This blog is for posting all news of Rossville residents and Rossville High alumni. Bookmark this page and send any appropriate news (births, deaths, engagements, marriages, anniversaries, job changes, honors, etc.) items to: Frank.Ruff@juno.com .
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Topeka - James Roger
Hagedorn, 67, passed away on January 12th, 2022, in Topeka, Kansas. A Kansas
native, James was born to Don & Myra(Brenner) on April 8th, 1954. In 1972,
James graduated from Rossville High School and would go on to attend classes at
Kansas State University. He would retire from the US Postal Service in 2015,
where he met his life partner, Kate.
A
lifelong mechanic, James worked on anything with an engine. At age 10, he built
his first motorcycle. Working for multiple shops throughout his life, he
mastered the ability to fix anything small or large, a skill that would follow
him into retirement. James was also an avid sports fan. He would enjoy
basketball & football while rooting for The Kansas Jayhawks & The
Kansas City Chiefs. Golf later became an active interest as well. Alongside
traveling across many countries with his father growing up, James would travel,
especially going to California to visit his family. He also enjoyed repairing
& building computers.
Preceded
in death are his parents, daughter, Jaymie Hagedorn, and his Life Partner, Kate
Miller. Survived by James are three children; Joshua, Traci, & Brandi
Hagedorn, as well as his sister, Donna Lasswell. Additionally, he is survived
by his two grandchildren; Riley & Evalyn King.
A Visitation will be held
from 5-7PM on Friday, January 21st, at Penwell-Gabel Midtown, 1321 SW 10th
Avenue, Topeka. A Funeral Service will be held on January 22nd, at 10AM at
Penwell-Gabel Midtown, will burial to follow at Memorial Park Cemetery.
Kansas Wesleyan U. defeated McPherson College on Sat., Jan. 15, 95-84 in Double Overtime. Amanda Hill had 21 pts, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 6 assists. Caila Hill had 9 points rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 assists. Al the game details can be read at: https://www.kwucoyotes.com/SIDHelp/fullBoxScores/23/2/9229
Kansas Wesleyan lost to Friends U. 73-66, Monday, Jan 10. Amanda Hill had 17 pts, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals. Caila Hill had 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. You can read the game details at: Box Score KWU-Friends game
Edward Paul Simecka, 78, passed away peacefully with family by his side Tuesday, January 11, 2022, at the St. Marys Manor.
He was born January 20, 1943, at Delia, the son of James E. and Regina M. “Sally” Dohrman Simecka. Ed was raised in the Delia community and graduated from Delia High School in 1961.
After graduation he was employed as a tire builder for Goodyear Tire and Rubber in Topeka retiring in 1998 after 37 years of service. Ed served in the United States Army. In 1969 he coached the Immaculate Conception Catholic Grade Schools boys’ basketball team and was proud to do so, he loved to talk about it though-out the years. Ed was a member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church; he also was a member of the United Rubber Workers Union.
Ed always had a unique style. He loved his family, cars, music, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Royals, and the KU Jayhawks.
In 1966 he started his family with Judy Perry. They had two children Jacqueline, and Christopher.
Ed was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Jo Endicott.
Survivors include his son, Christopher Simecka, Topeka; his daughter, Jacqueline (Tim) Moylan, St. Marys; Their children, Kayla, Shannon, Maria, Anna, Daniel, and Catherine; two brothers, James L. Simecka, Wamego, and Gerald R. (Eva) Simecka, Topeka; sisters, Mary Barr, Lincoln, NE, Judy (Doyle) Kizzire, in Lawson, MO, Pat Skaggs, Topeka, Dee Dee (Steve) Kennedy, Topeka, Barbara Froelich, Kansas City, and Ginger (Lloyd) Lynch, Web City, MO; many nieces and nephews and friends.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 A.M. Tuesday, January 18. 2022 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Interment will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery, St. Marys. Ed will lie in state at Piper Funeral Home from 4:00 until the rosary at 6:00 P.M. Monday, January 17, 2022. Memorial Contributions may be made to St. Marys Manor and sent in care of Piper Funeral Home, 714 Maple Street, St. Marys, Kansas 66536.
Rossville sophomore wrestler Kendra Hurla is off to
a fantastic defense of her 120-pound state title she won as a
freshman after going 5-0 on Saturday at the Rossville
Invitational while wrestling a class up at 126.
Hurla came into
Saturday with a 9-0 record and nine first-period pins.
