The pieces appear in place for a special season and an opportunity to finally make a jump in the state pecking order.
Assuming no jump to Class 5, Platte County brings back a bonafide No. 1 in senior Andrew Johnson and a deep, experienced group of talented contributors. In fact, the Pirates have six runners with previous experience from three consecutive team berths in the Class 4 Missouri State Cross Country Championships. Those trips have resulted in finishes of eight, ninth and ninth.
Platte County senior Kade Meinke runs in the Suburban Conference White Division Championships last year in Grain Valley.
In addition to Johnson, Platte County senior Kade Meinke, juniors Ben Letcher and Tanner Jenks and sophomores Blake Herron and Donavin Ness have been to at least one state meet and provide the optimism for a competitive lineup regardless of setting.
“The underclassman that ran last year have had a really quality and consistent summer. We are excited to see their dedication and strong efforts pay off,” Platte County third-year coach Courtland Ingram said. “The expectations are to be a great teammate and put your energy into what you can control which is pretty much your attitude and effort.”
Even if bumped back up to Class 5, Platte County should have a successful season. The Pirates have won three straight district titles plus consecutive Suburban Conference titles — 2021 in the Blue Division and 2022 in the White Division.
Johnson’s evolution into the elite tier of Missouri runners has driven much of the success the past two years. He capped an incredible junior season by becoming the first all-state runner for Platte County since Nathan Straubel in 2014. He continues to ascend after starting his freshman season down he depth chart only to end up as the No. 3 state finisher (68th) for the Pirates in 2020.
Platte County junior Tanner Jenks runs in the Suburban Conference White Division Championships last fall in Grain Valley.
Over the next two seasons, Johnson moved up to 32nd and then eighth last year in a time of 16 minutes, 3.30 seconds. He came up a little more than 10 seconds off the career-best time he set the week prior to win the Class 4 District 4 individual title. The 16:03.30 is the second-fastest state time in Platte County history behind only Straubel’s 15:50.06 in 2014. Johnson now has the next five times behind that mark, including his winning marks in the Sock it to Cancer Grain Valley Invitational, Suburban Conference White Division Championships and Class 4 District 4 meets — the first three victories of his career.
Johnson also owns three all-conference finishes, and Meinke adds two more — 11th as a sophomore and third last year.
Platte County placed all seven runners in the top 15 of the White Division meet last year, meaning Jenks (fifth), Ness (ninth) and Herron (12th) were also all-conference in their debuts last fall. The Pirates do lose two-time state qualifiers Kage Audas, the regular No. 3 runner last year, and Tanner Johnson plus Aspyn Hutchenson-Nelson, Mason McBratney, Ryan Johnson and Gavin Jenks but have quickly assembled underclassmen Ingram expects to help fill any minor gaps.
Platte County sophomore Blake Herron runs in the Suburban Conference White Division Championships last season in Grain Valley.
In addition to the returning state qualifiers, Platte County also has seniors Scott Sellers, Quintin Miller and Tanner Ayers in the fold. Sellers has been a key contributor at the junior varsity level in recent years and appears poised to breakthrough into the top seven, while sophomore Owen Bane has also shown development for the Pirates.
After debuting as a sophomore, Meinke quickly established himself as a leader in Platte County’s lineup and placed 97th at state in 2021 and moved all the way up to 57th (17:30.30) last fall. Tanner Jenks (89th, 18:01.00) and Ness (105th, 18:15.50) rounded out the Pirates’ state team score as the Nos. 4 and 5 finishers behind Johnson, Meinke and Audas. Herron (111th, 18:20.90) rounded out the top seven.
Jenks, Ness and Herron were consistently jockeying for position in Platte County’s finish order throughout the season.
Letcher ran just three races as a sophomore but did place fifth in the Grain Valley regular season meet, only to end up battling asthma issues that limited his availability. He placed 146th at state as a freshman in a career-best time of 18:25.30.
