Platte County’s boys tennis team is Class 2 District 8 champions for a fourth straight year, but it wasn’t without complications in the championship match against St. Pius X on May 7.
After St. Pius moved up to Class 2 to join the district after finishing as Class 1 runner-up last year, a rare meeting between the two sides seemed destined for a high-stakes district championship. The two teams had some familiarity from tournament play, but it was the first head-to-head team clash since 2011.
With both sides aiming to complete a district four-peat, the depth of Platte County’s lineup proved most pivotal to clinch yet another state playoff berth. The Pirates faced some struggles in doubles, but the bottom of the lineup came up clutch in singles to secure a district title with a 5-3 victory.
“This was a really hard-fought match,” Platte County head coach Zach Keith said. “I was really proud of the way we responded to some legitimate adversity out there. Really proud of the guys.”
The Pirates were first on the board as the familial partnership of Jacoby Keith and Lincoln Keith dominated at No. 3 doubles, where they won 8-2. The top two doubles teams faced struggles, with Owen Behne and Wyatt Beeson unable to complete the comeback after going 5-0 down to make it 5-4 before falling 8-4 at No. 2 doubles. The No. 1 district champion doubles team of Mitchel McBratney and Jackson Kluck had opportunities to break ahead in a close match, but were unable to convert before falling 8-6.
“Credit to Pius, they really made it tough for us today,” Keith said. “I have to be careful not overthinking matchups. I knew what we were going to see, but to be honest, they outplayed us in doubles.”
“They probably had a better game plan than we did coming in,” Keith said. “We just were able to adjust as the match went on, which of course they deserve all the credit for making all these adjustments.”
While trailing 2-1 on the scoreboard, there was still optimism as the doubles matches drew to a conclusion. Jack Hokanson and Jacoby Keith both eased through the first set of their respective singles matches, with Keith winning 6-1 and Hokanson winning 6-0.
Jack Hokanson played his part to extend his Platte County tennis career, entering the match in singles to defeat Daniel Micelli of St. Pius X 6-0, 7-5.
Keith worked quickly again in the second set to level the score 2-2 after taking his second set 6-1 in No. 5 singles. Hokanson looked destined for a third-set tiebreaker as he trailed 4-1 and 5-2 in his second set, but with his fresh legs battling his opponent’s second match of the afternoon, Hokanson showed his resilience to get within a game and complete the comeback at No. 6 singles with a 7-5 victory in the second set.
Suddenly, Platte County moved just two wins from the district title with four matches in play.
McBratney soon fell to SPX’s singles district champion Justin Janasz, leveling the score again at 3-3, but Behne and Beeson followed a similar pace to quickly blow through the first sets of their respective matches.
Owen Behne won his singles match 6-1, 6-4 against Gio Martin from St. Pius X on May 7.
At No. 3 singles, Behne won his opening set 6-0 before taking a 4-1 command in the second set. Pius sophomore Gio Martin didn’t go down easy as he got back within a game, only for Behne to finish it off with a 6-4 win in the second set, moving Platte County a single win away from the title.
As Behne applied the finishing touches to his match, Beeson was doing the same next door at No. 4 singles. Beeson had given up a 4-1 lead in his second set, but broke Pius’ opportunity to win the second set, forcing a tiebreak.
With Platte County’s best chance lying on the strings of Beeson’s racket, the junior delivered under pressure. After going down a score early, Beeson grabbed the momentum back to win the final five points, securing the district title with a second-set tiebreak victory 7-3 after a return went long from Pius.
“It feels amazing,” Beeson said. “I’ve put in quite a bit of work over the years, and I’ve been here a lot of times before with matches to clinch it, and I’ve done a lot of picturing myself in their shoes.”
Wyatt Beeson showed nerves of steel in the district championship, regaining his composure to finish of Zachery Quintero of St. Pius X with a score of 6-0, 7-6 (7-3) to clinch the title.
Those visualizations paid off, but it was also a bit of redemption after Beeson was unable to finish off match points against Grain Valley on April 20, a match the Pirates lost 5-4 to determine the conference champion.
“For him to kind of go through the ups and downs of that match, and then close it out the way he did,” Keith said. “That says a lot about the kind of kid he is for sure.”
Beeson felt the pressure, but he also felt the backing of his teammates, coaches and parents pulling for him.
“I really wish I could have gotten that one back (against Grain Valley), it definitely kept me up a couple nights,” Beeson said. “But it will feel amazing to go celebrate with the guys now.”
At No. 2 singles, Kluck was aiming for an upset over district runner-up James Green. After falling 7-6 (7-1) in the first set, Kluck had a slight 5-4 edge in the second set before Beeson’s victory halted proceedings.
Keith has led the Pirates to four straight district titles for the first time in program history. Even with players graduating year after year, Keith credited his assistant coaches, which include Scott Blakely and Keith’s father, Ron Keith, with being able to consistently develop younger talent.
“We have really good assistant coaches who invest a lot into these guys, even when they’re not on the varsity team,” Keith said. “It just seems like by the time I’m coaching kids, they are tough, they know how to win, they know how to play as a team. That makes my job a lot easier, so they’re getting good instruction all the way through the program.”
Platte County advanced to the Class 2 quarterfinals on May 11, where they met with the Lebanon Yellowjackets, who won the District 5 championship.