The scores rarely matter on senior night.
Platte County still sent nine swimmers off with a team victory in their final home meet Tuesday at Platte County Community Center North. The Pirates totaled 549 points to better St. Joseph Central, Savannah and Smithville in what would have otherwise been a nondescript day if not for the pre-meet “senior dive” for Collin Burton, Brody Corbin, Joey Croy, Weston Grimes, Austin Hough, Carson Howe, Gage Jonkman, Ben Larson, and Brock Uthe.
The group includes five with experience as qualifiers for the Class 1 Missouri State Swimming and Diving Championships looking to make another strong postseason push.
“I don’t think it’s going to hit me until state, to be honest,” said Burton, the only three-time state qualifier in the group ready to make his fourth trip to St. Peters this fall. “Everything’s been going by so fast it’s been hard to take a breather.”
First came the formalities of the last regular season competition with limited stakes.
Platte County took first in two of three relays and added two individual victoriess apiece for super sophomores Palmer Keith and Deacon Gutshall. Pirates seniors Burton and Jonkman teamed with them to open the meet with a win in 200 medley relay at 1 minute, 47.64 seconds, while Grimes was the lone senior along with them and junior Brayden Carter on the first-place 400 freestyle relay to close the meet (3:40.59).
Gutshall turned in the most notable improved state consideration qualifying time in winning the 100 freestyle at 51.65, nearly a full second better than his previous best. He also topped the field in the 100 backstroke (57.59) on a day when most swimmers were in off events.
Keith did not improve his state time but convincingly won the 50 freestyle in 23.46 and followed that with an easy first in the 100 butterfly (56.08). Burton placed third in the 100 butterfly and seventh in the 50 freestyle and continues to seek a cut in his times to better position him for a shot at his first top-16 individual finish at state.
“Got over a hump in the middle of the year with the team and then after that it’s been pretty good,” he said. “Personally, I haven’t been performing how I want, but the team is doing great.”
Platte County’s runnerup finishes came from freshman Jack Hokanson in the 500 freestyle (career-best 5:54.23) and 200 freestyle (career-best 2:09.35). Jonkman, Burton, Croy and Grimes were a quartet of seniors that came in second in the 200 freestyle relay (1:39.13).
However, the next task for Platte County will be trying to reclaim a conference championships. The Pirates just missed out last year in dethroning Kearney in the Suburban Conference Blue Division Championships but have since moved up a tier.
Platte County goes into this week’s Suburban Conference White Division Championships as the likely favorites, but in a five-team meet, depth comes into play more than normal for a meet with these types of stakes.
After coming up 11 points short to Kearney a year ago, the seniors have a chance to stake a claim to the first league crown since 2014.
“We’re hoping to win, but everyone has to do their part,” Burton said. “If we don’t have everyone there, it can definitely be out of the realm of possibilities so we need everyone to show up and compete.”
Again this year, the top 32 entrants advance to state in each swimming event with all qualifiers limited to two individual events and two relays. The top eight in preliminaries advance to the championship final while spots 9-16 went to the consolation final. The top 16 in each event score team points, assuming no disqualifications.
However, because swimmers have to choose between events, the actual ranking of a state-bound swimmer can be well below 32 depending who further up the list chooses other disciplines.
Burton, Jonkman, Howe, Corbin, Hough, Keith and Gutshall all went to state last year with four of those qualifiers going in both relays and individual events. The sophomores will have the best shot at scoring individual points, having combined to set three school records this year.
Keith bettered his own marks in both the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly earlier this season, while Gutshall knocked off the oldest mark on the board a few weeks back when he better Nathanial Savage’s 2008 time in the 500 freestyle. Keith, who also owns the 200 freestyle school record, earned all-state honors in the 200 IM (seventh) and added an honorable mention 16th-place finish in the 100 butterfly, while also swimming a leg on two honorable mention all-state relays.
Gutshall also made his state debut, taking one of the last spots in the 500 freestyle and perhaps somewhat serendipitously discovered what now might be his best event. He set a then-career-best in the preliminaries and nearly made the finals, dropping about 4 seconds off his qualifying time and ending up just .02 of a second off of 16th in and the last spot in the finals by the narrowest of margins.
“I’ve kind of grew up with these kids ever since I’ve been swimming club,” Burton said of Keith and Gutshall. “I’ve been swimming club since I was like 6 so I’ve seen them grow as people and as swimmers so it’s been cool to watch them excel at what they’re doing.”
Like Keith, Burton swam in four events at state last year, including both of the top-16 relays. The 400 freestyle team returns Keith, Burton and Howe, who helped set the school record in last year’s state prelims and then again in the finals to place 12th. The same three were on the 200 team that placed 10th.
Howe, Jonkman and Gutshall were all on the 200 medley relay that turned in the No. 26 time in preliminaries and did not make the finals.
Burton made the field in two individual events a year ago for the second straight season and came in 24th in the 100 butterfly and 29th in the 200 freestyle. He was 23rd in the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle as a sophomore and has been on two state relays each year of his career, and that will improve to four this year.
Jonkman made state in both the 500 freestyle and 100 backstroke in addition to his one relay, while Corbin was an alternate and did not swim.
The five returning Platte County qualifiers will all likely have another opportunity to swim at state, while Grimes and Croy could be in the mix, as well, depending on the relay breakdown. The Pirates scored 37 team points last year and placed 17th in the final Class 1 team standings — the sixth consecutive year the Pirates have scored team points at state.
In 2020, Platte County scored just two team points with one 16th-place relay after placing 16th in both 2019 (40 points) and 2018 (53). The Pirates were a program-best 13th in 2017 at 61 points.
Current events ranked non the top 16 in Class 1 this year include:
- Gutshall, 500 freestyle
- Keith, 100 butterfly
- Keith, 100 breaststroke
- Keith, 200 IM
- 200 freestyle relay
- 400 freestyle relay
