Both of Platte County R-3’s varsity cross country teams are some of the fastest in all of Class 4, and it showed at both teams’ recent races, with all varsity runners finishing in the Top 50 of each race.
Platte County’s Tanner Jenks at Tim Nixon.
The Pirates won the Sock it to Cancer Grain Valley Invitational on Oct. 5, with senior Tanner Jenks leading the way with a runner-up finish and a time of 16:21.7 for the guys. Junior Blake Herron joined Jenks in the Top 5 with a fourth-place finish and a time of 16:24.2. Junior Donavin Ness finished 12th with a time of 17:35.3; freshman Landon McKenzie finished 16th with a time of 17:59.5; senior Ethan Smith finished 17th with a time of 18:07.5; junior Elijah Jackson finished 20th with a time of 18:14.6; Benjamin Letcher finished 35th, Tate Stone finished 37th, Nicholas Flowers finished 41st, Drake White finished 48th and Jacobi Keith finished 50th.
For the ladies, freshman Tyler Stambersky led the way with a fifth-place finish and a time of 20:40.8. Sambersky is ranked in the Top 20 of Mo Milesplit’s latest state freshman rankings. At the Gans Creek Classic on Sept. 28 in Columbia, Stambersky finished in the Top 10 with a time of 20:17.7, which was good for sixth.
Senior Madelynn Nichols finished 10th at Grain Valley with a time of 21:41.3. Nichols finished 31st at Gans Creek with a time of 21:16.2. Junior Maddie Stewart finished 19th at Grain Valley with a time of 22:29.7, senior Brooklynne Jenni finished 26th with a time of 22:44.7, freshman Arsema Ayiche finished 28th with a time of 22:51, and junior Indigo Teufel finished 30th with a time of 22:55.7.
The Pirate’s next race will be the KC Suburban Conference White Division race this Saturday, Oct. 19, at Fort Osage.