For the better part of a decade, Trevor Short has created a rolling lineup achieving high levels of success.
Platte County junior Ella Green hits a shot during a dual last season at Shiloh Springs Golf Course.
Platte County goes into this season having won seven straight conference titles and making Class 3 Missouri State Golf Championships history along the way. The run hit a peak last fall when Bailey Silcott earned the first state medal in program history in a memorable finish to her career.
Perhaps more accurately, Platte County reached new heights with reasons to believe the bar could be raised again.
While needing to replace Silcott and No. 5 player Brylie Kovar, Platte County returns the Suburban Conference White Division medalist in junior Ella Green, a three-time state qualifier in senior Lily Ricketts and experienced senior Mackenzie Borland to anchor the lineup. Short also has six players with junior varsity credentials plus three newcomers to restock the top five.
“We have a mixed bag of players this year ranging from brand new to golf to seasoned veterans,” Short said. “We are excited to see the upperclassmen help guide our less experienced players throughout the season. We do have players that have had some success during their career at Platte County. Lily Ricketts and Ella Green have both gained valuable experience playing deep into the postseason. They are both multiple state qualifiers and have great leadership skills that will help the team reach our goals. Mac Borland has had many varsity rounds under her belt and will most likely see varsity time again. She also has been helping mentor some younger players and showing them ‘The Pirate Way.'”
Silcott recorded the first top-15 individual state showing ever for an accomplished program founded in 1997. She stood alone in final all-state spot after a weather-delayed second round and ended up a three-time state qualifier and a huge piece of Platte County’s recent success. However, Green essentially split No. 1 duties a year ago for the Pirates.
Platte County senior Mackenzie Borland watches a shot during a dual last year at Shiloh Springs Golf Course.
Now a two-time state qualifier, Green ended the first round in an all-state position but faded back to a tie for 30th. She placed 25th as a standout freshman and should be the anchor teams need for overall success.
Ricketts enters her fourth season in the top five with three years of state experience. She went as part of Platte County’s Class 3 qualifying teams in 2020 and 2021. In the first of those trips, the Pirates missed a top-four finish and team trophy by a single stroke in the best overall season in program history.
In three trips to state, Ricketts has placed 68th, 82nd and 62nd — posting her best finish last fall, closing with a 98 in the second round.
Borland helped lead Platte County to the White Division team title and missed a state berth by just two shots at Class 3 District 4 tournament. However, the Pirates will also look to a deep class of juniors, including Izzie Grell and Macie Garland, on a limited roster to fill in the back of the lineup.
“The numbers on the team are a little low at 12, but that will give those players more playing time and quality practices,” Short said. “Our challenges this year are to develop our less experienced players and get them ready to play competitive golf and to enhance the skills of our veteran players to prepare them for districts and state.”
Platte County nearly earned a third straight team state berth but finished tied for second in Class 3 District 4 with Grain Valley and lost out on the spot through a fifth-player tiebreaker. Green placed fourth and Ricketts tied for 14th to earn individual spots, while Borland’s 101 was just off the cutline. Brylie Kovar, the only other graduated senior, placed 45th to finish her career.
The result came a week after Platte County bested Grain Valley by 23 shots for the White Division title, the program’s seventh straight overall after winning the previous six in the Blue Division.
Green won the individual conference title with a 9-over 81 — one shot off the program-record for 18 holes she set earlier in the season at St. Joseph’s Moila Country Club on a par 71 setup. The scores were the same in relation to par.
This marked the third year Platte County claimed an individual conference title after Kasydie Shipp won it outright in 2021 and shared it with teammate Tori Sanders in 2020.
Ricketts (third), Silcott (fourth) and Borland (seventh) also earned all-conference spots, while Kovar finished 11th each of her two years in the lineup. Borland played portions of her sophomore season on varsity as well but ended up behind Kovar for the No. 5 spot in the 2021 postseason. That year, Green placed fourth in the Blue Division, while Ricketts was ninth as a sophomore after not playing in the top five for conference as a freshman but going on to be a part of the district and state lineup.
“We are very eager to see where the season takes us,” Short said. “We have high hopes of repeating as conference champions and putting our best team on the course when the postseason rolls around.”
In addition to Grell and Garland, Platte County junior Danika Stephenson; sophomores Emma Mizell, Grace Handke, Erin Anderson and Adelaide Bonsignore; and freshmen Brileigh Kobush and Isha Shippert round out the roster and will be competing for time at the varsity and junior varsity level.”
