Keith, Gutshall cap decorated careers in fitting fashion

With four more all-state medals and four improved school records to match, Deacon Gutshall and Palmer Keith fittingly punctuated the two most decorated careers in program history.

Platte County’s senior stars made requisite use of the final meet of their career, but junior Jack Hokanson also made the consolation final in both of his individual events in the Class 1 MSHSAA Swimming and Diving Championships this past weekend at Rec-Plex in St. Peters. Gutshall, Keith and Hokanson also teamed with senior Cobie Parkin in the 200-yard freestyle relay and freshman Beau Jonkman in the 400-yard freestyle relay to to give the Pirates two additional placements.

Finishing 14th in the final team standings, Platte County set a program record for points scored in a state meet (85). The Pirates were 13th in both 2017 and 2022, scoring 61 in the former and 63 in the latter.

The oddity in team placement can do little to overshadow Platte County’s performances, especially on the individual side. The Pirates also put two of three relays in Saturday’s consolation final after having no placements at state a year earlier — the first time without one since 2016.

Gutshall and Keith ended up tied for Platte County’s school record in all-state medals with five each. Gutshall matched the program’s best placement after finishing third in the 500 freestyle for a second straight year, while Keith became the first to ever make the finals in eight individual events in a career — the most possible due to entry rules.

The duo combined to set school records in five different races over the weekend.

Gutshall bettered the 500 freestyle mark in both Friday’s preliminaries and Saturday’s final. Completing an impressive track record of development into the state’s elite, he posted the No. 3 qualifying time out of preliminaries at 4 minutes, 34.93 seconds — lowering his school record by almost two full seconds — before holding that spot in the final.

The third-place time in finals of 4:34.70 becomes the impressive program standard, considering the progression.

Prior to Gutshall, only Nathan Savage sub-5 minutes in the 500 freestyle for Platte County, and his mark from 2008 held until 2022. The first school record Gutshall set came at 4:53.78, and he eventually bettered Savage’s PR by 22 seconds, consistently lowering the mark over the past three seasons while becoming a three-time all-state performer in the event.

Gutshall also made the championship final of the 200 freestyle and set a school record in the last race of the season in that event for a second straight year. As a junior, he placed fifth but improved that to fourth this year in 1:43.64 to beat his school record of 1:44.50 from the state final last season. He went 1:44.51 in the preliminaries, meaning he was just .01 of a second off of putting up PRs in all four of his individual races.

Kearney junior Whitaker Steward first place in both the 200 and 500 freestyle. He set a Class 1 state meet record in the 500 freestyle in preliminaries

Prior to 2023, no swimmer in Platte County history finished better than fifth in any race.

Keith became a four-time all-state performer in the 200 individual medley and placed fifth for a third straight year, needing a school record of 1:54.02 to match the finishes from his sophomore and junior years in the event. He went 1:54.19 in the prelims to qualify fourth, but the final ended up even faster.

Hokanson swam in the same preliminary heat as Keith and gave Platte County two finalists in the event but just barely. Hokanson took last of 16 spots in the consolation final in a career-best of 2:05.78 then bettered that mark and placed 15th while dropping 0.36 of a second despite his goggles displacing off of his eyes in the middle of the race.

The final individual race of Keith’s career resulted in a sixth-place medal in the 100 breaststroke (59.32) after he also qualified fourth in that event out of preliminaries with a school record of 58.32. He lowered his own marks in both the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke.

Gutshall swam his leg of the 200 freestyle relay consolation final after both the 200 and 500 freestyle races, almost immediately following the 500 freestyle, and Keith still needed to swim his final individual event. Platte County qualified 10th out of preliminaries in 1:31.99 — just off the season-best — but showed some signs of the loaded schedule in the placement race, finishing 13th in 1:33.35.

After Keith collected his fifth all-state medal, Platte County closed out the meet with an impressive final showing. Parkin teamed with Gutshall, Hokanson and Keith in Friday’s preliminary with a season-best of 3:27.64 to post the No. 12 qualifying time. The Pirates were even faster in the finals with Jonkman, placing 11th at 3:25.36.

Parkin and Jonkman both collected the first honorable mention all-state honors of their careers as part of the relays. Hokanson did the same but also made the consolation final in the 100 butterfly, qualifying 12th out of preliminaries in a PR of 54.09 and then placing in the same spot (54.32). He dropped significant time in both individual races a year after earning significant state experience beneficial in the second go-round.

With swimmers limited to four total events — a maximum of two individual — at state, the entry process can lead to unique opportunities with the top 32 qualifying times earning a spot.

Gutshall qualified for state as a freshman, sneaking into the 500 freestyle field and then narrowly missing the consolation final. This shifted much of his focus to distance freestyle, although he also finishes as Platte County’s school-record holder in the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle to impressive results. He finished sixth, third and third at state in the 500 freestyle over his final three seasons, while also improving from ninth to fifth to fourth in the 200 freestyle.

As a sophomore, Hokanson made the field in the 100 butterfly (25th) and 500 freestyle (32nd).

All-state in each of his first three seasons, Keith placed seventh, fifth and fifth in the 200 IM in his first three state meets; 10th and ninth in the 100 breaststroke during his sophomore and junior seasons and 16th in the 100 butterfly as a freshman.

Gutshall and Keith also own a piece of Platte County’s school record in the 400 freestyle relay. In addition to all the individual state accolades, Gutshall and Keith were on the Pirates’ 10th-place 400-meter freestyle team and the 14th-place 200 freestyle team in 2022. Keith also swam on honorable mention all-state 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams as a freshman. Gutshall swam on the 2021 200 medley relay team that did not place in the top 16 in preliminaries.

Hokanson and Parkin were also with them on the state 200 and 400 freestyle teams a year ago that didn’t advance out of preliminaries.

Parkin swam on all three of Platte County’s relays for the second straight year, teaming with Jonkman and juniors Finn Smith and Landon Steffel in the 200 medley. The Pirates were 29th in preliminaries at 1:52.25. Smith and Steffel swam at state in the event for a second straight year, while sophomore Nathan Guzman served as an alternate as a first-time qualifier.

Hokanson, Jonkman, Smith, Steffel and Guzman all return next year for Platte County, which has now scored at least one point at state in nine consecutive seasons — all eight since the split into two classes.