The West Platte boys’ cross-country team finished in sixth place, while Blue Jay sophomore Julia Pattison was just half a second away from being a state champion, in the Class 2 State Race on Nov. 6.
The West Platte boys ended with a total time of 1:30:51.10, an average time of 18:10.22 and 186 total points. The Blue Jays had five runners finish with personal best times at the state race.
Charlie Kinslow ended his impressive junior campaign with a seventh-place finish at state with a time of 16:34 to lead the boys’ team to a sixth-place finish. He finished with a new personal best time and broke West Platte’s Gans Creek Course record time at state.
“Charlie ran in a pack of about five runners the whole race and they pushed each other,” West Platte head coach Mike Lowe said. “The good news for Charlie is that four of the six runners ahead of him this year are current seniors.”
Tristan Newkirk ran his best time ever, finishing in 51st place with a time of 18:01. Ryan Pattison finished his career with a personal record time of 18:08, finishing 60th overall.
Jonah McGivern finished his freshman season with an 18:18 time, his new career best, and Isaac Helmich ran in 19:48 as he wrapped up his Blue Jay cross-country career. Hutch Bartee ran 20 seconds faster than last season on the course to finish in 20:19, and Thomas Deffet ended his freshman campaign with a new personal best time of 20:54.
“The boys accomplished some good things this season with their best state finish since 2016. They ran four boys under 19:00 for the first time since 2013 and their team average time on the state course of 18:10 was the best since 2003, albeit on an easier course,” Lowe said.
West Platte sophomore Julia Pattison finished in second place by less than two seconds in the Class 2 State Race on Nov. 6.
In the girls’ race, Pattison and the three-time defending state champion Riley Arnold from Blue Eye were the favorites heading into the Class 2 race, and they didn’t disappoint. Although the Bulldogs were in Class 1 prior to this season, no runner in the last three years had been within ten seconds of Arnold at state, but the West Platte sophomore didn’t go down without a fight.
“The two ran basically even for the first 4,000 meters and then Julia surged ahead and took a four second lead heading into the last 1,200 meters. Riley was not to be denied her fourth state title and caught Julia in the last 50 meters, beating her across the line by four tenths of a second,” Lowe said.
Arnold narrowly crossed the finish line before Pattison when the senior ended with a time of 19:23.0 and the sophomore finished in 19:23.4. This is the second consecutive season when Pattison narrowly finished in second place as the Blue Jay was 2.2 seconds behind St. Pius’ Rita Eimer in 2020.
“Julia ran a great race, pushing her all the way to the end when she finished the race with a new PR and new school record time. Running second two years in a row is a fantastic achievement for Julia and she is already thinking about next fall,” Lowe said.