Tayven’s love for baseball began as soon as he could walk, and it only grew stronger each year, from tee-ball to little league, and throughout his school years. He developed a passion for catching and pitching early on, and when he turned eight, he received his first set of catcher’s gear.

As a small kid, Tayven was the size of a 5-gallon bucket behind the plate, making it challenging for umpires to get into position. Despite his size, he was determined to excel. At 12, he started putting in extra effort, joining a club baseball team that played year-round. Between spring, summer, and fall club baseball, as well as winter training for catching, hitting, and pitching, he was always working to improve. Tayven knew that in order to make it onto the field, he had to outwork bigger, stronger kids.

In 9th grade, Tayven earned a spot on the varsity team as the backup catcher. That year, he played a few games on varsity and pitched in relief during the state third-place game. By 10th grade, he was starting every game as a versatile utility player, filling in at catcher, shortstop, third base, and second base. His contribution played a major role in the team’s state championship victory. The team only lost one game that season—on Tayven’s birthday. His teammates humorously blamed him for the loss, joking that his mom’s birthday cookies, brought along for the bus ride, were bad luck.

After catching the state championship game at Target Field, Tayven quickly transitioned to his next commitment—driving to Iowa for a club baseball tournament. The very next day, he was back behind the plate, wearing a different uniform and catcher's mask, but still doing what he loved.

Throughout the offseason, Tayven continued to push himself in the weight room and during training. By his junior year, the team had lost all their pitchers, but Tayven stepped up to become the team's ace. Despite the team being young and inexperienced, Tayven led them deep into the section playoffs, finishing the season with a 4-1 record, a 1.70 ERA, 39 strikeouts, and only five walks. He was named to the All-Conference and All-Area teams. Tayven also hit two home runs that season—quite a feat for someone who, as a small player, no one would have expected to hit a home run. After his first, he proudly walked around saying, “I hit dingers.” His coaches, amused, corrected him, saying, “You hit a dinger. If you want to say ‘dingers,’ hit another.” Tayven did just that, hitting another home run in a later game. He finished the season with a .300 batting average and two home runs.

Even after the high school season, Tayven continued to play fall and winter baseball, traveling to Florida and Arizona for tournaments. Always the smallest player on the field, his work ethic, personality, and love for the game made him an instant role model for his teammates and younger athletes in the community. After winning state, Tayven and his teammates attended a meet-and-greet where they signed autographs for local youth players. Many of the kids specifically sought Tayven’s autograph.

At Randolph, a K-12 school with separate elementary and high school wings, Tayven made it a point to visit the younger kids each morning before school. He would walk down the elementary school wing, greeting the students and showing them that no matter your size, with hard work, you could achieve greatness.

Tayven’s love for baseball took him all over the country—from Iowa and Illinois to Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Florida, and Arizona. Baseball brought him many friendships, both with teammates and opponents, and created countless memories. His dedication to the sport made him a beloved figure in his community.

Tayven always wore #33. That number became synonymous with him—when you say “#33” in Randolph, everyone knows it’s Tayven. In recognition of his contributions, his club team, HTP, retired his number, and his jersey now hangs proudly in their facility, a lasting tribute to a player who worked tirelessly to be the best.

Tayven’s passion for hunting began at a young age. At just 5 years old, he would eagerly tag along with his dad on deer hunts, spending hours sitting side by side in a stand, learning all about the sport. By the age of 9, Tayven had the opportunity to shoot his first deer. He had recently received a new .410 shotgun, and his dad, along with one of his friends, decided to take him out hunting.

Before heading out, they needed to sight in the scope, so they took Tayven to the pasture. He fired a few shots but didn’t like the kick of the gun, so they stopped, unsure whether the scope was properly sighted in. At the time, they didn’t think much of it—after all, Tayven was only 9, and they never expected him to actually shoot a deer.

While sitting in a ground blind with his dad, a small buck appeared. Tayven, eager to hunt, urged his dad to shoot, but his dad replied that the deer wasn’t legal. It was a 6-point, and the rule stated that a buck needed to have at least 4 points on one side to be considered legal. After taking a closer look, they decided it was actually a 7-point buck.

