The Whitewater Whippet Cross Country Teams tested themselves against elite competition at the Midwest Invitational in Janesville on Saturday, September 27, where more than 50 schools lined up in one of the largest and most competitive events of the season.
Virginia NelsonTyler Carollo
On the boys’ side, several varsity runners posted lifetime personal bests despite the warm conditions. Tyler Carollo led the way with a 30-second improvement, clocking 18:22. Wyatt Esch tied his career mark in 19:54, while Marcus Roselle shaved seven seconds for a 20:30 finish. Returning from injury, Carson Miller impressed with a 71-second drop at 24:34, and Ian Agen highlighted the day by cutting nearly two minutes to finish in 28:04. The boys’ team placed 53rd overall.
For the girls, Virginia Nelson matched her freshman-year best with a 22:14 finish. Ema Aranda ran a season-best 24:23, and Kelly Mayorga showed major progress by dropping more than two minutes, running 31:50.
The Whippets will conclude the regular season Friday, October 3, at the Nightfall Classic in Green Lake, a unique evening meet run entirely under the lights.
Emma Bludgen serving in a match against UW-River Falls Friday night (Michael Gouvion)
By Angela Kelm Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
The No. 4 UW-Whitewater volleyball team added two to the win column with a pair of sweeps Saturday to wrap up the Warhawks’ second home invite of the season. UWW opened the day with a win over Illinois College (25-10, 25-14, 25-20) before taking down Rose-Hulman in a tight three-setter (25-23, 25-21, 25-22).
The Warhawks cruised in the opener Saturday. UW-Whitewater opened the match hitting .647 in the first set to set the tone for the match. The Warhawks hit .370 for the match and continued to excel at the service line with 11 aces.
Four Warhawks hit over .600 in the contest — Aubrie Krzus had five kills in six attempts (.833), Amanda Hillmann had four in five attempts (.800) while Lexi Jensen (4-6) and Emily Lego (7-9) each hit .667. From the service line, Krzus (5) and Emma Bludgen (4) combined for nine aces.
Defensively, Abbie Dix led UWW at the net with three blocks including one solo. Natalie Lawton held down the backcourt with nine digs.
DiMotto paced the Warhawk offense in the second match of the day with 14 kills. Hillmann was the most efficient at the net with 8 kills in 13 attempts with a single error – an attack percentage of .538. Dix hit a career milestone in the contest, surpassing the 500-kill mark with eight in the match.
At the service line, DiMotto added four aces with Ella Jenkins tallying three – all three were consecutive aces in set two to give UWW set point.
Defensively, Dix and Hillmann combined for eight blocks in the middle (four each) while Lego posted three. Lawton added 18 digs to her weekend tally.
Krzus registered 36 assists as the Warhawks hit .276 as a team in the match.
All-Tournament Team Abbie Dix – UWW Gaby DiMotto – UWW Amanda Hillmann – UWW Ava Goldsberry – UWRF Blessing Adebisi – UWRF Julia Irmen – RHIT Emma Blanton – RHIT Riley Drake – IC
Warhawk weekend numbers for the three All-Tournament honorees: DiMotto – 30 kills (3.75 per set), .364 attack percentage, 9 aces, 4 blocks Dix – 20 kills (2.50 per set), .280 attack percentage, 12 blocks (1.50 per set) Hillmann – 17 kills (2.13 per set), .615 attack percentage, 3 aces, 9 blocks (1.13 per set)
Gaby DiMotto goes up for an attack against UW-River Falls Friday night (Michael Gouvion)
The No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-15) sweep over UW-River Falls Friday evening in Russell Arena.
The Warhawks turned up the pressure about midway through the first and second sets using big runs to take hefty leads in each. The first set saw UWW go on a 10-2 run to open up a 17-7 gap. In set two, it was an 11-2 run that gave UW-Whitewater a 20-12 lead. Gaby DiMotto was brilliant in the first two sets. She hammered down six kills in seven attempts without an error in the first set before adding four kills on four attempts in set two.
The momentum carried into set three as the Warhawks jumped out to a 4-1 lead bolstered by a pair of aces from Emma Bludgen. UW-Whitewater continued to utilize the service line to their advantage. The Warhawks registered seven aces in the third set alone including three by DiMotto.
