Platte County’s record-setting ’26 senior class honors 16 more signees

Sixteen more members of Platte County’s record-setting 2026 senior class were honored at Wednesday’s spring signing ceremony at Pirate Fieldhouse.

This group included three Division I athletes, including a pair of runners headed to UMKC, two more contributors to back-to-back state championships in football, two scholarship players from the inaugural boys volleyball team and the first girls flag football signee ever from the school. So far, the Pirates have celebrated 27 individuals this school year for their commitments to continue on sports and activities in college.

A breakdown for each student from Wednesday’s ceremony is below.

Owen Bane, baseball, Truman State

Signing to play at the Division II level in Kirksville, Missouri, Bane currently splits time between pitcher and second base for Platte County, which has bolted to a 10-5 start. He has thrown 9 1/3 innings in four appearances on the mound, including one start, with 13 strikeouts to just one walk while batting .308 with a .438 on-base percentage with three runs scored.

As a junior, Bane earned a reserve role, throwing 5 1/3 innings for the 2025 Class 5 state champions. Platte County has posted 20 or more wins in three of the past four years and have started 10-6 this season.

Bryton Bertram, volleyball, Graceland

A part of the first team in program history, Bertram quickly carved out a role as one of Platte County’s top attacking options this spring. The Pirates currently have an 9-6-1 overall record.

Bertram, who also played basketball this past winer, currently ranks second for Platte County with 61 kills to go with 14 service aces, 11 blocks and 32 digs. His career-high for kills in a match sits at eight, having hit the mark in back-to-back wins over Kearney and Fort Osage.

Graceland is an NAIA program in Iowa

Ty Christopher, football, Iowa Western Community College

A three-year starter, Christopher sifted through multiple college offers at the Division I and Division II level before ultimately choosing the JUCO route. He joins Iowa Western after the Reivers won their fourth national championship this past fall.

Christopher posted career-highs of 35 catches for 748 yards and 12 touchdowns, second most on the team, as part of Platte County’s high-octane passing offense. He finished his career with 61 receptions for 1,172 yards (16th in program history) and 20 touchdowns (tied for ninth in program history) while also returning two kicks for scores as a senior.

As a sophomore, Christopher moved over to defense and posted 47 tackles (two for loss) with three interceptions and a forced fumble while playing safety.

In addition to football, Christopher helped Platte County’s 4×100-meter relay post the fastest time in Missouri history last spring with the Pirates finishing as state runnerup in the Class 5 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships. He also won a state title as part of the 4×400-meter relay, which posted the second-fastest time in Missouri history.

Overall, Christopher qualified for state in three events last spring and brought home three medals, including a sixth-place finish in the 4×200-meter relay.

Saige Dickens, flag football, Baker

Dickens spent time as a starter in midfield for all four season as a standout soccer player at Platte County but becomes the first athlete in school history to sign to play girls flag football at the collegiate level. An NAIA program in Baldwin, Kansas, Baker currently owns a 12-2 record.

Mostly an outside midfielder, Dickens recently tallied a hat trick and added two assists in an 11-0 win over Ruskin. She helped Platte County earn a share of the Suburban Conference White Division title in 2025, a 20-win season that ended with a loss in the Class 3 District 8 championship game. The Pirates currently have a 5-4 record this spring heading into next week’s North Kansas City Invitational.

Anastasia Enna, marching band, Missouri Western

Enna spent the past three years as part of the Platte County Traditions Marching Band and plans to maintain that participation at Missouri Western in St. Joseph.

Jackson Goodale, track, UMKC

A state qualifier in the 4×400-meter relay each of his first three seasons, Goodale helped slowly lower Platte County’s school record in the event, culminating in the state championship winning time of 3 minutes, 13.80 seconds last spring. He also owns a piece of the school record in the 4×200-meter relay, set this season.

Goodale already collected three state medals, coming in third in the 4×400 as a sophomore and sixth in the 4×200 as a junior in addition to the state title — first for Platte County since the 2018 4×800 in Class 4. He has also run the open 100, 200 and 400 and run on the 4×100 during his career.

With more than a month left in this season, Goodale has posted the eight-fastest 400 time in Platte County history at 49.24 seconds with a season-best of 49.81 from the season-opening Liberty North Time Trials.

In addition to track, he also spent time as a starter in soccer as a defender and football as a kicker. He was part of the Pirates’ 2024 state championship team in football but opted not to play this past fall and focus on his health for track.

Cooper Hammontree, wrestling, Iowa Western Community College

Hammontree ended his Platte County career as a three-year starter in the lineup, having qualified for state at 190 pounds each of the past two seasons. He went 1-2 both times in Class 3 as a junior and Class 4 as a senior.

