For the first time in the current era of Missouri’s postseason, Platte County didn’t produce the Class 2 District 8 singles champion. However, the Pirates added four more players to a rapidly growing list of state qualifiers Friday afternoon at Platte County High School.
Platte County junior Mitchel McBratney and sophomore Jackson Kluck defeated junior teammates Wyatt Beeson in a third-set tiebreaker (6-4, 3-6, 10-5) to decide the doubles title, giving the Pirates four first-time qualifiers for the upcoming Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships. The program has sent at least one individual entrant in every season since the postseason expanded to three classes in 2021 with multiple bids earned in each of the last five seasons.
This marked the second time Platte County produced both doubles district finalists, previously doing so in 2023, as well.
“It’s easy for teammates to goof around when they have to play each other in the championship, but these four guys really put on a show,” Platte County coach Zach Keith said. “It was an outstanding match with lots of great tennis from both teams. It made me really proud to watch them all compete so well and at such a high level.”
Platte County players won the previous five Class 2 District 8 singles titles — four straight from Gavin Nichols and Paul Havemeier last season. However, the Pirates returned just one player from last year’s postseason entry list and chose to load up the doubles bracket and ended up with the top two seeds.
McBratney and Kluck — Platte County’s top two singles players in this season’s lineup — faced adversity before the tournament began.
Kluck showed up ill, but rules don’t allow for substitutions after the district tournament so he chose to play. The top seeds were straight-set winners against Lincoln Prep’s No. 9 August Anderson/Isaac Bunch (6-2, 6-3) and St. Pius X’s No. 4 Zach Quintero/Gianni Martin (6-0, 6-4) to reach the finals and guarantee a state berth.
“Jackson had his ‘Michael Jordan flu game,'” Zach Keith said while referencing the Chicago Bulls HOFer’s famous effort to battle through illness in a win over the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals. “I got a text from him at 6 a.m. Friday morning that he had been throwing up all night and hadn’t slept. When he showed up looking like he had just left death‘s doorstep, that tells you all you need to know about what kind of young man and competitor he is.”
Not paired together often this year, Beeson and Jacoby Keith were just as dominant as the No. 2 seed.
Platte County’s combination of No. 4 and No. 5 players also received a first-round bye with the victories to qualify for state coming against Minnetonka’s No. 7 Alex Schinler/Mouayed Daffaallah (6-0, 6-1) and Lincoln Prep’s No. 3 Bruno Alvarado/Ben Curry (6-3, 6-2).
“When they have (played together), they’ve looked good against good competition,” Zach Keith said. “They were a bit of a wild card because there were more unknowns around them than any of our other entries. Wyatt played his best tennis all day. He was fast, aggressive, anticipated things very well and was just a very steady presence. Jacoby looked like the best athlete in the entire district, and his presence, especially at the net, was intimidating to opponents all day.”
That set up the all Platte County final, the first since Jack Forrest and Nathan Vanek defeated Jack Bralley and Jaron Cook in 2023.
McBratney played No. 6 singles as a sophomore but moved to the top of this year’s lineup. Last season, he played singles at districts and lost to the No. 2 seed while just one win away from reaching the finals and advancing to state.
That path looked more daunting this season with St. Pius X, new to Class 2 District 8, widely considered to have the top No. 1 in the field. McBratney and Kluck persevered through the situation and not only advanced but became the third district doubles champions in program history — all in the past four seasons.
“Huge shoutout to Mitchel as well because, as I told him, last year, he would’ve really struggled staying confident (with a doubles partner clearly less than 100%),” Zach Keith said. “He is doing a great job of growing and maturing when it comes to handling adversity. Those two have been playing really good tennis the last few weeks, and I was really happy for them to get the title of district champs, which they definitely earned.”
Platte County nearly added another singles qualifier with junior Owen Behne finishing third. He ended up with the fifth seed, and after a first round win, he beat No. 4 Michael Parvin of William Chrisman 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semifinals.
St. Pius X No. 1 and eventual district champion Justin Janazs defeated Behne 6-0, 6-0.
However, Platte County’s No. 3 player in the current lineup came back to beat Kearney’s Cameron Daniel by default in the third-place match. Daniel lost 6-4, 6-2 to St. Pius X’s James Green in the other semifinal.
Now a four-time state qualifier, Janasz didn’t lose a game in his six sets.
“I feel like Owen has been poised for a breakout all season, but he’s struggled putting all of his strengths on the court together in an important match,” Zach Keith said. “He had a slow start in his first round match and then he just played really great tennis the rest of the day. For Owen to walk out of that tournament with a third-place medal in singles as our No. 3 player, that’s a really, really good result.”
Platte County senior Jack Hokanson, currently playing No. 6, took the other singles entry and went 1-1 overall. He beat the No. 10 seed in the first round 6-0, 6-0 but bowed out in the quarterfinals with a loss to Green.
“Jack was overwhelmed in the first set, but then played some of the best tennis I’ve seen him play and put a real scare into (Green) in the second set,” Zach Keith said. “I know on paper. It looked like an easy win for St. Pius X, but there was a lot of really good tennis played in the second set by Jack. I was really proud of him.”
Now, Platte County’s postseason focus can turn to earning a fourth straight team playoff berth in Class 2. The Pirates have reached the state semifinals the past two seasons, placing second in 2024 and fourth in 2025.
Platte County closed the regular season with a 9-0 sweep of Fort Osage on Tuesday to complete Suburban Conference White Division play before a 6-3 loss to Central (St. Joseph) on Wednesday. The Pirates enter Class 2 District 8’s team bracket with a somewhat deceptive 13-9 record and the No. 1 seed — a credit to a difficult schedule.
The only two losses down the stretch came to Grain Valley, which locked up the conference title, and Central. Both are Class 3 schools.
Platte County received a first-round bye and plays at home Tuesday against the winner between fourth-seeded William Chrisman (8-6) and fifth-seeded Kearney (3-7). The championship will be played at the better seed’s home facility on Wednesday.
During the regular season, Platte County defeated William Chrisman 9-0. St. Pius X owns the No. 2 seed with an 8-3 record while Lincoln Prep is the No. 3 seed at 10-6.
St. Pius X reached the Class 1 playoffs each of the past two seasons and finished second in 2025, prompting a move up due to the state’s private school success multiplier.
