Rebekah Geddes received the chance to race in the top division for one of the best high school cross country races in the country, and Platte County’s standout junior didn’t disappoint.
In the Rim Rock Classic on Saturday, Sept. 24, Geddes turned in the seventh fastest time in the Gold Division, coming in as the top runner outside of the lead pack. She finished in 19 minutes, 23.0 seconds — about 2 seconds faster than when she came in second in the Crimson Division (second of three tiers) as a sophomore.
TODD NUGENT/Special to The Citizen
Platte County junior Rebekah Geddes runs toward the finish of the Gold Division race of the Rim Rock Classic on Saturday, Sept. 24 in Lawrence, Kan.
Platte County came in 20th out of 31 teams with Geddes in the top 10 of a 206-runner field. Pirates junior Jessica Clark negotiated the course in 20:23.0 to take 36th.
Park Hill South took 12th in the team standings with a 336 total, just four points ahead of Wichita East (Kan.).
Marti Heit, a junior, led the Panthers in 23rd at 19:54.0, while senior Jasmine Crawford and junior Emma Roth came in back to back in 44th and 45th. Crawford finished in 20:30.5, about 5 seconds ahead of her teammate.
Park Hill South placed 12 points back of Class 4 rival Blue Springs with some of Missouri’s best teams getting an early look at the postseason competition. Park Hill South won its first ever district title last season but missed out on a team state berth.
Park Hill South’s boys also competed in the Gold Division and placed a solid 10th behind a balanced showing. The Panthers put all five scoring runners in the top 101 of a 293-runner field with junior Eli Guzman leading the way in 46th, just a tenth of a second out of 45th.
Platte County competed in the Crimson Division with sophomore Jackson Letcher placing second in 16:32.7, which would’ve placed him 23rd in the Gold Division. Last year, he came in 38th in the Crimson Division.
After Letcher, Platte County’s next four runners were all bunched together, helping the Pirates finish eighth as a team with a 332 total, 30 back of seventh-place Ankeny (Iowa).
Smithville Invitational
Park Hill placed four runners in the top 20 of a small field Tuesday, Sept. 20 in Smithville, Mo., ending up second out of six teams.
Madison King (third) and Grace Fink (fourth) finished back-to-back for the Trojans but were separated by 27 sconds. Amelia Pelaez added a ninth-place showing, but Smithville edged them for the team title by five points.
North Platte came in sixth out of sixth with Bailee Romaker the Panthers’ top finisher in 26th.
West Platte’s ended up sixth in a larger boys field behind sophomore Max Davies’ ninth-place effort. Phillip Pattison continued an impressive freshman season in 25th, while junior Andy Cicha rounded out the Bluejays’ top three in 30th — one spot back of North Platte’s Tyler Meadows.
North Platte was 11th out of 12 teams.