All six of the boys tennis players from Platte County High School made the most of their opportunity at the Class 2 District 8 individual tournament, which included a rare doubles sweep for the Pirates on May 1 in Platte City.
Both doubles teams proved to be the class of the tournament for Platte County, wiping out the rest of the field to earn two state doubles qualifications for the first time since 2023 and just the second time over the past decade.
“We knew that we had two really good doubles teams that we were entering,” Platte County head coach Zach Keith said. “If they played like they are capable of playing, they would have success. It’s easy to say that and put them on paper as the No. 1 and 2, but to watch them go out and do it was really cool.”
Platte County junior Mitchel McBratney serves during a match in the Class 2 District 8 individual tournment on May 1 at Platte County High School.
Platte County’s No. 1-seeded doubles team of junior Mitchel McBratney and sophomore Jackson Kluck was crowned as district champions, outdueling a pair of teammates in the championship match.
The duo took over the reins at No. 1 doubles this season for Platte County, and with big shoes to fill from the reigning district champion team of Jack Bralley and Hayden Cook, McBratney and Kluck made sure to add to the Pirates’ trophy collection.
“They have grown tremendously as a team,” Keith said of his No. 1 doubles team. “At the beginning of the season, they were our two best singles players who were playing doubles together, and by the end of the season, they were a better doubles team, collectively, than they were individually playing in singles. They just gradually throughout the year developed a good chemistry.”
McBratney brings a lethal serve and frame that is difficult to beat, which was on display throughout the tournament. Even while under the weather, Kluck showed his promising future through his consistent backcourt play throughout the day.
“We complement each other extremely well,” McBratney said. “I’ve got the serve and volley, he’s got the ground strokes and returns. It really complements well to where we can help each other’s weaknesses.”
Jackson Kluck made his postseason debut, winning a district doubles title with McBratney.
They began with a convincing quarterfinal round victory over William Chrisman’s No. 9-seeded doubles team. McBratney/Kluck won the first set 6-2 before taking the second set 6-3.
In the semifinal round, McBratney/Kluck made even quicker work against St. Pius X’s No. 4-seeded team. After shutting out the Warriors 6-0 in the opening set, McBratney/Kluck pulled away in the second before McBratney closed it out with a state-clinching serve to seal the second set victory 6-4.
Platte County’s other doubles tandem of juniors Jacoby Keith and Wyatt Beeson, seeded No. 2 in the tournament, followed closely in the footsteps of their top-seeded teammates before finishing as district runners-up.
“It was a little different being the dad and the coach in the same day,” Keith said. “It was really fun to have the opportunity to see our team play well. To have kids from my own family be part of that is really special.”
Jacoby Keith, the son of head coach Zach Keith, brings an aggressive, go-big-or-go-home type of playing style. Beeson provides a more conservative approach, which helps balance over the course of matches.
“Their styles kind of complement each other well,” Keith said of his No. 2 doubles team. “They both played great today, and were the best versions of themselves.”
Jacoby Keith lunges to return the ball in the Class 2 District 8 doubles tournament in Platte City.
Keith/Beeson both made their district tournament debuts and cruised through their quarterfinal match. They dropped just a single game against Winnetonka’s No. 7-seeded tandem, winning the first set 6-0 and the second set 6-1.
With Lincoln Prep’s No. 3-seeded team waiting in the semifinals, Keith/Beeson continued their dominant run with a 3-0 start to the first set before taking it 6-3. They used another dominant start in the second set to book their ticket to state, winning the first four games of the second set before Keith and Wyatt each held serve to close out a 6-2 triumph in their second semifinal set.
With Keith/Beeson and McBratney/Kluck both punching their tickets to state, all that was left was to decide which Pirate pairing would become the new district champion.
The district championship started promisingly for McBratney/Kluck, who capitalized on some extra rest to take the first two games before Keith won a serve to get the No. 2 seed on the board before Keith/Beeson broke a serve to even it at 2-2. Both pairs exchanged points until McBratney/Kluck broke a serve to edge in front 5-4, which McBratney won to deliver the first set for the top seed.
Wyatt Beeson was a district finalist alongside Jacoby Keith, earning a spot in the state tournament.
Keith/Beeson fell behind once more early in the second set, but a 3-0 run suddenly gave them a 5-2 lead. McBratney won another serve to pull a game back, but Keith finished off the second serve by winning his serve to take the second set 6-3, forcing a district-deciding super tiebreaker.
McBratney/Kluck got their mojo back as they jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before Keith/Beeson scored three of the next four points to cut the lead to 5-3. McBratney/Kluck remained unfazed as the duo closed out their first district championship in fashion by breaking a serve before McBratney smashed home the decisive volley as McBratney/Kluck pulled away with the 10-5 super tiebreak victory.
For McBratney, qualifying for individual state and winning districts as the only returning varsity player was special after falling just shy of qualification last year with a third-place finish in districts. He played alongside Kluck all season long to get back into an even more promising position.
“It feels really good,” McBratney said. “Was really motivated this year to do better. Worked hard throughout the season to make sure we we’re the one seed, which helped with us winning it.”
Earlier in the day, both of Platte County’s singles players also maximized their own opportunities until running into St. Pius X’s singles dominance.
“All of our guys maximized what they could do today,” Keith said. “I realize the doubles guys are going to get the most attention, but those guys maximized what they could do on the day.”
No. 5-seeded junior Owen Behne led the way with a third-place finish in his postseason debut.
No. 7-seeded senior Jack Hokanson also performed well before facing elimination.
Behne went 2-1 on the day, opening with a 6-2, 6-0 triumph over the No. 12-seed from East.
The junior guaranteed himself a top-four finish by wiping out the No. 4 seed from William Chrisman, winning his quarterfinal match 6-3, 6-4.
Ultimately, Behne didn’t stand a chance in his semifinal against St. Pius X’s top-seeded Justin Janasz, who won third in Class 1 last year. Janasz won all 36 games throughout this year’s district tournament as he cruised to the district singles championship, while Behne took third in the district with a default win in the third-place match.
Hokanson swept his opening match 6-0, 6-0 against the No. 10 seed from William Chrisman.
His individual career concluded after a 6-1, 6-3 quarterfinal defeat to No. 2-seeded James Green of St. Pius X, who finished as the district runner-up.
Platte County’s doubles teams advance to the Class 2 state tournament in Springfield, which is slated for May 15-16 at Cooper Tennis Complex. With hopes of benefiting from a good draw, both teams aim to bring back a medal by placing in the top eight.
“You’re always hoping to finish with a medal,” Keith said. “You want to be playing your best tennis when you show up in Springfield, or else you get exposed.”
The Pirates hope to get back to the state tournament as a team for the fourth consecutive season. First, they must repeat their team district title May 4-6.