Platte County’s 1st team trip to state in 24 years nearly results in historic finishes

Platte County created opportunity in the first round of the Class 4 MSHSAA Golf Championships then came up just short of both historic individual and team finishes in Tuesday’s second round at Silo Ridge Country Club in Bolivar. With a full team at state for the first time in more than two decades, the Pirates ended up fifth in the team standings, while junior Braden Hendee faded to to a tie for 25th on the individual leaderboard.

Hendee, sophomore Brayden Renno (tied for 40th) and senior Josh Knickman (tied for 75th) brought the prior experience, but senior Joshua Gentilia (tied for 70th) and freshman Kaplan Curtis (tied for 40th) helped make Platte County a factor in the chase for the four team state trophies. The Pirates ended up with a two-day total of 650 and were 21 shots back of fourth-place Helias.

Platte County finished fourth at state in Class 3A back in 2001 — the last time the program sent a full team — when Barrett Martens won the individual title. Martens (2000, 2001, 2002) and Jeremy Glasbrenner (1999) remain the only all-state players, honors for the top 15 plus ties in each class, in program history for now.

This marked another important accomplishment for Platte County after finishing second in the Suburban Conference Division Championships and then third at Class 4 District 4, needing all five players to make the individual cut to earn the team berth to state.

“We had a good run going there toward the end of the season, and we tried to keep the momentum going into the state championships,” Platte County coach Trevor Short said. “The team gained a lot of experience while on this trip. We learned a few things that will help us along the way as we prepare for the next season.”

Hendee, Renno and Knickman all made second consecutive trips to state.

Playing at No. 1 all of this season and the majority of the past two, Hendee found himself in an all-state position after Monday’s first round when he shot a career-best 2-over 74 after recording three birdies in a span of five holes on the front nine. He started on the backside and made the turn at 3-over, carding six pars after making bogey on Nos. 10, 11 and 14.

Hendee played the final eight holes at 1-under and found himself in a tie for seventh entering the second round with a chance to break Platte County’s all-state drought. He made a pair of birdies Tuesday but faltered late with double bogeys at Nos. 14, 15 and 17 and posted a 74-84—158, leaving him three shots off the all-state cutline of 11-over.

Still, Hendee went from tied for 65th in his state debut as a sophomore.

Renno also made big strides in his second state tournament. He placed 89th to conclude a breakout freshman campaign and entered Monday’s opening round with momentum after sharing the individual conference title and tying for ninth at districts — one shot back of Hendee.

Consistent across two rounds, Renno posted a two-day total of 81-83—164, posting one birdie in the first round and 21 pars total.

Curtis posted Platte County’s No. 3 score in just his second varsity tournament of the season. Jack Dillingham, another freshman, seemingly won out the fifth spot in the lineup but ended up with a conflicting national robotics event on the day of the Class 4 District 4 tournament.

That opened up a chance for Curtis, who factored into Platte County’s team total in both. He put up a birdie to close out a 13-over 85 in Monday’s first round and then recovered from a slow start on Tuesday to finish with a 79. He made a double bogey on the par-5 third and sat at 3-over after four holes before making three birdies down the stretch to end up with the same 164 total as Renno, a two-year mainstay in the Pirates’ lineup.

Like Curtis, Gentilia debuted at state on Monday and also made a push on the second day. He sat at even after a birdie on the second hole of the first round but struggled to an 18-over 90 before rallying for a 10-over 82 on Tuesday after playing the frontside — his final nine holes — in 3-over.

Knickman led Platte County’s three state qualifiers last season with a tie for 59th, unable to keep up momentum from a strong first round that put him in position for a surprise top-15 finish. He shot an 82 on Monday with a pair of birdies and just five pars, but this year’s second round included three straight double bogeys to close his front nine, another to start his backside and then a quadruple bogey at No. 12.

In the end, Knickman finished with an 82-91—173 — just one shot back of Gentilia. The two seniors finished tied at districts.

“Josh Gentilia and Josh Knickman finished out their high school careers with this event and ended it on a high note,” Short said. “Both players have been a big part of this team the last couple of years and have helped guide the team in the right direction.”

Knickman spent the past three seasons in Platte County’s top two, while Gentilia contributed most of the past two and made appearances on varsity as a sophomore. The Pirates returned four from last year’s postseason lineup, which nearly ended the drought of team state berths.

Platte County initially finished second in Class 4 District 4, but Gentilia signed an incorrect scorecard, dropping the Pirates to fourth with only three individuals advancing on to state.

Despite the unconventional path this season, Platte County posted the best finish of the three qualifying teams from District 4 with Kearney eighth and Smithville 11th out of 11 teams. The Pirates actually sat in a tie for seventh late in the first round before moving up to a tie for fifth behind Hendee’s 2-over round.

The strong start put Platte County just four strokes back of Helias going into the second round, but the Crusaders pulled away to secure the final trophy. The Pirates did finish one stroke clear of both Ladue Horton Watkins and West Plains — matching 651s.