She won by fall over
Santa Fe Trail's Savana Hook, Chandler Lill and Hayden's Rachel Burrough's in
the first three rounds, won a decision over teammate wrestler Keera Lacock in
the fourth round and won by injury default over McClouth's Leighanna Patz in
the final round.
Looking back on her
journey so far on Friday before the Invitational, Hurla said she didn't
envision being where she is today, an undefeated sophomore defending a state
title.
"Going back to
eighth grade, I thought I'd be a pretty good wrestler," said Hurla.
"I never really thought of states. It's odd saying, but I didn't
think I'd be here a sophomore year, maybe junior or senior year. It's really
crazy, especially some of the teachers I have saying, 'What’s up, state champ?' It's
like, 'Oh that did happen,' It's crazy. I'm proud of it."
Wrestling is in her blood
Hurla has been
around wrestling her whole life.
Her dad, Chris, and
his brothers wrestled in high school, and he's coached kids club
for a long time in the area. All three of her older
brothers wrestled, too.
Hurla and her
brothers all started around the age of 4.
"My brothers
all wrestled at home," said Hurla. "It felt natural for me
starting at a young age."
After she stopped
wrestling as she got older to play volleyball, she was still around the
sport, going to her brother's high school tournaments and matches and said
she loved watching.
That led to her
becoming a team manager in seventh grade.
"I looked up to
the guys on the high school team," said Hurla. "Being a
manager made me miss (wrestling)."
Horgan is a close
friend of the Hurla family.
"I had a couple
of girl wrestlers, (Kendra) would come to practice," said Horgan.
"And two to three times a week I'd grab her and say, 'Hey Kendra, show her
this,' always keeping her involved. Eighth grade, I talked her into
wrestling."
Hurla was nervous
about diving back in but those concerns were alleviated as she held her own all
year and wrestled well late in the year against someone that had beaten her
several times.
"In league, I
was the one that lasted the longest with him," said Hurla. "I
was happy with that because I knew I had gotten better throughout the year
because the last match with him was better."
Even in eighth
grade, Horgan said Hurla showed flashes of what everyone sees today.
"She’s
fierce, man," said Horgan. "As tough as they come. She grew up
with three older brothers, no choice but to be tough."
Chris was hesitant
to see Hurla start wrestling again in eighth grade, especially with the thought
of wrestling boys in high school, but with KSHSAA sanctioning girls wrestling
as a high school sport it changed things.
"I was tickled
about it," said Chris on Hurla's return to the mat. "I was
definitely happy."
Winning a state title
Hurla won the
school's first-ever girls wrestling state title last year when she beat the No.
1 ranked wrestler in Paola's Kailyn Younger with a second-period pin.
Younger entered the
match with a 26-1 record and had just beaten Hurla in the sub-state championship
match.
After watching that
substate back with last year's coach Brandy Lowe, Hurla said she was going
to make Younger wrestle all three periods if she wanted to win the state
title.
"I knew going
in I had her where I could gas her if I stayed up," said Hurla. "That
sub-state match I got caught in the headlock and I knew if I grinded, worked
hard and stayed in stance that I could beat her. I went out with the mentality
there was no way she would take it in the three periods and I think that really
helped me."
"It was a blur,
to be honest," said Hurla. "All that work we had put in had paid off
and I beat her. That one match I had to get that year, it was relieving and the
best result it could've been."
Chris said Hurla's
state title was the first in the immediate families and recalled watching the
match, the pin and Hurla's hand being raised.
"It was very
exciting," said Chris on what emotions he felt watching. "I don't
know if I have words for it."
With Hurla's oldest
brother, Holden, passing away earlier in the year, the win meant more to
everyone in Rossville.
"Our oldest son
that had worked with her had an influence on her," said
Chris. "I think all my kids were wrestling for him last year."
Watching that match
was something Horgan will always remember.
"That was an
emotional time for our whole team. Two brothers on the boys team, her on
the girls team. Her jumping into her dad's arms after that match, that's
in here for forever," said Horgan tapping his head. "I'll never
forget that. That was a pretty special deal."
Back for more
Coming into this
year, in addition to repeating as a state champion, Hurla's goals were to
get better on her feet and improve other aspects of her game to set a
bigger gap between the other wrestlers in her class.
She's been working
since the summer with other wrestlers including a longtime friend and teammate
Keera Lacock, who placed fourth in the state last year at 115.
