Still minus one star, Park Hill South still finished fourth out of 30 teams in the Forest Park Festival of Miles Green Division on Saturday, Sept. 9 in St. Louis.
Emma Roth, a senior, continued to run at the top for the Panthers, finishing seventh in 19 minutes, 36.28 seconds coming off of a win in her first race of the season. Keely Danielsen placed 17th (20:19.21) in her season debut with a field of 207 runners in the race.
Last season, Park Hill South finished third and went on to the best finish in program history at the Class 4 Missouri State Cross Country Championships.
Olivia Roth, a sophomore and Park Hill South’s third returning state qualifier to make the trip, finished 24th. Overall, the Panthers totaled a team score of 197 and were just two points back of Blue Springs and 22 behind champion Fatima.
On the boys side, Park Hill also competed in the Green Division and placed 25th. Parker Canfield, a junior, led the Trojans in 75th place (17:52.58) out of 196 runners.
Raymore-Peculiar Invitational
Park Hill South’s senior core turned in an impressive showing in the big school division Saturday, Sept. 9 in Raymore, Mo.
Trey Rouse (fifth, 16:40), Eli Guzman (ninth, 16:49.20) and Ewan Frick (15th, 16:59.90) were all bunched in the top 15 for the Panthers, who finished second with a team 107. Liberty topped the standings at 103 behind individual champion Ryan Flood.
Park Hill’s girls were seventh out of 16 in the team standings with senior Grace Fink (27th) and sophomore Brooklyn Niebaum (36th) the top finishers.
In the small school division, West Platte sophomore Lexi Elmore came in sixth, leading the Bluejays to a sixth-place team finish. Lindsay Goodwin (19th) and Lea Moose (35th) were again in the lineup for West Platte, helping to post a team score.
West Platte’s boys were eighth after top runner Max Davies dropped out of the race due to illness. Phillip Pattison, a sophomore, posted a personal best 18:16.50 to finish 11th, while Andrew Cicha was 24th with a season-best 19:14.50 despite battling knee soreness.
Oak Grove Classic
Platte County dominated both races and won both team titles Thursday, Sept. 7 in Oak Grove, Mo. The Pirates had four in the top five of each race in their second meet of the year.
Jackson Letcher, a junior and two-time Class 4 Missouri State Cross Country Championships qualifier, earned his first career win for Platte County at 18:06 with junior Keegan Cordova in second (18:16) and sophomore Evan McPhatter in third (18:36).
Nick Bjustrom (fifth) and Evan Edwards (10th) — both seniors — rounded out the Pirates’ team score.
On the girls side, Platte County senior Lauren Straubel placed second (21:48) with teammates Maddie Klippenstein (third, 22:16), Lauren Johnson (fourth, 22:30) and Taylor Giger (fifth, 22:41) right behind her. Lindsay Johnson was the fifth runner for the Pirates at 23:05.