In 2025, Hammontree helped Platte County win the Suburban Conference White Division title and go on to finish fourth in the Class 3 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships. That resulted in the 15th team state trophy in program history.

Hammontree finished with a 91-60 record at Platte County and placed third at districts both as a junior and a senior. He also played football and won a pair of Class 5 state titles the past two seasons.

Iowa Western, located in Council Bluffs, finished 10th overall in the 2026 NJCAA National Championships with five All-Americans, including one individual title.

Braden Hendee, golf, Park University

Hendee, headed to the NAIA school in Parkville, Missouri, earned the No. 1 spot on Platte County’s roster midway through his sophomore season and continues play there while finishing out one of the best careers in program history.

A year ago, Hendee tied for 26th in the Class 4 MSHSAA Golf Championships as the top player on the first Platte County team to earn a state berth in more than two decades. He helped the Pirates place fifth, just 21 shots back of fourth place.

Already a two-time state qualifier, Hendee also went as a sophomore and tied for 65th. He found himself in an all-state position after the first round last spring in Bolivar when he shot a then-career-best 2-over 74 after recording three birdies in a span of five holes on the front nine.

Tied for seventh at that point, Hendee finished 74-84—158, three shots off the all-state cutline of 11-over. Barrett Martens (2000, 2001, 2002) and Jeremy Glasbrenner (1999) remain the only all-state players, honors for the top 15 plus ties in each class, in program history for now.

Hendee finished 28th in Class 4 District 4 as a freshman then sixth as a sophomore before a tie for seventh last season to earn the second state trip. He already owns three straight All-Suburban Conference White Division performances, 10th, sixth and third, over the past three seasons, as well.

Blake Herron, track/cross country, UMKC

The second signed to the Division I school just south of Platte City, Herron finished as one of the best cross country runners in program history and continues to chase a first berth in the Class 5 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships this spring.

Herron finished as a two-time Class 4 all-state performer in cross country, coming in 23rd as a sophomore and ninth as a junior. He earned the Pirates’ lone berth to state this year after a move up to Class 5, coming in fifth at districts.

However, Herron faded to 47th in his final race. He set a PR in September’s Gans Creek Classic on the state meet course at 15 minutes, 36.20 seconds and finishes as the second-fastest runner in program history behind Andrew Johnson, who owns Platte County’s six best times. Johnson, Herron, Tanner Jenks, Kade Meinke and Nathan Straubel have the only sub-16 performances with the majority coming over the past three seasons.

A rare four-time state qualifier, Herron helped Platte County advance out of districts as a team each of the previous seasons. His ascension to all-state as a sophomore helped the Pirates to a state runnerup finish in Class 4 in 2023 with the fastest collection of runners in program history. They were fifth in 2024.

Herron won the Suburban Conference White Division title this season and helped Platte County to a second straight team championship.

In track, Herron helped Platte County set the school record in the 4×800-meter relay last spring at Class 5 Sectional 4. The Pirates ran 7 minutes, 48.76 seconds but missed state after finishing sixth in the fastest collective race for the event in state history. He also ran the 3,200, advancing out of districts as an individual for the first time.

Elijah Jackson, track, Northwest Missouri State

Just last week, Jackson posted the eighth-fastest time for the 800-meter run in Platte County history at 1 minute, 58.18 seconds. He appears poised to become just the fourth in program history to go sub-1:57 with Josh Fraker, currently running at Northwest in Maryville, Missouri, having set the school record last season at 1:55.07.

Last season, Jackson moved into the middle distances and found a spot on Platte County’s 4×800-meter relay that finished fourth at Class 5 District 8 before turning in the record-setting performance a week later. In fact, the Pirates’ time was not just the sixth-fastest in that race but faster than any other time posted at any of the other three sectional meets.

The mark of 7:48.76 would have won 13 of the 25 state races in Missouri’s largest classification this century.

Jackson also spent three years in the varsity cross country lineup, helping Platte County to the 2023 state runnerup finish in 2023. He placed 136th as a sophomore and 68th as a junior.

In the final race as a senior, Jackson finished 70th at Class 5 District 4 after placing sixth in the White Division Championships, moving up to second team all-conference after being honorable mention as a junior.

Halley Koprowitz-Kumm, softball, Ottawa University

A player with club experience, Koprowitz-Kumm plans to continue her career at the NAIA program in Ottawa, Kansas. She has also spent time at Platte County as a captain of the color guard team and an accomplished choir member, having earned honorable mention all-state as a senior.

