JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Sisely Mitchell found the joy in running again, and the results weren’t the focus.
Platte County senior Sisely Mitchell finishes fifth in the 800-meter run during the Class 5 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships on Friday at Jefferson City High School’s Adkins Stadium.
Yet, Platte County’s senior star experienced more success this season because of this approach. She finished the Class 5 MSHAA Track and Field Championships this past weekend at Jefferson City High School’s Adkins Stadium with the first individual all-state medal of her accomplished career while also earning a return to the podium in the 4×800-meter relay.
Mitchell finished sixth in the 800-meter race Friday afternoon then teamed with fellow Platte County senior Carmen Gentilia, junior Alexia Myer and sophomore Addie Ayers to place fifth in Saturday morning’s opening event. Both races also resulted in bettering the school records already set this season.
“Running’s just something I do for fun, and I just went out and had fun,” said Mitchell, who signed earlier this year to continue her career at Division II Rogers State. “I did what I could, and I was really happy.”
Combined with another school record and fifth-place medal for freshman Kelly Bullano in the javelin, Platte County scored 11 points and finished 21st as a team. The Pirates earned the first three all-state placements in Class 5 since moving up to the state’s top tier three seasons ago.
The 4×800 capped the weekend in emotional fashion.
Mitchell continued to set the tone on the opening leg and brought Platte County around in first with a split of 2 minutes, 16.24 seconds. Ayers (2:28.54) and Myer (2:21.97) maintained and gave the baton to Gentilia in third. She raced against a handful of individual all-state performers in Friday’s 800 and came across the line in 2:21.09 for a fifth-place finish.
Platte County junior Alexia Myer takes the baton from sophomore Addie Ayers in the 4×800-meter relay during the Class 5 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Jefferson City High School’s Adkins Stadium.
The time of 9:27.83 broke the school record set a week earlier at Class 5 Sectional 4 by more than 11 seconds. The previous mark of 9:38.95 took down the 2017 state team’s mark of 9:41.54.
“Me and Carmen have been joking forever, ‘Our senior year, we’re going to break the school record,’ but to actually see all our hard work pay off has been really awesome,” Mitchell said.
In addition to the 4×800, Gentilia competed in Friday’s 1,600 and finished 16th in 5:26.17 — just off the career-best she set at Class 5 District 8 (5:18.86). However, she came back to run the key anchor leg in Platte County’s state return. Last spring, Gentilia’s comeback effort on the last lap at Class 5 Sectional 4 sent the Pirates to state on a team that included Mitchell and Ayers plus junior Madison Palmer, but they finished 13th in 10:08.40.
That means Platte County came in about 41 seconds faster this year with almost an identical group. Gentilia’s individual state debut and piece of the 4×800 school record after she gave up soccer midway through her junior season to put a full focus on distance running that also included an all-state finish in cross country.
Platte County senior Carmen Gentilia runs in the 4×800-meter relay during the Class 5 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Jefferson City High School’s Adkins Stadium.
“Carmen, the amount of heart she puts into everything she does,” Mitchell said. “She really cares for the 4×8 team.”
Ayers ran the second leg for a second consecutive season, while Myer supplanted Madison in a competitive battle between five runners for only four spots.
Mitchell went to state in the 4×800 as a freshman in Class 4 when Platte County also placed fifth (9:54.01). That helped spur a change, and she gave up volleyball and fall hockey as a sophomore, finishing her cross country career with three all-state distinctions and the school record.
In addition, Mitchell saw more success in individual track events, going to state as a sophomore in both the 1,600 and 3,200. However, she finished 16th in one and 13th in the other and then experienced struggles as a junior that led to her only qualifying in the 4×800.
The prior experience benefitted Mitchell in Friday’s 800. She finished the first lap in fifth and then dropped just one spot to sixth in a school record of 2:14.26 — just .05 behind MICDS junior Grace Coppel.
“My sophomore year, I was a ball of nerves just absolutely terrified to be here,” Mitchell said. “Today, just peace and calmness.”
Mitchell didn’t run the 800 in her sophomore postseason for Platte County and only competed in the event three times as a junior. She renewed a focus on the long middle-distance race late this year and originally set the school record at 2:16.18 in the Suburban Conference White Division Championships before lowering the mark again on Friday.
