Platte County again showed the consistency but again took the hard route to achieving the ultimate goal.
Platte County junior Brayden Renno hits a putt during the Class 4 District 4 tournament Monday on The Posse Course at Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville.
Pembroke Hill and Smithville easily claimed the top two spots in the final standings of the Class 4 District 4 tournament Monday at Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville and ultimately the two automatic berths to state. Yet, Platte County put all five individuals above the individual cut line for a second straight year and also earned the right to post a team score in next week’s Class 4 MSHSAA Golf Championships at Columbia Country Club. The Pirates ended up a somewhat distant third with a score of 334 on The Posse Course.
Platte County senior Braden Hendee and junior Brayden Renno both became three-time state qualifiers, while sophomores Jack Dillingham, Bryson Hevalow and Nick Cangelosi will all make debuts.
“Well, we did it the hard way,” Platte County coach Trevor Short said. “We had high hopes of playing well and being in the top two positions guaranteeing a trip to the state championships, but that is not how it played out for us today.”
Pembroke Hill shot a 306 to win the district title, while Smithville posted a 322 on the program’s home course.
Platte County sophomore Jack Dillingham hits a chip shot during the Class 4 District 4 tournament Monday on The Posse Course at Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville.
Platte County put up a 318 in the Oak Park Invitational in the only other 18-hole team event played on The Posse this season. The Pirates were well off of that pace on Monday despite a 6-over 78 for Hendee, who finished in a three-way tie for fifth a full 11 shots behind Pembroke Hill senior and district medalist Jonathan Grant.
Hendee made a pair of birdies on his round but also carded six bogeys and a double on the par 5 sixth.
Platte County’s team score ended up including matching 13-over 85s for Renno and Dillingham while Hevalow and Cangelosi both shot 86s. They were part of ties for 16th and 19th, respectively.
The four players with an 86, including Hevalow and Cangelosi, took the final individual state spots.
“It was definitely a battle with ourselves out on the course,” Short said. “Fortunately, the team stayed focused on the goal and were able to get everyone through to the state tournament.”
With the deepest roster in program history, Short’s final season as head coach ends with a second straight state berth as a team after Platte County finished fifth in Class 4 last season, even after needing to qualify all five individuals. Hendee and Renno ended up as the only two back from that group with sophomore Kaplan Curtis ultimately not on the postseason roster.
Last year, Curtis took over for Dillingham, who played in the Suburban Conference White Division Championships but didn’t go to districts due to a scheduling conflict.
Platte County used nine different players in this year’s varsity lineup before three sophomores earned the spots behind Hendee and Renno. Hevalow and Cangelosi made a birdie each Monday at districts — the only others for the Pirates in what ended up an uncharacteristically off round for the majority of players.
Last spring, Platte County flirted with a top-four finish and accompanying state trophy before ending up fifth — the best finisher out of Class 4 District 4 — in the program’s first team state berth in 24 years. Now, the Pirates have a chance to end another drought.
Barrett Martens made all-state three times for Platte County and won a Class 3A state title as a junior in 2001 when the Pirates finished fourth as a team.
Hendee sat in the top 15 after the first round of last year’s state tournament but ended up tied for 26th after tying for 65th as a sophomore. Renno went from 89th as a freshman to a tie for 41st last season along with Curtis.
The top 15 players plus ties earn all-state status. Martens (2000-2002) and Jeremy Glasbrennar (1999) remain Platte County’s only players to achieve the feat.