Tayven asked, “Are you going to shoot it?” His dad’s response was simple: “No, you are.” Tayven’s eyes widened with excitement, and he began to shake with anticipation. His dad put him on his lap, guiding him to find the deer in the scope. Tayven, his voice filled with focus, said, “I got him.”

His dad clicked off the safety and told him to take his time and slowly squeeze the trigger when he was ready. But in his excitement, as soon as the safety clicked off, Tayven had already squeezed the trigger. The shot rang out, and Tayven yelled, “I got him!”

His dad, in disbelief, wondered if his 9-year-old son had truly just shot a buck with a gun they weren’t sure was sighted in. Moments later, they heard a loud crash as the deer ran off. They began searching for blood, and soon found it—along with the deer, not far from where it had been shot. Tayven had made the perfect double-lung shot.

That hunt was a turning point for Tayven. He was hooked. From then on he hunted every year, and each year, the bucks he got grew bigger and bigger. Eventually, Tayven took on bow hunting. But with it came the challenges and frustrations. He managed to shoot two different bucks, but sadly, he was unable to find either one. Despite the setbacks, Tayven kept honing his skills year after year, and his love for hunting only deepened.

Tayven’s passion for Sitka gear started when he was just 12 years old. One day, his dad’s friend, Teddy, took him duck hunting. As they spent time in the field, Tayven began talking about wanting Sitka waders. Teddy, with a smirk, told him, “If you ever show up in anything Sitka, you’re not riding in my boat.” That challenge sparked Tayven’s obsession with owning everything Sitka.

It all started with a sweatshirt and a hat. Before long, it grew into a collection of different Sitka gear: sweatshirts, vests, jackets, and hats. He had every camo pattern hat, along with orange and white ones, and even Sitka logo hats. As his collection expanded, Tayven added a full range of hunting outfits—Waterfowl marsh jacket, pants, and bibs, a whitetail outfit, and even a full white snow set for winter hunting. He didn’t stop there; he also had Sitka gloves, neck gators, and more.

Tayven’s love for Sitka even extended to custom gear. He convinced his grandma to spend hours sewing Sitka camo onto a pair of Hey Dudes shoes, making him the first to own a pair of Sitka shoes. In woodshop class, he even crafted a wooden Sitka logo sign to hang up at home.

After much anticipation, he finally got his hands on a pair of Sitka waders. There was one weekend that Tayven didn’t have anyone to hunt with, and he knew Teddy would be out hunting. He was too afraid to ask Teddy if he could join, not because he didn’t want to hunt with him, but because he didn’t want Teddy to see him wearing his new Sitka waders.

Tayven would often joke with his friends, saying things like, “Do you even have any Sitka?” or “Sure, you can hunt with me—if you have at least five pieces of Sitka on!” His love for the brand became a trademark of his hunting identity, and it was a running joke amongst his friends.

Tayven’s love of derby started almost as soon as he transferred to Randolph. Tayven was an amazing kid who did not struggle to make friends. He quickly made friends with a group of boys that love demolition derby. Tayven was the kind of guy who was always willing to help so it was almost second nature to Tayven to come over and help on the cars. 

Tayven was new to the sport of demolition derby but that didn’t stop him from being one of the most helpful pit men. Tayven started out doing whatever he could to be helpful. That could be bringing the mood up when something wasn’t going to plan or just doing whatever he was told to his best ability. His favorite way to be helpful was his Milwaukee knives. Tayven always had 2-3 different knives in his pocket at all times. Anytime someone looked like they needed a knife or was struggling with a different knife he would proudly pull his knife out of his pocket and say his famous line “do you need a knife” with a smile on his face. 

As the years went on Tayven had gotten the itch to build his own car. After some minor convincing he finally bit the bullet and got a car. Tayven had gotten a 1997 Cavalier free from his neighbors. He was so excited to have gotten a car he painted it before he started to build it. He was so eager to start building it that when he found out he needed a boat tank for his car he bought ten because he got a good deal. Tayven took great pride and did everything in his power to make sure his car was the best it could be with what he had. So much so that when Chloe let him borrow her header he seatbelted in so that it was safe. Tayven was not able to build the car at his house so he brought it to Chloes house to build it with her and Geoffrey. The moment Tayven, Chloe, and Geoffrey pulled the car off the trailer they knew this was going to be a big project but everyone was still smiling ear to ear. Since the car was free it did not run but that did not kill Tayven’s spirits. 

