Schlake stays the course, earns sectional berths in pair of field events

Typical of the consistent approach throughout an accomplished career, Addy Schlake’s upbeat demeanor never wavered.

Platte County’s senior maintained her amiable demeanor through an early disappointment and again found a way to maximize opportunity in Saturday’s Class 5 District 8 meet at North Kansas City District Activities Complex. She rallied late to finish second in the discus and then concluded a busy schedule with a surprise fourth-place finish in the high jump with a new PR of 1.57 meters.

That means Schlake goes to this weekend’s Class 5 Sectional 4 meet in two events.

Platte County finished sixth in the final team standings at districts with 67 1/2 points, and sophomore Kelly Bullano (second, javelin) and junior Adi Benninghoff (second, 100-meter hurdles) also advanced, as did the runnerup 4×800-meter relay featuring seniors Alexia Myer and Maddie Nichols and juniors Addie Ayers and Emily Huehl. The Pirates also experienced some disappointing close calls, including a school record in the 4×100 only good enough for sixth place in the usual strong postseason field.

In the morning, Schlake ended up fifth and just of a sectional qualifying spot in the shot put but didn’t let the result affect the rest of the day. She continued to chase her school-record form in the discus but sat second after three preliminary throws but with a distance of just 34.09 meters.

However, the field improved in the finals, and Schlake needed a mark of 38.32 to finish second behind Libery senior Alyssah Price (43.77 meters).

Schlake seeks a third straight state berth but has not thrown better than 38.52 this season, but that did come in last week’s postponed Suburban Conference White Division Championships. She set the school record at 41.57 meters as a junior in Jefferson City’s Licklider Relays but has yet to hit 40 or better since.

For the second time, Schlake qualified for sectionals in the high jump. She matched a fourth-place district finish from her sophomore season but needed a new best height in just her third start in the event this season to grab the final spot and did so by outperforming her seed.

Bullano also continues to seek out last season’s school-record disposition that created a memorable postseason. She set the school record at districts, sectionals and state, winning a fifth-place medal in the process, as a freshman

After preliminaries, Bullano actually sat in fifth place and needed a throw of 37.68 meters in the finals to move up to second and advance. That actually betters her district mark from last year (37.52) but remains off her PR of 41.55 from the Class 5 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships.

Bullano’s season-best came in the Kearney Classic Invitational at 39.17 meters.

Benninghoff finished second at districts in the 100 hurdles for a second straight season and continues to be at top form. She finished in 15.06, behind Staley senior Katelyn Wink, but just missed the PR she set at conference of 15.05.

A year ago, Benninghoff sneaked into the state field and hopes to earn a return trip while also continuing to chase Jan Herndon’s Platte County school record of 14.93, which still stands since being set in 1993. Benninghoff went from unheralded freshman to a rapidly developing star who set a PR of 49.18 in the 300 hurdles but finished eighth.

Benninghoff finished fourth at sectionals as a sophomore and did not advance out of the state prelims.

Platte County’s the only relay to qualify for sectionals did so with half of last year’s school-record unit back while adding in a pair of first-year transfers. Myer, Nichols, Ayers and Huehl ran a season-best 9:56.50 in the 4×800 to finish comfortably in second but more than 12 seconds behind district champion Liberty (9:43.97).

A year ago, Myer transferred to Platte County and made an immediate impact in middle distance running, and Ayers continued to be a key part of the lineup. The Pirates went to state with Sisely Mitchell and Carmen Gentilia, a pair of now-graduated senior stars, leading the way but benefitted from the addition of Nichols, who ran a season-best 2:27.54 in the open 800 to finish seventh and just in front of Myer in eighth, and Huehl, an Class 1A all-state runner as a sophomore at Wakefield.

Platte County’s 4×800 set school records at sectionals and state last season, earning a fifth-place medal at the Class 5 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships with the mark of 9:27.83. The Pirates likely need another season-best Saturday to earn a return trip to state with the top five at sectionals last year all going 9:40.04 or below.

Ayers has been to state on the 4×800 each of the past two seasons.

Platte County freshman Tyler Stambersky ended up with the Pirates’ only fifth-place finish. She came in well back of a breakaway top four in the 3,200 at 12:30.31, just off her career-best of 12:22.71 set in late April at the Ken Peek Invitational. That ranks as the 13th-best time for a freshman in the event according to available records.

Platte County’s 4×100 team of sophomores Adi Kern, Vanessa Sarpong and Maggie Wagner plus freshman Addison Stone set a school record of 50.28 but finished sixth overall. Stone returned from a recent ankle injury suffered during a soccer game, and she overall ran a limited schedule due to split duties. The Pirates have posted the three fastest times in the event in three successive district meets, including the previous program-best mark of 50.50 from Hannah Mand, Haley Barlow, Rylee Carr and Charley Sims.

With Carr focused on triple jump, Platte County actually has five of those eight runners on the active roster, while Sims ended up missing most of her sophomore season and all of this season due to foot injuries. Barlow is a senior but did not run the past two seasons.

Sarpong came in sixth in the 200 with a career-best of 26.39.

Platte County’s 4×200 with Kern, Sarpong, Wagner and Stone ran a season-best of 1:46.95 despite a delayed third handoff between Wagner and Kern for the anchor leg. Kern did not end up advancing to sectionals in any of her four events, having advanced out of districts in pole vault as a sophomore. She did not make the opening height in the event Saturday and also finished outside the top four in the high jump after posting a career-best of 1.60 meters just five days earlier at conference.