West Platte and Platte County were among the 15 schools competing at the 2025 Smithville Invitational for track and field on Monday, April 14.
The Blue Jays showed well with five first-place finishes, earning second place in girls and fourth in boys divisions on the rescheduled date after weather postponed the invitational from its original date of April 4. Platte County sent a youthful team to Smithville, finishing 11th in boys and last in girls.
On the girls side, only Smithville competed at a higher level than West Platte. The host school ran away to win the girls and boys divisions, defeating second-place teams by more than 40 points.
West Platte senior Sam Baker showed her elite speed as she finished first both of her events, sprinting 200m in 26.37s and 400m in 1 minute, 1.31 seconds. Junior Sophie Grier also got West Platte on the medal stand with a third-place finish in the 100m dash.
Long-distance sophomore Caroline Ransome finished third in the 1600m run for the Blue Jays, while freshman Katherine Carletti was third in the 800m. West Platte also got second in the 4x200m girls relay, trailing only Lincoln Prep.
Senior sprinter Jonah McGivern shined with a pair of top-two finishes for West Platte, finishing first in the 200-meter dash in 22.98s and second in the 100m in 11.28s. August Hill was another first-place medalist, dashing 100 yards in 11.24s.
Junior hurdler Alex Kinslow also showed well, earning first in 300m hurdles and third in 110m hurdles.
In long distance, freshman Sam Miller finished second in the 3200m at 10:48.02 seconds. West Platte also earned second in the 4x100m relay, finishing behind Harrisonville.
The Platte County boys team had five individuals finish in the top 10. Sophomore Zaden Batey had the best finish, coming in fourth in the high jump with a 1.75m score while freshman Cassius Guillory finished sixth in the same event.
Sophomore Maverick Proncin finished sixth in 300m hurdles in 46.10s. The Pirates got 10th-place finishes from sophomore Tyler Bagwell in the 400m dash and freshman Steven James-Gallimore in the long jump.
Platte County’s success for the girls came from freshman duo London Hulett and Arsema Ayiche. Hulett finished seventh in triple jump with a 9.37-meter leap while Ayiche was eighth in 300m hurdles in 55.72s.
While Platte County track competed in Smithville, the Pirates’ throwers competed at the Kearney Throwers Meet. Senior Addison Schlake finished second in the discus with a toss of 35.69m and third in shot put at 10.06m while sophomore Kelly Bullano was third in javelin at 35.69m.