Platte County’s first signing ceremony of 2022-23 honors 16 seniors

Platte County’s first signing ceremony for 2022-2023 held off until everyone could fill the floor of the recently opened Pirate Fieldhouse. On Tuesday night, 16 seniors celebrated their decision to continue their athletic or activity careers at the next level.

The accomplished group included seven members of Platte County’s 2022 Class 4 state championship baseball team, four football players, three softball standouts, an all-state soccer performer and a speech and debate star. Below is a look at each of the signees.

April Bobowski, Northwest Missouri State, speech and debate

A four-year participate, Bobowski accumulated more than 700 points and earned Superior Distinction. Her 21 career medals include four individual wins, four runnerup showings and three third-place finishes across a wide variety of events, including dramatic interpretation, humorous interpretation, prose, poetry, oral interpretation program, radio speaking, duo interpretation, duet acting, Lincoln-Douglas debate, and public forum debate.

Bobowski plans to study mathematics education while competing for the Bearcats.

Chandavian Bradley, Tennessee, football

The biggest recruit in program history, Bradley chose Tennessee over a slew of Division I offers received over a high-profile three-year recruiting period. He joins the Volunteers as a consensus top-100 player nationally with potential to contribute as an edge rusher or pass catcher after a diverse senior season.

Bradley started his career as a situational pass rusher during his sophomore year and finished his career with 15 sacks in three seasons along with 11 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and a defensive touchdown. He ended up as a second team selection to the Missouri Football Coaches Association Class 5 all-state team as a senior at defensive end after posting 35 tackles (two for loss), two sacks and two forced fumbles.

However, injuries also led Platte County coach Bill Utz to use the 6-foot-5 athletic specimen on offense, as well. Bradley finished with 12 catches for 401 yards — an astounding 33.4 yards per reception — and seven touchdowns, tied for the team lead. This included a two-catch, 112-yard, two-score performance in a 33-21 season-ending loss to Oak Park in the Class 5 District 8 semifinals.

Platte County’s seniors started their careers mostly on the peripheral of the 2019 and 2020 runs to the Class 4 and Class 5 Show-Me Bowls resulting in back-to-back state runnerup finishes. They were part of 13 wins the past two seasons as schedule difficulty ratcheted up in wake of those historic seasons.

After losing the first two games of the season to Class 4 powerhouses Kearney and Smithville by a combined 10 points, Platte County ended up with an uneven 5-6 record, failed to reach a district title game for the first time since 2014 and posted the program’s first losing record since 2013.

All five teams Platte County lost to this season — Smithville, Kearney, Grain Valley, Oak Park and Park Hill South — made district championships game appearances. Additionally, Raytown, which the Pirates beat 31-26 in Week 6 to start a 4-1 stretch that allowed them to reach .500, played Grain Valley in the Class 5 District 7 title game.

Bradley currently serves as the centerpiece for Platte County’s basketball team. He scored in double figures as a junior and currently averages 15.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.9 blocks per game for the Pirates (8-11). He averaged double figures in scoring as a junior and helped them to back-to-back 20-win seasons in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Aaron Cordova, Washington and Lee, soccer

Completing a unique journey at Platte County, Cordova finished his career as a Class 3 Missouri High School Soccer Coaches Association all-state selection at forward this past season after leading the Pirates in scoring and finishing second in assists. He helped them to a 17-5 record overall and unblemished (8-0) Suburban Conference White Division championship.

Cordova dealt with a nagging quad injury that limited his number of games.

This came after Cordova helped lead Platte County to a program-best Class 3 state runnerup finish as a freshman in 2019. In fact, he scored the winning goal against Grain Valley in the state quarterfinals to send the Pirates to the semifinals for the first time ever. He garnered second team Suburban Conference Blue Division and second team All-Class 3 District 16 honors.

Cordova then chose pursuits outside of high school soccer but returned for his season season and earned offensive MVP for Platte County a second time in addition to moving up to first team White Division and first team All-Class 3 District 8. The Pirates season ended with a 2-1 upset loss to Pembroke Hill in the district semifinals.

