Platte County senior Kade Meinke heads toward one of the final turns in the Judge “Chris” Stubbs Invitational on Thursday at Platte Ridge Park.
Even with expectations likely at the lowest point of the season, Andrew Johnson understood the assignment, executed and still dominated the field in Thursday’s Judge “Chris” Stubbs Invitational at Platte Ridge Park.
Platte County’s senior No. 1 star won his third race in three starts this season, continuing an undeniable ascension into the state’s elite tier. He went into the race tasked with maintaining a position within a full pack of the Pirates’ six runners for about the first 1 1/2 miles of the race.
After doing the job, Johnson went into the climb up “Tower Hill” on the back stretch of the course trailing five runners. He passed all of them and finished in 16 minutes, 50.30 seconds — well off the career – and program-bests he set the previous two weekends but almost 15 seconds in front of runnerup and senior teammate Kade Meinke.
Even with junior Tanner Jenks a late scratch due to injury, Platte County claimed the team title with a score of 48, 16 in front of second-place Benton. The Pirates’ entire top five earned medals in the 98-runner field despite ultimately posting “off” times while carrying out the pacing strategy.
Platte County sophomore Blake Herron leads a pack of runners on the back stretch of the course at Platte Ridge Park in Thursday’s Judge “Chris” Stubbs Invitational.
To give perspective, Johnson went 15:05.60 in the season-opening Tim Nixon Invitational and then 15:26.30 in last weekend’s Raymore-Peculiar Invitational — the first breaking Nathan Straubel’s 2014 school record by about 45 seconds and the second setting a course record on a track many of the state’s best have traversed over the years.
Platte County’s home meet provided a different type of opportunity but didn’t preclude the Pirates from solid finishes.
Meinke, who continues to show potential for going sub-16 minutes, came in at 17:05.20 with a solid closing stretch that separated him from the pack of runners that had led the early portion of the race. His PR came earlier this season at the Tim Nixon Invitational (16:04.50).
Jenks had been putting up the No. 3 times for Platte County, but with him out, sophomore Blake Herron pushed into the top 10, placing ninth at 17:54.10, while sophomore Donavin Ness (12th, 18:29.50) and junior Ben Letcher (24th, 19:26.20) rounded out the Pirates’ team score. Those five plus Jenks return Class 4 Missouri State Track and Field Championships experience on a deep roster with increasing expectations for later in the season thanks to Johnson and Meinke heading up the lineup.
Platte County junior Ben Letcher runs in the Judge “Chris” Stubbs Invitational on Thursday at Platte Ridge Park.
Because Jenks had been slated to race before being pulled, Platte County only ran six with senior Scott Sellers, a key contributor on junior varsity the past two years, finishing 43rd (20:42.20).
The Platte Ridge Course doesn’t normally produce fast times, and that held true, even more so due to the pack mentality for the start of the race. Most of Platte County’s runners were a minute or more off career-best times but likely built some confidence ahead of this weekend’s Gans Creek Classic on the same course as state later in the season.
Johnson, who became the first Platte County runner to win the home race since Straubel in 2014, recorded an all-state finish on the Gans Creek Course in Columbia last fall to break a nearly decade-long drought for the program. He has now won six of his last seven races dating back to last year and only finished outside of the top two once since finishing as runnerup at last year’s Platte County Invitational. The lone exception ended up being his eight-place showing in Class 4 at state as a junior.
