith was the conference champion in the javelin with a 173’9.5 throw, followed by Park Hill South junior Carter Zehr who ended in fifth place with a 140’8.25 throw and Park Hill sophomore Ja’Mare Bell ended in sixth place with a 135’3.5 throw. Jonah Were shined as a sophomore and was another all-conference athlete for the Trojans with a fourth place shot put of 43’5.75.
In the pole vault, two Panthers and five total athletes cleared 13’ with T.J. McGhee falling to fifth place. There was a 2-foot gap to 11’ for sixth-place Roman Lewis.
Kiros Martin killed it in the discus, becoming a conference champion with a 161’11.25 chuck. Harold Moore ended in fifth place with a 138’6.25 throw.