19 senior athletes make their fall college sports commitments
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (May 22, 2025) — The final National Letter of Intent day for the 2024-25 school year saw another 19 seniors representing Mt. Diablo, Carondelet, Clayton Valley Charter and De La Salle high schools make college commitments for the fall.
The April signings bring to 60 the local seniors who signed for college sports programs.
This group of signees will be taking part in collegiate swimming, soccer, basketball, track and field, wrestling and rugby.
Carondelet
Jadyn Ard (Rugby, Cal Berkeley)
Kelsey Castillo (Soccer, Chapman University)
Gianna Gnusti (Rugby, Oregon)
Jordan Kixmiller (Rugby, Fresno State)
Mackenzi McLaughlin (Rugby, Boise State)
Elizabeth Rachwald (Rugby, Naval Academy)
Renata Salerno (Soccer, Golden West College)
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Clayton Valley Charter
Diego Casteneda (Swimming, UC Santa Barbara)
Abbi Cooper (Wrestling, Lehigh)
Thea Jeffress (Track and Field, Fresno State)
Savannah Talmadge (Wrestling, Lindenwood)
De La Salle
Lukas Platzbecker (Rugby, Long Beach State)
Jasper Buttles (Rugby, Cal Berkeley)
Braddock Kjellesvig (Basketball, Chico State)
Sacha Cox (Rugby, University of San Diego)
Tyler Holmberg (Rugby, University of San Diego)
Peter McKenna (Rugby, Arizona)
Mt. Diablo
Natalie Dance (Basketball, Nelson University)
Stephanie Zuniga (Basketball, Pacific Union College)
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.