Inductees

Former Platte County wrestling assistant coach Rick Frazier noticed a difference in how head coach Phil Dorman ran his program when he joined the Pirates in the fall of 2002.

“The first year I coached at Platte County, we had two individual state champions, but as a team we finished just off the podium,” Frazier said. “I was thrilled to be part of a team that was in the hunt because I had never experienced that before. So, after the tournament was over, I asked Coach Dorman if he would rather have a state title for the team with no individual champs, or two state champions and no team title?

“He looked at me and said, ‘I’d rather have 13 individual titles and a team state title’,” Frazier said. “That sums up the level of expectation Phil had for the program and the kids. He wanted to win everything.”

Dorman and Platte County won plenty, grabbing seven team state titles (2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2010), finishing as runner-up in 1999, and producing 27 individual state champions between 1999 and 2010.

That commitment to excellence is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted the Platte County High School Wrestling Era of 1999-2010 as members of the Class of 2024.

Frazier served as the head coach at nearby Smithville when Dorman first arrived at Platte County in 1994.

“When Phil first got to Platte County, we were beating them,” Frazier said. “He tried to instill some things that were hard for the kids to accept. They weren’t buying in yet. Once they bought in, they took off.”

The ’97 team finished third in the state, while the ’99 team finished as runner-up, with Jeremy Duncan earning an individual state title. That was the beginning of a dominant run.

“We could always see it building but I don’t know if we realized just how good some of these teams were going to be,” said former assistant and current Platte County head coach Reggie Burres.

After winning the program’s first team state title in 2000, the Pirates turned in a performance for the ages the next year. The 2001 team set multiple MSHSAA records, including most points scored at a state tournament (265.5), largest margin of victory (133.5), most individual champions (seven, tied with two others) and most medalists at a single state tournament (12, tied with two others).

“The state championship matches in 2001 were pretty special,” said two-time state champion Brett Rolofson. “It seemed like the whole town of Platte City showed up. The crowd was wearing ‘2001 State Champions’ t-shirts before the final matches even started.”

The Pirates three-peated by winning state titles in 2002 and 2003. As the success continued, one thing became clear: Phil Dorman was the reason. And he was determined to make the entire team successful, not just one or two wrestlers.

“He was very organized and had a great vision of where he wanted to go,” said Burres. “He knew the process we needed to go through to get there as a team.”

Platte County was so good during this run that twice (2006, 2010) they didn’t win a single individual title but still managed to win the team championship.

“The two state championships without an individual champion were pretty memorable,” said Burres. “Everyone had to do their part.”

Dorman was the guiding hand at every turn.

“He was tough on us, but tough in a good way,” said 2005 state champion Julian Gunnels. “He knew how to coach each kid differently. He’s a nice guy, he’s a tough guy and he’s a lovable guy. He has so many different qualities. Most coaches don’t know how to channel that to each individual athlete.

“He won’t ever take the credit, because that’s the type of person he is.”

And, of course, Dorman kept his teams focused.

“We always had the toughest schedule,” Rolofson said. “We always wrestled up. He never shied away from competition. The state championship was always the prize.”

Eight different wrestlers earned multiple state championships during the era, including Rolofson (2001, 2002), Chase Verdoorn (2000, 2001, 2002), Tyler St. Louis (2005, 2007, 2008), Bobby Fisher (2001, 2001), Jake Fisher (2001, 2002), Zach Sherman (2001, 2002), Jake Mallonee (2004, 2005), and Collin Wittmeyer (2008, 2009).

Most of all, those Platte County teams were family.

“We all grew up together and over the years formed a brotherhood,” Rolofson said. “Wrestling is often considered an individual sport, but I really felt like I was part of a team. When my friends and teammates were wrestling, I felt like I was just as involved in their matches as they were. It was special.”