Platte County’s 200-yard medley relay team shaved more than a second off its best time of the season, making for a special afternoon Wednesday, Sept. 6 at Platte County Community Center North.
With a finish of 1 minute, 44.88 seconds, the Pirates’ quartet of Alex Beall, Caden DeLay, Jerry Orozco and Rhett Spell posted an automatic qualifying time for the Missouri State Swimming and Diving Championships. They will be the program’s first state-bound relay since the school-record holding 2015 medley team, which also included DeLay.
Platte County won six of 12 events overall and lowered some state consideration cuts and closed in on hitting those marks in others.
DeLay, a three-time state qualifier who already has automatic times in three events, won the 50 freestyle at 22.78 — just 0.11 off his career-best. Baxter Stone held off St. Pius X’s Blaise McCoy in the 200 IM and posted a consideration time of 2:17.91 — more than 11 seconds better than his previous top time.
Stone also won the 500 freestyle, nearing the consideration mark of 5:34.39.
Platte County’s 400 freestyle team of Hunter Bowen, Jacob Flynn, Ryan Dye and Stone gave the Pirates a second relay victory (4:07.30), while the 200 freestyle quartet of Beall, Spell, DeLay and Joe Ragone came in second at 1:35.74 but took more than 3 seconds off the season-best and came just more than a second from hitting an automatic time.
DeLay also finished second in the 100 butterfly at 56.46, posting a consideration time and nearly hitting his fourth automatic time in an individual event.
Platte County’s other victory came from freshman Isaac Cook, the only entrant for 1-meter diving. The Pirates scored 128 points and finished first in the five-team meet, 27 in front of Raymore-Peculiar.
Independence Invitational
DeLay lowered his school record in the 100 breaststroke, finishing second in a strong field Saturday, Sept. 9 in Independence, Mo. He came in at 1:00.76, bettering the mark of 1:00.84 he set in the state consolation final a year ago.
In addition to the runner-up showing, DeLay won the 50 freestyle in 22.85.
Platte County’s 200 medley relay was just off its state qualifying time, finishing fourth in 1:45.30 with Beall, DeLay, Orozco and Ragone in the lineup. Beall also came in fourth in the 100 backstroke but remained just off of an automatic qualifying time.
The 200 medley relay scored 30 team points and helped Platte County finish eighth out of 20 teams with 153 points — just two back of seventh place.
Park Hill Triangular
The Trojans lost 93-89 in a head-to-head matchup with Kearney during a three-team meet Tuesday, Sept. 5 at Park Hill Aquatic Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Kearney won eight of 12 events, while Park Hill took the other four. The Trojans didn’t hit any new state cuts, but Alex Dunlevy just missed the mark in a runner-up finish in the 100 butterfly (57.52). Their individual winners in swimming events were Jordan Timmerman (100 freestyle) and Hunter Dieffenbach (500 freestyle).
Hunter Dieffenbach, Nick Dieffenbach, Jacob Fickenscher and Timmerman were the winners on Park Hill’s 200 freestyle relay. Mark Foster, who previously posted a state cut this season, won the six-dive 1-meter diving competition.