Platte County opened the season with a small quad Tuesday at Platte County Community Center North with the chance to set some baselines but went above and beyond, setting seven Class 1 MSHSAA Swimming and Diving Championships qualifying marks in the process. The Pirates also outpointed Kearney, Smithville and Union Star in a successful start for a small roster.

Platte County freshman Beau Jonkman swims the 100-yard breaststroke during a quad Tuesday at Platte County Community Center North.
With senior stars Deacon Gutshall and Palmer Keith in only one individual event each, Platte County junior Jack Hokanson stood out with a victory in the 100-yard butterfly (59.01 seconds) and a runnerup finish in the 200 IM (2 minutes, 12.72 seconds). He enters off of qualifying for state in the 100 butterfly and 500 freestyle last season and continued to show progression important to the development of the team’s profile and relay chances.
Keith finished first in the 200 IM in front of Hokanson and posted a time of 2:06.52. Gutshall nearly topped his school record in the 500 freestyle with a 4:43.03 — a second and a half off his PR — but easily earned a win with only one other competitor in the field.
Gutshall and Keith both have all-state credentials to their credit.
Platte County won all three relays with the seniors in those lineups and set initial state qualifying marks in each, as well. The 200 freestyle (1:40.38) and 400 freestyle (3:43.36) teams also included Hokanson and senior Cobie Parkin, making those lineups the same as the ones to compete at state last year while just missing a spot in the top 16 and the consolation finals.
However, the 200 medley finished with a state-qualifying mark of 1:49.77 but looked a little bit different with junior Landon Steffel and freshman Beau Jonkman in the fold. Due to limitations on events, Steffel and Parkin were on last year’s state lineup for that relay along with seniors Zach Linville and Dylan Smith.
Platte County didn’t have a relay finalist in 2023 for the first time in seven years but did gain valuable experience.
Parkin added a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle (2:05.85), while Jonkman turned in an impressive debut that included a runnerup showing in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.17). The duo gives the Pirates additional hopefuls for individual qualifications. The top 32 in each event qualify, but with swimmers limited to two individual swims, others can make the cut as decisions are made on participation. This helped Hokanson make the field last year in his state debut.