All good streaks eventually come to an end.
Platte County senior Lily Ricketts hits a putt during the Suburban Conference White Division Championships on Monday at Hoot’s Hollow Golf Course in Pleasant Hill.
Despite one of the best 18-hole team scores of the season, Platte County ended up second in Monday’s Suburban Conference White Division Championships at Hoot’s Hollow Golf Course in Pleasant Hill. The Pirates entered having won seven straight league titles — six in the Blue Division and last year in the program’s first campaign in the White Division.
However, Platte County junior Ella Green, seniors Lily Ricketts and Mackenzie Borland and sophomore Grace Handke all earned first team all-conference honors, placing in the top eight. Green came up just short of defending her invidiual White Division title, as well, with an 8-over 70, and Grain Valley claimed the team championship with a 657. The Pirates were second with a 368, and the top two teams combined to have the top eight finishers.
“We are very proud of the team today,” Platte County coach Trevor Short said. “They went out and played hard and gave it their best effort. We were hoping to come away with the conference championships, but just fell short by a few shots. Grain Valley is a pretty solid team, and we knew going into the event that we would have to be on our best game to compete with them.”
Green and Ricketts both became three-time first team all-conference performers. Green has gone fourth, first and second in three tries, while Ricketts (fourth, 91) did not make the lineup for the Blue Division tournament as a freshman but was ninth as a sophomore and third as a junior.
Platte County sophomore Grace Handke hits a chip during the Suburban Conference White Division Championships on Monday at Hoot’s Hollow Golf Course in Pleasant Hill.
Borland played at conference for the second straight year, finishing seventh as a junior and fifth this year.
The difference ended up being Grain Valley’s Mallory Crane claiming first with a 76, while Seen Tyler’s third-place 85 was six shots better than Ricketts. The Eagles also placed their final two scoring golfers between Borland and Handke, who finished eighth and shot the lowest round of her career at 103 to help Platte County nearly find a way to stay on top of the conference standings. The Pirates entered the season with three experienced players at the top of the lineup but continually shuffled the Nos. 4 and 5 spots with Handke and Garland (16th, 126) earning the nod for the final tournament ahead of the start of postseason play.
Platte County now travels to Jefferson City Country Club in Jefferson City for Friday’s Class 3 District 4 tournament and could change out the lineup with sophomore Erin Anderson and Emma Mizell also having played in the top five at points this season. The Pirates finished third in this tournament last year and just missed one of the two automatic team berths, losing out on a tiebreaker with Grain Valley a week after topping the Eagles in the White Division tournament.
However, Green, Ricketts and graduated senior Bailey Silcott all earned individual spots in the state tournament, and Silcott went on to become the first all-state player in program history. The top 15 players including ties earn that distinction.
Platte County senior Mackenzie Borland hits a tee shot during the Suburban Conference White Division Championships on Monday at Hoot’s Hollow Golf Course in Pleasant Hill.
Ricketts will be seeking a fourth state berth, having gone as part of full teams as a freshman and sophomore before tying for 14th at Class 3 District 4 last year. Green has qualified each of her first two years, placing fourth as a sophomore as the top player in Platte County’s 378 team score. She was ninth at districts as a freshman.
Borland finished tied for 21st in her postseason debut as a junior and missed a state berth by just two strikes.
The Class 3 Missouri State Golf Championships qualification procedures remain the same with the district team champion and runnerup automatically sending their top four players. The remaining 13 individual players, including ties, also advance. However, if a qualifying team’s fourth and fifth player score is a tie, both players move on to state but do not count as part of the top 13 individuals. If a team’s fifth player score is within top 13 individuals or within 10 strokes of the top 13 individuals cut line, the fifth player also plays at state and does not count toward the individual qualifiers.