Brennan McLaughlin, baseball, Oral Roberts

Having earned a starting spot midway through his freshman season, McLaughlin continues to carve out one of the best careers in Platte County history as both a critical part of the left half of the infield and pitcher. He has played both third base and shortstop and joins an elite rank of Division I signees for the program after committing to Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as one of the state’s top recruits this season.

McLaughlin made the all-state team each of the past two seasons as an infielder, moving up from second to first team as a junior in addition to earning Class 5 player of the year honors last season. He led Platte County with 15 doubles and five home runs while setting a school record for RBIs in a season with 45, batting .387 while slugging .694 with a .478 on-base percentage. His walkoff two-run double in the bottom of the ninth provided a dramatic conclusion to the newly reformatted best-of-three state quarterfinal series at Webb City after the Pirates fell behind in the top half of the inning.

In addition, McLaughlin’s home run started the comeback that led to a 14-4 run-rule victory over Vianney in the Class 5 state title game.

McLaughlin shifted back over as the main shortstop this season but also maintains a role as Platte County’s top pitcher. Last spring, he led the Pirates in innings pitched (50), wins (nine), strikeouts (60) and ERA (1.40) while walking only 15.

In the postseason, McLaughlin started the Class 5 District 8 championship game against St. Pius X and flirted with a no-hitter, eventually finishing off a complete game with 12 strikeouts in a 5-1 victory. He also started both the state semifinal and championship game.

So far this season, McLaughlin has posted a .438 batting average with team-highs of four doubles, three home runs and 17 RBIs plus 14 runs scored. He has started four games with a 2-2 record despite a 0.51 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings.

Donavin Ness, cross country, State Fair Community College

Ness finished his career as a three-time state qualifier, advancing as part of Platte County’s full teams in Class 4 the three seasons prior to the move up in postseason assignment this past fall.

After finishing 105th as a freshman, Ness was 84th as a sophomore and contributed to Platte County’s team total that ended up second overall and resulted in the best finish in program history. His best individual showing at state came in 2024 at 40th when the Pirates quickly rebuilt and placed fifth, coming up just short of a second straight team trophy.

Ness set a PR of 16 minutes, 54.60 seconds in this year’s Class 5 District 4 race, going under 17 minutes for just the third time in his career. He finished 36th and just missed the individual state cut.

In addition, Ness earned All-Suburban Conference White Division honors all four years, going ninth, 10th, sixth and third in those races. He now starts his career at the next level with a junior college in Sedalia, Missouri.

Madelyn Stewart, track and cross country, Central Missouri

A long-distance specialist in track, Stewart looks to be earning a spot on Platte County’s 4×800-meter relay this spring in addition to individual races. She set PRs last year in the 800 (2 minutes, 38.18 seconds), 1,600 (5 minutes, 41.06 seconds) and 3,200 (13:09.88). The Pirates set a season-best in the 4×800 with Stewart in the lineup at the recent Kearney Classic Invitational at 9 minutes, 55.47 seconds.

In addition, Stewart contributed at the varsity level for cross country each of the past three seasons. She ran in the Suburban Conference White Division Championships and postseason as a junior and a senior.

In 2024, Stewart placed seventh and set a PR of 21 minutes, 20.62 seconds to earn second team all-conference honors and help Platte County to the team title. She went on to place 23rd in Class 4 District 4 with the Pirates earning a fifth straight team berth to state. She finished 73rd in that race.

Stewart made first team all-conference as a senior (third) with Platte County taking a third straight White Division championship. She placed 46th at Class 5 District 4 and now looks to advance on her potential at the Division II school in Warrensburg, Missouri.

Alex Stinson, volleyball, Ottawa

Part of a two-setter rotation, Stinson continues to play a critical experienced role for Platte County’s first-ever boys volleyball team that earned its most recent win Thursday against Grandview. He currently sits second in assists at 73 behind freshman Cooper Miles in what has been a steady duo for the developing Pirates.

Stinson, who joins an NAIA program in Ottawa, Kansas, also has six service aces and 21 digs. His best matches came while posting a career-high of nine assists in back-to-back wins over Kearney and Fort Osage.

Mogie Walkingstick, football, Minnesota-Morris

A starter this past season at safety, Walkingstick played a visible role in Platte County’s back-to-back state championships. He played mostly special teams as a junior but posted 14 tackles plus a forced fumble and fumble recovered, which came in a memorable blowout victory against St. Pius X in the Class 5 District 8 title game.

Walkingstick earned All-Suburban Conference White Division and All-Class 5 District 8 honors as a senior with 51 tackles and two pass breakups.

After Platte County wrapped up a dramatic state title with an overtime win against Carthage, Walkingstick earned an invite to the 2025 Native All-American Game and played on the winning team at US Bank Stadium — home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. He now joins the NCAA Division III school in Morris, Minnesota.