Johnson takes 2nd, leads 4 Class 4 all-state finishers pushing Platte County to 2nd as a team

Andrew Johnson gave all he could for the final five kilometers of his career.

Even when Platte County’s senior star came up just short of the individual title, the real reward came from a group of teammates who gave all they could to support Johnson. The Pirates turned in the fastest cumulative performance in program history, and senior Kade Meinke (11th), junior Tanner Jenks (22nd) and sophomore Blake Herron (23rd) joined the Class 4 MSHSAA Cross Country Championships runnerup as all-state performers Saturday at Gans Creek Recreational Area in Columbia.

Johnson joined Eli Klimek (Class 2A in 2001) as the top state finisher in program history, and Platte County’s top quartet along with sophomore Donavin Ness (84th) finished with a team total of 99. The Pirates ended up finishing second as a team to earn their first team trophy since back-to-back Class 2 showings of fourth place and third place in 2002 and 2003.

With the five scoring runners all in the top 40, Festus took the team title by just eight points, while Platte County finished 11 clear of third-place Lincoln Prep. The Pirates were the only team with four all-state runners, and every runner but Johnson, including junior Ben Letcher and sophomore Elijah Jackson in non-scoring positions, set new PRs.

Johnson ran the second-fastest time of a career that rapidly progressed over the past four years. He started well down the depth chart to start his freshman season at Platte County but developed into a four-time state qualifier, an all-state runner as a junior to break nearly a decade-long drought for the program and the school-record holder. His final race for the Pirates concluded in 15 minutes, 11.4 seconds with an unfortunately familiar result.

Lincoln Prep senior Isaac Rivera set a new Class 4 state record of 14:54.6 and won a head-to-head battle with Johnson for the third time out of four races when the two shared a course this season. Johnson’s lone victory came in the season-opening Tim Nixon Invitational when he set his PR at 15:05.60.

Rivera led Johnson by less than 3 seconds after 1,000 meters with 24 runners within 15 seconds. By the 3k mark, Rivera led by more than 10 seconds in a breakaway, while Johnson sat comfortably in second. He eventually held off Festus sophomore Carson Driemeier (15:14.1) by less than 3 seconds for the second-place spot.

Johnson ended up a part of a four straight Platte County district championship teams and steadily improved his state finishes from 63rd to 26th to fourth and finally second, cementing himself as the best distance runner in school history. After just missing the top 26 as a sophomore, his top-five showing last fall marked the first all-state finish for a Pirates runner since Nathan Straubel in 2014.

Platte County’s three previous state qualifying teams had placed eighth, ninth and ninth and were looking for a breakthrough. While Johnson ended up the only member of all four teams, the Pirates’ experience and determined youth finally forged the right combination.

Meinke joined the team as a sophomore and provided an immediate impact and became a three-time qualifier. He entered as an all-state hopeful but almost ended up top 10, finishing in 15:47.3 — just 0.2 of a second behind Hillsboro junior Landon Pogue for 10th. Meinke ran sub-16 for the first time in his career and bettered his prior PR from the Tim Nixon Invitational of 16:04.5.

After the first 1,000 meters, Meinke sat in 31st, but 1,000 meters later he was an in all-state position (22nd) and continued to pick his way toward the front.

The big surge from Meinke provided a huge boost for Platte County, which projected at sixth after the first checkpoint but was never lower than fourth at any of the 1,000-meter marks. The Pirates expected the senior duo to lead the way but ended up with more hardware than most would have expected.

Meinke suffered from illness just two weeks earlier in a disappointing end result at the Suburban Conference White Division Championships when Platte County wound up second as a team. However, Jenks and Herron seemingly developed confidence to run closer to the Pirates’ No. 2 in performances that carried over to Class 4 District 4 and then the state race.

After missing time in the middle of the season due to injury, Jenks ran his third straight race under 17 minutes but finished in 15:57.70 — more than 45 seconds faster than his prior PR of 16:42.80 set at conference. He made his biggest push in the second thousand meters, going from 41st to 24th and then holding his all-state position from there.

Herron essentially matched Jenks stride for stride in the final three races of the season.

Also running sub-17 in the final three races, Herron came in at 15:58.40 and under 16 minutes for the first time in his career. He went from 27th to 23rd in the closing stretch of the state race and ended up comfortably inside the all-state cut of the top 25.

Platte County’s final three scoring runners all competed in their second consecutive state race and made drastic improvements — Herron 111th to 23rd, Jenks 89th to 22nd and Ness 105th to 84th.

Ness (17:01.10) nearly ran the first 16-minute time of his career and posted his best finish since conference (17:12.70). He ultimately ended up about 12 seconds out of a spot that could have resulted in a state title for Platte County, although Meinke also ended up less than 5 seconds out of seventh and Jenks and Herron were both less than 5 seconds from 18th.

Regardless, Platte County went from fringe contender to the best season in program history through some inspired performances.

In addition to the scoring runners, Letcher ran his second state race but first since his freshman year. Complications with asthma limited his sophomore season after he placed 146th to conclude his freshman season. The return to state resulted in going sub-18 minutes for the first time and moving up to 134th.

The only member of this year’s state team making his debut, Jackson ran 18:01.50 — nearly 41 full seconds faster than his previous PR and a breakout overall performance. He previously ran his fastest at 18:42.40 in the Raymore-Peculiar Invitational back on September 9