The defending Class 2 champion Park Hill South Panthers opened the dual season in dominant fashion, sweeping its first matchup against district rival Park Hill on Dec. 16 at the Park Hill Aquatic Center.
The Panthers rolled to a 145–40 victory, showcasing their depth once again across swimming and diving in the season-opening event for both programs.
Park Hill South set the tone immediately in the girls 200-yard medley relay, taking the top three scoring spots. South’s B relay of Elisa DeCaro, Joslyn Perry, Lily Wheeler and Brooke Nichols took first in 1 minute, 58.36 seconds, narrowly ahead of the Panthers’ A group. That momentum carried through the early individual events, where senior Lizzie Landuyt claimed the 200 freestyle in 2:02.65 and freshman Claire Dierker won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:27.09.
The Panthers continued to pile up points in the sprints. Sophomore Ashlyn Hines captured the 50 freestyle in 25.93, while Dierker added another victory in the 100 freestyle, touching in 58.01. Junior Jia Hurst was also a multi-event standout, winning the 100 butterfly in 1:03.39 and contributing to a relay victory later in the meet.
Diving proved to be another strength for Park Hill South with senior Aniya Clemons lead a sweep of the top three places on the 1-meter board, posting a winning score of 249.15. Avery Kuennen and Trisha Hayes followed closely behind, giving the Panthers a significant boost midway through the meet.
Park Hill found success in several races despite the Park Hill found success in several races despite the lopsided team score. Sophomore
Brynn Wilkens finished second in the 50 freestyle and placed third in the 100 butterfly, while senior Kaitlyn Werner delivered consistent performances in the 200 and 100 freestyle events. Junior Genevieve Poitras led the Trojans in distance, taking third in the 500 freestyle.
More relays helped the Panthers seal the outcome, winning the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:48.85 and closing the meet by taking the top two spots in the 400 freestyle relay, highlighted by a winning 4:01.04 effort from Mallory Crane, Landuyt, Clara Wilson and Nichols.
The dual marked a strong season-opening statement for Park Hill South, while Park Hill got an early look at what it will take to compete with the defending state champions heading into the rest of the season.
Park Hill South made a trip to the St. Louis area over the weekend, defeating Marquette High School 116-70 in a dual on Dec. 12 before winning the Marquette Relays for a second consecutive season, winning 284 points to top second-place St. Joseph’s Academy’s score of 264.
The Panthers won 10 of the 12 dual events and 5 of 9 tournament events.
In the tournament, South’s 200-yard freestyle team of Crane, Dierker, Nichols and Hines finished first in 1:43.68. The trio of Dierker, Nichols and Landuyt took the 3x200 relay in 6:12.84 with Landuyt teaming up with Perry, Hurst, and Hines for a first-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay in 4:13.42.
The Panthers’ relay dominance continued with Nichols anchoring a relay team of McHugh, Dierker and Crane for a first-place finish in 3:52.93 in the 400 freestyle. After taking some time off, Park Hill South finished the race with a first-place finish in the 200 medley in 1:53.29 made of Landuyt, Perry, Hurst and Hines.
Park Hill was among the 14 teams in action at the BlueMO Meet hosted by Blue Springs South on Dec. 13.
Park Hill’s best finish came in diving, where Zoe Lyons finished fourth with a score of 385.85.
The Trojans’ 200 relay squad of Werner, Poitras, Wilkens and Conrad had a top-10 finish in 2:08.81. Wilkens also made the top-10 in the 50 freestyle in a time of 27.80.
Park Hill concluded the day with one final top 10 finish from their 400 freestyle relay of Werner, Mills, Knepper and Wilkens, who finished in 4:16.80.