In addition, Cordova kicked for the football team and went 22 of 24 on extra points and 4 of 9 on field goals. He suffered an elbow injury in the district semifinal soccer loss that also ended his football season.

Washington and Lee is a Division III program in Lexington, Virginia.

Cameron Dean, Missouri Western, baseball

Dean split time as the starting catcher last season and goes into the spring as the likely No. 1 at that spot following the graduation of all-stater Jake Knudsen. As a junior, he played in 23 games with a .256 batting average but a .450 on-base percentage thanks to thanks to 13 walks and four hit by pitch. His 10 hits included a double and a triple to go with an RBI and a run scored.

On defense, Dean committed just one error.

With a deep roster last season, Platte County (27-8) completed a swift two-year rebuild following the cancelation of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 and slowly pieced out the eventual final lineup, winning 17 out of 19 in the closing stretch. The Pirates went into 2021 with virtually no experience and enjoyed a successful but disappointing season that ended in the Class 5 District 8 semifinals, and many of the seniors saw their first varsity action last year while ending up with a share of the Suburban Conference Blue Division title, the program’s first playoff berth since 2017, the second state semifinals appearance and first state title since 2002.

Dean also contributed at linebacker for Platte County’s football team the past two years. He had eight tackles (two for loss) and a fumble recovery as a junior but ended up starting part of his senior season and compiled 51 tackles (two for loss), one sack, one fumble recovery and an interception.

Zach Gaspers, Baker, baseball

Gaspers projects as a catcher for the NAIA program in Baldwin, Kansas. He did not appear in a varsity game as a junior but could provide depth behind Dean this spring.

Jordy Hedrick, Butler (Kansas) Community College, baseball

An injury kept Hedrick out for the majority of his junior season. However, he came up with one of the biggest hits in program history.

Hedrick’s first at-bat of the season resulted in a walk and a run scored in Platte County’s Class 4 District 8 first round blowout of KC East. His next chance came in the sixth inning of the state championship game against Festus, and he delivered a two-out, two-run single to provide some needed cushion in what ended up a 6-1 victory.

Now, Hedrick goes into the season likely a key piece at a yet to be determined position as Platte County looks to defend last year’s title.

Hedrick also spent this past fall as the No. 1 goalkeeper for Platte County’s soccer team, accumulating four cleansheets and showing a penchant for stopping penalty kicks. His most memorable performance came against rival Smithville when he stopped two spot kicks in a 3-0 shootout victory.

With Cordova having absences late in the season, Hedrick eventually served as a spot-duty placekicker for Platte County’s football team and went 7 of 10 on extra points.

TK Lawson, Lincoln, softball

A three-year starter, Lawson finished her senior season with a team-highs of nine doubles, eight home runs and 40 RBIs with a .351/.433/.779 slash line for batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. She also hit eight home runs with 47 RBIs and 26 runs scored while slashing .476/.556/.841 as a junior and played a key role on offense in leading the Pirates to back-to-back Class 4 state third-place finishes.

As a junior, Lawson earned first team Missouri Fastpitch Coaches Association Class 4 all-state horns at infield when Platte County reached state and beat Incarnate Word for third place after a semifinal loss to Washington. The Pirates went 21-10.

In 2020, Platte County went 21-2 with a loss to Webb City in the Class 4 state semifinals ending the season and forcing the Pirates to share third place with COVID-19 protocols canceling the consolation games.

Lawson homered in each of the final two district games this past season, and Platte County built leads of 4-1 and 5-2 against Kearney in the Class 4 District 8 championship game but ended up with a 14-5 loss after allowing 11 runs in the decisive bottom of the sixth. The Bulldogs also won the regular season meeting between the two teams 7-6 and went on to capture the Class 4 state championship.

As a senior, Lawson earned first team All-White Division, All-Class 4 District 8 and All-Class 4 Region 4 honors, making her a three-time honoree at each level. She joins the Division II Blue Tigers, who are planning to transition to the Great Lakes Valley Conference and out of the MIAA.