The UWW offense was on fire hitting over .400 across the first two sets and .338 for the match. DiMotto paced the offense with 13 kills in 19 attempts while committing a single attack error for a hitting percentage of .632 in the contest.
The Warhawks tallied 12 aces with DiMotto and Bludgen each recording four. On the receiving end, UWW had just one receiving error in 40 attempts on the night.
Defensively at the net, UWW posted eight total blocks with Abbie Dix leading the way with five. Fellow middle Amanda Hillmann added three.
Aubrie Krzus dished out 29 assists adding five kills, a pair of aces and two blocks.
UW-Whitewater will wrap up play in their second home invitational of the season against Illinois College (11 AM) and Rose-Hulman (1 PM) Saturday.
The Whippet Volleyball program honored some very special people in our lives – our parents and caregivers – on Thursday, September 25. Senior Danika Larson led the welcome and shared how much our families mean to us. The amount of care and love they show each of us is something we cherish. From bus food and snacks to rides and support- we thank them!
After honoring our parents and caregivers, Freshman Jasmine Kilar honored her brother, Treyton Kilar, who was killed in 2010 by a drunk driver. The Volleyball team in 2010, led by Gina (Hollingshead) Serna initiated the now 15 year running “Play for Trey” event to remind us all to make good decisions, even if we are standing alone. Jasmine highlighted the importance of cherishing life, giving love to all you meet, being grateful, not taking anything for granted, and always making good choices- as it could save someone’s life.
Jasmine Kilar honors her brother, Treyton Kilar
The athletes then took on the visiting Delavan-Darien team.
Stat leaders included:
Kills:
Sophomore Mary Mason- 4
Aces:
Freshman Jasmine Kilar-1
Senior Sydney Schilt-1
Senior Mya Graves-Koran-1
Digs:
Kilar-12
Blocks:
Sophomore Emery Kachel-1
Assists:
Graves-Koran-5
Schilt-1
Varsity heads to a tournament this Saturday at Lake Country Lutheran. The entire squad is back in action at HOME against Monroe on Tuesday, September 30 (JV1 & 2 at 5:00 and Varsity at 6:30). Hope to see you all there!
Whippet Soccer put in their most dominant performance of the season on Thursday night, September 25. On a night which saw them honoring their former coach Rene Menager, your Whippets did not disappoint. Coming out swinging, WHS scored two beautiful goals within the first 10 minutes of the fixture. With exceptional build up play in the 4th minute, Emiliano Olivares set up Elijah Gutierrez for a wonderful goal to break the deadlock. 3 minutes later, with another exceptional set up, this time from Abdi Callvio, Elijah made it 2-0. Whitewater continued to dominate the game for the remainder of the half.
The second half started in a similar fashion with a great run from Elijah into the box where he was able to set up Emiliano for the Whippets’ 3rd. Langdon Coburn finished off the scoring in the 59th minute via a headed goal and assist from Abdi. WHS kept their foot on the gas for the remaining 20 minutes and cruised to a 4-1 victory.
Progressing to 5-3-2 on the season, Whippet Soccer is hoping to keep their momentum going on Saturday when they travel to Division 2 opponent Stoughton.
Article and Graphic Submitted by Sam Burns Whitewater High School Head Boys’ Soccer Coach dburns@wwusd.org
The Whitewater High School tennis team had its “Seniors’ Night” on the UW-Whitewater tennis courts on Thursday, September 25. While the outcome was not what the Whippets had wanted, several players made strides in their matches against the regular-season conference champion, the East Troy Trojans.
Seniors Pictured Left to Right Aubrey Mendoza, Natalia Casillas, Yareli Palomec-Garcia, Kiani Aranda, Maria Aburto-Pena, Lillian Navejas-Ortiz
This match was the last regular season match for the following Seniors at Whitewater High School: Lilly Navejas-Ortiz, Natalia Casillas, Maria Pena, Yareli Palomec-Garcia, and Aubrey Mendoza-Ramirez.
Your Whitewater Whippet Soccer Team came out on the winning side of an evenly matched contest on Tuesday night, September 23, versus Jefferson, 1-0.
