Harvard’s Stricker stellar in athletics, academics

Taryn Stricker of Harvard (left) and Jordan Neukirch of Huntley are the Northwest Herald Athletes of the Year. (Travis Haughton – thaughton@nwherald.com)

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Some athletes are naturally gifted; others are diligent workers who push themselves to their bodies’ limits.

Harvard’s Taryn Stricker is both, blessed with natural athleticism coupled with a dedication and commitment to improvement.

The recent Harvard graduate, who also was the 2009 class valedictorian, strove for excellence both on the field and in the classroom, setting a strong example for her younger teammates and embodying the aim of high school athletics.

Stricker finished her four- year athletic career at Harvard this spring having earned 10 varsity letters, playing three sports each year while still managing to lead her class academically.

“Sometimes when you have a kid who has a lot of physical talent, they might figure ‘OK, I’m good, so I don’t have to work at it,’ ” Harvard soccer coach David Abel said. “But Taryn was never like that. She put her time in – in the gym and on the soccer field – as well as in the classroom.”

For Stricker’s accomplishments during her tenure at Harvard, she is the Northwest Herald Female Athlete of the Year, selected via a vote by sports staff members after being nominated by the school’s athletic director.

Dr. Steven Rochell will contribute $2,500 to Harvard’s athletic programs in Stricker’s name for her winning the award. The Rochell Foundation began contributing to the Athlete of the Year winners’ schools in 1993.

Stricker lettered for four seasons in soccer and for three seasons in both basketball and volleyball. She was a member of Harvard’s Class A third-place volleyball team in 2006 and was an All-Big Northern Conference East Division selection in every sport.

Harvard’s volleyball team finished 23-11 overall and 7-3 in the BNC East last season, winning a Class 2A regional title. The Hornets were 19-10, 6-4 in 2008 and 33-3, 9-1 during the 2006 campaign. Stricker was a defensive specialist for the Hornets.

Stricker’s basketball teams were 27-58 during her three seasons as the Hornets’ point guard; her soccer teams went 14-20-6 combined during the past three seasons, and Stricker was the Hornets’ leading scorer this past season, playing forward.

“She was there for every practice, every camp, every drill; she never missed anything,” Harvard basketball coach Casey Seyller said. “You never had to worry because you knew you were always going to get 100 percent from Taryn.”

“It’s nice to see that people recognized how hard I worked,” said Stricker, who graduated with a 4.27 GPA on a 4.0 scale and will attend the University of Wisconsin – Madison this fall. “[Balancing school work and athletics] was just a matter of staying organized and pretty much staying on task all the time.”

Stricker does not know what she will pursue in college and has entertained ideas of trying out for the Badgers soccer team, although she said she was certain she would participate in intramural athletics.
Being an elite high school athlete and maintaining stellar grades taught Stricker lessons that she can apply to life after high school, she said, regardless of whether she competed at the Division I level.

“I think the one thing I learned most was never to give up on anything and to be responsible,” she said. “I always wanted to be the player on my team that my teammates could rely on to be at practice and games and give my all.

“I really appreciate all the support everyone has given me over the years, my coaches, the fans that have always come to watch me and my teams play, and my family.”