The Platte County girls’ golf team is bringing back a good chunk of players from last fall.
With ten returning players, six have some varsity playing experience and three are state qualifiers. The Lady Pirates also bring in some new players this season.
Platte County’s Ella Green made it to state last year.
“We have some expectations from our returning players of who may be seeing some varsity lineup time,” Platte County head coach Trevor Short said. “We have four new players that we will have to evaluate and see how they play during competition.”
Platte County has three seniors this year in Bailey Silcott, Briley Kovar and Ava Villarreal who will bring leadership to the table when the season starts. Silcott is the only senior who made it to state last year when she finished in 27th place.
“Our seniors have taken the reins and got the ball rolling; they’re eager to prepare for the upcoming season and want to leave a lasting mark on their senior year. For some it’s the achievement of the State Tournament, some a redemption shot and for others it’s an opportunity to step up and play the key role,” Short said.
Platte County’s goals this season are pretty standard: win a conference title, finish top-two in districts, have five players qualify for state and bring home some state hardware. Short told the Platte County Citizen what it will take to accomplish those objectives.
“For us to have success in the conference and in the postseason, we need to be as consistent as possible with our shots and be peaking at the right time. When we get close to the end of the regular season, we’d like to see our players shooting consistent scores and being able to handle the pressure,” Short said.
Lily Ricketts and Ella Green both bring back state experience for the Lady Pirates. In the 2021 Class 3 State Golf Match, Green finished in 19th place with 176 strokes and Ricketts ended in 82nd place with 224 strokes.