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Straughn High School senior Aaron Olhava is excited for his next football adventure in the Midwest after making a commitment to Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

The Wildcats are a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC).

“I am grateful to continue my career into college because I love the sport of football. To get the chance to play four more years of football is special to me because I have the opportunity to play in college. I chose to continue playing for Culver-Stockton because it’s the only school that took a chance on me and offered me. I felt like it was the best fit for me, and the coaching staff was showing me a lot of love, too, so I committed. I am looking forward to meeting new people and playing the sport I love,” Olhava said.

The opportunity to play football at the next level is a vision he has had since he was little.

“This means a lot because I’ve played this sport since I was in the second grade. I fell in love with it ever since. When I started playing football, it has always been my dream to play college football, and it didn’t matter where I went. I just wanted to play college football, so it’s a very special opportunity to get to play in college. Not many people who play high school football say they played college football, so I’m glad to say I can.”

Olhava plans to pursue a degree in Physical Therapy at CSC. “I would like to be a physical therapist. My career goals are to finish college and get my degree.”

He was grateful for his playing days as a running back at Straughn that helped him reach this point.

“My experiences helped me because of Coach Kilcrease and the rest of the coaching staff because they would push us as hard as they could, so we could be the best. I learned a lot from them, and it will help me down the road into college,” he said.

He is the son of Jason and Jennifer Beck with an older brother, Logan. He will graduate from Straughn High School in May.

“Aaron played running back for us and had almost 2,600 yards rushing over the last two seasons. He was our most explosive weapon on offense averaging over seven yards a carry. We look forward to following him and wish him nothing but the best,” SHS Head Coach Ashley Kilcrease said.