Elijah Jackson’s timing chip fell off somewhere on the course at Fort Osage High School.
In the midst of a chaotic finish, Platte County’s junior second-year starter didn’t have a finish officially recorded in Saturday’s Suburban Conference White Division Championships. The Pirates conceded the team title to Grain Valley after the two teams finished tied in the final standings.
Upon further review, the hardware needs exchanged with Platte County now the correct winner of the championship plaque.
Coaches reviewed video footage of the finish, and Jackson placed 13th even without a verified time. With two teams tied at 29 points, the tiebreaker comes down to the sixth runner’s placement.
Platte County senior Ben Letcher dropped out of the race, and while trying to navigate that issue and Jackson’s lost chip, coaches mistook Ruskin senior Josiah Robinson’s blue jersey for a Grain Valley runner. Instead, Robinson placed 12th, and Jackson came in one spot ahead of Grain Valley freshman Colby Sinn, the Eagles’ No. 6 finisher who bumped back to 14th in the tightest finish possible with confusing circumstances.
In the end, Platte County senior Tanner Jenks (second) and junior Blake Herron (third) claimed two of the first-team all-conference slots, while junior Donavin Ness (sixth) and senior Ethan Smith (seventh) made the second time. Landon McKinzie, an ascending freshman, rounded out the Pirates’ team score with an 11th-place finish to earn honorable mention all-conference honors along with Jackson, who provided the winning placement.
Grain Valley senior Landon Barnes claimed the individual title and led three for the Eagles in the top five, while their team score also included the ninth- and 10th-place finishers to create the tie at 29 points.
William Chrisman finished a distant third (93 points) with seven of eight teams fielding at least five runners.
Grain Valley originally seemed to to have defended last year’s championship when Platte County dealt with an illness to a key runner that led to an off day. The Pirates went on to finish second in the Class 4 MSHSAA Cross Country Championships with the fastest collective team in program history.
Platte County wanted to reclaim the conference title minus two all-state contributors from last year’s roster and might have finally found an optimal seven in a season defined by depth of contributions.
Jenks and Herron came on strong at the end of last season and were also top 25 in Class 4 to give Platte County four all-state runners. Both have now earned all-conference honors three times.
Having finished fifth in the White Division each of the past two years, Jenks finished second Saturday in 15 minutes, 58.32 seconds — just his second career time under 16 minutes and just off his PR from state last year. He finished 22nd in 15:57.70 last year on the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia.
Herron now has back-to-back first-team all-conference placements (fourth as a sophomore) in addition to his honorable mention accolades as a freshman (12th). His time of 16:07.23 was just off his season-best of 16:04.40 after he also set a PR of 15:58.40 while finishing one spot behind Jenks at state last year (23rd).
Ness set a PR of 16:56.42 in Saturday’s meet to go under 17 minutes for the first time in his career. He has earned second-team all-conference each of his three years in the Pirates lineup (10th as a sophomore and ninth as a freshman).
Smith has become a top-seven contributor as a senior in his first year on varsity, and his 17:22.46 cut more than 33 seconds off his previous PR of 17:56.10 from this year’s Todd Warner Kickoff Classic.
One of two freshman to carve out varsity time this season, McKinzie made an impressive conference debut with his time of 17:26.47 also a career-best and more than 33 seconds better than the previous PR he set two weeks earlier in the Sock It to Cancer Grain Valley Invitational (17:59.50).
Smith and McKinzie made sure Platte County kept pace with Grain Valley, and Jackson provided the tiebreaker.
In all, Platte County put five returning state qualifiers in Saturday’s lineup, although Letcher’s struggles with breathing issues resurfaced and kept him from finishing the race. He earned honorable mention all-conference honors as a junior and has run at state twice for the Pirates.
Jackson placed 23rd in last year’s White Division meet but developed into a key member of Platte County’s state qualifying as a first-year contributor. The Pirates now have a weekend off before trying to defend four straight district team titles with the Class 4 District 4 race scheduled for Jesse James Park in Kearney.
