In what’s become a back-and-forth competition, Dakota Schmidt again took the lead in the chase for Platte County’s javelin record.
Schmidt finished third in the event at the Capital City Relays held Friday, April 14 in Jefferson City, Mo. with a mark of 148-11. He passed senior teammate Cade Goettling, who grabbed the school record two days earlier at 145-1.
Schmidt and Goettling previously traded the school record during March’s Pirate Flight Night.
Javelin started as an exhibition event last season but has become a mainstay at most meets.
Last year, the Missouri State Track and Field Championships awarded medals in the event but did not count the team points toward the standings. Schmidt and Goettling have become Platte County’s top two in the javelin and have started to show progress.
The pair has taken the school record and upped it by more than 30 feet since Schmidt set the mark at 118-11 to open the season.
The throwing events provided some of the biggest highlights for Platte County. Xavier Keith was second in the boys shot put, while Liz Peterson came in sixth on the girls side, setting a third personal best this season and upping her best mark to 36-10.
Platte County’s boys finished second to the hosts in the final team standings, and the girls were sixth out of 18 teams. The Pirates set a slew of personal bests in addition to two school records amid some stiff competition.
Isabelle Geddes, a freshman, grabbed the other school record with a third-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles. Her time of 46.46 seconds bettered the mark 2016 graduate Hilary Mathurin set last season.
On the boys side, Okwar Jale set personal bests in both the 110 hurdles (15.71) and 300 hurdles (40.75), taking second in both events.
Most of Platte County’s relays also set season-bests. The girls 4x800 team of Rebekah Geddes, Jessica Clark, Erin Strabuel and Lexi Elmore were second to Lindbergh but posted a 10:02.58 — about 18 seconds off the school record set last year.
The boys 4x400 team continued to shuffle its lineup with TJ Guillory, Mac Leet, DeAndre Rollins and Matthew Phillips finishing second in 3:30.08, second to Nixa.
Tori Farr and Jon Watts competed in the pentathlon for the first time, a five-event competition that features tests of speed, strength, endurance and athleticism. Some of the events (100, 800, shot put, long hump and high jump) were new to the athletes.
A junior, Watts finished second and set personal bests in the 100 (11.4), 800 (2:07.13) and high jump (1.93 meters, about 6-4). Farr was third overall with PRs in the 100 (13.0) and high jump (1.57 meters, about 5-2).
Watts was first in the 800 and second in the 100, long jump and high jump. Farr was second in the 100 and long jump.
Blackbeard Thrower’s Triathlon
Goettling set a short-lived school record in the javelin for the second time on the season Wednesday, April 12 at Southwick Stadium in Belton, Mo. He bested Schmidt by 1 foot, 1 inch, ending Schmidt’s stretch of holding the record after every other meet of the season.
Goettling’s throw of 145-1 on Wednesday gave him the bragging rights for a few days.
The 1-2 showing in the javelin helped Platte County win the team title in the throws-only meet in Belton. Xavier Keith (shot put) and Derek Kohler (discus) were runners-up.
The girls also took the team title with victories in two events.
Peterson continued her progression with another personal best. A first-year participant, she started her season with a 29-8½ mark before shattering that with a throw of 35-2½ at Pirate Flight Night in late March.
At Belton, Peterson again set a personal record at 35-3, beating Holden’s Grayce Fitzgerald by more than 3 feet. Peterson then bested that mark two days later at the Capital City Relays.
Jaycie Stubbs, a sophomore, came in third in the shot put (31-11¾) and then won the javelin at 100-9, beating freshman teammate Hayden Walls by a little more than 8 feet. Stubbs set the school record in the event last year and then bettered that mark in the season-opening Kearney Quad, putting the mark at 114-11.
Maryville Bearcat Invitational
Platte County took a limited roster to Maryville, Mo. on Tuesday, April 11.
Jale, a senior, was first in the 300-meter hurdles and second in the 110s, grabbing one of five victories for the Pirates. Leet, another senior, cleared just 5-10 in the high jump but took first while also winning the long jump.
Platte County went 1-2-3 in the pole vault — Bryce Bearden (13-0), Jacob Laures (12-6) and Carleton Hall (10-6). Tre Reece, a junior, won the triple jump at 39-10¾.
Kaji Jale, a sophomore, placed second in the 100 hurdles.