Platte County winter signing ceremony honors 6 who played big part in program superlatives

Platte County’s first signing ceremony of the school year included six seniors who have combined to help bring the Pirates seven state trophies and unprecedented individual all-state honors.

On Tuesday evening, family, friends, coaches and community members congregated inside Pirate Fieldhouse to celebrate the college choices of volleyball players Kendall Johnson (Illinois-Springfield) and Tatianna Murray (Kansas City (Kansas) Community College), baseball player Brayden Carter (Fort Scott (Kansas) Community College), softball player Emma Reed (Park University), tennis player Gavin Nichols (Nebraska Wesleyan) and dancer Tayla Luedke (Missouri Western). Below is a breakdown of accomplishments for each individual.

The pair of volleyball standouts helped Platte County to Class 4 third-place state finishes in both 2020 and 2022.

Recently named to the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association all-state team for a second consecutive season, Johnson committed to Division II Illinois-Springfield this past fall before recently making the signing official. She started three years and finished her career third all-time for kills at Platte County with 806, behind only Aly Anderson (811) and Kate Brown (893). She also ended up with 100 aces, 140 blocks and 490 digs as a full-rotation player.

Johnson’s final two seasons were remarkably consistent, totaling exactly 307 kills and 232 digs in both 2022 and 2023 despite playing 14 fewer sets this past fall. She set a career-high for kills in a match with 22 in a memorable regular season comeback win over rival Smithville. Her senior season also included 44 service aces and 38 blocks.

Murray also started three years but spent her sophomore and junior seasons playing mostly as a middle hitter, using her athletic ability to provide a strong combination of defense and offense pivotal to the team’s overall success. She went from 63 kills and 49 blocks as a sophomore to 187 kills and 89 blocks as a junior.

This past fall, Murray moved to the right side of attack and wound up behind only Johnson in total kills with 287, surpassing her total from the prior two years combined. She still added 60 blocks.

Platte County went 22-8-2 this past season, the seventh straight with at least 20 wins for a remarkably consistent program under coach Katlyn Donovan. The Pirates also claimed a third Class 4 District 8 title in the past four years before exiting the postseason with a tight five-set loss to St. Michael the Archangel in the state quarterfinals, coming up just short of a third state semifinal berth in four seasons. The two state trophy campaigns were sandwiched around a Class 5 District 8 championship match berth in a brief move into the state’s largest tier.

Carter goes into his senior spring having already played a big part in Platte County history. As a sophomore, he went from debuting midway through the season to one of three critical pitchers who helped lead the Pirates to the second baseball state title in program history, finishing with a 4-1 record, 1.44 ERA and 20 strikeouts to just five walks in 24 1/3 innings.

A left-hander headed to KCKCC before likely seeking a spot with a bigger program, Carter recorded saves in both the Class 5 quarterfinals and semifinals in the 2022 playoff run when Platte County won 17 of the final 19 games and finished with a 27-8 record. He then became the ace in an up-and-down 2023 season when the Pirates went 18-19 and lost to Smithville in the Class 5 District 8 semifinals.

Carter earned All-Suburban Conference White Division first team and pitcher of the year honors as a junior.

A four-year contributor, Reed signed with Park after a full season as a starter, mostly at third base but rotating to second base at times when Platte County used freshman Bryli Seifert at pitcher. Reed hit .376 with a .424 on-base percentage, collecting a team-high 11 doubles and two home runs out of her 32 hits. She finished with 11 walks, 32 runs and 24 RBIs while striking out just six times in 93 plate appearances.

Platte County (19-8) won 10 of 11 games late in the season this past fall but lost to Kearney in the Class 4 District 8 championship for a second straight year. Reed also played on the Pirates’ back-to-back Class 4 third-place state finishes in 2020 and 2021. She appeared in 20 games as a sophomore and had four doubles, one triple and one home run while hitting .425 in 40 at-bats then played in 25 games as a junior and hit .343 with four doubles, two triples, 17 runs scored and 14 RBIs, finishing the year as the starting second baseman.

Nichols has already staked claim to the title of best player in the boys tennis program’s history. Platte County’s last three years have produced the majority of state opportunities for a program started in the 2009-10 school year, and he played No. 1 singles for almost the entirety of that stretch.

Nichols brought by far the most state experience and bounced back from a disappointing end to his sophomore season. He went 3-2 as a freshman to become not only the first singles qualifier but the first medalist, as well, with a combination of a favorable draw and solid play.

Last spring, Nichols led Platte County (15-4) to the Class 2 District 8 championship — a program-first also resulting in an inaugural playoff appearance that ended with a loss Helias Catholic in a state quarterfinal. However, his season continued with a trip to the Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships in singles — his third straight appearance.

Nichols became the first singles district champion in Platte County history as a freshman then became the first to win a state match on the way to a historic seventh-place medal. He has now won three individual district titles but missed the podium as a sophomore when a tough draw in the bracket led to a 1-2 showing and earlier-than-expected exit.

As a junior, Nichols again went 3-2 at state but this time claimed sixth place after making the quarterfinals for the second time in three years.

Last year, a tough draw in the bracket resulted in a 1-2 trip that left Nichols outside of the top eight.

Nichols made the quarterfinals for the second time in three tries, opening Thursday with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 victory over Hannibal’s Parker Terrill. His first loss of the tournament came in the quarterfinals to Parkway Central’s Ayush Negi, who went on to finish fourth overall.

The win needed to put Nichols back in the medal rounds came in the form of a 6-2, 6-2 sweep of Gorka Yard-Zertuche of Missouri Military Academy. Nichols then made it two straight victories with a 7-5, 6-2 triumph over Barstow’s Liam Gordon, who led 2-1 in what became a tight opening set before fading.

Nichols’ tournament again ended with a 3-2 record, finishing sixth after 6-3, 6-2 loss to Arjun Puri of MICDS in the fifth-place match. He will pursue more program history this spring before continuing his career at Nebraska Wesleyan — a Division III school in Lincoln, Nebraska.

In addition, Nichols twice led Platte County in goals scored during soccer season — in 2021 and 2023.

Luedke plans to join Missouri Western’s Golden Girls after graduation. She spent the past two seasons as a member of the Platte County Treasures and helped the team earn back-to-back fourth-place state finishes in hip-hop dance as a a junior and senior.

As a sophomore Luedke competed on regional and state-qualifying cheerleading teams for Platte County. She plans to study nursing in college.