LIBERTY, Mo. — Ava Filger came back for her final season planning to make improvements.
Platte County senior Sisely Mitchell runs in the 3,200-meter race during the Ron Ives Invitational on Friday at Liberty High School in Liberty.
Consider the Platte County senior pacing to make significant strides this spring after strong season-opening performances in the Ron Ives Invitational on Friday at Liberty High School. She earned a trio of medals, finishing as runnerup in the 300 hurdles (48.57 seconds) and fourth in the 100 hurdles (16.53 seconds) — both career-bests in competitive scenarios — and then filling in for a leg of the fourth-place 4×400-meter relay (4:29.76). Those podium finishes helped the Pirates place fourth with 70 points — just outside a clear-cut top three of Blue Springs (127), Liberty North (92 1/2) and Liberty (91).
Platte County’s senior trio of Filger, Sisely Mitchell and Carmen Gentilia made big contributions to the team point total.
Mitchell and Gentilia started a busy day of long-distance running on the 4×800 relay with junior Alexia Myer and sophomore Addie Ayers. Platte County’s quartet finished third in 10:17.62 in a strong debut with three returners from a state qualifying unit last year. Mitchell, Gentilia and Ayers set a season-best at Class 5 Sectional 4 and finished just outside the top eight the following week at state for the Pirates.
In addition, Mitchell set personal-bests in winning the 1,600 (5:25.51) by nearly 5 full seconds and then finishing as runnerup in the 3,200 (11:31.54) to Blue Springs senior Abigail Brackenbury (11:21.56). Mitchell only ran the 3,200 once last season while trying to come back from a minor early-season injury, but she went to state in both individual distance events as a sophomore before only qualifying in the 1,600 to close out her junior campaign.
Platte County sophomore Addie Ayers runs in the 800-meter race during the Ron Ives Invitational on Friday at Liberty High School in Liberty.
Gentilia came in behind her teammate while posting the fastest times of her career in both the 1,600 (fourth, 5:39.03) and 3,200 (fifth, 11:57.00), breaking 12 minutes for the first time in the latter. A year earlier, she gave up soccer midseason to focus on track and has shown improvement following that decision and through her standout fall cross country season.
Mitchell and Gentilia both ran faster 1,600s in the Liberty North Time Trials but recorded their best marks in a competitive meet.
In her only individual event, Ayers placed a competitive eighth in 2:37.45 and was less than a second out of sixth. She was just off her career-best in three races as a freshman set in the Suburban Conference White Division Championships (2:33.66).
Filger continued her lengthy progression in hurdle events, just clipping last year’s fastest time in the 100s from the Suburban Conference White Division Championships of 16.55 by .02 of a second. She came into the backstretch of the 300s in clear second but couldn’t catch Liberty North senior Kennedy Herrig, a runaway winner at 47.54. Still, Filger went under 49 seconds for the first time.
In the Liberty North Time Trials, Filger ran an identical 16.53 in the 100s and was slightly faster in the 300s (48.50). She is in search of advancing out of Class 5 Sectional 4 for the first time and earning a trip to the Class 5 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships.
Platte County freshman Maggie Davis takes a handoff from senior Ava Filger in the 4×400-meter relay during the Ron Ives Invitational on Friday at Liberty High School in Liberty.
In addition, Filger subbed in late to the 4×400 and teamed with Myer, junior Madison Palmer and freshmen Maggie Davis. Only Palmer returns from last year’s postseason quartet, as she continues to split time between soccer and track. The somewhat-cobbled-together unit ended up on the medal stand in a limited field with some teams scratching or leaving the meet early altogether in cold, windy conditions.
Platte County sophomore Adi Benninghoff finished fifth behind Filger in the 100 hurdles in 16.75. She emerged in the event midway through her freshman season and owns a career-best of 16.50 from last year’s conference meet, although she also went slightly faster in the time trials.
The best finish in a field event came from junior Addy Schlake in the discus (34.67 meters). She placed second in her first competition since state last season. She qualified out of Class 5 Sectional 4 with a PR of 36.8 meters and went better than 35 meters in each of her final three meets of her sophomore season.
Platte County freshman Adilynn Kern also debuted with a fifth-place finish in the pole vault (2.60 meters). She was part of a three-way tie for fourth but ended up fifth based on tiebreakers.
