Fall sports notes: Lee’s Summit gymnasts win at SM North

Source: The Star

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PHOTOS BY Susan Pfannmuller | Special to The Kansas City Star

Brittany Kallenberger (above) of Lee’s Summit competed on Saturday at the Shawnee Mission North Invitational meet. Beneath the balance beam, footprints were abundant.

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For most of the 14 varsity gymnastics teams at the Shawnee Mission North Invitational, the big meet last Saturday was an early gauge, a chance to learn and evaluate with an eye to the end-of-season state championship meet.

For the Lee’s Summit girls, it’s a little different.

With no state meet in Missouri, these regular season competitions take on greater meaning because the end goal for Lee’s Summit is simple:

“Undefeated,” coach Patty Barthold said matter-of-factly.

So far, so good. The Lee’s Summit team now has won each of its three meets this season after an impressive first-place at SM North with 101.975 points against a collection of top Kansas competitors.

“This is a tell-tale (meet) because this is all of the Kansas schools and us, so this lets us know that it’s possible that we could have an undefeated season,” Barthold said.

Sophomore Brittany Kallenberger led the way, tying for the top score of 34.9 in the all-around competition with Elayna Briggs of Olathe Northwest.

“I was shocked that I won,” Kallenberger said, surprised her score was good enough.

Kallenberger placed second in the vault (9.075), second on the floor (8.950), tied for fifth on the beam (8.600) and took seventh on the bars (8.275).

Also for Lee’s Summit, sophomore Sarah Hopkins placed third in the all-around (34.150) and sophomore Brooke Green was seventh (32.575). Both are new to the high school team this season. Hopkins was second on the bars (8.850) and fifth on the floor (8.600), and Green tied for third on the bars (8.550).

SOFTBALL When Belton finished third in the Platte County softball invitational last weekend, the Pirates turned to sophomore pitcher Kelsey Schifferdecker for two of its three wins. Schifferdecker stayed at the top of her game in a week when she pushed her winning streak to nine games and did not allow an earned run.

“She’s just on a roll,” coach Jeff Davis said. “We think she’s probably big time.”

Schifferdecker now has allowed only one earned run in 72 innings for a 0.10 earned run average.

When the Belton defense struggled last weekend with Schifferdecker on the mound, allowing unearned runs in the first inning, she was able to pitch the team to comeback victories.

“As a pitcher, you start feeling like you’re carrying the whole club, and she never showed to me any grief,” Davis said. “If it were me, I would be yelling at people. The staff believes she’s one of the most competitive girls we’ve ever had.”

BOYS SOCCERThe Barstow boys soccer team has entered survival mode as it plays through its most difficult stretch of the season.

Last week, the team traveled to St. Louis for the Principia tournament in which the Knights lost 2-0 to Whitfield Academy, the second-ranked team in Missouri Class 1, then defeated No. 7 Principia 1-0.

“We were starting to get beat up (and) got tired,” coach Scott Huppe said. “We went to a defensive system and just closed out the final 20 minutes to get the win. It was a good win.”

In other action last week, Barstow defeated St. Pius X, the 10th ranked team, in a regular season match.

Now, Barstow, ranked sixth in Class 1, will meet No. 4 Springfield Catholic on Friday in the Sacred Heart Showcase in Sedalia.

“We’re right in the bulk of our schedule,” Huppe said. “We’ve had a tough schedule, but this year we put them close together to give us a good test here (in) September to see where we stand and what we need to do to make a serious playoff run.”

CROSS COUNTRYWhile most top cross country teams around the metro area will compete in the Rim Rock Farm Classic this weekend in Lawrence, the Lee’s Summit North boys’ cross-country team prepares for a Portland challenge.

For the first time, Broncos coach Kris Solsberg has entered the team in the Nike Pre-Nationals. This Saturday, the northwest meet welcomes some of the best teams in the country, and Lee’s Summit North will compete in the elite division.

“This group has been training all summer (for the meet),” Solsberg said. “They saw that it was coming up, they wanted to be on that team to go out there and it forced them to train a little bit more than what they wanted.”

Senior Jon LaPlante: “We are in the elite division, it’s classified as the top teams in the state,” LaPlante said.

- 2009-09-22 12:45:02