Carissa Levake (Dance): Levake earns her first Fleur-de-lis honor for her outstanding athletic accomplishments during the 2017-18 dance season. Levake helped St. Kate’s dance team record its highest finish at nationals in program history, as the Wildcats took sixth place at the USA Championship February 23-24. She showed high levels of skill and technique in routines and also put together solid turns and high jumps, which resulted in the highest scores of the season at the national competition. Levake has also displayed a positive attitude on and off the dance floor throughout the 2017-18 season.
800 Freestyle Relay Team (Swimming & Diving): The 800 freestyle relay team of Sydney Grohman (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego), McKenna Peterson (Cameron Park, Calif. / St. Francis), Charlotte Green (Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen) and Mary Jane Voss (Mequon, Wis.) earn Fleur-de-lis honors for their record-breaking performance at the MIAC Swimming & Diving Championship February 15-17. The team destroyed St. Kate’s school record in the relay, finishing in 7:56.18 to take fourth place, the highest finish for a Wildcat relay team in recent history. The four swimmers also found significant amounts of individual success during the championship meet, including Peterson, who broke St. Kate’s oldest standing record in the 500 freestyle on Friday with her time of 5:15.31.
Franceska Hernandez-Nietling (Swimming & Diving): Hernandez-Nietling earns her second Fleur-de-lis honor thanks to her athletic achievements at the MIAC Swimming and Diving Championship two weeks ago. The first year was nothing short of extraordinary during the conference championships, as she earned All-MIAC honors in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events and was the highest scoring Wildcat at the meet, earning 47 points towards the team’s total score. Hernandez-Nietling finished third in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke with personal best times of 1:05.96 and 2:26.36. She also became the first St. Kate's swimmer in over five years to earn All-Conference honors in two separate events and just missed a third All-MIAC honor with her fourth place finish in the 200 Individual Medley.
Katie Rising (Swimming & Diving): Rising is the sixth swimmer to earn Fleur-de-lis honors this week after her triumph at the MIAC Championship in mid-February. Rising finished the conference championship by taking third place in the 200 backstroke to earn All-Conference honors for the first time in her career. Rising also recorded another personal first at the MIAC Swimming and Diving meet, as she broke the one minute mark in the 100 backstroke for the first time in her career to qualify for “A” finals in the event. She went on to finish in the top-8 and also recorded personal best times in the 50 backstroke, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke and 200 IM races. Rising was also a member of the MIAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
Leah Obert (Tennis): Obert’s consistency and perfect record through the first month of the season helps her earn the first Fleur-de-lis honor of her career. The junior is undefeated in both singles and doubles play for St. Kate’s tennis, with a perfect 4-0 mark in singles and 2-0 mark in doubles play. Obert’s biggest win of the season came against conference rival, and top team, St. Thomas, as she upset the Tommies No. 5 player in three sets to earn the Wildcats lone point in the dual match. Obert has also been extremely consistent for St. Kate’s this season, as her unique style of quickness and consistency allows her to play and compete with anyone on the court.
Liliya Kirkova (Track & Field): Kirkova is the second track and field athlete to earn Fleur-de-lis honors this season thanks to her athletic performances at the MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championship February 23-24. Kirkova ran in five events during the course of the two day meet, scoring in four of five and earning All-Conference Honorable Mention honors in three. Kirkova anchored the 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams, passing several competitors at the line to help St. Kate’s finish in the top-8 in both races. She also was a member of the distance medley relay team, which ran the second fastest time in school history of 12:50.87. More impressively, Kirkova broke the school record in the 200 meter dash (26.94) and finished sixth in the 60 meter dash with a personal best time of 8.08.
