Platte County ran away with the Class 4 District 4 title Saturday at Jesse James Park, a second straight dominant effort for a consistently restrengthening lineup.
In 2020, Platte County won a smaller Class 4 District 8 championship due to COVID-19 protocols necessitating a change in the postseason formatting. The Pirates put all seven in the top 20 runners a year ago to edge out Smithville, and they were nearly as impressive this time around with six in the top 17 of a 98-runner, 13-team field this time around in what appears to be a declaration of intent to make more history in this week’s Class 4 Missouri State Championships.
Platte County junior Andrew Johnson set a personal-best of 15 minutes, 53.15 seconds to earn the individual district title, also marking the second in three years for the program — Blake Bjustrom won District 8 in 2020. The Pirates placed five in the top 15 with a collection of fast times to assure a third straight team berth to state in impressive fashion.
Johnson recorded his third straight race victory, adding to his recent Suburban Conference White Division title and a regular season triumph at Grain Valley that at the time was the first of his career. His journey to this point includes from going well down the depth chart as a freshman to a three-time state qualifier with potential to become the program’s first all-state finisher since Nathan Straubel in 2015 when he set the school record of 15:50.06 to place fifth in Class 4.
Platte County could also be looking for a team breakthrough after placing eighth in the 2021 team standings with the fastest collective set of state times in program history. The Pirates were ninth a year earlier but might have the deepest collection of talent during this stretch thanks to a quickly developing group of underclassmen along with seniors Kage Audas and Tanner Johnson — two more returning state qualifiers.
Only five of Platte County’s top-20 finishers counted toward the team score of 40, which topped runnerup Lincoln Prep by an impressive 26. Andrew Johnson bested junior runnerup Isaac Rivera of Lincoln Prep by a full 30 seconds.
In fact, Johnson ran at Jesse James Park for the first time since districts his freshman season, and he finished nearly three full minutes faster two years later on the same course setup (18:44.50 in 2020 to 15:53.15 on Saturday).
Platte County junior Kade Meinke continued to show off his rapid growth as a second-year runner, placing fourth in 17.19.95. He joined the Pirates a year ago with no prior experience and quickly became a top-five runner and state qualifier in 2021 before ascending to be the top complement to Andrew Johnson this season and nearing his first career sub-17-minute performance heading to state.
Tanner Jenks, a junior, gave Platte County a third top-10 runner, placing third in 17:35.50 and just edging out Audas in 11th at 17:43.75. Audas earned a state return after missing out on the opportunity as a sophomore, unable to run in the postseason due to COVID-19 protocols.
Platte County’s state contingent will also include a pair of impressive freshmen. Blake Herron rounded out the team total with a 14th-place showing (18:06.21), while Donavin Ness placed 17th (18:18.48), reversing their order of finish for the Pirates in a White Division-winning team effort two weeks earlier.
Tanner Johnson, who made a late push into the lineup to earn a state berth as a junior, completed the top seven and finished in 34th at 19:05.22 to make it back. The Pirates went into the season with five returning state qualifiers, but sophomore Ben Letcher has been pushed just outside the lineup this season.
Still, plenty of state experience should be a positive.
Andrew Johnson went from 68th as a freshman to 32nd as a sophomore at state for Platte County and easily ranks in the top 25 for Class 4 in terms of fastest times going into this year’s race, scheduled for Friday morning on the Gans Creek course in Columbia. The top 25 runners earn all-state distinction. He ran 16:13.70 there earlier this year.
Audas and Meinke were back-to-back in 96th and 97th in 2021 for Platte County and could be primed for a big move up the leaderboard if they run to their potential. Tanner Johnson did not factor in the Pirates’ team score as a junior at state but was the No. 6 finisher (121st).