Whitewater dominated all aspects of the game but couldn’t find the back of the net. Possession, passing completion, shots on goal, and 50/50s won all went in favor of the Whippets. While piling on the pressure late in the match, Diego Gonzalez made a great run into the box which forced the Jefferson defender into committing a poor tackle, fouling Diego, and seeing a penalty awarded to WHS. Abdi Calvillo slotted the penalty perfectly into the far post corner giving the keeper no chance of a save. With only minutes left, Whitewater kept the pressure on and narrowly missed out on scoring another goal.
Whippet Soccer is back in action at home on Thursday night vs Edgerton.
Updated 9/23/25 @ 11:45 p.m. to add Tom Ganser photos at end of the post.
The Greater Whitewater Committee (GWC)’s 13th annual Discover Whitewater Series (DWS): Half Marathon, Half Marathons Teams, and 5k was a success raising money for local charities.
This year, the DWS team worked hard to put together brand-new maps that allowed runners an exhilarating experience while still highlighting all of the amazing qualities Whitewater has to offer. The entire DWS team wants to give a special thank you to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater; with their help and hospitality, we were able to continue to host this safe and fun community event.
With this new course, runners had the chance to finish the race in the University’s football field, Perkins Stadium, on the 50-yard line! Participants of the 5K got to see some of Whitewater’s’ incredible campus, beautiful nature trails, and lively downtown area! Runners on the new 13.1 course got to experience a significant course in Whitewater’s racing history, as they went along part of Whitewater’s Marathon Qualifiers in the 80s and 90s! Because of these two maps, the 13th annual race was themed as a “Retro Race,” a showcase to the history of Whitewater seen in a new light!
This year, the DWS brought in over 420 participants, 180 volunteers and nearly 70 sponsors. The DWS team was thrilled to welcome runners from so many different states! The weather was nice for the runners with clear skies and temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s.
Chancellor Corey A. King arrived at the race bright and early Sunday morning to give the welcoming remarks and wished all of the participants a great race. He was joined by Whitewater Unified School District’s new superintendent, Samuel Karns, who helped kick off the exciting day!
Thank you to all of our runners for coming out to participate! A special shout out to all of our top placing racers!
The top runners in the Women’s Half Marathon: ● First Place: 1:18:55.29 – Runner 1786 Jessa Victor ● Second Place: 1:21:04.87- Runner 1771 Jenny Zwagerman ● Third Place: 1:24:40.25- Runner 1775 Jenny Simpson
The top runners in the Men’s Half Marathon: ● First Place: 1:07:51.20 Runner 1626 John Dewitt ● Second Place: 1:09:35.18 Runner 1676 John Liddell ● Third Place: 1:11:13.08 Runner 1636 David Fassbender
The top runners in the Women’s 5K: ● First Place: 23:58.90- Runner 2476 Kate Omernik ● Second Place: 24:12.31- Runner 2456 Kirstin Colligan ● Third Place: 24:12.37- Runner 2459 Jessica Krause
The top runners in the Men’s 5K: ● First Place: 16:57.07- Runner 2423 Tyler Zwagerman ● Second Place: 17:24.02- Runner 2249 Andrew Balistreri ● Third Place: 18:18.85- Runner 2249 Nate Holden
Thanks to all of the hard work of our amazing volunteers and sponsors, the 13th Annual DWS proved once again, to achieve its mission of bringing people together in support of a good cause. All proceeds will be distributed to the DWS’ four charity partners: Bethel House of Whitewater, J-Hawk Aquatic Club, Warhawk Athletics through the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Foundation, and Whitewater LEADS. Runners and volunteers joined together after the race to celebrate the day’s accomplishments, enjoying a free beverage from post-race celebration sponsor, 841 Brewhouse.
“I wanted to give a shout out to all of our runners, volunteers, and of course, the University for hosting us,” said Race Director Dawson Miller, “We are all very honored that everyone came together to make this community event possible once again, and we are happy for the overwhelmingly positive feedback on the new course.”
The DWS team would like to thank all who came out in support of the race. The entire community has been a part of such an amazing event that has greatly helped charities across Whitewater.
