Three local high schools turned in strong performances on Friday, April 11, at the Kearney Classic Invitational, with individual wins and top-five finishes across both the boys and girls competitions.
Platte County was especially dominant all day, edging out Kearney 143-142 in the boys and topping them again in the girls division 108.50-106. Park Hill South finished fourth in both divisions while West Platte took seventh in girls and eighth in boys.
The Pirates captured first-place medals in the 100 and 200-meter dashes as Braiden Stevens and Adeboye Akande both got first. Joshua Fraker and Jackson Goodale got second and third-place finishes in the 400 while Ty Christopher’s third-place finish allowed him to join Stevens on the medal stand.
The Park Hill South boys found success in the 800 and 1600. Simon Ketter took first in the 800, followed by Benedict Yager and Platte County’s Elijah Jackson while David Meyer was second in the 1600 for the Panthers.
Platte County reinstated its long-distance dominance in the 3200. Tanner Jenks and Blake Herron won first and second place in under 10 minutes.
The Pirates also succeeded in 300 hurdles, where Jack Johnson took first. Platte County also took first in the 4x100, 4x300 and 4x400 relays and settled for second in the 4x200 relay. The 4x100 relay team also set a new school record with a time of 41.91 seconds.
Park Hill South had more success in boys field events. Logan Hild and Marcel Milner both finished first in the pole vault and triple jump while Everett Grower was second in high jump.
On the girls side, Park Hill South impressed with five first-place finishes. Madilynn Conklin took first in the 800 while Addison Bjorn was first in the 100. In the field, LaNicia Parker took first in the long jump, Audrey Steitz took first in the triple jump and Lauren Smith was first in the pole vault.
Parker also earned second in the 300 hurdles while the Panthers finished second in the 4x200 relay. Freshman sprinter Ava Sakic-Conner finished third in 100 hurdles.
The Platte County girls only got two first-place medals from Adi Benninghoff in the 100 hurdles and the 4x200 relay team. The 4x800 relay and Adilynn Kern’s pole vault effort in second-place while Addison Stone and Maddie Stewart earned third in the 200 and 1600.
For West Platte, facing some of the toughest competition they see all season, the Blue Jays had five top-five finishes in the boys division. Alex Kinslow finished third in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles while Jonah McGivern finished fourth in the 400, August Hill was fifth in the 200 and the 4x200 relay medaled in third.
The lady Blue Jays had seven top-five finishes with three getting on the medal stand. Addison Bailey’s triple jump effort and the 4x100 relay team earned second-place medals while Sam Baker got third in the 400. West Platte’s Hailey Peters got fourth in 100 hurdles alonsgide the 4x200 relay team while the 4x400 relay was fifth alongside Katherine Carletti’s pole vault.