FVA Fall Female Athlete of the Year Nominations

 Hi Swim & Dive Families!

Congratulations to both Hazel Hertting and Kiki Rice on their nominations for FVA Fall Female Athlete of the Year!  Both Hazel and Kiki had an amazing year competing for Neenah High School!

As you know, Hazel won the WIAA Division 1 title for the second straight year with a state-record score of 576.45.  She also set sectional and FVA meet records and earned the FVA Diver of the Year honor.

Kiki was named FVA Co-Swimmer of the Year and took home three titles at the FVA meet.  She was 7th in the 200 IM and 7th in the 100 Back at the state meet.

Here's where you come in--voting for the Fall Female Athlete of the Year is open to the public.  You are allowed to cast one vote per day through Thursday, December 4th.  Please click here to vote for one of our amazing athletes.

Thank you for your support, and congratulations, again, to Hazel and Kiki!

Seventh in the State!

 2014 Neenah Swim & Dive State Team: 

(back row) Hannah Blob, Gabby Mullally, Malena Waters, Abby Hollub, Rachel Resch, Hannah Sisto, Hazel Hertting, (front row) Caitlin Miller, Kiki Rice, Lindsey Coons, Bella Cortina

Hi Swim & Dive Families!

I'm sure by now you've heard the exciting news:  NHS Swim & Dive took 7th place at Saturday's State meet, which is the highest team finish in the history of the program!

About an hour and a half after Hazel stood on top of the winner's podium, our Neenah swimmers entered the pool.  The girls were all in high spirits after watching Hazel break the State record.

As with Hazel, there were big expectations placed on our swimmers.  They knew a top 10 finish was within their reach.

 The girls were ready to prove that they were contenders!

The Medley Relay made up of Kiki, Abby, Rachel and Malena kicked things off with a 7th place finish and a time of 1:48.11.  Great job, ladies!!

Bella swam the first of the individual events and earned a 23rd place finish in the 200 Free.  She went a 2:00.49.  Way to go, Bella!

Next up were Kiki and Abby in the 200 IM.  Kiki finished 7th with a time of 2:07.04.

 Abby took 19th with a time of 2:12.54.  Great job, ladies!!

Rachel swam a 24.67 in the 50 free and finished in 20th place.  Great job!

After a short break, it was time for Rachel and Hannah to swim the 100 Fly.  Rachel took 8th place with a time of 57.69, and Hannah took 12th with a time of 58.66.  Awesome!

Kiki took down her own 100 Back record (again) with a time of 57.65.  She finished 7th. Way to go, Kiki!

Finally, the 400 Free Relay team of Rachel, Abby, Hannah, and Kiki finished 7th with a new team record time of 3:33.12.  Awesome job, ladies!

Prior to this year, the highest team finish was 12th.  Wisconsin is a great state for swimming, and finishing in the top 10 is a huge accomplishment.  Finishing 7th is a truly amazing accomplishment and one our State team can be proud of for the rest of their lives. Congratulations, NHS Swimmers and Divers, you proved you are not only contenders, but champions in your own right.  We are proud of each and every one of you!


**I'd like to say a big thank you to Karen Tippins, who captured our swimmers in action. I can't take photos while I'm coaching, so I have to rely on other people to take pictures of our girls while they are swimming.   Thank you, Karen, for letting me use your pictures for this blog post.

**I'd also like to shout out to all of our fabulous swim families and fans who made the trip down to Madison to cheer us on.  Your support was definitely felt and truly appreciated!

Congratulations, Hazel: 2014 State Champion!

Those of us at Saturday's State meet got to witness history:  Hazel not only repeated as Wisconsin State Champion, she did it by shattering the State record! What a pleasure it was to watch Hazel jump, tuck, and point her way to a score of 576.45!

  Is there anything more awesome than watching someone accomplish their goals?

"Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months, and years they spend preparing for it.  The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character." (T. Allen Armstrong) Hazel has truly reflected this quote over the last four years while competing for NHS.  She is a wonderful role model of a champion:  hard-working, dedicated, determined, and humble.

 I think it's safe to say that we all couldn't be more proud and happy for you, Hazel!

We know your success at Neenah is only the start, and we can't wait to watch you compete for the University of Wisconsin!

Enjoy this special time, Hazel!  We are so proud of our repeat State Champion!!


*Please check back later today for coverage of the rest of the State meet

Off to State!

Good Luck, NHS State Swimmers and Divers!

We hope to see a whole big bunch of NHS fans in the stands!

See you in Madison!

