Ashleigh Cruce kept a state streak alive, and Platte County sees reason to believe more individuals can qualify this season. The Pirates also need to replace production of three influential seniors to maintain dominance in the Suburban Conference White Division.
A fourth-year senior, Cruce enters her final season as Platte County’s only returning finalist from the 2025 Class 1 MSHSAA and Swimming Diving Championships. She the posted the No. 16 time in the 100-meter butterfly preliminaries and then moved up a spot in the finals to place 15th in a career-best 1 minute, 2.81 seconds to give the Pirates a state placer for an eighth consecutive season.
Cruce competed at state in two individual events for a second straight season but made the finals for the first time.
Platte County qualified four total events in Class 1 with senior Erin Anderson and juniors Ronnie Benford, Mackenzie Johnson and Alex Yurko all competing in at least one relay. The Pirates have five with prior state experience plus a deep group of returners who helped them win a seventh straight conference title — the last three in the White Division after winning four in the Blue Division from 2019-2022.
In a two-team race with Grain Valley, Platte County won only two of 12 races at conference, opening with first in the 200 medley relay in addition to Cruce’s victory in the 100 breaststroke. The Pirates ended up with 10 different individual medalists, a group that also included juniors Vivienne Sayre and Thais Thompson and sophomore Penelope Thompson.
However, Platte County must replace Ireland Shank, Chloe Pegler and Sarah Howe. All three were in the group of conference finalists, while Shank competed at state all four years and Pegler the past two.
Shank earned an honorable mention all-state 13th-place finish in 2023 on the 200 medley relay team.
Last season, Cruce earned Platte County’s only individual state berths and competed in both the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke for a second straight season. She was 22nd in the preliminaries of the 100 butterfly as a sophomore before moving into an honorable mention all-state spot as a junior and came in 31st in the 100 breaststroke each of the past two season.
Platte County also qualified two of three relays — the 200 medley team that included Cruce and Johnson plus two graduate seniors (21st in preliminaries) and the 400 freestyle team of Johnson, Benford, Anderson and Yurko (29th in preliminaries).
The top 32 in each event make the state field with swimmers limited to two individual events and two relays or three relays if qualified in one or fewer event, meaning those without a top-32 time end up making the field. The top eight times in preliminaries advance to the all-state championship final while the next eight go to the honorable mention consolation final.
Cruce also swam on the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays at state as a sophomore, while Johnson and Benford were on a 27th-place 400 freestyle team as freshmen.
Johnson (200 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 500 freestyle) hit individual consideration state times last season for Platte County plus one as a freshman but has yet to make the cut. Benford, Anderson and Yurko will be looking for breakthrough seasons, as well, while Sayre, Thais Thompson, Penelope Thompson and junior Rivey Butler look to increase their contributions, as well.
