Park Hill South finally put a full lineup together and then ran away with a fourth straight Suburban Conference Red Division championship. The Panthers placed four of their five scoring runners in the top eight Saturday, Oct. 7 in Independence, Mo.
Emma Roth, a senior, led the way in second place for Park Hill South, which totaled 31 points to beat Liberty by 17.
Coming off a win in the KC Metro Classic, Roth turned in a time of 19 minutes, 49 seconds to finish behind two-time Red Division champion Madelynn Hill of Liberty (18:55). Keely Danielsen, Marti Heit and Olivia Roth — Park Hill South’s next three runners — finished back-to-back-to-back in sixth, seventh and eighth.
Danielsen returned after missing the Metro Classic, while Heit ran for just the third time this season. Both are seniors.
Olivia Roth and Paige Snider (12th) — a pair of sophomores — rounded out Park Hill South’s team score.
Park Hill South couldn’t quite catch Liberty for the other team title despite a pair of top three showings. Trey Rouse and Eli Guzman — both seniors — were second and third for the Panthers, who finished with 53 points.
Liberty senior Ryan Flood won the race, and the Blue Jays were the team champion with a total of 39.
Rouse (16:47.37) and Guzman (16:48.40) were next on the list, but Park Hill South Ewan Frick was next for the Panthers back in 13th. Christian Ludtke and Quentin Worley were 17th and 18th to round out the team score.
Park Hill South competes next in the Class 4 District 8 race Saturday, Oct. 21 in Liberty, Mo. Class 4 Sectional 4 will be the following Saturday in Kearney, Mo.
Suburban Conference Gold Division Championships
Park Hill wrapped up the regular season Saturday, Oct. 7 in Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Grace Fink, a senior, posted the best individual finish for the Trojans (19th, 21:00), while sophomore Brooklyn Niebaum was right behind in 24th (21:23). They were sixth out of seventh in the final team standings.
Park Hill freshman Daniel Foster placed 36th in the other race in a field of 47 runners, and the Trojans were seventh.