KANSAS CITY, Mo. — History is on the line for the Park Hill South girls' swim team.
After winning back-to-back state championships in 2024 and 2025, the Panthers enter this season chasing something no team in program history has done before — win a third straight title, an achievement that would put the team in a class of their own.
“We’re trying to get somewhere — we all know where we’re going,” Elizabeth Landuyt, a senior, said.
Senior Aniya Clemons said the opportunity to make history is motivating.
“I want to win three times in a row,” Clemons said. “That would be so cool.”
Park Hill South became the first team since the early 2000s to win consecutive state titles, establishing the team as the state’s top program. Now, the Panthers are swimming toward an even greater challenge.
Coach Tim Busenhart said the road to a three-peat will be anything but easy, especially with strong competition standing in the way.
“We’ve set those goals this year, and it’s going to be a hard battle,” Busenhart said. “Our greatest competition is St. Joseph’s Academy, and they’re going to be tough to beat.”
Despite recent dominance, Park Hill South enters the season with a different look. The Panthers graduated six elite swimmers from the teams that dominated the state meet the past two seasons.
“The last two years, we really dominated state, doubling the score of the second-place team,” Busenhart said. “We had a lot of elite swimmers at that level, and six of them graduated.”
Still, the Panthers believe their depth and experience can keep them in contention.
“We still have a lot of really good people,” Clemons said. “It’s just going to be a little more difficult to get the win.”
The girls swim team is the only sport at Park Hill South to win back-to-back state championships and one of just four programs at the school to claim a state title.
“It was definitely something we had to work for,” Landuyt said.
Winning once is special. Winning twice proves dominance. Winning three times would cement a legacy — and Park Hill South is diving headfirst toward that goal.
“That would mean a lot to me,” Clemons said. “I really hope we can pull it off.”