St. Pius X runners 2nd and 4th at Rim Rock

Source: The Star

PHOTOS BY JOHN SLEEZER | The Kansas City Star

Liberty’s Hossam Hassan (above, left) and Lawrence Free State’s Logan Sloan ran side by side, as did many girls (top photo) up the first hill at the Rim Rock Farm Classic.

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St. Pius X cross country coach Richard Murphy admits he had no idea what to expect from his top two boys entering the Rim Rock Farm Classic last Saturday near Lawrence.

See, he thought juniors David Stodden and Drew Keefer had the potential to finish in the top 10 of the boys’ 5-kilometer Blue division. But he also knew that when you’re talking about a meet that attracts teams from several states, you never really know what the competition will be like.

So Murphy was as happy as he could be when Stodden took second in 17 minutes, 9.43 seconds and Keefer took fourth in 17:17.4 in a field of 193 runners.

“For one to be second and one to be fourth with a field like that was impressive,” said Murphy, whose boys’ squad took 13th out of 26 teams.

Murphy said performance should serve as a major confidence boost for the two who hope to finish in the top 10 at the Missouri Class 2 state meet this season.

“I think (their performance) is a pretty good statement that they’re pretty salty as far as that’s concerned,” Murphy said.

•Liberty senior Megan Yohe finished third in the girls 4K Gold division at Rim Rock in 15, minutes, 37.9 seconds. It marked the second year in a row for Yohe to take third at Rim Rock. The Liberty girls finished sixth in a 19-team field, and the Liberty boys won the 28-team Gold division.

•Jasmine Edwards of Kearney placed fifth in the Crimson division, leading the Bulldogs to a first-place finish in the team standings.

VOLLEYBALLSo far, things this season have gone according to plan for the Park Hill South volleyball team.

At least that’s the way longtime coach Debbie Fay sees it. Thanks to a 2-1 victory over Blue Springs South last Thursday, the Panthers improved to 15-4. Entering their match against Winnetonka Tuesday, they were 4-0 in Suburban Conference Big Six play.

Not bad, eh? Especially when you consider that two of their losses were to Blue Springs and St. Thomas Aquinas.

“We just have that tradition going for us,” said Fay, who has led the Panthers to several district titles in her 11-year tenure. “Our kids feel like they have to live up to that expectation.”

Fay credits much success to the senior leadership of Laura Eller, Lauren Brentlinger and Courtney Churchman, the returning starters.

“They’re doing a nice job teaching our young kids what’s expected and carrying the torch for us,” Fay said.

submitted by TEREZ A. PAYLOR - 2009-09-29 15:48:01