This is Ashley Ray from the Kansas State Women’s basketball team.
My team and I are thrilled to reflect on our experience with the 2019 Team Hally Dirty Dash. Every year the team, coaches, and I are invited to an amazing event hosted by the Yust family. This remarkable family created this event to honor their daughter, Hally.
The Yust family always shares stories with us on how interested in basketball Hally was, and that her dream was to play for the Kansas State Women’s basketball team. Hally and her family are a very strong family of faith and have always devoted their lives to giving back. Hally also loved sharing Christ with those in need through serving at Center of Grace in Olathe, Kansas, raising money to give Bibles in Haiti, running in marathons, and giving money to any charity that she could. We are so inspired by Hally’s story and how much she accomplished at such a young age.
This event is not only one of the many highlights of our schedule, it is one of the most enjoyable, interactive venues we are fortunate enought to visit every year. The Dirty Dash is exactly what it sounds like: the Yust family mows down a 2.5-mile course filled with various jumps, mud crawls, a mud slide, and especially a small pond contestants must cross to get to the next obstacle in the course.
Volunteering at this event is so rewarding to not only give back, but to see our head coach run in the race. After crossing the finish line, Coach Mittie is caked in mud and splattered with paint. While we all stand and laugh at the free entertainment, he chases after us to try to give us all a really big, muddy hug.
Being a junior at K-State and having experienced the Dirty Dash event for three years, the crowd of people who show up to participate never fails to amaze me. So much joy and hard work goes into this event and it truly shows with the people that are on hand to support it every year.
My teammates and I have really enjoyed getting to know Hally’s family and friends through the years and have created eternal friendships with everyone involved.
As of 2019, the Yust family has officially adopted the Kansas State Women’s basketball team. I would like to say that having your life impacted in such a positive way by a little girl that you never met, is a powerful thing. The Yust family will forever be a part of the K-State family and Hally will always be protected by the Cats. #GoCats