Similar to the way the runners compete in a 5K, the Platte County cross-country team is staring straight ahead and not glancing back.
With five boys and five girls coming back from impressive state appearances, Platte County is focused on what it can do this year, not on what it did last year. While the Pirates finished in ninth place and the Lady Pirates finished in 13th place at the 2021 Class 4 State Meet, that doesn’t matter to them when they begin their quest this fall.
“Each year every team in the state is different, I don’t think we try to look at last year and compare that to this year,” Platte County head cross-country coach Courtland Ingram said. “They are not the same, so I think this year will play out as it is supposed to.”
The Pirates may look to Tanner Johnson and Kage Audas for leadership as they are the seniors. Kade Meinke, Andrew Johnson and Ben Letcher are the other three varsity returners for the Platte County boys.
“I think it’s hard to say who your fastest runners are in August, when in November it can look different, and you hope they are all in a better place after 13 weeks of training. I think we will do well as a team as our kids tend to mesh throughout the season,” Ingram said.
For the Lady Pirates, junior Sisely Mitchell has eyes on her after an eleventh-place finish at state, along with state appearances in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs in the track and field season last spring. Mitchell was joined by Alex Beeman, Carmen Gentilia, Marissa Orellana and Madison Palmer last fall and that group of Platte County girls is aiming for improvement in 2022.
“I think we have had a lot of consistency from kids this summer in both our boys and girls. It will be fun to watch them all compete and see their growth,” Ingram said.
This will be the second year that Platte County will be under Coach Ingram, though he was an assistant coach from 2014-2020. Ingram told the Platte County Citizen that there’s more important things that he aspires for the team than just improving times.
“My personal goals are for practice to be the best part of these kids’ day and it is something they look forward to going too. I also want them to finish the season looking back and enjoying the journey they went on together,” Ingram said.Similar to the way the runners compete in a 5K, the Platte County cross-country team is staring straight ahead and not glancing back.
With five boys and five girls coming back from impressive state appearances, Platte County is focused on what it can do this year, not on what it did last year. While the Pirates finished in ninth place and the Lady Pirates finished in 13th place at the 2021 Class 4 State Meet, that doesn’t matter to them when they begin their quest this fall.
“Each year every team in the state is different, I don’t think we try to look at last year and compare that to this year,” Platte County head cross-country coach Courtland Ingram said. “They are not the same, so I think this year will play out as it is supposed to.”
The Pirates may look to Tanner Johnson and Kage Audas for leadership as they are the seniors. Kade Meinke, Andrew Johnson and Ben Letcher are the other three varsity returners for the Platte County boys.
Platte County’s Sisely Mitchell is a returner from last years cross-country season when the Lady Pirates took 13th place at the Class 4 State Meet.
“I think it’s hard to say who your fastest runners are in August, when in November it can look different, and you hope they are all in a better place after 13 weeks of training. I think we will do well as a team as our kids tend to mesh throughout the season,” Ingram said.
For the Lady Pirates, junior Sisely Mitchell has eyes on her after an eleventh-place finish at state, along with state appearances in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs in the track and field season last spring. Mitchell was joined by Alex Beeman, Carmen Gentilia, Marissa Orellana and Madison Palmer last fall and that group of Platte County girls is aiming for improvement in 2022.
“I think we have had a lot of consistency from kids this summer in both our boys and girls. It will be fun to watch them all compete and see their growth,” Ingram said.
This will be the second year that Platte County will be under Coach Ingram, though he was an assistant coach from 2014-2020. Ingram told the Platte County Citizen that there’s more important things that he aspires for the team than just improving times.
“My personal goals are for practice to be the best part of these kids’ day and it is something they look forward to going too. I also want them to finish the season looking back and enjoying the journey they went on together,” Ingram said.