Aidan Norris, Iowa Western Community College

Norris appeared in four games as a junior, including one start, and pitched 6 1/3 innings. He finished with a 1-1 record, six strikeouts, five walks and a 6.63 ERA in limited duty.

The win for Norris came in a start against Grandview when he allowed only one earned run in two innings while striking out four.

Platte County will be looking for additional innings this season after graduating all-state lefty Sawyer Allen and two-year standout Landon Fulk plus swingman Kole Jenks — a trio that combined for nearly 50 percent of the innings in last year’s 27-8 run to a state title.

Abby Reynolds, Benedictine, softball

A four-year contributor, Reynolds started part of her freshman season, ended up a key piece in the postseason as a sophomore and then became a regular in center field each of the past two seasons.

Over the past two years, Reynolds earned all-conference, all-district and all-region honors while also helping Platte County to three straight district championship game appearances, two state semifinals and two third-place state trophies.

Reynolds hit .305 with a .425 on-base percentage as a senior, compiling 18 hits (two doubles), 12 RBIs, 13 runs scored and seven stolen bases. She also had 12 walks and nine sacrifice bunts.

As a junior, Reynolds hit a career-best .347 to go with a .495 on-base percentage with much more power. Her 26 hits included eight doubles, one triple and one home run, while she scored 47 runs and drove in 16. She walked 22 times and stole 10 bases.

Carter Salzman, Arkansas State, football

Salzman became the second Division I commit for this year’s Platte County class, finding a home for his shifty, speedy wide receiver skillset.

A three-year starter, Salzman emerged as a slot threat in a deep corps as a sophomore and finished with 33 catches for 451 yards and five total touchdowns (two rushing). Two of his receiving touchdowns came in a memorable win in the Class 5 semifinals at Webb City to send Platte County to a second straight state title game after the Pirates finished as Class 4 runnerup to Webb City a year earlier in a unique twist.

Salzman’s best season came as a sophomore when he led Platte County with 48 catches and 542 yards and finishing tied with Cole Rhoden with four touchdowns. This ended with him receiving first team all-conference and all-district honors.

However, Salzman’s senior season mostly ended up in mostly disappointment. He accumulated 13 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown in the first seven quarters but suffered a broken collarbone in Week 2 against Smithville.

Returning for a Class 5 District 8 semifinal played in a steady, cold rain, Salzman’s only catch and the final one of his career came on a two-point conversion during a loss to Oak Park.

Salzman also ran on a then-school-record-holding 4×100-meter relay for Platte County as a sophomore but missed most of last season due to an injury. He also pole vaulted in the postseason each of the past two years.

James Schwieder, Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College, baseball

A pitcher and infielder, Schwieder started at various points of each of the past two seasons and could be a key piece for the pitching staff and/or lineup as a senior.

As a junior, Schneider pitched 15 2/3 innings but did not appear on the mound for Platte County after April 22. He started four games and compiled a 2-1 record , while striking out 26 and walking 11. His ERA 4.02.

Schwieder also hit .306 with a .424 on-base percentage, four doubles, 10 RBIs and 17 runs scored. He had just 10 plate appearances as a sophomore but pitched nine games — five starts — and finished with 20 2/3 innings, 31 strikeouts, 18 walks and a 5.08 ERA.

Mackenzie Shields, Missouri S&T, softball

A two-year starter at third base and top relief pitcher, Shields found a home at a Division II program in Rolla. She also played on the back-to-back Class 4 state third-place teams and earned first team MFCA Class 4 all-state honors her junior year as an at-large selection.

Shields broke out in 2021 after previously playing a reserve role for Platte County. She hit a blistering-hot .474 with a .538 on-base percentage and .910 slugging that included six home runs, three triples and two doubles while driving in 34 and scoring 35.

On the mound, Shields started five games and appeared in 11 total with a 3.98 ERA, striking out 20 and walking 20 in 31 2/3 innings.

