Bishop Carroll softball playing in memory of late teammate

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - If you ask anyone of Bishop Carroll’s softball team, Taylor Chrisman was the epitome of a great teammate.

“Like my freshman year, I was just so nervous and Taylor was right there just like helping me,” senior Whitney Stonestreet said.

““She was the best. She was always smiling. She always had a smile on her face and put a smile on your face. She was the funniest person I knew.

Kory Schoenfield added, “She was the best. She was always smiling. She always had a smile on her face and put a smile on your face. She was the funniest person I knew.”

After graduating in May 2022, Chrisman went to Pittsburg State. She finished her first semester on the Dean’s Honor Roll and had the goal of becoming a nurse.

While returning to school for her second semester on Monday, January 16, she was killed in a two-vehicle crash near Fredonia, Kansas. She was 18 years old.

“My wife (Bishop Carroll principal Vanessa Harshberger) got a text saying Taylor had been in a car crash,” head coach Steve Harshberger said. “It was like, no, you know - i can’t believe that.

“You never think this is gonna happen and they’re gonna live forever. For this to happen is just horrific.”

The next day, the softball team gathered in an assistant coach’s classroom to say a prayer for her and relive their favorite memories with her.

Shortly after, the team’s two seniors - Kory and Whitney - began to discuss ways to honor their friend and teammate.

From it, they decided to wear the Number 10 on the back of all of their shirts - a logo with angel wings and a halo.

“We thought that it would be special to dedicate our season to Taylor,” Stonestreet said. “We wear blue ribbons in our hair for Taylor. We start the game and say Taylor in our huddle.”

Stonestreet also recalled Chrisman writing her notes before every game - notes she stills reads and keeps in her bag to this day.

Now, they will honor her with their biggest goals in their mind and within reach. They begin play in the 5A state tournament on Thursday at Wilkins Stadium in the quarterfinals.

We’ve worked so hard and gone through so much as a team to get here.”

“We’ve worked so hard and gone through so much as a team to get here,” Stonestreet said. “It would mean everything if we could just keep winning for her.

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