Platte County puts focus on state success after just missing 5th straight district title

KEARNEY, Mo. — With at least a hint of disappointment in the conversation, Platte County’s runners huddled near the finish line at Jesse James Park to start talking about the possibilities ahead.

Lincoln Prep just managed to wrest the Class 4 District 4 team title from the four-time defending champions Saturday morning, but the real test begins this week. Platte County didn’t have any PRs or season-best times on a notoriously tough course but earned another automatic berth to state with an experienced roster that understands the challenge. The Pirates return four members of last year’s Class 4 MSHSAA Cross Country Championships state runnerup lineup motivated by the recent disappointment and optimism for achieving more success this weekend.

“We knew we could do better than what we did today,” said Platte County senior Tanner Jenks, who finished third on Saturday to become a three-time all-district performer after placing fifth as a junior and 10th as a sophomore. “We had some people (who) weren’t performing as well as they thought they would have so if we get that fixed up we should be right where we want to be for state.”

Jenks and junior Blake Herron (sixth) predictably led Platte County as the only two of four all-state performers back this year. Their strong postseason last fall helped the Pirates to a surprise second-place team finish at state with the fastest collection of runners in program history.

However, Platte County entered Class 4 District 4 with question marks, especially after senior Ben Letcher — a two-time state qualifier — didn’t make the lineup while continuing to deal with health issues affecting his breathing during races.

Lincoln Prep placed three in the top 10 and ended up with a team total of 58.

Platte County junior Donavin Ness — a third three-time qualifier — came in 11th, while senior Ethan Smith (19th) and freshman Landon McKinzie (23rd) rounded out a score of 62. The top four teams earn an automatic berth to state, and the Pirates easily advanced a full team for a fifth straight year with Smithville third (69) and St. Michael the Archangel (89) rounding out the qualifiers.

Smithville senior Liam Adair ran the only sub-16-minute time to capture the individual title, while Lincoln Prep seniors Roman Garcia and Aidan Kemnitzer were second and third with Jenks (16:20.38) in between. Herron (16:39.75) matched his sixth-place finish at districts from a year ago, while also having a 14th-place showing as a freshman.

Ness posted his best district placement after being 20th and 17th in his previous two races.

Smith (17:33.20), McKinzie (17:38.08) and sophomore Jacobi Keith (40th, 18:31.50) all made postseason debuts for Platte County, while junior Elijah Jackson (33rd, 17:56.49) earned another trip to state. He placed 42nd as a sophomore when he emerged as a key contributor in a lineup of mostly established runners.

“Our guys usually step up when they need to,” Jenks said.

Platte County graduated Class 4 individual runnerup Andrew Johnson and three-time qualifier Kade Meinke, who developed into a solid No. 2 and all-state runner as a senior. That left openings that increased with Letcher’s difficulties limiting his availability throughout the season.

Smith moved up after multiple years in the junior varsity lineup, while McKinzie became one of two freshman contributors for Platte County. Keith stepped into the No. 7 spot for districts, but the state lineup could differ.

Regardless, Jenks and Herron have taken over leadership roles with a focus on repeating last year’s all-state individual performances and leading more team success.

“I usually always just followed whatever the leader said, so so it was weird taking the leadership role,” Jenks said. “This season has been about me learning how to be a leader and leading other guys to be the best that they can be. If we do that, like I said, we’ll be just where we were last year.”