LIBERTY, Mo. — Platte County expected the lineup to look different this season, but injuries and absences only further shuffled the deck in Saturday’s season-opening Tim Nixon Invitational at Capitol Federal Sports Complex. The Pirates don’t even know yet whether the postseason assignments will bump them back up to Class 5 yet and exactly how challenging the start of the next era for the program looks.
Platte County senior Jacoby Keith runs in the Tim Nixon Invitational on Saturday at Capitol Federal Sports Complex in Liberty.
However, Platte County still managed to come in 12th in the Gold Division while paired up with the largest schools from Missouri and Kansas that participated in the large meet. The Pirates didn’t have an individual medalist but also lost junior Landon McKinzie before the end of the race due to a blister on his foot, while senior Jackson Townsend continues to battle a sore ankle.
Platte County didn’t have fellow senior Nick Flowers, who missed the race due to a family event out of town.
With three expected contributors not available or limited, Platte County juniors Tate Stone and Evan Backer were the top finishers at 32nd and 33rd while posting personal-best times. The Pirates’ next scoring runners were sophomore Haddon Newsome (85th) and seniors Jacoby Keith (114th) and Townsend (120th).
Platte County ended up with only eight runners finishing the race despite the regular season format allowing for more entries than the traditional lineup of seven. After graduating three high-level seniors, only Keith (2023) and McKinzie (2024) have prior state experience for the Pirates.
Platte County senior Jackson Townsend runs in the Tim Nixon Invitational on Saturday at Capitol Federal Sports Complex in Liberty.
A year ago, Platte County’s streak of five straight seasons sending a full team ended with the move up in difficulty for the postseason assignment. Blake Herron, last year’s season leader and a two-time all-state performer, advanced to the Class 5 MSHSAA Cross Country Championships.
However, McKinzie, Stone, Flowers and Newsome were in the Class 5 District 4 lineup to gain valuable experience.
Stone went under 17 minutes for the first time in his career on Saturday and came in at 16 minutes, 50.40 seconds. Backer kept pace with his more experienced teammate in his first recorded varsity start, posting a 16:51.50.
Both were less than 15 seconds off of a spot in the top 20 and the accompanying race medal for that finish.
Newsome nearly went under 18 minutes for the first time, and his 18:04.70 ended up as a PR — less than a second faster than a breakthrough time he posted in last season’s Class 5 District 4 race. Keith ended up in a more prominent spot after going from the No. 7 runner in a state-bound lineup to missing out on the postseason as a junior, while Townsend missed all of his junior season with an injury after transferring to Platte County from Glendale and now starts his senior campaign at less than 100%. The Pirates’ other runners to finish were seniors Zarren Moore (131st) and Jaydon Jenks (142nd) and freshman Wyatt Burnich (141).
Platte County finds out this season’s district assignment on Friday, September 11. That likely determines the difficult level for state qualification with Class 4 providing a much more manageable path based on historical results.
Stone and Backer would have been fifth and sixth in the Silver Division race of the Tim Nixon Invitational, which moved start times to earlier in the morning due to forecasted heat, while Newsome would have also medaled.
