North Platte’s Noah Heckmen, above left, and West Platte’s Charlie Kinslow, above right, was the first two KCI Conference runners to cross the finish line at Platte Ridge Park on Oct. 16.
Six of the first seven KCI finishers in the West Platte Invitational were Panthers or Blue Jays as the West Platte boys’ cross-country team finished in first place and North Platte ended in second place on Oct. 16.
Blue Jay standout Charlie Kinslow finished in first place in what was also the KCI Conference race with a career-best time of 16:55. The next KCI runners to cross the finish line were North Platte’s Noah Heckman with a time of 18:07 and Joshua Schaffart in 18:14.
“Kinslow left the course with his first individual conference title, winning by about 1:15,” West Platte head coach Mike Lowe said. “He did such a great job.
West Platte junior Tristan Newkirk shattered his previous PR by almost 30 seconds when the junior crossed the finish line in 18:26, earning fourth place. Ryan Pattison ran the 5K in 18:33 and Jonah McGivern finished with a time of 18:14, as the Blue Jay duo finished in sixth and seventh place.
“This is the first time since 2013 that the Blue Jays ran four boys in the 18:00’s at the same race. We are peaking at the right time,” Lowe said.
Isaac Helmich finished in 11th place and Hutch Bartee ended in 19th place to help lead the Blue Jays to first place as a team with 25 points. Helmich finished in 19:42 and Bartee ended with a 21:08 time.
Right behind the West Platte junior was a pair of Panther runners in 20th and 21st places. Corbin Britting crossed the finish line in 21:13 and Wyatt Stapleton ended with a time of 21:26.
North Platte senior Gabriel Goodlet finished in 22:14, while Wesley Meadows and Waylon McCracken closed out the race for the Panthers to lead them to a second-place finish with 68 points. Meadows finished with a time of 23:11 and McCracken ended with a 25:17 time.
North Platte and West Platte will both be competing in districts on Oct. 30. The race will be at Missouri Western State University and both KCI teams will look to keep their seasons alive and advance in the postseason.