Platte County senior Sisely Mitchell battles for position at the start of the 4×800-meter relay during the Class 5 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Jefferson City High School’s Adkins Stadium.
To do so, Mitchell bettered the times of a pair of state champions — Elizabeth Robbins (2:17.13 in 2000) and Rebekah Geddes (2:17.66 in 2018) — and battled through a competitive and tightly packed field.
“It felt not as fast as it was,” Mitchell said. “The race started, and both girls on my side closed in and I was like elbowing my way through. I felt some hockey come out of me.”
Platte County sophomore Adi Benninghoff gave the Pirates a third individual track qualifier. She competed in Friday’s preliminaries and set a personal-best of 15.35 but did not qualify for the final, ending up 10th and more than a quarter second out of a needed top-eight spot.
However, Benninghoff did move past Isabelle Geddes on the all-time performance list at Platte County but still chasing Jan Herndon’s school record of 14.93 from 1993.
The development continues to be swift for Benninghoff. Her first varsity race as a freshman resulted in a 20.21 finish, but she broke through at the midway point last season with the first sub-17-second time of her career.
Platte County sophomore Adi Benninghoff competes in the 110-meter hurdles preliminaries during the Class 5 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships on Friday at Jefferson City High School’s Adkins Stadium.
Benninghoff finished fifth at districts last year and continually lowered her PR as a sophomore, culminating in Friday’s run.
Bullano made the most of her freshman season and continued a treen of school-record throws early in competition. In Friday’s prelims, she threw 41.55 meters on her first attempt and immediately sat in fourth place.
With only three guaranteed preliminary throws, the mark easily qualified her for finals. Bullano sat in fifth after prelims and never left that spot. Her second-best throw also came before finals (40.58).
“I felt like I relaxed myself a little too much after that first one, but I’m very happy with how far I’ve come this year,” Bullano said.
This followed Bullano’s pattern of setting a school record at Class 5 District 8 then bettering that on the first throw the previous weekend at Class 5 Sectional 4. Her first school record came in a freshmen meet at 36.6 meters, erasing the mark Addison Long had held since 2019. The progression from there went to 37.52 at districts, 41.03 at sectionals and 41.55 at state.
Prior to this season, Bullano never threw javelin, but she quickly found a niche and improved under the tutelage of coaches Dakota Schmidt and Derek Kohler.
Platte County freshman Kelly Bullano throws the javelin during the Class 5 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships on Friday at Jefferson City High School’s Adkins Stadium.
“I wanted to do (javelin) before the season,” said Bullano, who became the second state qualifier for Platte County in the javelin (Jaycie Stubbs, 2016) and the first medalist in the event. “At the beginning, I just threw disc and shot. (Schmidt) had me throw it one time, and I PR’d by 6 meters. It kind of accelerated from there.
“I enjoy the coaches and the environment, and yeah, I had success so I kept doing it.”
Bullano spent Friday morning supporting Platte County junior Addy Schlake in her second straight trip to state in discus. However, she missed finals for a second straight year and ended up 11th after the three prelim throws with 35.11 her best mark.
Schlake set the school record in the event earlier this season at 41.57 meters while also competing at the same facility during the Licklider Invitational. However, she did not go back over 40 meters and missed the medal stand despite having one of the state’s top marks during the regular season.
After sneaking through districts, Schlake threw 39.96 meters to finish third at Class 5 Sectional to earn a repeat state berth. As a sophomore, she finished 12th in preliminaries.
Bullano, Schlake and sophomore manager Marlee Snyder-Richardson all applied fake — but very realistic temporary tattoos to their arms and thighs the day before state. They also convinced Kohler to do the same, giving him a full sleeve on one arm in a look that drew attention from many.
This underscored the bond of throwers and coaches during what ended up a strong season with multiple record-setting performances.
“It’s very special. We are losing one of our coaches (Kohler), and it’s pretty sad,” Bullano said. “But we’ve been a family all year.”
Platte County junior Addy Schlake throws the discus during the Class 5 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships on Friday at Jefferson City High School’s Adkins Stadium.
