The expectations might not have hit yet, but based on the season-opening performance, that might quickly change.
Platte County senior Tanner Jenks nears the finish line in the Tim Nixon Invitational on Saturday at Capitol Federal Sports Complex in Liberty.
Platte County placed three runners in the top 11 of the Tim Nixon Invitational on Saturday at Capitol Federal Sports Complex in Liberty and finished second as a team in the Silver Division with 57 points. Smithville took the individual title with senior Liam Adair leading the pack at 15 minutes, 44.50 seconds and team crown with a total of 48 thanks to all scoring runners being in the top 17.
Having lost a pair of senior all-state runners from the best team in program history, Platte County saw junior Blake Herron (16:12.70) and senior Tanner Jenks (16:17.50) finish back-to-back in second and third. They were the Pirates’ other two all-state performers at last year’s Class 4 MSHSAA Cross Country Championships when they finished as runnerup to Festus and came up just short of a state title.
Herron and Jenks were each about a minute faster than in the same race a year earlier.
Platte County junior Donavin Ness also returned as a scoring member of last year’s state team and placed 11th, while freshman Landon McKinzie (18th, 18:07.90) and junior Elijah Jackson (23rd, 18:24.40) rounded out the team score. Jackson and senior Ben Letcher give the Pirates five total returners from the 2023 sop seven.
However with Letcher out of the lineup, Platte County also used senior Ethan Smith (28th, 18:36.50), sophomore Nick Flowers (32nd, 19:05.80), freshman Tate Stone (35th, 19:06.60), sophomore Drake White (47th, 19:54.50) and sophomore Gio Cucchiara (65th, 20:44.80) on Saturday. The rules of the meet allow teams to enter 10 varsity runners rather than the traditional seven. Cucchiara and Flowers plus the freshmen made their varsity debuts.
Platte County freshman Landon McKinzie nears the finish line in the Tim Nixon Invitational on Saturday at Capitol Federal Sports Complex in Liberty.
Herron and Jenks’ steady progression have them in position to lead Platte County’s next area after the graduation of two-time all-state performer and 2023 Class 4 state runnerup Andrew Johnson and three-year starter Kade Meinke, who also blossomed into a talented No. 2 who just missed the top-10 at state last fall. A year ago, the Pirates ran in the Gold Division with the larger schools in the field and placed seventh as a team with Johnson taking the individual title.
GIRLS
Platte County freshman Tyler Stambersky turned in a strong debut during Saturday’s season-opening Tim Nixon Invitational at Capitol Federal Sports Complex. She placed sixth in the Silver Division race at 20:53.70, leading the Pirates to third behind rivals Kearney (first) and Smithville (second).
Minus a pair of senior all-state runners, Platte County started to look at how a large contingent of returners with varsity experience fit into this year’s lineup.
Stambersky posted the fastest time in the Silver Division for a freshman, but Kearney ran away with title after placing five runners in the top 15. Platte County senior and three-time state qualifier Madison Palmer, who dealt with injuries a year ago before moving into the No. 3 spot behind three-time all-state runner Sisely Mitchell and four-year qualifier Carmen Gentilia, placed 20th (22:08.60), while the Pirates’ team score also included junior Maddie Stewart (23rd, 22:29.70), senior Alexia Myer (32nd, 23:15.60) and junior Nora McCoy (36th, 23:35.50).
Only McCoy ran on Platte County’s ninth-place state team last fall, while Stewart competed at Class 4 District 4 but ended up not finishing the race and up as an alternate. Myer enjoyed a breakout spring track season and seems to have carried over the momentum into distance running.
Platte County junior Joanna Reil, a two-time state runner, led a pack of three teammates in a bunched finish. Reil came in at 23:40.30, good for 38th, with freshmen Arsema Ayiche (39th, 23:40.40) and Madison Fuller (40th, 23:43.60). The Pirates’ 10 runners also included senior Annabel Beeman (42nd, 23:56.60), a previous state qualifier during a run of four consecutive team berths, and junior Alexis Nielsen (56th, 24:56.00).
Myer set a PR, while Nielsen and the freshmen all made varsity debuts.
Platte County did not have senior Brooklynne Jenni nor junior Lexi Meinke in the lineup, and both have contributed at the varsity level in the past. Still, the Pirates put up a team score of 72 and finished just four back of Smithville.
