YORKTOWN — Hannah Rapp had so much life in front of her.
Rapp, a Yorktown native and former Purdue track athlete, was making waves as a rising star in the boxing world. She had a job that she loved as an environmental health and safety specialist at Texas A&M University, and her boyfriend, Dr. Will Pollalis, had plans to propose to her for her upcoming 27th birthday.
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Instead, Rapp’s life was cut short in an apparent road rage incident in Brazos County, Texas, when 31-year-old Charles Medina reversed his car into her while she and Pollalis were cycling, according to the sheriff’s office. Rapp died on Saturday, July 18, at the age of 26, leaving behind grieving communities in Yorktown, West Lafayette and College Station, as well as the worldwide boxing community.
In the days since her death, tributes to “Hanarchy” poured in on social media. On Wednesday, July 22, three candlelight vigils were held concurrently in each of her three homes to pay tribute to Rapp. As her family grieves her untimely loss and begins their fight for justice, the outpouring of love for Rapp has helped them persevere.
“It’s been overwhelming,” said Angie Crow Grimes, Hannah’s mother, in a phone interview with The Star Press. “People in her hometown of Yorktown, people in her second home at Purdue, her third home here in College Station and beyond. Hannah has touched lives all over this state, all over Texas and all over the world with her basic kindness, compassion and love for others.”
Long before she stepped into a boxing ring, Rapp was a star athlete in her hometown of Yorktown, participating in basketball, cross country, soccer and track and field during her years as a Tiger. On the soccer field, she scored 53 goals and assisted on 30 more during her four varsity seasons and helped the team win three consecutive sectional championships from 2015-17.
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Her biggest accomplishments, though, came on the track. Rapp excelled in the 300-meter hurdles, where she was a two-time IHSAA state podium finisher and set three school records. Yorktown track coach Jared Turner recognized her talents early on and wrote her a letter when she was in eighth grade, telling her that he believed in her and hoped that she would give track a chance.
Today, Turner remembers Rapp as one of the most special athletes he ever coached.
“I think it’s a lot of what people have talked about all week on social media and news outlets,” Turner said. “It’s her spirit. She was a force of light and positivity. What stuck out to me was, even when she was going through very hard times in her life, whether it was injuries in sports or going through residential care for an eating disorder, she always found the positive. I think that’s what drew a lot of people to her.”
Turner eulogized Rapp to a crowd of more than 100 people at Wednesday’s candlelight vigil in Yorktown, asking that they carry her values of work ethic, positivity and authenticity as a way to honor her life. Family friend Angie Cravens also shared some words from the Rapp family.
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“Hannah loved this small town where she grew up,” Cravens read. “The streets, the schools, this park helped shape the incredible person she became. Yorktown isn’t just the place she was from; it’s a part of who she was. Once a Tiger, always a Tiger.”
Rapp’s accomplishments at Yorktown earned her a track scholarship at Purdue, where she competed for four years and also became an active member of the Purdue Ultimate Frisbee club. She graduated in 2022 with a degree in environmental and ecological engineering and a minor in political science.
During her time in West Lafayette, Rapp discovered the passion that would eventually make her a global star. She began training with Triumph Boxing in Indianapolis but eventually switched to Dark Side Boxing in Brookston to stay closer to Lafayette. Dark Side Boxing owner and coach Connor Mitton still remembers the first time he saw her fight.
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“I first saw Hannah when she competed at Indiana Golden Gloves,” Mitton said. “I had no idea who she was or anything like that, and I just remember seeing her in the ring for the first time like, ‘Wow, this girl is amazing.'”
Rapp was still with Triumph at the time, and it’s an unwritten rule in boxing for coaches to poach boxers from others, so Mitton connected with her on social media and left it at that. However, when Rapp was seeking a trainer closer to Lafayette, she reached out to Mitton and became a mainstay at his gym.
“Watching the growth process was just unbelievable,” Mitton said. “She was a natural athlete, and seeing her fight at Golden Gloves, I knew she was great. She came to the gym, and we put her through the wringer. Even then, she was miles ahead of the competition, and that’s how I knew she was going to be great.”
Rapp quickly rose through the ranks of amateur competition and made her professional debut in 2024. She compiled an impressive 8-1-1 record as a professional and captured the World Boxing Council’s North American Boxing Federation Featherweight Championship. In June, she had the opportunity to challenge Tiara Brown for the WBC Women’s Featherweight World Championship in a fight televised on ESPN+.
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Although Rapp lost the fight, she quickly earned the respect of an elite fighter in Brown.
“Hannah Rapp was the best dance partner I have ever faced as a pro,” Brown said following the fight. “When she asked for my autograph, it filled my heart because we were getting ready for war, yet she was still asking for my autograph. It made me smile. It was my honor to share the ring with her.”
Medina was arrested and charged with manslaughter shortly after the incident, and an additional charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon was added later. After his arrest, details of Medina’s extensive criminal record emerged with 13 previous arrests in Brazos County alone, including multiple arrests for reckless driving and a hit-and-run in 2020. He was actively out on bond for a firearm felony when he struck and killed Rapp.
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Since Rapp’s death, her friends and family have begun advocating for Hannah’s Law, which seeks stricter bond reforms and restrictions for drivers with records like Medina’s. The three main goals of Hannah’s Law are to expand judicial discretion to allow judges to evaluate a defendant’s driving record when setting or denying bond, require courts to consider repeat vehicular offenses in pre-trial risk assessments, and create stronger mandatory review mechanisms for defendants out on bond for violent or firearm-related felonies when secondary public safety violations occur.
A change.org petition for Hannah’s Law has already gathered more than 8,000 signatures. Click here to access the petition and read more about Hannah’s Law.
“Hannah’s people are ready to fight for her,” Grimes said. “They’re the ones that are going out there, they’re signing the petition, they’re spreading and sharing the petition. Our first goal is to get to 10,000 signatures.”
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@usatodayco.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Remembering Hannah Rapp, former Yorktown star turned professional boxer
