Platte County senior Madelyn Stewart made an impactful season debut in Saturday’s Pella Invational on the Central College Course in Pella, Iowa, and a lineup chock full of freshmen and sophomores continues to show hints of potential for the present and the future. The Pirates were fourth out 10 teams with a score of 118 and finished just one back of Adel DeSoto Minburn (Iowa) in the final standings.
Running just seven compared to the 10 becoming the norm in Missouri races, Platte County continued to utilize newcomers in the lineup despite bringing back a strong group of returning state qualifiers.
Platte County sophomore Tyler Stambersky earned an individual medal and placed seventh in 19 minutes, 50.70 seconds but did not match her career-best set the previous weekend in the season-opening Tim Nixon Invitational. Still, she notched a a second straight sub-20 minute time and the third of her career on an unfamiliar course for the Pirates, who previously ran in Staley’s home meet on this weekend in previous years.
Stewart came in 29th at 21:48.60 in her first race of the season for Platte County. One of five runners back this season with prior state experience, she didn’t quite hit her PR of 21:20.62 set at last year’s Suburban Conference White Division Championships. The Pirates’ remaining placements factoring into the team score were freshman Carlie Baker (34th, 22:02.70), sophomore Madison Fuller (35th, 22:03.40) and senior Indigo Teufel (36th, 22:04.20).
In fact, Platte County’s second through seventh runners were part of a bunched finish between 29th and 44th.
Baker, Fuller and Teufel all set career-bests, improving times from the week prior. Baker cut exactly 26 seconds between her first and second career races for Platte County, while Fuller knocked off nearly 36 full seconds. Teufel, a limited contributor the past two years for the Pirates, went under 23 minutes in four of five races as a junior and continues to move closer to going under 22 for the first time.
Platte County freshman Mary Dellinger (39th, 22:07.70) finished just behind Teufel, while sophomore Arsema Ayiche (44th, 22:19.70) set a season-best while being just off her PR of 21:57.85 from last year’s conference race. Ayiche finished a standout freshman season by factoring into the Pirates’ 10th-place state finish at the Class 4 MSHSAA Cross Country Championships.
