West Platte senior Avery Holmes took third place in the 800 in the Class 2 District 8 Meet on May 4.
PLATTSBURG – The postseason track and field season officially began with the Class 2 District 8 Meet and West Platte didn’t mess around at Plattsburg High School on May 4.
The Lady Blue Jays brought home the first district title since 2021, tallying 106 points over 17 events – which was 14 points more than Plattsburg, the runner-up. The West Platte boys advanced several athletes to sectionals as well with a second-place finish after a 114-point outing, only trailing East Buchanan.
Although the West Platte girls finished in first place, no athletes won an individual district title. There were eight individuals that finished top-4, not including each relay team that did the same.
Haley Peters, Sophie Grier and Sam Baker were on the second place 4x100 and 4x200 relays. Avery Holmes filled the 4x200 roster that finished in 1:49.38 and Klaira Groom was on the 4x100 that crossed the finish line in 51.61 seconds.
Holmes, Maddie McMillan and Julia Pattison were on the all-district 4x400 and 4x800 teams that ended in times of 4:20.22 and 10:33.6, respectively. Sam Baker made up the fourth-place 4x400, whereas Blair McHenry helped the 4x800 take third place.
“The girls rose to the challenge and competed Saturday, well enough to bring home the championship,” West Platte girls’ track and field coach Bailee Giger said. “I would argue that the competition in our district was some of the best in the state, so earning one of the top four spots is a huge accomplishment.”
Peters went four-for-four, qualifying for sectionals in each event which includes both hurdles. She finished in second place in 16.93 seconds in the 100 and claimed third place in 49.84 seconds in the 300.
Hana Hoover joined Peters in all-district status in the 100-meter hurdles when she took fourth place in 17.68 seconds. Addison Bailey was 0.24 seconds shy of a top-4 finish in the 300 with a season-best time of 50.35 seconds.
Pattison and Holmes led the way for the long-distance, taking third place in their respected races. Pattison ran the 2-mile in 12:10.05 – before running her final mile of her high school career, one place and 2.05 short of advancement – and Holmes ended the 800 in 2:30.47.
A week after breaking the program record in the 200, Baker built off that with a third-place finish in 25.99 seconds. Sophie Grier took fourth place in the 100 in 13.7 seconds.
McMillan shined in the field events, throwing the javelin 32.45 meters and earning third place. Bailey triple jumped 10.5 meters, earning third place and continuing her sophomore season.
“Our motto come postseason meet time is always ‘Survive and Advance,’ which is exactly what we did on Saturday. I’m excited to see where the next two weeks take us,” Giger said.
The West Platte boys had a lot to be proud of as well, especially in the relays as the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 all claimed district titles. Augie Hill, Brady McMillan, Will Shafer and Jonah McGivern set the program record in the 4x200 with a time of 1:31.51.
“It was a great day for the West Platte boys,” West Platte boys’ track and field coach Jim Newsted said. “Everyone that was supposed to advance to sectional did.”
Hill brought home two more district championships as an individual. He won the 100 in 11.31 seconds and the 200 in 22.81 seconds.
Shafer was an all-district 200 runner, doing so in 23.54 seconds. McGivern and McMillan were the third and fourth place finishers in the 400 with times of 52.39 seconds and 52.59 seconds, respectively.
Miles McHenry collected some hardware with three all-district finishes, most notably in the javelin. His 47.18-meter throw gave him first place.
McHenry moved on in both hurdles with a pair of fourth place finishes with times of 15.93 seconds and 41.75 seconds, respectively. Alex Kinslow took third place in the 300 in 41.22 seconds but missed out in the 110 where he took fifth place in 16.77 seconds.
“Next week our sectionals in Adrian are stacked. There will be several boys that could end on the podium at state, not even get out Saturday. Excited to see our teams compete on Saturday; it should be a fun one,” Newsted said.