"We hold each
other accountable to go hard," said Hurla of Lacock, her practice partner
since middle school, "because we know we can do it. We’ve been there
and we know what it takes."
Lacock was someone
else who encouraged Hurla to wrestle in the eighth grade after she had
convinced her dad to let her wrestle if she could find a partner.
Lacock saw Hurla's
talent from a young age just like everyone else.
"She's always
been a really good wrestler," said Lacock. "Our brothers both
wrestled, we would go to kids club wrestling and wrestle there. She knew what
she was doing, I didn't know what I was doing. She's helped me improve a
lot, I feel like we push each other a lot."
Lacock said Hurla
has the talent, skill and form and that her own relentless effort makes them a
good sparring pair to help each other get better.
Although Horgan took
over as the girls head coach this year, the boys and girls teams went to
several of the same tournaments last year, he was in the coach's corner during
her post-season run and the boys and girls practices have been combined
since the latter part of last year.
"They work out
with the guys, and she doesn’t bat an eye at the stuff we do," said
Horgan. "It gets pretty intense in there sometimes. She doesn’t balk a
bit. I've known that for years."
"As an athlete,
especially with wrestling being mainly a guy sport, I won’t let a guy be better
than me just because of someone’s position," said Hurla. "I
won’t let it happen. Courtney has helped us with that, he doesn’t let us off the
hook because we're females. I really appreciate that, it helps to push and
drive me to be better than others."
Horgan said Hurla
not only a leader for the girls team but the program overall.
"At the
beginning of the year I tell all my teams, 'You don't have to be a senior to be
a leader,'" said Horgan. "It can be anybody. It's been cool seeing
her, not only as a sophomore but a female stepping into that leadership
role. She steps up and barks orders in the room pretty well. That's
always been impressive."
Her competitive fire
has been around ever since she was born, said Chris.
"If she doesn’t
like something, she’ll say it," said Chris. "I guess with all the
boys here, if you lose, there will be some words about you. You don't want
to lose. She doesn’t like to lose. She wants to win."
When asked where
that competitive fire comes from, Hurla says some of it is from wrestling at a
young age and some of it is just instinct.
"I've always been
competitive whether family games or any type of sport," said
Hurla. "I don't like losing."
Rossville used a
full-court press against Riley County, something that they've showcased already
and will continue to use despite a short bench.
In the third quarter,
it began to give Riley County trouble and allowed them to get back in the game
and that's despite having just 12 players in the program.
"We worked on it
ever since the season started," said Bell. "It works better for
our girls, the personnel we have. We do a lot of running during practice.
They're in good shape."
Senior
Caylee Douglas, Perine, Haehn, Mitchell are all quick with active
hands forcing turnovers and applying high pressure constantly.
"If all
five players on the court are committed, we're a tough team to
play," said Bell. "Tonight, felt like we had two or
three per possession, we have to have all five. It's something we're
implementing, doesn't always work in the first quarter but wears teams
down in the second or third."
Kansas Wesleyan U. lost their Jan 8 girls basketball game with Bethel College. Amanda Hill had 10 pts, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. Her sister Caila had 2 pts, 2 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. For game stats and recap, go to: KWU coyotes game stats
Topeka - Phyllis "Kate" Miller, 61, of Topeka, passed away on January 5, 2022 surrounded by her children.
She was born on November 12, 1960 to Clyde and Phyllis (Sorden) Miller in Topeka, KS.
Kate graduated from Washburn University in 1995 with a degree in business. She worked for the United States Postal Service for 24 years. Kate went above and beyond in her role as a mother to her children, and without hesitation would extend that "momness" to the friends and significant others of her children. She loved being a grandmother more than anything, often spoiling her grandchildren & telling stories about them whenever she got the chance.
Kate is survived by her life partner, James Hagedorn; children, Katie (Phillip) Martin, Morgan (Leonard Cobin Jr.) McNorton, Thomas McNorton, and Haley (Andrew) Golding; grandchildren, Grace Bartley, Jacob Bartley, Camden Martin, and expecting Baby Martin in August 2022.
She was preceded in death by both of her parents; her sister, Peggy Wilkinson, and her son-in-law Kyle Bartley.
Memorial services will be held on Thursday, January 20, 2022, 3:00 pm at the Parker-Price Cremations, Funerals & Receptions.
Memorial contributions may be made to Kate Miller Fund to be used for her grandchildren's future.
To leave a special message for the family online, please visit www.ParkerPriceFH.com.
