Platte County’s smaller-school cross country programs delivered yet another strong showing on Nov. 8 at the MSHSAA Class 2 Championships, highlighted by a team plaque for the West Platte girls and a trio of all-state finishes for North Platte at Gans Creek in Columbia.
West Platte earned second place in the girls team standings with 116 points, finishing behind only Lexington for the second consecutive year, securing the eighth plaque in the history of the Blue Jays’ girls program. North Platte Chloe Heckman, Drake Keraus and William Schaffart each earned all-state medals to conclude their careers inside the top 15.
Charlotte Gillis in the district meet on Nov. 1.
For West Platte’s girls team, freshman Charlotte Gillis led the way in her state debut, placing 23rd in 20 minutes, 27.11 seconds. Senior Payton Reber narrowly missed out on all-state by finishing 32nd overall in 20:58.43, while Addison Bailey (38th, 21:17.01), Megan Cline (47th, 21:34.39) and Jersey O’Neal (53rd, 21:42.44) rounded out the scoring with a tight pack that helped the Blue Jays separate from the rest of the field.
North Platte senior Chloe Heckman added another standout performance to cap off her remarkable cross country career as a Panther, placing fourth with a career-best time of 19:09.79 to secure her fourth all-state medal. As North Platte’s lone representative in the girls race, Heckman made her presence felt with her fourth straight finish inside the top seven to further cement her place in the program’s history.
On the boys side, both West Platte and North Platte cracked the top 10 in the team standings, with the Blue Jays finishing ninth (197 points) after winning the district title and the Panthers taking 10th (205) after previously finishing as the district runner-up.
North Platte was powered by two all-state efforts from the senior duo of Drake Keraus and William Schaffart, who both smashed career records. Keraus finished sixth in 16:06.21 to claim his second straight state medal while Schaffart followed in 15th at 16:31.64, as the pairing was one of only two to finish inside the top 15. North Platte’s scoring was rounded out by Trey Heckman (18:21.46), Carter Kreifels (18:22.12) and Devin Navarro (19:01.59).
West Platte’s boys used a more balanced performance to edge the Panthers in the final standings. Sophomore Charles Trease led the Blue Jays in 36th with a 17:20.61 finish, followed by senior Noah Rees (17:46.82), Benjamin Pendergast (17:56.29), Collin Frederick (17:58.26) and Samuel Miller (18:06.18).
With multiple all-state performances and a girls team award Platte County’s Class 2 programs left Columbia having showcased grit and determination all season long. All three of North Platte’s all-state honorees will graduate for a new wave of Panther runners to carve out a new path while West Platte will return the majority of their cross country leaders.