Friends, family remember Delwiche

Cross country event, ceremonies honor MSU student killed in crash

By Robb Murray

MANKATO — A year ago, a tragedy occurred that won’t let friends and family forget the death of Caty Delwiche.

Now, after two somber ceremonies held in her honor Saturday, it is hoped that no one will forget her life.

Delwiche, a member of the Minnesota State University cross country team, was remembered as a kind, compassionate and bright young woman full of potential.

A wall plaque was unveiled inside the University’s Myers Field House with Delwiche’s image and an inscription that read, “In this race we call life’s journey, let us use her wisdom to inspire us, her strength and passion to move us in the right direction, and her faith to guide us back home. Everything will be OK in the end. If it’s not OK, it’s not the end.”

And on Warren Street near Balcerzak Drive, a snow crab tree was planted and a plaque placed in the ground next to it that reads, “Forever running in our hearts.”

Delwiche was killed a year ago while on a training run. She and teammate Laura Palmer, who was on a bike, were heading down Warren Street that day when a vehicle driven by Dale Hoechst, 57, of Mankato, veered toward them.

Hoechst had crossed a lane of traffic, went onto a walking and biking trail and hit Delwiche and Palmer. Delwiche, 18, died instantly, and Palmer, also 18, was injured. Both were MSU cross country team members training for an upcoming meet. Hoechst received a sentence of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for a conviction on a misdemeanor charge of driving without due care.

Kevin Buisman, MSU’s athletic director, led a solemn plaque unveiling ceremony in which he explained the significance of the plaque’s location.

“I know that coming back together just a little more than a year after Caty’s passing is a difficult thing for a lot of us,” Buisman said. “But I hope that in some way these memorial and dedication events today can be part of the continual healing process.”

The plaque sits in Myers Field House just a few feet from where her photo hung last year as a member of the cross country team. The location, Buisman said, is the crossroads of a very high traffic area, “close to her friends.”

Speaking for the administration, Vice President for Finance and Administration Rick Straka said Delwiche was a beautiful and bright young woman.

“I knew her as a Presidential Scholar,” Straka said. “We’re lucky when we get those kinds of students. They make everyone around them that much better. ... We want people to know in perpetuity what she did here, even in her short time.”

After the unveiling of the plaque, the 50 or so people in attendance walked to the site of the crash. There, Delwiche’s father, Jeffrey, made his first public remarks of the day.

“I’d like to thank the university, and especially Jen (Blue) for believing in my daughter,” said her father.

He told those gathered that being at MSU was one of her favorite things to do, and that Caty’s two happiest places were in Mexico during mission trips, and on campus as a member of the cross country team.

“If you gotta go, it’s good to go when you’re really, really happy,” Jeffrey Delwiche said.

Jen Blue, the coach who recruited Delwiche, said Delwiche’s death brought the team closer together, “and made people appreciate their teammates more.”

When asked if she’d learned anything, Blue said, “Yes, that there are more important things in life. It put things into perspective for me.”MSU