Friday, Dec. 21 2012 5:01PM
2012 Top 10 Sports Stories
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Reprint2012 was another banner year of high school sports for the city of Lee’s Summit.
State champions were crowned, records were broken and one Lee’s Summit graduate even crossed the pond to become an Olympian for the second time.
Here are the top 10 sports stories of 2012:
London calling
Lee’s Summit graduate Matt Tegenkamp qualified to compete in the 10,000-meter race at the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London. Even though Tegenkamp finished 19th with a time of 28 minutes, 18.26 seconds, far slower than his personal best of 27:28.22, he became a hero here at home.
Tegenkamp is also a seven-time NCAA track and field All-American at the University of Wisconsin.
This was Tegenkamp’s second visit to the Olympics. He represented the United States in the 5,000-meters in Beijing in 2008.
The Lee’s Summit community gathered to honor Tegenkamp on Nov. 19 at Lee’s Summit City Hall. Tegenkamp was given proclamations from Rep. Mike Cierpoit, State Sen. Will Kraus and Lee’s Summit Mayor Randy Rhoads.
Two years, two events, two golds
After clinching the pole vault and high jump titles in 2011, Lee’s Summit West senior Brittany Kallenberger wanted those titles again in 2012. And she got them.
But she didn’t just claim the pole vault gold medal, she shattered the state record with a first place height of 12 feet, 10 inches, eight inches higher over the record set in 2009 by Rockwood Summit’s Bethany Buell.
Kallenberger also took first in the high jump with a height of 5 feet, 8 inches, a new personal best and finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.69 seconds.
Kallenberger’s titles helped the Titans earn second place out of 49 schools with a team score of 47 points, just one small point away from first-place finisher Francis Howell.
Fastest time in state
Coming into the state swimming championships seeded first in the 100-yard breaststroke, Lee’s Summit senior Zach Knoche expected that he would swim away with the title.
And after swimming the preliminary race in a time of 57.58 seconds, Knoche raced to a first-place time of 57.7 seconds in the finals for the gold medal.
Knoche started swimming his sophomore year, qualifying for state but not making it to finals. His junior year, he took fourth in the event and his senior year, he swam the 100-yard breaststroke in the sixth fastest time in Missouri history.
The Lee’s Summit North team took seventh place with a team score of 109 points, led by junior Ethan Bresette with his two top five finishes. He took second place in the 200-yard IM with a time of 1:52.88 and fifth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 52.37.
Pinned in the end
Lee’s Summit West senior Evan Boehm worked his way, pin by pin, into the championship match against Parkway South’s Donnell Walker in the 285-pound weight class of the Class 4 MSHSAA state wrestling tournament.
And things were going Boehm’s way, as he had a one-point lead going into the third period. But in that third period, Walker was able to pin Boehm at the 4:50 mark for the title.
Boehm, a standout on the football field and Simone Award winner in 2011, ended his senior season with a 22-2 record after taking home the championship crown his junior year and fourth place finishes his sophomore and freshman years.
Second for second time
Only two teams defeated the Lee’s Summit West volleyball team this season, but unfortunately for the Titans, they had to play one of those teams in the Class 4 state championship match.
For the second year in a row, Lafayette (Wildwood) took down Lee’s Summit West for the title, winning the match 26-24 and 25-19.
The Titans defeated Ozark in two sets in the semifinals and ended the season with a 33-6 record.
Unexpected end
After losing the Class 3 state championship game their freshman year, the Lee’s Summit North girls’ soccer seniors wanted to take home a title this season.
Unfortunately, Cor Jesu Academy had other plans in mind, shutting out the Broncos 3-0. Cor Jesu Academy scored all three goals in the first period.
Despite a push by the Broncos to give the ball to leading goal scorer Ashley Licata more in the second period, Lee’s Summit North just couldn’t connect.
The Broncos ended the season with a 24-4 record.
Making history
For the first time in school history, the Lee’s Summit North girls’ tennis team made it to the Final Four, eventually taking third place in the Class 2 state tournament.
The Broncos lost the semifinal match 5-1 to St. Joseph’s Academy, who went on to win the Class 2 title and then defeated Jefferson City for third place, winning the match 5-2. Lee’s Summit North put up four singles wins, giving the team an advantage going into doubles. The doubles team of Logan Morrissey and Camryn Parnell clinched the victory.
The Broncos ended the season with a 20-3 record.
Morrissey and Parnell also competed in the singles and doubles tournament, taking sixth place and earning all-state honors.
Ending on a high note
In their first state appearance, the Lee’s Summit West boys’ basketball team were taken down in the semifinals 70-57 by eventual Class 5 state champions McCluer North.
But the Titans recovered from the loss to earn third-place with a 53-41 victory over Marquette.
After leading 13-10 at the end of the first quarter, the Titans led 24-20 at halftime. In the third quarter, Lee’s Summit West picked up the pressure outscoring Marquette 12-9 to lead 36-29.
Lee’s Summit West ended the season with a 27-4 record, a new Lee’s Summit West record for most wins in a season.
A tough break
After making it to the Class 2 state baseball championships for the second year in a row, Summit Christian Academy placed fourth after losing to Valle Catholic 2-0 in the semifinals.
Clever defeated the Eagles 3-1, as the Eagles had a tough time stringing hits together. Clever scored first in the top of the third inning, keeping the 1-0 lead through the top of the fifth inning.
In the bottom of that inning, Summit Christian Academy came back with a run to knot the score at 1-1. The Blue Jays scored again in the top of the sixth inning and in the top of the seventh inning to seal the victory.
The Eagles ended the season with a 22-7 record.
On the podium again
Lee’s Summit West’s streak of five straight girls’ cross country state championships came to an unexpected end when the Titans settled for fourth place at the Class 4 MSHSAA state meet. Francis Howell finished first and Lee’ Summit North placed ninth.
After district and sectional victories, the Titans entered the race as the top-ranked team in Class 4. The top finisher was junior Kennadee Williams with an eighth place time of 19 minutes, 10.89 seconds.
BONUS PICK
Revenge is sweet
The nation’s eyes were on Lee’s Summit in the first game of the football season.
Staley traveled to Titan stadium in the ESPN nationally-televised epic rematch of the Class 5 semifinal game of last season. In 2011, Staley won the game 76-70 after four overtimes.
But this year, the Titans came out determined and on fire, shutting out the Falcons 23-0.
Lee’s Summit West went on to the quarterfinals, losing the game to Ozark 26-23, and ending the season with an 11-1 record.
