At first assessment, Platte County’s task of replacing the top two runners in the fastest collective lineup in program history looks daunting, especially on a somewhat surprising but rewarding team runnerup finish in the Class 4 MSHSAA Cross County Championships. Yet, the Pirates return half of the all-state performers and with intention to continue the recent run of developmental efforts producing unprecedented results.
Platte County’s roster includes just three seniors but five total runners back from last year’s postseason lineup. This includes senior Tanner Jenks and junior Blake Herron, who finished back-to-back at state in 22nd and 23rd to help the Pirates to a team total of 99 — just eight points back of powerhouse Festus for the Class 4 team title.
In addition, Platte County senior Ben Letcher (134th) and juniors Donavin Ness (84th) and Elijah Jackson (136th) were part of a group that captured the Pirates’ fourth straight district title to earn another team berth to state. Six of seven runners set a personal-best time in the final race of the season.
There’s no desire to temper expectations with so many returners in the fold.
“I think the kids have done a great job in the previous years and continuing this year as leading from within and having high expectations of commitment to their craft, but more importantly, commitment to one another,” Platte County coach Courtland Ingram said. “They are positive and encouraging to one another and are consistently working hard to improve themselves and one another.”
However, Platte County does need to find a way to make up for the graduation of the program’s best-ever runner after Andrew Johnson concluded his career as a two-time all-state runner. He claimed individual runnerup honors last year to lead the charge to the Pirates’ third-ever team trophy and first since placing fourth and third in Class 2 back in 2002 and 2003.
Johnson joined Eli Klimek (Class 2A in 2001) as the top state finisher ever for Platte County. In his final race, he ran the second-fastest time of a career that rapidly progressed over four years, going from well down the depth chart to start his freshman season to four-time state qualifier, the program’s first all-state runner in nearly a decade and school-record holder.
In four state trips, Johnson went from 63rd to 26th to fourth to second. The Pirates were eighth, ninth and ninth as a team in Class 4 before last year’s breakthrough showing.
Platte County found the key in Kade Meinke, another graduated senior who spent three years on varsity and developed into the needed top-tier complement to Johnson. Meinke entered his final race as an all-state hopeful and broke 16 minutes for the first time ever, coming up just 0.2 of a second behind Hillsboro junior Landon Pogue for 10th.
Meinke finished 57th at state the year prior and 97th in his debut race.
One of the pivotal points in Platte County’s season came when Meinke struggled with illness at the Suburban Conference White Division Championships. With the No. 2 runner limited, the Pirates dropped to second behind Grain Valley but benefitted from the emergence of Jenks and Herron in the process.
Now the expected top two looking to progress into the upper tier of Class 4’s elite, Jenks and Herron followed up all-conference performances with efforts that kept Platte County atop the district team standings in a competitive field.
After missing time in the middle of the season due to injury, Jenks ran his final three races under 17 minutes and put up a time of 15 minutes, 57.70 seconds at state — more than 45 seconds faster than his prior PR of 16:42.80 set at conference. Herron essentially matched Jenks down the stretch, running sub-17 at conference, districts and state, as well. Herron came in at 15:58.40 at state and under 16 minutes for the first time in his career.
Platte County’s final three scoring runners all competed in their second consecutive state race and made drastic improvements — Herron 111th to 23rd, Jenks 89th to 22nd and Ness 105th to 84th. Ness (17:01.10) nearly ran the first 16-minute time of his career to round out the Pirates’ team total.
In addition to the scoring runners, Letcher ran his second state race but first since his freshman year. Complications with asthma limited his sophomore season after he placed 146th to conclude his freshman season. The return to state resulted in going sub-18 minutes for the first time and moving up to 134th.
The only member of the state team making a debut, Jackson ran 18:01.50 — nearly 41 full seconds faster than his previous PR and a breakout overall performance. He has split time with soccer in the past but seems to have the potential to make a push up the lineup as one of the five key returners.
To fill out the lineup, Platte County could turn to some top JV performers from last season — a group that included sophomore Jacobi Keith, Drake White and Gio Cucchiara, while Ethan Smith rounds out this year’s trio of seniors.
