THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 46, NO. 10 | OCTOBER 18, 2024
ST. JAMES’ NEW FIELDHOUSE IS A ‘GAME CHANGER’ It was a long time coming, but new athletic facility was worth the wait
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Father Keith Chadwick and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann listen as Andy Tylicki shares a few words about St. James Academy’s new St. Joseph Fieldhouse and Mark Huppe Court.
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Andy Tylicki, president of St. James Academy in Lenexa, shows the new St. Joseph Fieldhouse to Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, who blessed and dedicated the building on Oct. 11. The athletic facility contains two full-size basketball courts, eight basketball goals, two volleyball dropdown nets and two 70-foot hitting tunnels for baseball and softball. By Moira Cullings moira.cullings@theleaven.org
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ENEXA — Five words are inscribed on the gym floor at St. James Academy’s new St. Joseph Fieldhouse here. President Andy Tylicki hopes their message will inspire those who use the athletic facility now and in the years to come. “Let’s get with it today” was the motto of Mark Huppe, a longtime educator and coach in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, who passed away in November 2023 after an 18-month battle with throat cancer. Although current students don’t have the experience
of having Huppe in the building, Tylicki said his influence remains. “We’re going to celebrate him forever,” said Tylicki. “We’re never going to let his legacy go.” Mark Huppe Court, inside the roughly 13,500-squarefoot building, is one way the school is fulfilling that promise.
Inspired space The St. Joseph Fieldhouse is located just south of the school and contains two full-size basketball courts, eight basketball goals, two volleyball dropdown nets and two
Support St. James To learn more or contribute to St. James Academy’s Mission Forward campaign, visit the website at: sjathunder.org/about/giving/capital-campaign.
70-foot hitting tunnels for baseball and softball. “It is such a game changer for our campus and for our student-athletes,” said athletic director Jared Herzet. “It’s a beautiful space,” added Tylicki. “It’s going to >> See “FIELDHOUSE” on page 7