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Spotlight on prep linemen in Shawnee Heights' eighth annual Battle of the Bigs on July 8
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Linemen, football's unsung heroes, will be in the spotlight on Tuesday, July 8, when Shawnee Heights hosts its eighth annual "Battle of the Bigs'' lineman challenge (5:30 p.m. start).
Linemen will be able to compete as individuals and as a school in nine different non-contact events. Food and T-shirts will be provided for all participants. Cost is $25 and walk-ups are welcome. Contact Shawnee Heights football coach Jason Swift at
The "Battle of the Bigs'' is billed as an opportunity for offensive and defensive linemen to have fun over the summer in a non-contact competition.
Appoximately 90 linemen representing nine city and area high schools took part in the 2024 Battle of the Bigs.
Seaman's Ryin Miller repeats as Gatorade Kansas track athlete of the year
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman senior to be Ryin Miller has been named the Gatorade Kansas Girls Track and Field Player of the Year for the second straight season.
Seaman's Ryin Miller has been named the Gatorade Kansas track and field athlete of the year for the second straight season after winning three Class 5A state titles this past spring. [File photo/TSN]
Miller, a four-sport standout for the Vikings, Miller was earlier named the state’s 2024-25 Gatorade Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year, giving her three state Gatorade honors.
This past track season Miller swept the Class 5A 800 (2:11.14), 1,600 (4:57.33) and 3,200-meter runs (10:19.53) in the state meet at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium, giving her five career state titles.
Following her high school season Miller traveled to Eugene, Ore. for the Nike Outdoor Nationals, where she finished fifth in the championship division of the 3,000 meters (9:28.52) and fourth in the championship division of the mile run (4:42.58).
Miller's outstanding track campaign came on the heels of a banner cross country season last fall, which included the fastest five-kilometer run in Kansas history (16:32.62) and a runnerup finish in the 5A state meet (17:26.36).
Miller has maintained a 4.14 weighted grade point average in the classroom.
Hayden Hall of Famer Rick Strecker passes away after cancer battle
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Rick Strecker, a member of Hayden Catholic High School's first class of inductees into the school's Hall of Fame in 2021, passed away Saturday morning at the age of 67 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Rick Strecker, who led Hayden to five state titles and served his alma mater in a variety of roles, passed away Saturday after a battle with cancer. [File photo/TSN]
A 1976 Hayden graduate, Strecker served his alma mater as a physics and chemistry teacher, state championship coach, athletic director, principal and the school's president for nearly two decades before moving on to Blue Valley West in 2016.
Strecker, the student council president and athlete of the year as a senior at Hayden, led the Wildcats to three Class 4A state championships in girls basketball and two in track during his coaching career at the school.
“My time at Hayden will probably, except for my family, be the greatest blessing of my life,’’ Strecker told The Topeka Capital-Journal in 2016 after accepting his position at Blue Valley West. "To get the chance to go back there and coach with people like Jerry Simecka and Ben Meseke and Bobby Taul and work with them, but also to be in the same school where I went to high school and where my dad and mom and my grandparents went to high school has just been wonderful.''
Strecker continued to teach and coach in multiple sports at Blue Valley West, including serving as the Jaguars' head girls basketball coach, until being forced to step away after receiving his cancer diagnosis early in 2025.
Strecker was born on March 7, 1958, in Topeka to William and Theresa (Boos) Strecker.
He was baptized at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and attended St. Matthew’s grade school.
After graduating from Hayden High Strecker earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Benedictine College in 1980 and was also team captain of the basketball team.
He then earned an master's in physics from the Missouri-Kansas City in 1982 and an M.S. in education from the University of Kansas in 1999.
On August 22, 1987 Rick married Kathleen A. Rinella, and together they were blessed with four children.
Rick and Kathy met as teachers at Hayden and taught and coached together for many years. The Streckers lived in Topeka until 2016, when they relocated to Olathe after Kathy accepted a position at Rockhurst University and Rick a position at Blue Valley West.
Rick was recently honored to receive the Greater Kansas City Girls Basketball Lifetime Service Award.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his father in law, Anthony Rinella, grandparents Aloysius and Agnes Strecker, and Clemens and Amelia Boos, and his brother in law, John Whigham.
Rick is survived by his wife of 37 years, Kathy, and their children -- Jordan Strecker, Kristin (Seth) Wiedel, Shannon (Adam) Sova, and Mary Strecker (Grace Maddox). He was a proud grandfather to Nora, Tori, Leah, Matthew Wiede and Anthony Sova.
Strecker is also survived by his siblings -- Carol (Greg) Ingenthron, William (Dee) Strecker, Mark (Kris) Strecker and Scott (Heather) Strecker -- his mother in law, Susan Rinella, and his in-laws, Mike (Jennifer) Rinella, Ann Whigham, Mary (Peter) Lebourveau, Nancy (Chad) LaSala, and Christi (Mark) Douglas. He leaves behind many beloved cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and friends.
The Vigil Prayers will begin at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8, at St. Paul Catholic Church, 21650 W. 115th Terrace, Olathe, followed by visitation from 5:15-8 p.m.
Words of remembrance will begin at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, July 9, at St. Paul Catholic Church followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. Wednesday, also at St. Paul.
Inurnment will follow immediately after at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery in Lenexa.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:
- Hayden Catholic High School Foundation: Strecker Family Scholarship.
- St. Paul Catholic Church Capital Campaign.
- Benedictine College (Dr. A. Douglas Brothers Research Endowment).
• Catholic Community Health Hospice.
