Platte County senior Andrew Johnson, far left, came out of the gate fast en route to winning the Tim Nixon Invitational at Capitol Federal Sports Complex on Sept. 2.
LIBERTY – Platte County senior Andrew Johnson didn’t need any time to show that he’s one of the best cross-country runners in the state, winning the Tim Nixon Invitational by 25 seconds to kick off the season at Capital Federal Sports Complex on Sept. 2.
Johnson comfortably finished ahead of the rest of the runners, crossing the finish line in 15:05.6. The next runner to end the race finished with a time of 15:31.9, well behind the Pirate.
Platte County may have had the best individual performance on the day but ended up taking seventh place out of 15 team’s with 172 points. Park Hill and Park Hill South also competed in the Varsity Gold Race as the Panthers ended in 10th place and the Trojans taking 15th place.
Kade Meinke had a nice race, taking 12th place for the Pirates. The senior ended with a time of 16:04.5.
Platte County’s next three runners ran under 17:30, while Benjamin Letcher and Owen Bane contributed to the teams score with times of 18:23.6 and 19:20.9, respectively. Blake Herron took 48th place in 17:10.1, Tanner Jenks rounded out in 53rd place with a time of 17:13.8 and Donavin Ness was the 65th runner to cross the finish line, doing so in 17:28.9.
Park Hill South’s top two runners finished back-to-back in 21st and 22nd places. Senior Tanner Clippard led the way with a time of 16:14.2 and sophomore Thomas Garrett finished in 16:19.6.
The Panthers have a talented sophomore class this season as their second, third and fourth runners filled out that class and ran sub-17 minutes. Grant Windmeyer crossed the finish line in 16:45.5 and Cole James ended in 16:53.7, taking 34th and 41 places, respectively.
Junior Benedict Yager claimed 68th place with a time of 17:29.8 and Seth Irving took 89th place in his high school debut, crossing the finish line in 18:21.5. Simon Ketter and Zachary Hilzinger were the last two Park Hill South runners, both finishing under 19 minutes.
Jakob Johnson was the top runner for Park Hill, starting his junior campaign with a 59th place finish with a time of 17:19.8. Hudson Huff was the next Trojan to cross the finish line, earning 88th place in 18:20.5.
Colton Hardy and Tristan Jennings finished close together with times of 18:37.1 and 18:44.9, respectively. Evan Dixon was the last Park Hill runner to complete the 5K, in 19:20.4.