Today is Saturday, October 10, 2026
It was a great day for the Whippet Harriers as they traveled to Cottage Grove to compete in the Dana Waddell Invitational hosted by Marshall High School on Tuesday, September 12. After not racing for over a week, the team was chomping at the bit to toe the line and get after it. With favorable conditions and solid training going their way, the Whippets didn’t disappoint and all came away with noticeable improvement and competed well.
The boys’ varsity was led again by Jack Hefty as he broke the tape for his first-ever cross country victory. He crossed the line in 16:12. Nate Holden medaled in 6th with his first-ever sub 17:00 clocking to finish in 16:58. Miles Nickelsburg placed 11th in 17:26 to round out medalists from Whitewater. The varsity team placed 3rd out of 11 teams with 98 points. In the boys’ JV race, Isaac Straight led the team with an 8th palace medal finish in 20:21. He was followed closely behind by Wyatt Esch who placed 9th in 20:30. This team also placed 3rd with a total of 72 points.
The girls’ race was equally impressive with significant improvement from all. Mady Hefty was the first of three medalists at this meet by placing 8th in 20:31. Athena Soto moved up to 12th late in the race to stop the clock in 20:47. Nola Coburn rounded out the medalists for the team by placing 18th with a time of 21:45. The varsity squad placed 4th out of 10 complete teams. In the girls’ JV race, Isabella Aranda took home a medal by placing 6th in 24:40. The girls’ JV team placed 3rd overall.
Coach Carstens added, “I cannot overstate how proud I am of the way the kids competed from top to bottom. Times are fun to look at, but it is most rewarding to see them discovering how tough they really are and being fierce competitors against others on the same day. We will look to carry this mantra through the season taking it one day at a time.”
Next up for the team will be the Racine St. Catherine’s Invitational hosted at UW-Parkside on Saturday, September 16th.
Full results: https://my.raceresult.com/260207/results
Article Submitted by Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Head Cross Country Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org
By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
In last week’s d3football.com poll, UW-W was ranked #8 and St. John’s University (SJU), #4. After the Warhawks’ 56-28 victory over SJU on September 9, this week’s rankings have changed dramatically:
UW-W #4
St. John’s #9
The complete poll may be viewed here.
Defending champion North Central (IL) continues to be the strong favorite, garnering 23 out of 25 votes.
This coming Saturday UW-W plays University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Texas, a team now ranked #19 after two season opening losses.
The Whitewater Volleyball team traveled to Dodgeland for a tournament this past weekend. Teams we played were Naconia, Cambridge, Belleville, and St. Mary’s. Our win loss record (1-7) did not tell the story, however.
“This was by far the best we have played to date. We are so strong defensively and in serve receive, we just don’t have enough offensive threat yet to win the battles. Our defense and serve receive kept us in games all day, and we battled with every team,” commented Coach Mary Kilar.
We have so much to be proud of on the day. Ella Spear was an absolute defensive threat at libero all day. “Ella has been working so hard in practice to learn and fine tune the technique and mindset of a libero. She passed an outstanding 2.4 on the entire tournament and had 34 digs, 5 assists, and an ace. She is such a student of the game, and I love to see when it comes together for her!”
Other outstanding passing performances came from Falyn Krahn, Zoe Kohl, and Ava Alvarado. Falyn and Zoe passed a 2.0 and Ava passed a 2.7! Falyn added 9 kills, 25 digs, and an ace, Zoe had 16 digs and an ace, and Ava added 15 digs. “The collective defense of Ella, Zoe, Ava, and Falyn brings us so much in the backcourt. They are beginning to read hitters at a higher rate and it is fun to see their grit on defense.”
Marina Linos played a solid tournament and dished out 36 assists, 2 kills, 3 aces, and 12 digs. “Marina just continues to work hard. She knows her strengths and understands where she needs to continue to give effort to get better. She continues to lead positively.”
Calli Grosinske led us throughout the tournament in many statistical categories. She finished with 27 kills, 6 aces, 10 assists, and 35 digs. “Calli knows the game, and how to help us get a side out offensively. Her shot selection continues to improve, and when she gets a ball she can connect on, she puts it away with force. It is nice to see the hitter/setter connection continue to improve.” Calli battled through a slight blocking injury and was out for two sets. Stepping in for her was Kaia Jones. “Kaia had a tough role; she was pulled off the bench for an injured player to play outside hitter, and she did so with confidence. Kaia hit and served for us with 100% accuracy. We were all proud of Kaia’s efforts!”
Sydney Schilt is playing opposite hitter for us and has really improved her knowledge of the off-blocker defense and making smart shot selections. “Sydney wants to soak in as much training and feedback as she can, and it shows. She works hard and is putting it all together on the court.” She posted 4 kills and 6 digs for us.
Our middle blockers Emmanuella Mbifi and Meg Roselle continue to work hard in the middle for us. “Probably the hardest position in the front row is middle blocker; you are asked to laterally block every hitter and run a fast offense. Manny and Meg are becoming great forces for us! Meg posted 3 kills and 3 blocks, and Manny added 7 kills.”
Savannah O’Neal “serves” her team as a serving specialist and posted 2 aces and only 1 error serving 96% accuracy. “This is the leadership in serving we need. I was proud of Savannah’s focus behind the line!”
I was so proud of our team today. We battled through some ups and downs and played some solid team volleyball. Playing tough offensive teams sets us up to be prepared for future matches. I am looking forward to continued progress!
Next up, the Whippets travel to Monroe for a conference match up on Tuesday and travel to Jefferson on Thursday.
Article and Photo Submitted by Mary Kilar
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
mkilar@wwusd.org
The Whitewater Girls’ Swim Team competed at the Elkhorn Invite on Saturday, September 9.
We had some impressive Top 16 finishes (top 8 medal for each event) including:
- 200 Medley Relay – Maggie Maas, Emerson Dunham, Makayla Bazeley, and Charlotte Hajewski with a 9th place finish
- 200 Freestyle – Makayla Bazeley with a 1st place finish
- 100 Butterfly – Makayla Bazeley with a 1st place finish and Charlotte Hajewski with a 12th place finish
- 400 Freestyle – Emerson Dunham with a 6th place finish
- 200 Freestyle Relay – Atreya Wilson, Payton Peacock, Marijose Verduzco, and Lucy Davis with a 15th place finish
- 100 Breaststroke- Emerson Dunham with a 11th place finish
- 400 Freestyle Relay – Makayla Bazeley, Maggie Maas, Charlotte Hajewski, and Emerson Dunham with an 8th place finish
- Marijose Verduzco, Sanibel Fox-Simes, Zoe Zei, and Payton Peacock with a 16th place finish
- A huge shout out to Zoe Zei for finishing 1st in her heat in the 100 Freestyle!
We are incredibly proud of our Whippet Swimmers! The Whippets are home on Tuesday, September 12, at 5:30 against Burlington Co-Op. We hope to see you all there!
Article and Photos Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org
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