Platte County can’t realistically expect to fully replace the two most talented and decorated swimmers in program history. However, the Pirates have intriguing pieces on a small roster set to try and reclaim the Suburban Conference White Division crown and continue the recent run of success in the Class 1 MSHSAA and Swimming and Diving Championships.
Finishing 14th in the final team standings, Platte County set a program record for points scored in a state meet (85) in 2024, and senior Jack Hokanson’s breakthrough season leaves him as the top returner while sophomore Beau Jonkman also gained valuable experience important to developing into a bigger contributor. The Pirates now must build around them after graduating Deacon Gutshall and Palmer Keith, who rewrote the program’s record book over the past four years before moving on to continue their careers in college.
The process of trying to find similar results remains relatively simple.
“The goal is to get faster, stronger and mentally tougher,” Platte County coach Britt Johnson said. “Places and records come with swimming our best.”
As a junior, Hokanson made the consolation final in both of his individual events and also teamed with Gutshall, Keith and Cobie Parkin, the third significant part of last year’s senior class, in the 200-yard freestyle relay and freshman Jonkman in the 400-yard freestyle relay to give the Pirates two additional placements in the top 16. However, the bulk of the Pirates’ state points came from the two standard-setters.
In individual events, Gutshall and Keith added four more all-state medals, ending up tied for the career record with five each, and four improved school records in their final meet for Platte County. They own six total individual school records in addition to a piece of the fastest 400 freestyle relay in program history.
As a sophomore, Hokanson made the Class 1 state field in the 100 butterfly (25th) and 500 freestyle (32nd). He earned a return in the 100 butterfly, qualified 12th out of this year’s preliminaries in a PR of 54.09 seconds and then placing in the same spot (54.32) in the finals.
Swimming in the same state preliminary heat as Keith in the 200 individual medley, Hokanson gave Platte County a pair of finalists in the event. He took the last of 16 spots in the consolation final in a career-best of 2:05.78 then bettered that mark and placed 15th while dropping 0.36 of a second despite his goggles displacing off of his eyes in the middle of the finals race.
Like Hokansason, Jonkman earned the first honorable mention all-state finish of his career but did so with him, Keith and Gutshall on Platte County’s 400 freestyle relay. Parkin actually swam in the preliminary for the Pirates, who set a season-best of 3:27.64 to post the No. 12 qualifying time. Jonkman replaced Parkin for the final and helped improve the time to 3:25.36 — good for 11th overall and the best placement for the three qualifying relays.
Platte County’s team of Keith, Gutshall, Parkin and Hokanson qualified 10th out of preliminaries in the 200 freestyle relay (1:31.99) but showed some signs of a loaded schedule in the placement race, finishing 13th in 1:33.35.
Jonkman and seniors Landon Steffel and Finn Smith also swam on Platte County’s 200 medley relay, which came in 29th in the state preliminaries. Smith and Steffel have swam the event in the postseason each of the past two years, while Hokanson also had a leg on the 200 and 400 freestyle relays as a sophomore with neither making the finals.
In addition, Platte County also brings back junior Nathan Guzman back after he served as a state alternation an impressive first season with the program, while freshman Grisham Gutshall provides depth in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. The senior class, Guzman and Gutshall give the Pirates a good chance to rebuild the relays and earn individual state berths but the conference chase could provide a bigger challenge.
A year ago, Platte County won 6 of 11 races in the White Division Championships but finished a distant second to Raytown for a second straight year.
