The Whitewater Girls’ Swim Team had a packed week of racing — first hosting Jefferson/Cambridge on Tuesday, September 23rd, and then competing at the EagleJay Invite in Jefferson on Saturday, September 27th. The Whippets brought awesome energy, big time drops, and plenty of standout swims at both meets!

Sept. 23 – Home vs. Jefferson/Cambridge Highlights:

• Maya Davis took on the 200 Free for the first time, swimming a strong 2:58.84.
• Emma Maas dropped 2 seconds in her 200 Free.
• Maggie Maas won the 200 IM in a lifetime best 2:42.43, cutting nearly 8 seconds!
• Every 50 Freestyler went a best time: Grace Smith (31.38), Charlotte Hajewski (32.48), Laken DePorter (34.01), Storm DePorter (34.66), and Caitlin Alford (37.27).
• Grace Coleman clocked a lifetime best in the 100 Free at 1:11.35.
• Caitlin Alford dropped more time in the 100 Free, breaking 1:30 with a 1:29.17.
• In the 500 Free, the DePorter sisters dominated: Storm dropped 22 seconds (despite losing her goggles mid-race!) and Laken dropped 12 seconds. 

Sept. 27 – EagleJay Invite Highlights:

The Whippets kept rolling with Top 16 finishes and more PRs:

• 200 Free – Charlotte Hajewski (2:36.38 – 13th), Lucy Davis (2:49.50 – 16th)
• 200 IM – Maggie Maas (2:43.73 – 7th)
• 50 Free – Grace Coleman (31.28 – 12th, New Best), Grace Smith (31.32 – 13th, New Best)
• 100 Free – Grace Smith (1:10.11 – 14th, New Best), Atreya Wilson (1:13.23 – 15th), Charlotte Hajewski (1:13.64 – 16th)
• 100 Back – Maggie Maas (1:15.99 – 10th)
• 100 Breast – Atreya Wilson (1:34.98 – 14th), Maya Davis (1:37.01 – 16th, New Best)

Big Time Drops:

• Laken DePorter dropped 3 seconds in the 100 Free, setting a lifetime best 1:18.93.
• All 100 Backstrokers (Maggie Maas, Grace Coleman, Georgia Esch, Caitlin Alford) went best times — Caitlin cut 3 seconds to finish in 1:39.56.
• Emma Maas dropped 2 seconds in her 100 Breast, going 1:38.97.

It was a fantastic week full of improvements, PRs, and strong swims — way to go, Whippets!

Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
ReynoldsSM07@uww.edu

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.

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.

Full results: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/258480/info

Article and Photos Submitted by Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Head Cross Country Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org

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)

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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.

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!

Article and Photos Submitted by Mary Kilar