Rebekah Geddes added to her legacy again, pushing one of her school records to a new incredible low.
On Friday, April 21, Platte County’s junior long-distance star placed sixth in a star-studded field at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kan. She bettered her own school record by nearly 30 seconds, finishing in 10 minutes, 44.95 seconds.
Prior to Geddes taking the 3,200 record, Ashton Stubbs held the previous mark at 11:40.
Geddes maintained her spot for the most part during the eight-lap race, never coming to the line lower than eighth but never higher than sixth. She came back on Saturday and finished 12th in the 1,600 (5:13.50) in two of the better performances for the Pirates.
The other medal for Platte County’s girls included a pair of sister tandems.
In the sprint medley relay, senior Tori Farr and sophomore Taylor Farr paired with Rebekah Geddes and freshman Isabelle Geddes in the unique event. The Pirates’ quartet first finished in 4:19.40 with Rebekah Geddes taking them from eighth to third in the 800 portion.
Platte County originally finished fourth but moved up to third after the race due to a disqualification.
Bryce Bearden, a senior, matched his Platte County school record again in the pole vault, clearing 14 feet, 6 inches for a third time this season. He finished fifth overall for the best finish on the boys side.
With the competition starting at 13-0, Bearden missed once each at 14-0 and 14-6 before clearing on his second try. He missed on all three attempts at 15-0.
Platte County’s sprint medley team of TJ Guillory, Ahmad Holt, John Watts and JD Crawford came in seventh overall, placing second in heat one at 3:41.42. Guillory, Watts, Mac Leet and DeAndre Rollins were third in heat four of the 4x400 on Friday and came in 15th overall at 3:30.72 — just .03 of a second behind Suburban Conference Blue Division and Class 4 Sectional 4 rival Raytown South.
Watts was 12th in the long jump and came up just 2½ inches short of a top-10 spot and place in the finals.
Warrior Relays
With a top-three finisher in each of the individual running events, Platte County’s boys took the team title Tuesday, April 18 in Smithville, Mo.
Watts turned in another dynamic performance after missing time due to a minor knee injury earlier in the season. The versatile junior won the 400 in 50.78, edging junior teammate Matthew Phillips by about a second, in addition to two medal finishes in field events.
Platte County’s other win in running events came from senior Okwar Jale (41.66 in 300 hurdles).
Jale (110 hurdles), Phillips (200), Crawford (1,600) and Jackson Letcher (3,200) also had runner-up showings for Platte County, which scored 202 points to beat Kearney by 31 in the final team standings. Guillory (100) and Devin Richardson (800) took third for the Pirates.
With no relay victories, Platte County also showed well in the field events. Xavier Keith topped a trio of throwers from Kearney to win the shot put title with a winning effort of 48-7, while Watts won the long jump at 20-6.
Watts also finished second to teammate Leet in the high jump.
Bearden tied his own school record in the pole vault after clearing 14-6 on his first attempt, but he ended up finishing second to Pleasant Hill’s Luke Woodall (15-0). Bearden has set the school record three times this season, upping it 13-7, 14-0 and then 14-6.
Jacob Laures was right behind Bearden in the pole vault at 13-0, giving Platte County two in the top three of the event.
Platte County’s girls were third overall with 130 points, behind champion Kearney and runner-up Smithville. Also without a relay victory, the Pirates benefitted from wins for sisters Rebekah Geddes (800) and Isabelle Geddes (300 hurdles).
Isabelle Geddes also placed third in the 100 hurdles.
In the field, Platte County sophomore Jaycie Stubbs was second in the javelin (106-6), as were juniors Karleigh Wise in the triple jump (33-4) and Grace Lewis (8-6) in the pole vault. Wise was 2½ inches off her career best set as a freshman in 2015.