The Planning Committee is already starting on next year’s race! Save the date for September 20, 2026 for our fourteenth anniversary of the Discover Whitewater Series. Stay tuned for updates – we hope everyone will join us!
Photos below are of the start of the half marathon, from very start to photos as runners passed, courtesy of Tom Ganser.
Photos below are of the start of the 5k,from the very start to runners along the way passing Tom Ganser.
About the DWS
The goal of the DWS is to promote the City of Whitewater and highlight its greatest features, while keeping everyone in the community active. All the proceeds from the race are donated to local non-profit partners: Bethel House (which provides interim housing for homeless families), J-Hawk Aquatic Club, Warhawk Athletics through the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Foundation, and Whitewater LEADS. The DWS partners with the city, business community, and university to make this a tremendous event that benefits all who participate. For more information about the race visit www.runwhitewater.com.
The Whippet Volleyball Program took on East Troy this past week and Varsity headed to a tournament in Deerfield.
The JV1 and JV2 teams continue to make great strides in their overall skill development. They are beginning to understand the game at a higher level and continue to focus on playing as a team. Every athlete continues to work hard and get better each match!
The Varsity squad fell to the visiting Trojan team, but had moments of great play! What is impressive with this group is that they never give up, they have a will to win and it is shown in their work ethic, determination, and belief in being a great teammate.
East Troy stat leaders included Senior Sydney Schilt with 6 kills and 1 block. Sydney continues to lead this squad with her positive attitude and will to set the standard for her teammates. Our team looks to her to carry some offensive load and she has shown her ability to do this game in and game out. Dig leader on the night was Freshman Jasmine Kilar with 32 digs. Jasmine has truly developed as a defensive leader for us. Her ability to read hitters and her quickness bring us a strong defense against good hitters. Senior Mya Graves-Koran continued to dish the sets to our hitters and led us with 8 assists and 2 aces. Mya continues to lead and develop as a faster offensive leader! Junior Rowan Seaver rounded out the stat leaders with a block.
The Varsity squad then headed to Deerfield for a tournament. They faced a tough schedule playing 5 matches in a row against Cambria-Friesland, Lincoln Academy, Randolph, Deerfield, and Dodgeland.
The team pushed Cambria-Friesland to 3 sets (25-21, 17-25, 9-15), losing in the 3rd. They followed that by beating Lincoln Academy in 2 sets (25-17, 25-18), and then fell to Randolph (13-25, 11-25), Deerfield (13-25, 21-25), and Dodgeland (17-25, 14-25). Again, this team continues to push through and work hard!
Stat leaders on the tournament included: Kills: Senior, Sydney Schilt- 24 Digs: Freshman, Jasmine Kilar- 70 Aces: Schilt-9 Blocks: Senior, Peyton Clark-4 Assists: Senior, Mya Graves-Koran- 40
Next up, the Whippets will take on Delavan-Darien at home on Thursday, September 25 (5:00 PM-JV1 and 2, and 6:30 PM Varsity). This will be Play for Trey and Parents’ Night!
The Whippets fell to Monroe 42-6 on Friday, September 19.
Comments from Coach Bartlett:
Monroe came into this game as a disciplined team committed to running the football, and they executed their plan well. For us, the game plan was straightforward: commit to reading our keys and doing our job. Unfortunately, it was not our best night of eye discipline. Too often we had our eyes in the wrong place, and that hurt us tremendously on the defensive side of the ball.
File Photo Courtesy of Damon Jay Photography
Offensively, we were able to move the ball at times, but small missed details kept stalling out our drives. Even so, I was proud of how some of our younger players stepped up. On the offensive line, we started three sophomores — Colton Hilgen, Edgar Arreguin, and Henry Brockwell — and they battled despite their limited varsity experience. Their effort and growth were bright spots in this game.
Overall, our team continued to play with great physical effort, but we must improve our focus on the little details that ultimately add up to winning football. While the scoreboard hasn’t reflected our progress, these athletes are developing not only as football players but also as young men.
As we move forward, we will continue to embrace our season motto: Pound the Stone. Each day we’ll keep working, staying committed, and growing together as a team, knowing that persistence will bring results.
