By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremony turned into a family affair for the Stringers and Chipmans Wednesday night at the Washburn University Memorial Union.
Kelsey (Chipman) Stringer, a former volleyball star at Washburn Rural and Kansas State, speaks during Wednesday's Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Former Hayden state champion and Kansas State All-Big 12 offensive lineman Nick Stringer was inducted into the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame Wednesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Nick Stringer and Kelsey (Chipman) Stringer became just the second husband and wife to be inducted into the hall of fame, joining James Patrick and Nadira Hazim Patrick, inductees in 2012.
Introducing Kelsey was her brother, Bobby Chipman, while her father Bob Chipman, former Washburn men’s basketball coach and 2018 inductee, looked on. Introducing Nick Stringer was his father, former Hayden High School football coach Tom Stringer.
On top of entering the hall of fame together, the Stringers can look forward to celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary when they wake up tomorrow.
“I’m so proud to be from Topeka and part of Shawnee County,” Kelsey said. “The Chipman family and the Stringer family are people who have been in this community for a long time and are associated with athletics. So, to have the opportunity to go into the hall of fame together and to celebrate our community and our families was a special moment for us.”
The 2006 Washburn Rural graduate said she never met her future husband, a 2005 graduate of Hayden, while in high school. They were introduced just prior to her freshman season as a volleyball player at Kansas State University.
“Both being fall sport athletes, we were so busy throughout our seasons,” said Nick, a football player at K-State. “We’d see each other at the training table for dinner at study hall and were like ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ But then it was back to film study or workouts. So, we didn’t have a ton of time to date in college. We just saw each other when we could. But it was so awesome to know what each other was going through.”
Nick said being honored more than a decade after their playing days ended has brought back memories of not just their athletic careers, but their relationship.
“You lose a little touch with your career the further you get away from it,” Nick said. “When we found out that we were both getting inducted at the same time, it was so exciting to kind of relive some old memories and to celebrate each other.”
Former PBA Tour bowler and current Seaman coach Bob Benoit speaks during Wednesday's Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame induction ceremony. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The most notable story from the evening was one recounted by former professional bowler Bob Benoit. Sponsored early in his career by one-time presidential candidate Ross Perot, Benoit struggled to get his career off the ground. Praised for his perseverance, Benoit described how he once stopped his car on a bridge and dumped all his bowling balls, shoes and clothes into the Ohio River.
“If my car had said PBA on it, I would have driven it into the river, too,” Benoit said.
Benoit went on to become the first bowler to record a 300 game in a nationally televised championship event. He is now the bowling coach at Seaman High School, leading the Vikings to three state championships.
Seaman product Taylin Stallbaumer receives her Topeka Shawnee County Athlete of the Year award from Hall of Fame inductee Nick Stringer. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman senior Taylin Stallbaumer was the evening's lone dual award winner, claiming both Female Fall Athlete of the Year and Overall Female Athlete of the Year. She said the evening was a special opportunity for recent graduates to join in the celebration of their forerunners.
“There are a lot of great former athletes here to look up to,” Stallbaumer said. “I think it’s really important that they have an event like this that brings us together. It’s really a rewarding feeling to be up there with friends and past teammates and people you played against and be recognized.”
In partnership with A-1 Lock and Key, Washburn University, Capital Label, Peggy's Tax and Accounting and the Jamie Hornbaker State Farm Insurance Agency, the TopSports.news committee organized the event.
Vince Frye, a member of the committee, said Topeka and Shawnee County should be proud of the event and the caliber of members of the hall of fame.
“This is a special event because athletes are special,” Frye said. “The effort and the time they put into it and their families put into it and support them is enormous. To have the hall of famers tell what it took for them to be successful, that has a profound impact on these young athletes as they go forward.”