Athletes of the Week

Congratulations to our last two Athletes of the Week, Aliya Clark and Caitlin Miller!  Both ladies did a tremendous job at the Conference meet and more than deserve to be named Athletes of the Week! Caitlin went on to compete at Sectionals, where she placed 5th. She will compete for us at the State meet on Saturday.  Way to go, ladies!  We are proud of you!

2014 Sectional Champions!!

Congratulations,  NHS Swim & Dive: 2014 Sectional Champions! Yesterday our swimmers finished what our divers started in an amazing way!  NHS had a commanding lead of the meet from start to finish and ended up winning with 357.5 points.  Bay Port finished in 2nd with 235 points and Ashwaubenon came in 3rd with 230 points. 

How cute is this picture of our 2014 Sectional swimmers: Kiki Rice, Rachel Resch, Bella Cortina, Hannah Sisto, Abby Hollub, Malena Waters, Lindsey Coons, Hannah Blob, and Gabby Mullally.  All 9 of those ladies had a fantastic meet yesterday--each and every one of them swam personal best times!

 Our seniors, Hannah, Malena, and Abby, did an awesome job leading us through the meet.

Thirteen weeks of sets, drills, boot camp, breakthrough sets, early morning lifting sessions, and two-a-day practices led us to yesterday. All that was left was 10 races.  And let me tell you, our girls swam their hearts out in each and every one of those ten races!

(photo credit: Angela Monty)

First up:  The 200 Medley Relay.  Those of you who were at the meet got to witness something special.  Kiki, Abby, Rachel and Malena swam a 1:46.91 and broke the pool, team and Sectional records! 

(photo credit: Angela Monty)

It was AMAZING!  What a way to start off the meet!!  Congratulations, ladies, we can't wait to see you swim it again next weekend at State!!

Next up was the 200 Free.  Bella Cortina came in 3rd with a PR of 1:57.28!   That time qualified her to swim the 200 Free at State!  Congratulations, Bella!  Hannah Sisto came in 4th with a time of 1:57.74.  Way to go, Hannah!!

Then it was time for the 200 IM.  It was a one-two finish for Kiki and Abby--so exciting!  Kiki took down her own 200 IM record with a PR of 2:08.25!!  Abby swam a PR with a time of 2:11.37.  Both Kiki and Abby will swim the 200 IM next week at State!!  Congratulations, ladies!

We had three fabulous NHS swimmers standing on the podium at the end of the 50 Free!  Rachel Resch came in 4th with her PR of 24.66, Gabby came in 6th with a PR of 25.22, and Malena came in 8th with a PR of 25.38.  Awesome, right?!?  Rachel's time qualified her to swim the 50 Free at State--congratulations!

After a short break, it was time to watch some super-fast fly!  Rachel broke her own 100 Fly record with her PR of 57.44 and took 2nd place!  Hannah had a PR, too!  She swam a 58.45 and took 4th place!  Both flyers will represent NHS next weekend at the State meet!  Way to go!!!

The 100 Free featured Gabby and Malena, both of whom swam PR's.  Gabby took 6th place with her time of 55.23!  Malena was tied for 10th with her time of 55.82!  Great job, ladies!!

Bella swam the 500 Free for us and did an amazing job!  She went 5:21.27 and took 4th place!  Way to go, Bella!!

Our 200 Free Relay, made up of Gabby, Hannah, Bella, and Malena lowered their time from last week's Conference meet with a 1:41.91 and came in 5th place!  Great job, ladies!!!

The 100 Back featured Kiki and Lindsey--and both swam PR's!!  Kiki took 2nd place with a time of 58.33!  In the process, she took down her own team record! That time qualifies her to swim the 100 Back at State!  Lindsey swam a 1:01.18 and finished 5th!  Congratulations, ladies!!

The 100 Breast featured Abby and Hannah B.  Both girls did an amazing job!  Abby went a 1:09.58 and finished in 7th place!  Hannah went a 1:11.14 and finished in 12th!  Unfortunately, I was helping a sick swimmer and did not capture a picture of the 100 Breast.  Sorry, Abby!  I know you looked amazing up there on the podium!!

And last, but not least, our 400 Free Relay team of Rachel, Kiki, Hannah and Abby broke their own record from last year with a time of 3:34.54!  That time qualifies them to swim at State! In the process, Rachel took down her own 100 Free record with a time of 53.30!  Way to go, FR ladies--it was so fun to take down records at the beginning and end of the meet!

Before we knew it, it was over.  All that was left was the celebrating!

Here's to everyone who helped our team get to this moment.  We know we couldn't have gotten here without the help and support of our entire NHS Swim and Dive team and all of our fabulous parents and families!

On to State!!