Park Hill South head boys’ soccer coach Chris Farmer was the Class 4 Coach of the Year for public schools.
PARKVILLE – In addition to bringing home a second-place finish at state, the Park Hill South boys’ soccer team had players reach new heights and earn postseason awards.
Senior goalkeeper Hayden Thatcher, senior midfielder Zackary Adams, junior defender Jake Farmer and head coach Chris Farmer highlight the long list of Park Hill South’s accolades in the aftermath of the historical season. They each earned honors higher than first-team selections, being eligible for Class 4 All-State, Class 4 Region 4 – which is all players in districts 7 and 8 – Class 4 District 8 Tournament and the Kansas City Suburban Conference Silver Division.
Coach Farmer was the Class 4 Coach of the Year for public schools and Class 4 Region 4 Coach of the Year. He led Park Hill South to a perfect 10-0 record in conference play, earning coach of the year there as well.
Adams was the Class 4 Co-Offensive Player of the Year alongside Grant Locker from SLUH after scoring 20 goals on the year. The senior was also the player player of the year in the Silver Division and in the Class 4 Region 4.
Thatcher had a remarkable senior campaign, saving 52 goals ahead of the Class 4 Final Four. He was the goalkeeper of the year in the entire state, as well as in the conference and region.
Farmer is only a junior but was the defensive player of the year in the region and conference. While he plays defense, he scored twice this fall.
Park Hill South finished the regular season undefeated in the Kansas City Suburban Conference Silver Division. The strong play led to the Panthers having more than their starting lineup earn recognition.
Ty Stone was offensive player of the year as a junior, ending the year with a team-high 11 assists. Stone tied with Quinlan McNellis to lead the team with 11 goals on the season, which includes one of the three goals scored in the two games at state; McNellis scored the other two goals at state and was on the second team all-conference.
Along with all the players previously mentioned, Lucas Smith, Dante Toapanta and Isaiah Mesa were first team selection on the Silver Division. Asher Huffman, Maddox Redman, William Bowne, Benny Rouse and Ahoy Victore were Silver Division Honorable Mentions.
Park Hill South had players get ranked on an even higher spectrum as four for chosen as all-state. In all of Class 4, there were 26 first team selections, 25 second team selections and 18 honorable mentions.
Park Hill South senior Hayden Thatcher was the goalkeeper of the year in the entire state, as well as in the conference and region.
Adams added to his impressive senior year resume with a first team selection and so did Farmer, who was one of six juniors to gain that honor, while Thatcher made it to the second team and Stone was an honorable mention. Farmer, Stone, Thatcher and Adams made the all-region team.
Park Hill South collected its first district title since 2019 when taking down Park Hill and made it to state for the first time in the 21st century. The Trojans also had multiple awards on the year.
Luka Andonovski was a first-team all-state selection and Ethan Howell made the second team, while Will Poole was one of five Class 4 All-State Honorable Mentions. Andonovski was the only Trojan who made the Silver Division First Team as Poole, Howell, Thomas Sweet, Caden Duarte and Hudson Browne made the second team.
Daiggan Gaar, Braedan Nichols, Tanner Poirier and Aiden Romsland were Silver Division Honorable Mentions. Making the Class 4 Region 4 Team were Howell, Andonovski and Poole.