Trevor Short doesn’t plan to ignore the reality of the challenges.
No stranger to turnover, Platte County’s veteran coach must replace four seniors, including the most decorated player in program history, plus another member of last year’s postseason lineup not playing this season. The Pirates must rely on the experience of senior Grace Handke, who played a strong No. 2 and earned a debut appearance in the Class 3 MSHSAA Golf Championships last fall, while developing five others on an extremely limited roster.
Platte County sophomores Finnley Dougan and Grace Gaspers both have prior experience, while junior Lila Sedlacek, sophomore Ainsley Habel and freshman Naomi Loehner represent a group of three newcomers.
“Our team this year will be in a learning process,” Short said. “We have some returning talent that can help guide our new players on what is needed to accomplish their goals. Our focus will be on making those small improvements and getting our game put together and ready for the postseason events.”
Handke returns for a third year in the lineup, having placed eighth in the Suburban Conference White Division Championships each of the past two seasons. She helped Platte County finish second in the team standings for a second consecutive year, but the Pirates then came in seventh out of eight teams in Class 3 District 4 with only Ella Green and Handke advancing to state.
The district team champion and runnerup automatically send their top four players to state, while the next 13 individual players not from those teams, including ties, also advance. If a state-qualifying team’s fifth score falls in the top 13 individuals or within 10 strokes of the individual cut line, that player advances and does not count toward the top 13 individuals.
After placing 30th at Class 3 District 4 in her postseason debut as a sophomore, Handke made last year’s state cut by three full strokes in the same tournament. She finished alone in 18th place with a 106 — one of the best scores of her career to that point.
Handke tied for 78th at state with a 215 total, bouncing back from a 110 in the first round to card a 105 on Tuesday to better her score from districts by one shot.
Platte County’s conference and postseason lineup in 2024 included three seniors with Ella Green leading the way. By every measure, she ended her career as the best player in program history, becoming the first to earn all-state honors twice as one of only two four-time qualifiers in addition to a pair of individual conference titles before going on to continue her career at Rockhurst University in Kansas City.
In addition, Platte County loses Izzie Grell and Macie Garland after both made varsity contributions the past two seasons. Dougan played in two varsity tournaments as a freshman for the Pirates, while Gaspers played junior varsity at conference. Sedlaceck, Habel and Loehner will also compete for time in the five-player lineup on the uniquely inexperienced roster.
