Platte County didn’t quite come away with the desired team result but still made some history with a strong showing in Friday’s Class 3 District 4 tournament at Jefferson City Country Club.
Helias (373) and Capital City (392) gave two of the local schools the automatic team berths to the Class 3 MSHSAA State Golf Championships given to the two teams at the top of the final standings. Platte County ended up a distant third with a 406 team total, and the Pirates’ experienced top three of seniors Lily Ricketts and Mackenzie Borland plus junior Ella Green all earned individual state berths.
Green (t-third), Ricketts (eighth) and Borland (t-12th) were all well under the cut line and gave Platte County at least four state qualifiers for a fifth consecutive season. Ricketts became the first four-timer in program history, going as part of full teams as a freshman and sophomore and then claiming individual spots each of the past two years.
“We are excited to be making the trip to the state competition,” Platte County coach Trevor Short said. “These ladies have worked hard for many years to make it to this level and it is all paying off.”
The district team champion and runnerup automatically sent their top four players to state, while the remaining 13 individual players, including ties, also advance. The Pirates entered off a runnerup showing in the Suburban Conference White Division Championships that ended a string of consecutive league titles at seven but turned in another solid round on a difficult course to beat out Warrensburg (414), Smithville (416) and Jefferson City (426) for third.
In addition to a challenging layout, players also experienced diverse weather conditions that included sun, wind and precipitation.
“These ladies battled a very tough course, a state championship-caliber course, and played well,” Short said. “There were a lot of false fronts and the greens were a bit faster than we are used to playing. It didn’t take long for the girls to get into a little groove and figure out how to play the course. We were very pleased with all the team’s performances during the round today.
“These ladies showed true grit by fighting through the layout of the course and the rapidly changing weather conditions.”
Having set the program record for lowest 18-hole round each of the past two seasons, Green goes into her third state tournament looking to join Bailey Silcott as the only all-state golfers in program history. Silcott achieved the feat last fall as a senior in her third try.
Green’s 18-over 90 put her in a four-way tie for third behind medalist Sophia Hinds of Helias (77) and runnerup Reece Nimmo of Warrensburg (86). In two previous district tournaments, Green placed fourth (2022) and ninth (2021).
As a sophomore, Green ended the first round in an all-state position but faded back to a tie for 30th. She placed 25th as a standout freshman and hopes to move up the ladder in this year’s tournament scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at Crown Pointe Golf Club in Farmington.
Ricketts’ four trips to state have all came in Class 3 after the state increased the postseason divisions to four in 2019. However, she tied for 14th last year at districts to make the cut before moving up to eighth as a senior with a 97. Only 11 players out of 51 shot under 100.
Closing with a 98 in her second round at state as a junior, Ricketts posted her best finish in three tries (62nd) after placing 82nd as a sophomore and 68th as a freshman.
Borland played at districts for a second straight year. As a junior, she missed a state berth — that would have allowed Platte County to compete as a team with four individual qualifiers — by a single stroke. On Friday, her 29-over 101 put her in a four-way tie for 12th and five shots under the cut line, while the same score last year tied her for 21st.
Platte County leaned on the clear-cut top three and returning starters all season, while sophomores Grace Handke and Erin Anderson earned the postseason opportunity Friday. Handke factored in the runnerup showing days earlier in the White Division tournament and posted the No. 4 score, while Anderson jumped back into the No. 5 spot.
Handke finished 30th (118) in her district debut, while Anderson battled early adversity and tied for 47th with a 149.
“These types of events can be a little nerve racking if you are not prepared to handle the stage that you are on,” Short said. “It can snowball very quickly out of control and is hard to stop. The ladies did not let it phase them. They kept on the task at hand and handled their business. We are extremely excited about how our two sophomore sadjusted to the pressures of the tournament.Handke and Anderson gained some invaluable experience these last two days. They got a glimpse as to what traveling for state competitions are like and how to keep in control of all facets during a round of golf.”
