Platte County locks up 4th straight full team state berth with 1st district title since ’06

KEARNEY, Mo. — For better or worse, Madison Palmer knows all about dealing with adversity.

Platte County’s fourth-year senior doesn’t make excuses and built on a strong track record giving her all no matter the circumstances in Saturday’s Class 4 District 4 meet at Jesse James Park. She finished 13th — matching her placement from a year earlier — while continuing to deal with a hip injury that will eventually require surgery.

The procedure can wait until the end of the season.

Palmer followed the finishes of standout freshman Tyler Stambersky (fourth) and first-year inbound transfer Maddie Nichols (eighth) to lead Platte County to the first district team title for the program in nearly two decades. The Pirates ended up with a point total of 63 to finish 17 clear of Kearney in a wide-open race for four automatic berths to this week’s Class 4 MSHSAA Country Championships.

“It’s frustrating because I’m not where I want to be, but having my teammates around me and always encourage me, it helps a lot,” said Palmer, now a four-time state qualifier who missed the race her sophomore year due to illness and has battled hip injuries each of the past two seasons. “The coaches we have and the teammates we have, they’re always there for you. They’re always going to be your backbone, your support, and I think that really helped a lot.”

Platte County lost a pair of standout all-state runners from a year ago but qualified a full team out of districts for the fourth straight season but finished first in the district standings for the first time since 2006. The Pirates have five runners with prior state experience, but only three were in Saturday’s lineup — consistent with the varied usage throughout the season.

Stambersky finished as the lead runner behind a runaway top three and again paced the Pirates. Times were predictably slower on a notoriously tough course but came across the line in 20 minutes, 36.43 seconds in her first race since becoming the eighth in program history to go under 20 while winning the Suburban Conference White Division individual title.

“I’m so proud of her because she’s a freshman,” Palmer said. “She didn’t know what to expect. She hasn’t really run a full 5k because in middle school you only run like half of (that). And just seeing how hard she’s pushed and how much she’s accomplished this year, it’s pretty amazing.”

Nichols, who moved into the district from Florida, also helped steady this year’s roster in her first season at Platte County. She came in at 20:59.43, an impressive PR and second race in a row under 21 minutes. The Pirates were the only team with three individuals in the top 15.

A year ago, Platte County did the same but couldn’t keep up with Kearney, which ran away with the team title thanks to runners placing sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th.

Platte County lost Sisely Mitchell, the school-record holder and three-time all-state performer, plus Carmen Gentilia, a three time qualifier. They led the Pirates with placements of second and third, but Nichols paired with standout freshmen helped restock the lineup and unseat Kearney for the district title.

“It’s actually really amazing,” Palmer said. “I feel like a lot of people thought that when the seniors last year graduated we’re going to fall back a little bit, but I think that we all worked really well together. We pushed each other a lot, so I think we worked hard for this.”

Platte County junior Madelyn Stewart (23rd, 22:06.27) and freshman Arsema Ayiche (26th, 22:12.04) rounded out the team score, while junior Nora McCoy (27th, 22:16.48) and senior Brooklynne Jenni (29th, 22:22.26) were close behind. Jenni factored into the Pirates’ 10th-place showing last year at state — best for the program since coming in eighth back in 2020 and an improvement after being 13th in 2021 and 14th in 2022 — while McCoy also ran to conclude a breakout first season as a contributor.

Stewart competed at districts as a sophomore in her postseason debut but did not finish the race and ended up out of Platte County’s lineup at state. Ayiche debuted midseason and continues to show strong progression for a deep roster that also incudes junior Joanna Reil and senior Annabel Beeman.

Reil ran at state each of the past two years, taking Palmer’s spot in 2022 when illness kept her out, while Beeman went as a sophomore and served as an alternate a year ago.

Platte County has also received contributions this season from senior Alexia Myer and juniors Indigo Teufel and Lexi Meinke, leading to difficult decisions on lineup construction. The Pirates could still change the lineup but might have four runners making state debuts this week.

Palmer brings by far the most experience for Platte county having placed 72nd as a junior and 144th as a freshman. Jenni (115th) and McCoy (118th) were part of a bunched finish for the Pirates last season that also included Reil (116th).

“It’s really exciting,” Palmer said. “A lot of the years, we’ve not had it handed to us — obviously, we’ve worked for it, but it’s been a little bit easier. This year, we definitely had a mindset we need to work harder for it, and we ended up district champs.”