The best volleyball team at the NAIA level calls Parkville home.
Park moved from No. 5 in the preseason poll to No. 1 and has held the top ranking for the past three weeks.
The Pirates moved to 20-0 overall with a win over Lindewnood-Belleville on Saturday, Oct. 6 at the Breckon Sports Center in Parkville in American Midwest Conference play.
After a 5-0 start, Parkville moved up to No. 1, becoming the top-ranked team for the first time since Aug. 15, 2015. Park opened up with wins against No. 4 Viterbo, No. 1 Lindsey Wilson and No. 22 Indiana Wesleyan in the Hampton Inn Invitational in Columbia, Mo., to open the season.
That same week, Danna Gomes (Sr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was named the national setter of the week and Nada Meawad (So., Cairo, Egypt) was named the national attacker of the week.
On Monday, Oct. 8, Gomes was named the AMC setter of the week for the third time this season.
PARK ATHLETICS/Special to the Citizen
Park volleyball player Maren Roper goes up for a kill in a match earlier this year for the Pirates. The Platte County product is on the NAIA’s No. 1-ranked program.
She had 107 total assists in Park’s three victories last week, averaging 11.89 assists per set. She also had 18 total digs, averaging two digs per set. Her 47 assists in the win over Baker on Oct. 2 were the most this season for Gomes.
Gomes is second all-time at Park in career assists with 4,844. For her career she averages 10.96 assists per set.
Park will be back in action on Wednesday, Oct. 10, as they head to Ottawa, Kansas, to take on Ottawa in a non-conference match at 7 p.m.
Historic win
Park women’s soccer coach Ken Hefner collected career win No. 300 late last month, when the Pirates defeated Central Baptist College, 4-0, in Conway, Arkansas.
Hefner has coached for 26 years and improved to 300-198-22 all-time and has 159-78-12 record at Park, the all-time win leader.
He is the fourth active coach in NAIA history with 300 or more wins, the others include Brian Harvey of Oklahoma City, 363-119-25, Patrick T. Gilliam of Trinity International (Ill.), 313-141-24 and Jason Crist of Spring Arbor (Mich.), 310-78-26.
Adding for 2020 class
Park softball coach Lindsey Derry added the first two players for the 2020 signing class and both hail from Missouri.
The first to ink was Presley Welch from Calvary Lutheran High School in Jefferson City, Mo., who is a pitcher for the Class 2 school. She had an ERA of 1.90 last year, helping her team reach the postseason. She has been an all-region, all-conference and all-district pitcher.
Also joining is Hannah Garcia from Staley High School. The infielder/outfielder also plays basketball and competes for the track and field team, while being in the marching band. She was an all-district runner on the 4x200-meter relay team.
Runners of the week
Park senior Nicholas Rotich was recently named the American Midwest Conference cross country runner of the week. The Eldoret, Kenya native finished fourth out of 180 at the Les Duke Invitational at Grinnell College.
He helped Park take fifth place in the 8K race.
The women’s team also had a runner of the week when Naomi Lagat was honored for her performance at the Dean White Invitational at Doane University. Lagat took 10th place in the 181-runner field, helping the Pirates place sixth out of 14 teams.
Win in Columbia
Senior golfer Evan Shartzer shot 141 to win the 2018 Cougar Classic at the Columbia Country Club on Oct. 2.
The Overland Park, Kan., native shot 70-71 and finished 1-under par to win the 55-golfer field. For his efforts, he was named the American Midwest Conference golfer of the week.
Wes Buntenbach tied for fourth for Park, which took third overall in the team standings.
In the same event, the Pirates took third place in the women’s tournament.
Leeah Shipley was the runner-up shooting 161, two shots behind the winner, Maria Zrodowska of William Woods. Shipley, from Smithville, shot 84-77 and helped the Pirates take third place overall.
Lexi Grego tied for 14th for Park.
The Pirates will next compete on October 15-16 at the Lindenwood-Belleville Tournament at Stonewolf Golf Course in Fairview Heights, Ill.
Cross Country newcomers
The list of new Pirates this year included two runners with siblings already on the roster. Jack Lindren, from Ogallala, Nebraska joins a program that his sister, Megan, while Tony Rios, from Fort Osage in Independence, Mo., joins a roster with his sister, Marina.
Rios will be joined by high school teammate Austin Smith.
Park Hill’s Jena Hahlbeck, who signed in May, is another newcomer.
Other new runners are: Michael Bullington (The Colony, Texas); Brandon Davis (Florrisant, Mo.);
Andrew Duckworth (Willard, Mo.); Cesar Medina (Kansas City, Kan.); Lilly Abdulla (Kansas City, Mo.); A’Ja Norris-Ford (Kansas City, Mo.); Naomi Lagat (Eldoret, Keny) and Anne Thomas (Kansas City, Mo.).
