Wheaton leads Addison to new heights in athletics, academics
ADDISON — Prior to 2022, not many knew the last time the Addison softball team had won a district title.
That's an easy answer now as the Panthers won back-to-back titles in 2022 and again in 2023.
A major part of Addison's success was senior leader Kahlen Wheaton.
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"The group of girls that came into the program, we had been playing summer ball with since we were eight," she said. "We started around middle school playing travel ball. We got a ton of experience and we got close. We knew each other's strengths and weaknesses and that helped us win."
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Not only did Wheaton help lead the Panthers from a winless season to back-to-back district champions, but she led the school in the classroom with a 4.102 GPA and will be attending one of the most prestigious schools in America, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In doing so, she's been named Addison's Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
"(MIT) wasn't necessarily a goal until this year," Wheaton said. "But once I did my SATs I was comparing scores with some of the scores from other colleges and they sent me a letter with the application steps, so I thought maybe I should try applying just to see.
"When I got in, I was surprised. I was not expecting that. I went to campus for a weekend and fell in love with it."
Wheaton is planning to go into engineering with a focus on sustainability.
"I've always wanted to do something with science and I also really love math," she said. "I love the environment and reading about environmental issues and solutions."
It should come as no surprise given her love for science, Wheaton's favorite class was AP biology. She and her classmates were able to do some hands-on labs, which only strengthened her love for the subject.
"I find biology really interesting," she said. "Going more in depth from the original biology class I took. I also took AP language and loved taking English classes."
Wheaton being the science buff she is, she probably knows a thing or two about momentum.
The 2022 softball team created some momentum with the district title, which not only led to confidence on the diamond in 2023, but in the fall of 2022, the volleyball team played with a newfound confidence and had their best season in decades.
"It definitely did," she said.
Wheaton enjoyed a lot of success on both the athletic fields and in the classroom. A big part of her success was knowing how to manage her time with both and using sports as a getaway from the challenges in the classroom.
"I would do my homework on the bus on the way to games," she said. "I would use sports to decompress from the stress of school and then go back home and finish homework and study.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Wheaton leads Addison to new heights in athletics, heading to MIT
