Bunched finish behind Johnson pushes Platte County to 4th straight team district title

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The spontaneously form pack started to close with none of the tightly bunched three runners aware of the exact scenario.

Platte County senior Kade Meinke, junior Tanner Jenks and sophomore Blake Herron each made up the gap during the final 100 meters of the Class 4 District 4 race Saturday morning at Staley High School. The Pirates were in need of very point possible, starting with the runnerup showing from senior Andrew Johnson.

The key to Platte County’s fourth straight team title and the accompanying Class 4 MSHSAA Cross Country Championships berth ended up being Meinke, Jenks and Herron placing fourth, fifth and sixth. They each passed Lincoln Prep’s Roman Garcia, who wound up seventh.

Platte County ended up with a team total of 37 and beat Lincoln Prep by 10 points. Had Garcia held on for fourth, a margin still existed, but the Pirates didn’t leave any doubt.

“Just come out here and try to get that fourth district W in a row, and we did it,” Meinke said. “I think it’s a little bit of that weight off, like you’re saying, it’s like, hey, let’s sharpen for more week and get it done at state.”

The top two teams clearly separated from the pack, as did the top two runners.

Lincoln Prep senior Isaac Rivera ended up with another head-to-head victory over Johnson after those two pulled away from third-place Liam Adair, a junior from Smithville. The breakaway lead trio came to the 1-mile mark tightly packed before Rivera made his move and built a lead that held up and didn’t allow Johnson much of a chance in the closing stretch.

Rivera finished in 15 minutes, 30.86 seconds and recorded a third straight victory in a race with Johnson (15:42.59) in the field. They will meet again Saturday at Gans Creek with both in the conversation to take home the individual state title.

Earlier this season, Rivera placed first at the Gans Creek Classic on the same course with Johnson finishing second, but the focus for Platte County all season has been on following the lead of the senior star leader to peak at state. The Pirates have all the confidence in Johnson making good on his unwavering belief in himself.

“It really just shows us that anything is possible” Meinke said. “To have a guy from our own team go out there and never seem to be worried or nervous about going against anybody, just always thinking he’s got it, it just really shows us, hey, believe it and you will.”

Platte County and Lincoln Prep accounted for seven of the top 10 individual runners and 11 of the top 20. However, the Pirates were able to create the separation through the continued grouping of their Nos. 2-4 runners.

Jenks (16:43.06) and Herron (16:44.93) ran the second-fastest time of their careers. Their PRs both came in the a week earlier in the Suburban Conference White Division Championships when the duo nearly lifted Platte County to the team title with Meinke suffering effects from an illness and clearly not at full strength. Meinke returned to form on Saturday to again lead the supporting trio, finishing in 16:40.45.

Meinke, Jenks and Herron all finished within 4 1/2 seconds of each other with Garcia coming in less than a second behind Herron.

“It wasn’t really the plan, but it’s honestly not too surprising,” Meinke said. “After conference two weeks ago kind of had some of that development, seeing Tanner and Blake up there, and it was really good to see that again and finish four, five, six.”

Lincoln Prep actually ended up with six runners in the top 16, but only the top five count toward a team score.

Because of that, Platte County sophomore Donavin Ness’ 20th-place finish (17:37.42) wrapped up the team crown. The Pirates now go into state clearly dependent on the established top five, while junior Ben Letcher (39th, 19:08.16) and sophomore Elijah Jackson (42nd, 19:26.04) rounded out the lineup on a brisk and breezy day.

Letcher and Jackson have both run sub-19 times this year.

The seven make up one of the fastest collective teams in program history, looking for a breakthrough performance next week. Platte County finished ninth each of the past two years at state in Class 4 after placing eighth in 2020. The Pirates will rely on the two seniors at the top to drive additional success, as the finality sets in for Johnson and Meinke.

“Really, earlier this week is when I first got that glimpse and then it went away,” Meinke said. “It didn’t hit me much until this morning, just that realization setting in, toeing the (start) line.”

Only Johnson ran for all four of Platte County’s consecutive district championship teams. His individual finishes went from 11th to fifth to first to second over the four years as he created an impressive trajectory from well outside of the top seven to start his freshman season to the school-record holder with all-state credentials to his credit after placing eighth as a junior to become the first for the Pirates to earn that distinction in nearly a decade.

Meinke is now a three-time qualifier, while Jenks, Herron and Ness all return from last year’s state team, while Letcher made the trip as a freshman before dealing with asthmatic complications that limited him much of the 2022 season. Jackson will make his debut.

After joining the team as a sophomore, Meinke is now a three-time all-district finisher (11th, fourth and fourth) who finished 97th and 57th in his first two state races.

Meinke’s times this season put him in position to compete for an all-state spot, while Jenks (10th to fifth) and Herron (14th to sixth) both improved their all-district placements. Platte County’s chase for a top-four state trophy — or at least a move up from the middle of the 16-team pack — relies on Jenks (89th), Ness (105th) and Herron (111th) continuing a push with the Pirates unlikely to have many seasons when the lineup includes an elite No. 1 like Johnson and six total runners with state experience.

Letcher placed 146th as a freshman.