Relay construction continues to progress, creating suddenly impressive units made up of the right combination of talented runners.
Platte County senior Adi Benninghoff hands the baton to junior Maggie Wagner during the 4×100-meter relay in Friday’s Platte County Invitational at Pirate Stadium.
Platte County posted season-best times in both the 4×800-meter and 4×400-meter relays, while a slightly altered 4×100-meter relay set a school record. The Pirates have seemingly unlocked the obvious potential, especially with talented freshman Mary Dellinger in the fold.
Splitting time between track and soccer, Dellinger anchored the 4×400 to a victory, capping Friday’s Platte County Invitational at Pirate Stadium. The key came from moving runners typically in the 800 and 1,600 into the race.
Platte County junior Maggie Wagner finished out a strong meet with an opening leg that put the Pirates in first. She passed the baton to senior Emily Huehl who gave way to senior Madelyn Stewart — a pair more known for work in the 800 and 1,600 — to stay in contention.
Dellinger continued to show versatility and chased down Liberty North on the anchor lap, bringing Platte County across the line in 4 minutes, 3.95 seconds — just a little more than 2 seconds off the school record set in 2019. The Pirates struggled to recreate that type of form in the years since and tinkered with multiple structures this season before breakout performances that cut about 5 seconds off of the previous season-best time.
Platte County senior Addie Ayers runs in the 4×800-meter relay during Friday’s Platte County Invitational at Pirate Stadium.
In addition, Stewart and Huehl turned in PR splits on the first two laps for Platte County’s 4×800, and senior Addie Ayers — one of only three previous state qualifiers on this season’s roster — gave way to freshman Carlie Baker on the anchor leg. The Pirates finished second in 9:50.23 behind only Liberty North, which turned in another dominant showing and won the team title.
Platte County’s 4×100 finished fifth, but the combination of seniors Adi Benninghoff and Rylee Carr along with juniors Vanessa Sarpong and Wagner posted the first sub-50 time in program history. The Pirates came in at 49.98 and broke the previous school record mark from last year’s Class 5 District 8.
With junior Adi Kern out due a schedule conflict, Benninghoff — a state medalist in the 100 hurdles as a junior — ran the lead leg. Sarpong and Wagner were on last year’s record-setting relay along with Kern, while Carr took a spot vacated when sophomore Addison Stone opted to focus on soccer this year and not run track.
Impressively, Platte County’s 4×200 with juniors Caroline Linn and Kelly Bullano, sophomore Ibunkun Akande and freshman Rylee Dishman bettered the 4×100’s showing, finishing fourth in 1:53.38.
Platte County senior Rylee Carr runs in the final 200-meter heat of Friday’s Platte County Invitational at Pirate Stadium.
Not surprisingly, the runners from the strong relays also aided Platte County’s fourth-place team finish.
Benninghoff placed first (15.50) and Wagner third (16.70) on the 100 hurdles, while Carr set a career-best of 5.04 meters in the long jump. Wagner finished tied for third with Carr, matching the exact same distance but coming up just 1 centimeter off of her PR from last season.
Carr went 5.02 meters in the same event a week earlier in the Ken Peek Invitational.
Still chasing the school record, Benninghoff didn’t have any obvious competition in her best race and remained 0.30 of a second off of her season best from the Clyde Littlefield Relays earlier this year on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin. Sarpong placed fifth in the 200 (27.17).
Dellinger posted Platte County’s best 1,600 time of the season, finishing fourth in 5:37.36 with sophomore Tyler Stambersky running the race for the second time this year and coming in fifth at 5:48.72. The Pirates claimed third place in a small 3,200 field with the performance of sophomore Madison Fuller (13:14.26).
While some entries were limited due to Tuesday’s Suburban Conference White Division Championships, Platte County also excelled in non-traditional relays. The Pirates’ sprint medley team of Akande, Linn, sophomore Rose Forbes and Stambersky came in fifth (2:02.21). Akande and Linn ran the 100s, Forbes the 200 and Stambersky the 400.
Bullano and sophomore Millie Parker were the opening legs of the 4×100 thrower’s relay, combining with sophomore Miller Bigus and senior Cale Buntz to earn a win for Platte County in a non-scored, non-timed event near the end of the meet. Bullano, the school-record holder in the javelin, gave the Pirates a big advantage coming out of the blocks in a role she has held in both the 4×200 and 4×400 this season.
