For the second straight season, the Platte County boys’ cross-country team won a conference title – with the girls taking second place – at the Kansas City Suburban Conference White Division Race at Grain Valley High School on Oct. 15.
The Pirates finished with 24 points as six of their top-7 runners completed the race in less than 18 minutes and five of the top-9 White Division finishers were from Platte County. Andrew Johnson adds his first career conference championship to his already impressive resume when he won with a time of 16:03.
Kade Meinke finished third overall with a time of 17:10, while Tanner Jenks and Kage Audas finished back-to-back in fifth and sixth places. Jenks crossed the finish line in 17:15, followed by Audas in 17:24.
Donavin Ness was the ninth-place finisher in 17:45 and Blake Herron ended in 12th place with a time of 17:47. Tanner Johnson was the last Pirate to help lead the team to a conference title as he finished with a time of 18:46, which was good enough for 15th place.
The Lady Pirates finished with 37 points – which was 12 points shy of Grain Valley’s 25 points – and had the first two overall finishers on the day. Sisely Mitchell became a conference champion when she crossed the finish line in 19:07.
Carmen Gentilia was more than a minute later – but was still the second-place finisher – in 20:23. Marissa Orellana and Madison Palmer also finished in back-to-back spots, doing so in 10th and 11th places with times of 22:47 and 23:00, respectively.
Alex Beeman was the next Lady Pirate finisher as the junior took 13th place with a time of 23:26. Annabel Beeman and Julia Greco closed out the day in 18th and 19th places to help Platte County take second place.
Both Platte County boys and girls ended the regular season on a high note as the next race will be the start of the postseason. They will be in the Class 4 District 4 Race at Jesse James Park in Kearney on Oct. 29.