Blue Streak Alumni Eclipse Challenge Goal

1970s Alumni lead the way, helping St. Joe Alumni raise $340,000 for the campaign

The Blue Streak Decade Challenge, a match challenge to benefit the Generations Growing Together campaign to renovate Mirocke Stadium and the St. Joseph EEC, exceeded its $300,000 goal before the stadium was rededicated on Sept. 9, 2026.

The St. Joseph High School Alumni classes of the 1970s were named Champions of the Decade Challenge, which pitted decades of alumni against each other to raise the most support and meet -- and exceed -- the $300,000 challenge set by the decade of the 1950s.

Contributions from Blue Streaks were doubled by the generosity of three families who set the challenge match: the Tom & Mickey Zarda, Leo & Helen Rieke, and Ben & Betty Zarda families. St. Joseph greatly appreciates their leadership to help make the transformations of the former high school building and stadium a reality for thousands of students to come.

Four generations of two of those families are featured in the photo at right: (L to R): Tom Zarda, M. Rieke, Rose Zarda Rieke, and Ashley Rieke. 

Altogether, the Blue Streak Alumni Challenge raised an amazing $640,000 for the campaign! Thank you to the generous alumni from St. Joseph and Aquinas High Schools for supporting the next generations of students and families at St. Joseph!

Award Presentation

The award recognizing the Decade of the 1970s as the winners of the Blue Streak Decade Challenge was presented to Annette Mirocke Evans, class of 1972, at the Ribbon-Cutting and Dedication of the St. Joseph Athletic Facility, home of Mirocke Stadium. See the video clip here. 

In the photo below, Annette is with her nephew, Nick Mirocke (Joe Mirocke's son) and his son, Gennaro Mirocke, great-grandson of Coach Gennaro Mirocke, head coach of the St. Joseph and Aquinas Blue Streaks.