Platte County churned out plenty of highlights in its annual home meet but ended up settling for a pair of second-place team finishes.
In both the girls and boys final standings, the Pirates were well back of Kearney, Tuesday, April 26 at Pirate Stadium. However, they won four individual events, including a breakout day for senior Hilary Mathurin, in addition to the surging boys 4x400-meter relay team.
Known for prowess in the long-distance hurdles, Mathurin won the 100 in 12.92 seconds, edging a second-place tie between Liberty North’s Koryn Dale and Lincoln Prep’s Erin Paul. Mathurin then came in third in the 200 (27.71, about a quarter of a second behind winner Ekaloise Jose of Liberty North and just edging teammate Rachel Gilbert) and second in the 300 hurdles, less than a tenth of a second behind St. Joseph Central’s Haley Grier.
Rebekah Geddes pulled the long-distance sweep for Platte County with a tight win in the 1,600 and pulling away a bit in the 3,200. Ava White turned in a record showing in the 400, posting a personal-best 1:02.48 to finish third.
Platte County’s relays also continued to show promise, including a 3:28.53 showing for Lloyd Lockett, Tyler Clemens, Jon Watts and David Fulk in the 4x400 to close the meet with a win. The team of TJ Guillory, Clemens, Lockett and Jacob Mundell came in second in the 4x200, while the 4x800 team of Keegan Cordova, Hunter Long, JD Crawford and Fulk also finished as runner-up.
Clemens (22.89) and Guillory (23.04) were 2-3 in the 200, while Fulk placed third in the 800 (2:02.12).
Watts rounded out the winners for the Pirates with the lanky sophomore winning the long jump (20-6) and placing second in the high jump (6 feet, 2 inches). Christian Encarnacion, a senior, set a personal record with a 46-10 ½ effort in the shot put, good for third, while Bryce Bearden continued his development in pole vault, tying for first at 13-0 but ending up third on tiebreakers.
Oak Grove Quad
Platte County tuned up for the postseason in a rain-shortened meet held Friday, April 29 in Oak Grove, Mo.
Watts won the long jump (21-0) and high jump (5-10), taking the latter in a tiebreaker with teammate Mac Leet. JP Post led a sweep of the jumping events for the Pirates with a victory in the triple jump (40-4).
Overall, Platte County won six events.
The unique 4x800 team of Jon Aguiano, Zach Irminger, Guillory and Dakota Schmidt ended up first, while Fulk edged Guillory for the top spot in the 400 in a 1-2 finish for Pirates teammates. Encarnacion (44-8) beat teammate Dane Rader by two inches in the shot put.
Mathurin won the 100 (12.8) for the Platte County girls, while Rachel Gilbert led a 1-2-3 finish for the Pirates in the 1,600. Tianna Daniel-Dalton rounded out the event winners, going 4-10 in the high jump.