Today is Sunday, May 10, 2026
The Whitewater High School Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country Teams came to play on Saturday, Aug. 30, sweeping the 22nd Annual Dirk Seibold Alumni Meet on their home course. The event, named after longtime Hall of Fame Coach Dirk Seibold, has become a celebrated tradition that brings together past and present Whippets in a spirited competition. This year’s event was shortened from the usual 3.1 miles to 1.5 as the team raced two days prior in their first invite of the year.
On the boys’ side, Whitewater scored 25 points to edge out the Alumni team, which finished with 33. Former Whippet standout Nate Holden took the overall title in 8 minutes, 28 seconds, while Assistant Coach Quinn McKenzie followed in 8:49. Whitewater freshman Tyler Carollo paced the Whippets with a third-place overall finish in 9:20. Senior Isaiah Mendez (10:19), junior Marcus Roselle (10:41), and senior Quinton O’Toole (10:48) packed closely to secure the team win. Junior Angel Kilar (11:37), senior Sam Nickelsburg, and sophomore Ian Agen added depth for the Whippets. Alumni contributors included Onyx Thompson (9:55), Ben Holden (10:52), Mark Schroeder (13:20), and Chad Lorenzen (16:42).
The Whippet girls were equally dominant, cruising to a 20–43 win over the Unattached team. Alumna Sarah Ziolkowski set the pace, winning in 9:48, with WHS teacher Maddy Blain second at 9:55. Sophomore Virginia Nelson led the current Whippets, placing third overall in 11:01. Freshman Melody Smith (11:44), junior Ema Aranda (12:28), and senior Delaney Hammack (12:35) rounded out the team’s top five. Freshman Madelyn Taylor (13:07) and senior Payton Brautigam (14:44) also had strong showings, while freshman Noelia Villegas-Korbel and senior Kelly Mayorga provided additional depth.
The meet once again highlighted the strength of the Whippet program while honoring the tradition of connecting current athletes with the alumni who helped build it. Coach Carstens would like to thank everyone who came to support the team, as many were present but did not run in the event. It is so wonderful to visit with people who all have a shared bond through the wonderful sport of cross country.
RESULTS: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1isUKsndIW65ln2xr_A1SZXfVeYDq2DnmPAiIIKXjaXM/edit?usp=sharing
Article Submitted by Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Head Cross Country Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Laura Masbruch
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s tennis team opened their 2025-26 campaign with a conference sweep over UW-Oshkosh. The win marks the first win for Head Coach Byron Balkin.
The doubles teams got rolling, quickly taking over the first three flights to give the Warhawks the team point.
Molly Asfeld (Waukesha, Wis./West) and Crystina Lee (Downers Grove, Ill./Timothy Christian) took the first match of the season with a 6-2 victory at the second doubles flight. Abigail Weaver (Wakarusa, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) and Gracie Ha (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) grabbed the second necessary flight for the point with a 6-3 victory.
The freshman pair of Josie Wojcikiewicz and Kaitlyn Remke (Johnsburg, Ill./Marian Central) secured the third doubles flight with a 6-4 win.
Heading into the singles flights, the Warhawks and Titans had to play through the elements after a light misting of rain started at the Whitewater tennis courts.
Remke would be the first singles flight to pick up a team point, taking the fifth singles flight with a straight set victory only dropping one game between the two sets.
Single flights #3 and #4 weren’t too far behind. Asfeld clinched her match in straight sets with a 6-0 victory in the second set. Lee took the fourth singles flight with a 6-3, 6-1 victory to put the Warhawks just one match away from Balkin’s first victory.
Gracie Ha (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) and Abigail Weaver (Wakarusa, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) clinched the match at the first and second flights. Weaver took her first set 6-0 and staved off a late push by UW-Oshkosh to win her second 6-3. Ha played a clean game as well, only dropping one game in the first set on her way to a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
Abigail McIssac finished the sweep with a third set tiebreaker victory. McIsaac dropped the first set 3-6, but bounced back with a 6-3 second set. In the tiebreaker, McIsaac kept up the pressure and momentum and grabbed the tiebreaker 10-5.
Full Results
Doubles
#1 – Weaver/Ha def. Usui/Gibbs: 6-3
#2 – Asfeld/Lee def Gregory/Owens: 6-2
#3 – Wojcikiewicz/Remke def Pethan/Schaefer: 6-4
Singles
#1 – Ha def. Pethan: 6-1, 6-0
#2 – Weaver def. Usui: 6-0, 6-3
#3 – Asfeld def. Gibbs: 6-2, 6-0
#4 – Lee def. Owens: 6-3, 6-1
#5 – Remke def. Schaefer: 6-0, 6-1
#6 – McIsaac def. Gerl: 3-6, 6-3, (10-5)
Exhibition
Singles – Chloe Knutson (Deforest, Wis./Deforest) def. Dao: 6-0, 6-1
Singles – Julia Nill (Thiensville, Wis./Homestead) def. Longdin: 6-3, 6-2
Doubles – Ashley Adkisson (Licolnshire, Ill./Stevenson)/Megan Griswold (Oconomowoc, Wis./Oconomowoc) def. Dao/Longdin: 5-1
The Whippet Cross Country Team competed in the Palmyra Eagle Invitational on Thursday, August 28.
The boys’ race was led by freshman Tyler Carollo, who clocked a time of 20:14 and earned his first high school medal with a 24th-place finish (the top 25 received medals). Wyatt Esch and Isaiah Mendez were the team’s second and third finishers, each running within 30–35 seconds of their lifetime personal bests. Marcus Roselle and Quinton O’Toole rounded out the team’s top five, helping the Whippets place eighth out of 14 teams.
On the girls’ side, Virginia Nelson led the way with a 7th-place finish, earning a medal in 22:20—just six seconds off her lifetime best to start her sophomore season. Delaney Hammack ran strong in the No. 2 spot, finishing 31st. Melody Smith, in her first-ever 5K race, was the team’s third runner, finishing only 20 seconds behind Hammack. Ema Aranda claimed the fourth spot, while freshman Madelyn Taylor completed the team’s scoring five. The girls’ team placed sixth out of 14 teams.
Next up for the Whippets is the 22nd Annual Dirk Seibold Alumni Meet, hosted at Whitewater High School on Saturday. The boys’ race begins at 10:00 a.m. followed by the girls’ race at 10:40 a.m. This year’s course will be 1.5 miles. Fans are encouraged to come out, support the team, and reconnect with former Whippets.
Full results: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/258787/info
Article and Photos Submitted by Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Head Cross Country Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org
The following are excerpts from an article by Matt Ellis in The Gazette on August 28.
“Until the Sept. 6 season kickoff, UW-Whitewater head coach Jace Rindahl and his staff will be evaluating a quarterback competition between sophomore Justin Klinkner and transfers Jake Frantl and Aidan Lucero.
None of the three has received any meaningful snaps on a college football field.
The Warhawks’ season starts by hosting Carleton (Minn.) College at Perkins Stadium for a nonconference game.
Klinkner did not see the field as a Warhawk freshman in 2024. Frantl spent four years at Pittsburgh but did not see the field. Lucero spent three years at Grand Valley State (Mich.), where he redshirted as a freshman in 2022 and did not see the field in the two years since.
“We’re intentional,” Rindahl said about the process of determining the Week 1 starter, “You’ve got three guys fighting for it. So you make sure that you give (fairness) and balance. You give them equal reps with the ones. Then you just are very strategic when you go through fall camp.”………
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