Platte County’s returning seniors rolled to Class 2 District 8 singles and doubles titles Friday in Independence, and the newcomers nearly gave the Pirates a sweep of the state qualifying spots in an inspired effort at William Chrisman High School.
For the fourth straight season, Platte County will send at least two individual entrants to the Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships in Springfield. The Pirates’ senior tandem of Jack Bralley and Hayden Cook earned repeat berths, while fellow senior Paul Havemeier won the singles bracket without dropping a set.
All three played on Platte County’s historic state runnerup team in Class 2 last season. Bralley became the Pirates’ first three-time qualifier in doubles and goes back with Cook for a second straight year but this time as a district champion, while Havemeier became just the second in program history to advance in singles.
Only the finalists in both brackets advance to state.
Platte County senior Will Kimlinger lost a tiebreaker in lengthy and exhausting semifinal opposite of Havemeier, while senior Jake Diano and sophomore Mitchel McBratney lost to the No. 2 seed just one win shy of meeting their teammates in the final. Four of the six players in the lineup made their individual district debuts.
“Our guys absolutely came to play,” Platte County coach Zach Keith said. “I was so proud of their approach to the tournament. All six guys showed up with a state qualifier mindset. You know you have a close-knit group when the guys who qualified are just as gutted for the guys who missed out as those guys who missed out.”
A four-year member of the varsity lineup, Bralley became a district champion in doubles for the first time — a year after he teamed with Cook for a runnerup finish. The pair didn’t actually see much time together during the regular season but entered as No. 1 seed and rolled into the finals with straight set victories of 6-1, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-1.
Bralley and Cook then recorded a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Lincoln Prep’s second-seeded team of seniors Lincoln Merrigan and Nick Wirz, the top two players in the Blue Tigers’ lineup. Bralley, the No. 2 player in Platte County’s lineup each of the past two years, went to state as a sophomore with Jaron Cook, Hayden’s older brother, after finishing as district runnerup to teammates Jack Forrest and Nathan Vanek.
After missing a state medal by one match in 2023, Bralley and Hayden Cook became the second doubles team in Platte County history to reach the podium with an eighth-place finish last year in Class 2 even after entering as a district runnerup.
“I’m not sure what else you could say about Hayden and Jack that hasn’t already been said, but these guys are the perfect combination of great players, great teammates and great leaders,” Keith said. “They represent everything that is good about our program. To see both of them finally get a district title was really cool.”
Platte County has now claimed five straight Class 2 District 8 singles titles. Gavin Nichols won the past four and went on to earn three state medals, but he graduated along with three other senior contributors that made up a unique seven-player dual lineup in a historic season for the Pirates.
Havemeier played No. 6 as a junior during his first year in the lineup but did not factor into Platte County’s two singles players and two doubles players entered into the district tournament last year.
Making the move all the way up to No. 1, Havemeier earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. He dropped just three games combined in quarterfinal and semifinal victories to guarantee his state berth.
Havemeier then finished the run with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Kearney junior Cameron Daniel to become a district champion.
“Paul has worked extremely hard on his game for several years but particularly in the last year,” Keith said. “He’s had to deal with all the challenges of playing No. 1, replacing a district singles champions, and so I was so proud and happy for him to get his own title. He’s definitely earned it.”
Kimlinger (No. 4), Diano (No. 5) and McBratney (No. 6) all joined Platte County’s lineup this season, and their strong performances Friday reaffirmed the trajectory of a program now thriving on the ability to develop players capable of contributing when presented with opportunity.
Having played No. 2 doubles most of the season with Cook, Kimlinger ended up the second singles entrant, and he went into the bracket in the No. 6 spot.
Kimlinger needed three set just to survive the first round, holing on for a 6-3, 2-6, 10-4 victory over Lincoln Prep sophomore Ben Curry. That set up a match with William Chrisman senior Romilus Cedillo, the No. 3 seed.
In what ended up the shortest of the first three matches, Kimlinger advanced to the semifinals with a 7-5, 7-6 (10-5) victory after surviving the second-set tiebreak. He then faced Daniel with the winner advancing to state.
Daniel won the first set and came back late for a 6-4, 6-7 (10-8), 11-9 victory in a match delayed by rain multiple times. The third-set tiebreaker ended up even at 9-9, meaning Kimlinger came within two points of playing Havemeier in the final.
After the three lengthy matches, Kimlinger also dropped his third-place match to Kearney sophomore Jack Goodman.
“Honestly, I’m getting a little choked up saying this because Will was so, so close to pulling off an incredible upset in the semifinals,” Keith said. “He wanted it so badly, and he was playing so well. I was so proud of the way he battled, and I know he will be a better player, and probably even a better man, because of that experience there.”
Platte County’s No. 3 doubles team all season, Diano and McBratney also drew the No. 6 seed and dominated Raytown junior Edgar Orozco and sophomore Chase Reynolds 6-2, 6-0 in the first round then upset No. 3 seeded William Chrisman seniors D’angelo Giuseppe and Trevor Jolley to reach the semifinals.
Diano and McBratney won the quarterfinal 6-1, 2-6, 10-5 but lost to Wirz Merrigan 6-2, 6-3. In the third-place match, Diano and McBratney closed with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Kearney senior Blake Magnusson and sophomore Kieren Minnich.
“I know Jake and Mitchel were disappointed not to qualify, but the Lincoln Prep kids were very good players,” Keith said. “Jake and Mitchel played really well all day, specifically in the quarterfinal win over William Chrisman’s top two players. They are going to be a huge factor in our team’s ability to advance in the postseason, and I know they will bounce back.”
Platte County’s quest for the third playoff berth in program history starts Tuesday in the Class 2 District 8 semifinals against Kearney (4-7), which blanked Winnetonka 5-0 in Monday’s opening round.
Platte County closed the regular season with Tuesday’s 9-0 shutout of Fort Osage, which officially wrapped up the undefeated run to a third straight Suburban Conference White Division title, and then a 5-4 road loss to Class 3 Central (St. Joseph) on Wednesday. The Pirates celebrated a class of seven seniors that also includes Cameron Boos and Zack McCall.
All five of Platte County’s seniors played their normal singles spots in the win over Fort Osage. Bralley and Hayden Cook were teamed at No. 2 doubles in both duals and recorded a win against Central, but the Pirates went into singles trailing 2-1.
Central held on through a split of the six singles matches with Platte County’s three wins coming from Kimlinger (No. 4), Diano (No. 5) and McBratney (No. 6). Kimlinger and Havemeier played No. 1 doubles in both duals.
Platte County (9-7) enter the postseason with the same dominant overall record as last season when the Pirates finished 16-4 and the final loss came by a score of 5-1 in the Class 2 state championship dual.
In 2023, Platte County lost in the quarterfinals after winning the first district title in program history. The Pirates have the No. 1 seed this season and already owns an 8-1 victory over No. 2 seed William Chrisman, which plays third-seeded Lincoln Prep in the other semifinal.
The championship match will be Wednesday with the winner advancing to play the Class 2 District 6 champion next Monday in the state quarterfinals.
