Platte County loaded up the 4×800-meter relay for the Winnetonka Invitational to encouraging results.
In a 21-team field, Platte County came away with a victory in the meet’s opening on-track event with junior Andrew Johnson anchoring fellow junior Connor Currence, sophomore Zack McCall and senior Ryan McCoy to victory last Thursday at North Kansas City District Activities Complex in Kansas City. The Pirates finished in a season-best 8 minutes, 29.99 seconds with what should be close to the top-choice lineup in an optimal scenario and edged out both Maryville (8:31.15) and Lee’s Summit North (8:32.51).
Platte County freshman Blake Herron runs in the 1,600-meter race during the Winnetonka Invitational on Thursday at North Kansas City District Activities Complex in Kansas City.
However, Johnson also projects as a top contender for Class 5 Missouri State Track and Field Championships berths in the 1,600 and 3,200. The Pirates will be in the top postseason tier for a second straight year, and they won’t want to overload the long-distance star.
Tough decisions could be ahead.
As evidence, Johnson also won the 3,200 later on the sunny but windy evening. He shaved another 8-plus seconds off the PR he set in the event a week earlier, finishing in 9:37.07 and recording a 14 1/2-second margin of victory.
At this point in the season, Platte County continues to show strength and depth in the relays, starting with the longest of the four. However, the Pirates were also second in the 4×200 and fourth in the 4×100 while the developing 4×400 ended up disqualified and did not post a time.
In the 4×200, Platte County went with a lineup of seniors Cameron Wolfe and Aaron Cordova, junior Jordan Burnett and freshman Jackson Goodale —a quartet which combined to post a 1:33.57 and came in only behind Center (1:31.17). The Pirates similarly went with Wolfe, Cordova, Burnett and senior Garrett Smith-Dean in a retooled 4×100. They finished just off a season-best at 43.97 and were fourth in a very tight finish.
Smith-Dean also continued his rapid development in the long jump, an event he picked up just this season. He placed fourth at Winnetonka at 6.16 meters and was just off his career-best of 6.22 set earlier this month.
Also with a diverse event list, Wolfe placed fourth in the discus at 41.56 but continues to chase his past best distances and a breakthrough he’s seemed agonizingly close to since his junior season.
Platte County freshman Blake Herron also continued to show his developing potential in distance events, placing fifth in the 1,600 at 4:49.41. He has continually been sub-5 minutes all year even as competition increases.
Josh Fraker, a Platte County sophomore, placed fifth in the 400 with times generally slower due to the strong winds. He posted a 53.03 and could end up being the Pirates’ top runner in that event plus a key cog in the eventual 4×400 lineup.
KU Relays
Platte County’s 4×100 team of Wolfe, Smith-Dean, Cordova and Burnett did not finish the preliminary run Friday in what ended up a weather-shortened two-day event over the weekend in Lawrence, Kansas. The Pirates also had the 4×400 set to run, but that event ended up canceled due to the conditions on Saturday.
Warrior Relays
Clearly not sending a full squad, Platte County finished seventh out of eight teams in Smithville’s home meet Tuesday night.
Even without a full complement of runners, Platte County finished second in 9:05.49 with McCoy, fellow seniors Tanner Johnson and Gavin Jenks and sophomore Ben Letcher. Meinke added a fourth-place finish in the 3,200 at 10:26.80 in his first attempt at that distance in his career.
Platte County senior Andy McClure came in third in the triple jump with a season-best of 12.41 meters. He has posted marks better than that three times, all las year late in the season.
