Platte County looked intriguingly deep in last Friday’s Falcon Relays at North Kansas City District Athletic Complex in Kansas City. The Pirates placed six of seven relays in the top five and added impressive field event finishes in a solid top-to-bottom showing.
Platte County junior Kenzie Palmer finished second in the triple jump during the recent Falcon Relays at North Kansas City District Activities Complex.
Coming off a program-best fourth-place finish in the Class 4 Missouri State Track and Field Championships a year ago, Platte County still hasn’t had senior state champion pole vaulter Maya Sullivan while junior hurdler Meah Salzman scratched out of individual events. The absences can be ignored when other finishes are so good.
Platte County junior Reese Pickett medaled in all three jumping events, while the unique 1,600-meter sprint medley relay won a title in dominating fashion. The three medley relays offered a chance to see even more of the roster than normal. The Pirates sprint medley team (200-200-400-800 meters) of freshman Makayla Turner, junior Hannah Mand, senior Molly McBratney and sophomore Sisely Mitchell posted a time of 4 minutes, 31.62 seconds and won the race by nearly 18 seconds.
In addition, Platte County’s 4×200 (McBratney, Mand and seniors Riley Smith and Triton Davey; 1:51.55) and 4×800 (Mitchell and fellow sophomores Carmen Gentilia, Lydia Doole and Julie Greco; 10:49.41) both placed third. The Pirates’ youthful 4×100 team of Turner, freshman Payton Stadel, Mand and Smith) came in fourth in 52.71, as did the 100-100-200-400 sprint medley of Stadel, Smith, McBratney and Salzman (2:02.30).
Pickett headlined the top-five field event showings, going second in the high jump at 1.47 meters and third in the triple jump (9.89 meters) and long jump (4.96 meters). Pickett actually finished behind second-place junior teammate Kenzie Palmer in the triple jump (9.99 meters), while Pirates freshman Addyson Schlake finished tied for third just behind Pickett in the high jump (1.42 meters).
Schlake showed her diverse talents and placed fourth in the discus (27.85 meters), as well. Platte County junior Joslyn Hupp added a fourth-place showing in the shot put at 9.88 meters.
Kearney Throwers Meet
In a nine-team event featuring more than 150 individual participants, Hupp enjoyed another big day in the shot put Monday at Kearney, placing third with a personal-best of 10.56 meters. More than 60 throwers marked a distance, and Hupp’s mark was 0.23 of a meter in front of fourth-place, while Schlake hit a PR of 9.26 to claim the 10th spot in the event.
To make the afternoon better for Platte County, Hupp and Schlake added two more PRs in the discus. Hupp came in fourth there at 31.28 meters, while Schlake was seventh at 28.50 meters. The Pirates added a 10th-place showing for freshman Sammy Haugsven (26.10 meters).
