Platte County ended up in a tie for third in the final Class 4 District team standings and unfortunately outside of the automatic qualifying team spots for state. Yet, the Pirates didn’t end up disappointed.
A balanced, top-to-bottom effort allowed Platte County to send all five individuals to the upcoming Class 4 MSHSAA Golf Championships, sending a team for the first time since the Pirates placed fourth in Class 3A all the way back in 2001.
Summit Christian ended up with the top three individuals and ran away with the district title, carding a team total of 287 this past Wednesday on Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville. Platte County and Kearney tied with matching 324s, five back of runnerup Smithville. However, both third-place teams also earned the chance to post team scores at state through individual qualifiers.
For Platte County, that means senior Josh Knickman, junior Braden Hendee and Brayden Renno can build on last year’s experience in the Class 4 MSHSAA Golf Championships, while senior Joshua Gentilia and freshman Kaplan Curtis earned the opportunity to make debuts May 19 and 20 in the two0-round competition at Silo Ridge Country Club in Bolivar.
The district champion and runnerup advance their top four players.
Smithville won the tightly contested race for second with junior Connor Holcomb (fourth, 74) and senior Noah Hazen (fifth, 75) coming in right behind Summit Christian’s trio of junior Ben Wheeler (67), Max Seitz (69) and Peyton Smith (72) on The Outlaw Course’s par-72 setup. The fifth players from both teams were also either within the top 13 individuals or within 10 strokes of the top 13 individuals cut line, allowing them to advance as well.
Those fifth players did not count toward the group of top players not from the automatic qualifying teams.
The next 13 individuals also earned state berths with Hendee (tied for seventh, 78) and Renno (tied for ninth, 79) both earning top-10 medals for Platte County. In addition, Curtis (tied for 15th, 83) and Gentilia and Knickman (tied for 19th, 84s) were inside the cutline of 13-over. Kearney only advanced four individuals.
A year ago, Platte County appeared to have broken the team state berth drought, only to end up having Gentilia disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. With his round nullified, the Pirates dropped from second to fourth.
Platte County endured some different dramatics this time around with both seniors needing to survive the closing stretch to end up on the right side of the cutline.
After finishing sixth a year ago in a field that didn’t include Summit Christian, Hendee again found himself in the top 10, recording a birdie at No. 12 and finishing over par on just six holes, including five bogeys. Renno nearly matched a career-best of 75 he set just two days earlier in the Suburban Conference White Division Championships. He tied for seventh at Class 4 District 4 as a freshman in a breakout performance and improved his score relative to par by six strokes in this season’s round Wednesday. His back nine included four bogeys and a double bogey but he played the front side at 1-over with a birdie at No. 1.
Perhaps most importantly, Curtis made a varsity debut in impressive fashion. He took the No. 5 spot with fellow freshman Jack Dillingham, who had been in the lineup with the four returners in recent weeks, unavailable to play due to a conflicting activity.
Curtis’ 83 included a pair of birdies — both on front nine par 5s — in a round that included only six pars. He ended up two shots clear of the cutline, while Knickman and Gentilia both wrapped up solid 84s to end up in the top 20 overall while also rounding out Platte County’s team score. A year ago, Knickman tied for 18th with a 91 and improved by seven strokes on Wednesday.
A contributor the past three seasons, Gentilia made the postseason lineup for a second straight year and shot an 86 as a junior before having the score disallowed.
Knickman and Hendee have also been in Platte County’s top five the majority of the past three seasons, while Renno earned his spot midway through a standout freshman campaign. In state debuts, Knickman led the Pirates, tying for 59th (77-94—171), while Hendee rallied to finish two strokes back in a tie for 65th (90-83—173).
Renno came in 89th (103-95—198).
Platte County’s fourth-place state finish in 2001 came with Barrett Martens winning the Class 3A individual title. The Pirates have sent at least one individual to state every year since 2013, except for 2020 when all spring sports were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Suburban Conference White Division Championships
Platte County came in second for the third straight season since moving up from the Blue Division, unable to unseat Grain Valley on Monday at Country Creek Golf Club in Pleasant Hill.
Renno tied for individual White Division medalist honors with a career-best 3-over 75, carding two birdies, five bogeys and 11 pars, while Hendee (4-over 76, tied for third) and Knickman (6-over 78, tied for fifth) were also in the top 10. The Pirates finished with a 313, just one stroke off the season-best total for a traditional 18-hole tournament, while Grain Valley took the team title with a 309.
Hendee and Knickman became two-time all-conference performers, while Renno moved up after being honorable mention as a freshman. Hendee and Knickman were also honorable mention as sophomores.
A third returning all-conference player, Gentilia rounded out Platte County’s team score, finishing 11th with an 84, while Dillingham concluded his season with an 85 (12th). Both were White Division honorable mention honorees.
Grain Valley put all five plates in the top 10, while Fort Osage placed third in the team standings with two all-conference players.
Hendee made three birdies, five bogeys and one double bogey, while Knickman also carded nine pars. However, his birdies were at Nos. 13 and 14 to move to 3-over before finishing his round with three straight bogeys.
Gentilia made only three pars but also recorded three birdies in an up-and-down round, while Dillingham didn’t score worse than bogey on any hole. He ended up with five pars and 13 bogeys in an extremely consistent performance.
Curtis earned the No. 5 spot for districts after shooting just one shot better than fellow freshman Bryson Hevalow in the JV conference tournament.
