Park Hill’s girls swim team turned in a competitive showing at a meet on Jan. 3 at Gladstone Community Center, finishing second overall behind Staley in a four-team field that also included Oak Park and North Kansas City.
The Trojans totaled 441 points across 12 events, highlighted by consistent top-five finishes, strong relay performances and several individual podium efforts as the lineup continued to build depth in its first competition of 2026.
Staley stood in a class of its own, winning all 12 events to end the morning with 706 points. Park Hill’s haul of over 400 points beat out a pair of conference foes, topping Oak Park’s 324 score and North Kansas City’s 180 score.
Park Hill opened the meet with a solid effort in the 200-yard medley relay, where the A relay of Ava Knepper, Genevieve Poitras, Brynn Wilkens and Kaitlyn Werner placed second in 2 minutes, 6.77 seconds. The Trojans added valuable points later in the meet with a runner-up finish in the 400 freestyle relay, as Werner, Knepper, Poitras and Wilkens combined for a 4:15.86 to close the night on a high note.
Individually, Knepper led Park Hill with a third-place finish in the 200 individual medley, touching in 2:34.18. The sophomore also added a fourth-place showing in the 100 butterfly, continuing to anchor the Trojans’ presence in the middle-distance and stroke events.
Wilkens was another key sophomore contributor, finishing third in the 200 freestyle and backing it up with a third-place result in the 100 freestyle at 1:00.45. Werner represented the Trojans’ experience as a senior and delivered one of the team’s strongest distance swims of the day in the 500 freestyle, placing fifth with a time of 6:16.11.
Park Hill sophomore Brynn Wilkens finished top-three in the 100-yard freestyle race in just over a minute.
Claire Conrad, another senior, also scored in the 500 freestyle with an eighth-place finish, while the Trojans continued to rack up points through the lineup with consistent swims in the sprint and distance events. In the 50 freestyle, Werner placed fourth, and Conrad followed in ninth as Park Hill placed multiple swimmers in scoring positions.
The Trojans found additional success in the breaststroke, where freshman Paige Hardy finished second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:26.36. Sophomore Andra Hatcher also added points with a seventh-place finish, while Park Hill continued to show improvement in depth across multiple heats.
In the backstroke events, Poitras placed fourth in the 100 backstroke, narrowly missing the podium while junior Carson Codding added a fifth-place finish. Park Hill also collected points in the relays late in the meet, including a fifth-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay.
Park Hill’s second-place team finish reflected a balanced effort throughout the morning with strong performances from veteran swimmers and meaningful contributions from the Trojans’ developing depth. As the season continues, Park Hill will look to build on its results when it hosts Kearney on Jan. 6, then travel to Springfield for duals on Jan. 9 and the Ozarks Invitational on Jan. 10.