By: Ryan Duey
Three Clay Center Community High School (CCCHS) alumni will be inducted into the CCCHS Hall of Fame Class of 2025 during the annual Academic Awards Assembly this month. Honorees are Riley Rankin, Vanessa Thomas, and Suzie Wiemers-Fritz.
Riley Rankin, a 1964 graduate, spent his career associating with Cabinet members, Presidents, and world leaders while with the U.S. State Department. After a successful sports career in high school, Rankin went to Fort Hays State University on a Track Scholarship, where he earned his Business Administration degree. In 1968, he joined the Army and served in Military Intelligence and Security, leading him to his career at the U.S. State Department. During his time at the Department, Rankin worked in over 100 countries, including Rome, East Berlin, Paris, and more. He also met various Presidents, including Nixon, Ford, Carter, Bush, and Clinton. Locally, you can see a small collection of Indian artifacts on display in the Courthouse that he collected during his younger years in Clay Center.
Suzie Wiemers-Fritz, a 1990 graduate, has had an outstanding career in sports, from a volleyball standout at CCCHS to a two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year winner at Kansas State University. Upon graduating from Florida Atlantic, Fritz entered the coaching profession, returning to Kansas where she became the Kansas State Volleyball Head Coach in 2001. Over her 21 years at K-State, she compiled a winning percentage of .603, with her teams making 13 NCAA tournament appearances. Fritz coached 56 All-League selections and 16 All-Americans. While with KSU, she also coached with the USA Women’s Volleyball Program, and her 2013 team represented the USA at the World University Games in Russia. Fritz now serves as head coach for professional team League One-Omaha.
Vanessa (Thompson) Thomas, a 1994 graduate, went from singing with the Tiger Chorale to sharing the stage with numerous professional musicians and reaching stardom, performing at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. Thomas’s rare musical talent landed her Outstanding Vocal Student in her class while at KU. Thomas has a vocal range of five octaves, singing as a big band vocalist and symphony soloist. She has a remarkable command of blues, jazz, gospel, and classical music. Her talent has taken her around the country, and she has appeared in a PBS documentary about trumpeter Doc Severinson. Thomas still frequently visits Clay Center to perform with the Arts Council and City Band.
Rankin, Fritz, and Thomas will be inducted into the CCCHS Hall of Fame Class of 2025 on March 31st, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