Shields’ senior season finished with all-conference, all-district and all-region honors after she slashed .419/.457/.628 with two home runs, three triple, six doubles, 31 RBIs and 24 runs scored. Her innings pitch finished at 28 2/3 with 17 strikeouts and 14 walks.

Nate Walls, Washburn, football

A transfer from Park Hill, Walls scored a touchdown on the first touch of his Platte County career in the 2021 season-opener — recovering a blocked punt in the end zone against Park Hill South. He originally slotted as a wide receiver-running back hybrid but settled into a lead rusher role as a junior after an injury to starter Ben McDaniel.

Walls ended 2021 with team-highs of 164 carries for 770 yards and 14 touchdowns to go with five catches for 83 yards and another score. He ran for 100 yards or more in four straight games at one point, scoring four touchdowns on the ground in two of those wins — at Raytown South and vs. Lansing to close the regular season.

As a senior, Walls suffered a shoulder injury early in the season that limited his productivity and kept him out of the Class 5 District 8 opener against William Chrisman. He still led Platte County 357 yards rushing and three touchdowns plus career-highs of 18 catches and 208 yards receiving and two more scores.

Walls also scored one touchdown as a sophomore at Park Hill and earned all-conference honors each of his three years — once each in the Red, Blue and White Divisions.

As a junior, Walls ran on the school-record-breaking 4×100 relay that earned Class 4 all-state honors as well as Platte County’s 4×200 relay. However, he recently underwent major shoulder surgery and will not be able to run this spring while recovering.

Dayne Wimberly, State Fair (Missouri) Community College, baseball

Emerging as a top-of-the order hitter and everyday outfielder, Wimberly hit .338 with a .410 on-base percentage and .964 while helping lead Platte County to the second state title in program history. He compiled 25 hits with five doubles, one triple and three home runs while driving in 20 and scoring 16 runs.

Wimberly also walked eight times and stole seven bases. He homered and drove in five runs in a Class 4 District 8 opening round blowout of Kansas City East, and four of his eight hits in the postseason went for extra bases.

As a result, Wimberly earned first team All-White Division honors as an outfielder and projects as a full-time starter again this year for Platte County.

Cameron Wolfe, Pittsburg State, football

A two-year starter and three-year contributor for Platte County, Wolfe consistently performed as a versatile piece on defense. He earned all-conference and all-district honors as a senior at safety despite a lingering hamstring injury that limited him in multiple games and kept him out multiple weeks. He also made the all-conference and all-district teams as a junior at defensive back/linebacker.

Wolfe’s sophomore season included 16 tackles, 1 1/2 sacks and two interceptions as a reserve. He enjoyed his best season as a junior with 51 tackles (four for loss), three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and two defensive touchdowns.

Despite the early season injury, Wolfe came back to post 31 tackles (5 1/2 for loss) plus three interceptions — one he nearly returned for a score in a pivotal moment of the season-opener against Kearney. His two career touchdowns came in a rivalry victory over Smithville and a Class 5 District 8 semifinal win over North Kansas City in the 2021 season.

Dylan Zimmerman, Highland (Kansas) Community College, baseball

Perhaps right now still best known for his quarterback play, Zimmerman will go to the collegiate level in baseball as a multi-faceted baseball player. He received 26 plate appearances as a junior outfielder/pitcher with a .211 batting average but .385 on-base percentage. His offensive numbers included six RBIs and 14 runs scored

Zimmerman also pitched 20 innings with one start and allowed only six earned runs while while striking out 22 and walking only seven. He finished with a 2.10 ERA in 10 appearances (one start) and did not allow an earned runs in seven straight appearances at one point in the season.

In football, Zimmerman patiently waited for his opportunity and started all 11 games this past season. He completed 191 of 350 passes for 2,758 yards — including a career-high 309 in back-to-back games against North Kansas City and Grain Valley — and 28 touchdowns with 14 interceptions. He added two scores on the ground.

Zimmerman earned all-conference honors at quarterback (second team) and punter (first team).