Over the years Tayven developed distinctive traits when building a derby car. These traits were really highlighted when building his own car. The first one is his tools. Tayven had a love for Milwaukee tools so much so he would pack his own tools to bring to Chloe’s house. Tayven always tried to persuade Chloe into switching to Milwaukee from Dewalt. The next trait is his knives. Tayven loved his Milwaukee knives. He always had more than one in his pocket. When cutting a seatbelt you had to use one of his knives or it wasn’t done right. The next trait is his love for torques bits. Any time it was possible to take a bold out with a torques bit he would. Even if we had to correct sized socket on the impact right next to us already. If someone else took the bolt out with a socket he would put it back in just so he could take it out with a torques bit. The last big trait Tayven had was his bed time. Tayven worked  a lot of hours and set a bedtime for himself. He did this because he hated to make his older coworkers disappointed in him. When it was getting late while we were working on Tayvens car and if we didn’t accomplish that day's work. Tayven would give Chloe and Geoffrey the puppy dog's eyes asking if they could stay up to finish and reminding them of how important his bedtime was. 

Unfortunately Tayven, Chloe, and Geoffrey were not able to get his car running in time for the derby. Tayven still had a passion to be at the derby to watch and help. Tayven got on his knees and begged Chloe if he could trailer her car to the derby. Tayven loved his truck and one of the things he was most excited for involving the derby was being able to pull his car with his truck. Tayven had the biggest grin on his face by being able to help Chloe. He showed up the day of the derby smiling ear to ear. He was so excited and could not wait to take a picture of how cool his truck looked while pulling a derby car. Tayven even made Chloe drive his truck so he could get the right angles for his TikTok.

While at the derby Tayven would bounce around offering his help to anyone who needed it. He would run tools back and forth and rush to help with all the last minute stuff. Tayven’s favorite thing to do at the derby was to start mud fights. He would grab a handful of mud and throw it at a friend then run away giggling. He took these mud fights so seriously that they would turn into a full blown battle. After the derby was over Tayven was the fastest at getting the cars chained down. He did this so he could get the perfect angles for his TikTok. Overall Tayven loved everything about the derby, riding along to go get a car, bringing the cars to the scrap yard, and everything in between. 

Tayven's love of derby was a reflection of all the different traits of his personality. Tayven was selfless and driven, always going the extra mile and helping on other people’s cars even if he wasn’t done with his own. Tayven was giddy but also had his sass and never failed to make someone laugh. Tayven was a huge part of the derby and they are not the same without him. Tayven will forever be honored by having his name on every car his friends build.

Chloe Vought

Tayven's love of fishing started when he was 4 years old. He went fishing for the first time up at his parents and grandpa's cabin. As soon as his grandpa shut off the motor at the spot, Tayven cast out his Nemo pole, and a few seconds later he was reeling in a northern. From then on, he was hooked. He would fish every weekend all summer long at the cabin. It started with fishing off the pontoon with his parents and grandpa. His grandpa is an amazing fisherman and would always find them a bunch of fish. Tayven slowly found out the lake was full of nice bass. So he started casting for bass any time he was on the lake. He became really good at casting and about the age of 12 he asked for a bait caster. His parents signed him up for a monthly subscription with mystery tackle box. Each month he would get bass themed boxes full of lures. For those of you who know tayven, when he starts a hobby he goes all in and to the extreme. He built a huge collection of every type of bass lure imaginable, along with multiple poles. He would ofter bring friends uo to the cabin. One weekend for his birthday, he brought 3 of his best friends up to the cabin and they all brought kayaks. They spent all weekend on the lake paddling around all over and catching lots of fish. He would often do "challenges" with people trying different abnormal ways to catch a fish. Everything from using food as bait, to using only a small stick and line with a small hook. His biggest largemouth was caught on a fake bat bait. He went on a couple fishing trips up to Brainerd with his grandpa, dad, and uncle. They would go in the fall on the river and catch smallmouth. It was one of his favorite memories fishing. Catching a ton of fish and having a boys weekend away. Tayven took his grandpa's passion of fishing and turned it into one of his own passions.