The Whitewater Whippets turned in a strong all-around showing at the Dana Waddell Invitational, hosted by Marshall on a very warm day at McCarthy Park on Tuesday, September 16. This year’s course change introduced more challenging hills, and when paired with the heat in the mid-80's and no wind, it created a race atmosphere the athletes will remember for years to come.
Boys’ Varsity
Freshman Tyler Carollo continues to establish himself as one of the conference’s rising stars, racing to 8th place in a lifetime-best 18:50.5 to earn a medal. Junior Wyatt Esch followed with a career breakthrough, dipping under the 20-minute barrier for the first time to place 19th in 19:54.6 and claim one of the final medals of the day.
Seniors Quinton O’Toole (30th, 20:59.5) and Isaiah Mendez (37th, 21:56.7), along with junior Marcus Roselle (34th, 21:16.2), rounded out the scoring five for Whitewater. Together, they lifted the Whippets to 5th place with 128 points in the nine-team field.
Boys’ JV
In the JV race, freshman Jameson Rothwell led the Whippets with a 28:50.9 finish for 14th overall. Sophomore Ian Agen delivered a milestone effort of his own, setting a personal record of 29:49.1 to finish 16th and break the 30-minute mark for the first time in his career.
Girls’ Varsity
The Whitewater Girls’ Varsity placed 8th as a team with 164 points, led by sophomore Virginia Nelson, who cracked the top 10 with a 22:37.2 performance for 10th place. Senior Delaney Hammack added a season highlight, running a personal-best 23:27.6 for 19th.
Freshman Madelyn Taylor (42nd, 28:01.5), senior Payton Brautigam (53rd, 29:43.5), and senior Kelly Mayorga (57th, 33:57.2, PR) rounded out the Whippet scoring. Mayorga’s race was also her first-ever cross country competition, marking a milestone for the program.
Head Coach Chad Carstens praised his team’s resilience and race strategy:
“Given the conditions, we had a team strategy to run the first half of the race and race the back half. It seemed to pay off as many athletes from other teams clearly had not respected the terrain and temperatures of the day and paid for it. Whitewater was able to move through the field nicely and have some really nice finishes. Tyler breaking 19 again, Wyatt dipping under 20, and Delaney setting a PR were all huge moments. In addition to those athletes, Kelly Mayorga competed in her first ever race, and Ian Agen broke 30. Lots of good things are happening in Whippet CC!”
Full results: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/263167/info