Park Hill always envisioned a playoff return last season but didn’t end up with the chance to defend its district title.
The season ended with a 48-41 loss to Staley in the Class 5 District 16 semifinals, ending an up-and-down season at 11-13. Having ended a long playoff drought in 2014-15, the Trojans showed off their development as a program but came up short of the repeat despite an experienced roster.
Park Hill coach Aaron Neeser lost starters Maliah Hudson and Amanda Alexander but again returns a large portion of a roster now used to winning more than losing.
“I think it’s going to help us out a lot,” Park Hill senior guard Alex Berger said. “We have a majority of seniors, and we’ve got a couple younger kids who are going to come up and make a big impact.”
Berger and fellow seniors Gigi Hopkins and Morgen Smith all return to the starting lineup after earning All-Red Division honors last season along with juniors Jenna Winebrenner, Taiya Shelby and Ali Walls, who missed all of last season while rehabbing a torn ACL. In addition, junior Andie Powell and sophomore TT Bryant should provide depth.
The challenge will be seeing how Park Hill adapts to moving up to the Suburban Conference Gold Division, the largest of four tiers in the league.
“I feel like we have a lot of individual talent, but I don’t know how cohesive we are quite yet so do I think we can get there? Absolutely,” Park Hill coach Aaron Neeser said. But it’s going to take some time because we’ve got some new parts and some new people that we’re trying to depend on.”