ODESSA, Mo. — Erin Straubel didn’t enter her first race of the Class 4 Sectional 4 meet as the favorite, and she didn’t seem to care much either.
In a strong long-distance running career, the Platte County senior endured her fair share of heartbreaking finishes. She just wanted to finish in the top four in one race Saturday, May 19 at Odessa High School, but after a comeback win in the 1,600-meter run, the goals changed.
Straubel walked off the track after her victory in the mile ready for more, and she pulled the sweep later, topping the 3,200 field as well on an increasingly humid but memorable day.
“I’m glad for all those lows because it makes the highs so much better,” Straubel said. “It made me work 10 times harder to be where I am. I’m just blessed.”
Straubel’s long-distance double highlighted a third-place team finish for Platte County, which will take eight events to this week’s Class 4 Missouri State Track and Field Championships.
Isabelle Geddes, a sophomore, leads the way after a pair of runner-up finishes in the hurdle events at Sectional 4 plus a memorable anchor leg of the 4x200 relay, which goes back to state for a second straight year. Geddes ran the event much of last season, but only senior Karleigh Wise returned from last year’s quartet that failed to make it out of the state preliminaries.
Rebuilt this year, Platte County’s 4x200 finished second at District 8.
A week later, seniors PJ Curry and Wise provided a solid start before freshman Haley Luna took the baton with the Pirates’ just outside the top four. Geddes started the anchor leg in second and passed the fourth runner for district champion Kearney in the first 100.
Zach Pixler/Special to the Citizen
Platte County’s Erin Straubel, far left, runs next to Notre Dame de Sion’s Lily Henkle in the 1,600-meter run at the Class 4 Sectional 4 meet on Saturday, May 19, at Odessa High School in Odessa, Mo.
Geddes then held off the late charge to give Platte County a somewhat unexpected win. Not only did the Pirates fend off Kearney, their time of 1 minute, 44.41 seconds was nearly 2 full seconds faster than at districts and set a school record by nearly the same margin.
“I knew Haley would run fast, and I knew Izzy had a tough person to run against,” Wise said. “I knew they would both do good. It’s crazy. I did not know we would beat the school record by that much.
“We trust Izzy completely as the anchor. She’s such a strong runner.”
Geddes came in second in the 100 hurdles to Warrensburg senior Makenzy Mizera (15.31 to 15.40) and in the 300 hurdles to Center senior McKenzie Pearson (45.03 to 45.35). Both runner-up times were state records for Platte County with Geddes now set up to improve on last year’s state finishes, which included a sixth-medal in the 300 hurdles.
Luna set a personal-best of 1:01.21 to finish fourth in the 400 and become a first-time individual state qualifier for Platte County. She was about three-quarters of a second faster than her District 8 winning time the week before.
Abbie Schwieder gave Platte County a second freshman qualifier, clearing a season-best 9 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault. She finished in a three-way tie for second at that height and wound up fourth on tiebreakers but in the field for this week.
But Platte County didn’t just have freshmen earning state debuts.
A sectional qualifier in cross country three times, Straubel made sure her career didn’t end without a state appearance. She placed sixth at Class 4 Sectional 4 as a junior in the 3,200 meters, but she had two chances to advance this past Saturday.
Straubel hung around in the 1,600 before a determined closing stretch allowed her to catch Notre Dame de Sion sophomore Lily Henkle. Straubel had her top four spot locked up but lunged at the line to win, finishing in a career-best 5:25.58 to beat Henkle by .02 of a second for the title.
After finding out about the victory, Straubel left the track pumping her fist. She had finished second at District 8 in the 1,600 but entered the 3,200 as a district champion.
In the two-mile race, Straubel went straight to the front and maintained her lead for the entirety of the eight-lap race, finishing in 11:52.87 and just off her PR record from the week before.
“I came into this just wanting to qualify,” Straubel said. “I was really hyped after getting that win, and I knew I could do it in the (3,200). I was just determined to get to state.
Only seven runners started the race and one failed to finish. The thinned field offered a perfect opportunity for fellow Platte County senior Lauren Johnson, a fourth-place finisher at District 8.
Midway through the race, Johnson found herself comfortably alone in fourth and slowly extended the lead over the final two runners. She ended up fourth in 12:18.10 to give the Pirates two state qualifiers in the same race.
THOM HANRAHAN/Liberty Courier-Tribune
Platte County sophomore Hayden Walls competes in the shot put event during the Class 4 Sectional 4 meet on Saturday, May 19, at Odessa High School in Odessa, Mo. Walls placed eighth in the event.
“I never really knew how far apart I was from fifth place,” Johnson said. “I told myself that she was right behind me because I didn’t want to slow down. I just wanted to run a good time and try to get closer to Erin.”