Ford and Lagat are both transfers, from Neosho County (Kan.) Community College and Nehema Institute of Science and Technology, respectively.
Three transfers join golf squad
Park coach Tony Blake added 10 golfers to the men’s and women’s teams, including three transfers.
Hannah Bracken, from Stanberry, joins the team from North Central Missouri College in Trenton.
The Pirates added Matt Percy (Ottawa, Kan.) and Andrew Rios-Ceballos (Sydney, Australia), who were teammates at Hutchison (Kan.) Community College.
The freshmen joining the teams were: Faith Beaty (Lee’s Summit, Mo.); Kericeten Nelson (Kansas City, Mo.); Savannah Oesterle (Smithville); Madison Rogers (Richardson, Texas); Jonathan Graf (Murrieta, Calif.); Ben Spicer (Wichita, Kan.) and Trey Stone (Pleasant Hill, Mo.).
A Pirate becomes a Pirate
Park men’s soccer coach Efrem Shimlis added a bevy of new players prior to the start of the 2018 season to fill out the varsity and developmental roster.
One of the newcomers is Platte County product Baylor Cox. The junior midfielder transferred after two years at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.
Park Hill South product Isaiah McGilchrist, a freshman, is also joining Park. The midfielder is attending the same school his father did.
In addition to Cox, other transfers include Sam Malone from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan.; Matt Jonsen, a native of Harrogate, England, who transfers from Iowa Lakes Community College in Spencer, Iowa and Logan Galvin, a goalkeeper that joins Malone in transferring from Bethany College.
Other freshmen new to the Pirates: Anikor Emeke (Nairobi, Kenya); Martin Castillo (Santiago, Chile); Derrick Omesa (Nairobi, Kenya); Mohammed Ndaliro (Nairobi, Kenya); Esau Segoviano (Kansas City, Kan.); Gabriel Maldonado (Kansas City, Kan.); Daniel Araya (Antofagasta, Chile); Tyler Sidebottom (Blue Springs, Mo.); Levi Horosz (Olathe, Kan.); Bruno Comin (Curitba Parana, Brazil); Thiago Tucci (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil); Keaton Tucker (Raytown, Mo.) and Marcelo Aquino (Suzano, Brazil).
Ndaliro made an immediate impact, being named the American Midwest Conference offensive player of the week after helping Park beat Central Baptist. He had a hat trick in the win and did so in only six shots.
Sweet 16
Park soccer coach Ken Hefner added 16 newcomers to the 2018 roster. Four of the players are transfers, while one of the 12 freshmen joining hails from Platte County – Kaylyn Hathaway. She will be a goalkeeper for the Pirates, a role she held during the 2017 season for the Pirates.
Transferring in are juniors Heather Wojahn (MCC-Maple Woods, who played at Park Hill); Serena Ortiz (Kansas City (Kan.) Community College) and sophomores Giovanna Linares (UIC College Prep) and Mazeli Rangel (Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.
Other freshmen joining the team was Faith Kwamboka (Nairobi, Kenya); Makenna Hutchison (Edgerton, Kan.); Kira Whittle (Sunderland, England); Harper Manley (Lee’s Summit, Mo.); Leah Rogge (Raymore, Mo.); Lenvix Ochieng (Mombasa City, Kenya); Angelina Lopez (Kansas City, Mo.); Krystina Preston (Kansas City, Mo.); Annamaria Mortelli (Kansas City, Mo.); Lilli Clark (Gardner, Kan.); Shailynne Davis (Kansas City, Mo.)
Seven games into her career, Ochieng was named the American Midwest Conference offensive player of the year. She scored three goals, one in the win at Stephens College and two more in the win at Central Baptist, during a span last month. The goals were her 10th, 11th and 12th goals of the season. She is ranked No. 6 in the NAIA in goals per game at 1.71.
Volleyball adds 12
Platte County player Lilly Harrison is one of 12 new players for the Park volleyball program.
The freshman libero joins a team with already one Pirate on the road – Maren (Mair) Roper.
Northland Christian’s Rebekah Rothacher also joins Park after helping the Trailblazers become a Class 1 power.
Other freshmen joining are Lucy Herter (Wichita, Kan.); Margherita Marconi (Jesi, Italy); Natalya Nalivaiko (Independence, Mo.); Kasia Penyock (Independence, Mo.); Raven Ross (Hollister, Mo.);
The roster additions included a handful of transfers as well.
Giovanna Jordao (Sao Paulo, Brazil) joins from Eastern Wyoming College; Taryn Bloomfield (Bettendorf, Iowa) from Graceland; Paula de Oliveira (Sao Paulo, Brazil) from Miami-Dade College and Lorrayne Silva (Bel Horizonte, Brazil) from Eastern Florida State College.