Platte County continues to plug in pieces but still hasn’t unlocked the potential of a deep and competitive lineup. The Pirates placed 10th out of 12 teams in the Large Division of Saturday’s Raymore-Peculiar Invitational at Raymore-Peculiar High School in Peculiar.
Platte County senior Madison Palmer runs in the Raymore-Peculiar Invitational on Saturday at Raymore-Peculiar High School in Peculiar.
For the first time this season, Platte County freshman Tyler Stambersky did not lead the way. Instead, the Pirates received season-best times from seniors Madison Palmer (33rd) and Maddie Nichols (37th), while juniors Maddie Stewart (54th) and Indigo Teufel (56th) nearly finished back-to-back in the middle of the pack.
Stambersky rounded out the team score in 68th.
Palmer (21 minutes, 45.10 seconds) and Nichols (21 minutes, 52.90) seconds both set season-best times, while Stewart and Teufel made it back-to-back consistent performances in the third race of Platte County’s season. The Pirates have multiple returning state qualifiers on the roster, but only Palmer and junior Joanna Reil (70th, 23:34.60) were in the lineup on Saturday.
Reil and Platte County senior Alexia Myer (71st, 23:45.20) did not factor into Platte County’s team total of 233.
Stambersky posted the fastest time for Platte County in each of the first two races but was well off her normal pace, leaving thee Pirates well back of ninth-place Lee’s Summit North (199 points). There have been a large group of contributors moving up the ranks into the top seven or newer members of the program like Nichols and Myer.
With the home Judge “Chris” Stubbs Invitational scheduled for Thursday canceled due to expected heat, Platte County now doesn’t run again until visiting the state course for the Gans Creek Classic on Saturday, September 28, in Columbia.
