4 cousins, 4 grades, 4 sports

Lapping pools, rowing the river, flying high and skimming the net, The Burch and Wimsatt girls are all over the place. They come by their love of sports honestly, as Angela and Therese Wimsatt are the daughters of former Assumption volleyball player Donna Burch Wimsatt, and Lauren and Katie Burch are daughters of Donna's brother, Michael Burch, who was a pole vaulter on the track team at Trinity. The family resemblance is hard to see at first. The young ladies' heights, hair color and personalities are all unique, and each has chosen a different sport. Yet they all pursue their sports with similar intensity. And following in the footsteps of their mother, sister or cousin - they all chose Assumption because they liked the atmosphere, and already felt that they were a part of the school. ANGELA WIMSATT Petite yet very fit, senior Angela Wimsatt leads with quiet confidence. And what a great leader she makes: She has a 3.82 GPA with all A's and a B in Spanish. "That's a tough one," she says. Her week is the same all year long, consisting of swimming practices every day except Sunday and twice a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. "It's a lot, but really fun and exciting. My specialty is the 200 IM and the 100 Butterfly," she says. Angela is also part of the Student Council, National Honor Society, Beta Club, Peer Leaders, and Spanish Club. Senior year has brought new goals and challenges. Angela is considering the University of Kentucky, Western Kentucky, and the University of Louisville, with hopes to swim and study pharmacy, but not before reaching her immediate goal of making it to the state meet in more than one event. As Angela heads out the door of Assumption to her part-time job, she makes a quick call to her boss saying she'll be a few minutes late and checks that the other girls have rides home. Time must grow on trees in her world. LAUREN BURCH Standing the tallest and the next oldest is Lauren Burch. The junior seems very comfortable with her surroundings and has a welcoming smile. As a freshman, she was on the volleyball team, but after a friend mentioned to her that rowing was really fun, she decided to take up crew. Now, in her second year, Lauren is an integral part of the crew team. Lauren explains the details of crew: "Rowing is done in a long skinny boat that seats eight people, where I hold the seventh seat position. Generally, the skill set is seventh seat is the rhythm seat and the eighth is the strength seat." At 5'10, Lauren is strong and has become so focused on the sport that her coach recommended she learn how to skull. "Skulling is using two oars, where sweeping is with one oar," she explains, "Not many people know how to do it. Whether coach signs us up for a regatta to skull or not, it will be another skill I can add to my resume." During the season, the team practices on the Ohio River behind Towhead Island. They practice four afternoons per week and one morning before school. Since the strength for her seat position comes from the legs, she needs to stay in shape off-season, too. She tries to hit the YMCA to keep up her strength. In addition to crew, Lauren loves art. As an AP art student, she confides, "As much as I'd like for art to be my hobby, it isn't. In reality, it's my homework." Currently, Lauren has a 3.8 GPA and was given the Scholar Athlete award at Assumption at the end of last season and the Spirit Award last year given out by the crew team. KATIE BURCH Flying through the air with the greatest of ease would be Lauren's little sister, Katie, a sophomore. Her slight frame comes in handy as she is the "flyer" for the cheerleading squad. In her second season cheering for Assumption, Katie enjoys cheering for her own school versus cheering for one of the boys' schools because she likes to compete. "Cheerleaders for the boys' schools focus more on the games each week," explains Katie. Last year, her team won second place honors in their division at the Nationals held in Atlanta. As a cheerleader, Katie doesn't have much time to focus on other sports. Katie begins the season in late summer and it doesn't end until a month before school is out. Some months, practice may just be two or three times per week. But in the heat of the season, they go at least four times per week. Some days they work on skills then choreography, and other times they do her favorite, "stunt work." Outside of cheerleading, last year Katie participated in the Spanish club, made A's and only one B and won the Coaches Award, for being easy to coach. Katie's goals for her sophomore year: to get better in all aspects of cheering, join more clubs at school and to make straight A's. THERESE WIMSATT: Following in the footsteps of her sister, cousins and mother is freshman Therese Wimsatt. Her tall stature is an asset to her on the volleyball court, where she is a middle hitter. Assumption High School is known all over the nation for its volleyball program and Therese is proud to be a part of that tradition. That is one reason she chose Assumption. "My friends from my KIVA team were going to Assumption, and my sister and two cousins were also here, so it made my decision easy," she says. Last year's state champion, the team should be as prosperous this year, with most everyone returning. As determined and talented as Therese is at volleyball, she wants to try other sports as well. "Crew sounds fun, and I like basketball, so I may think about trying out for these sports at some point." Therese does not ignore her academics, though. She has been placed in Honors 1 classes and plans to make good grades and try hard in sports. Polite, modest and almost quiet for a group of related girls, one topic did get their hearts racing when they were asked what they do in their down time. No, the answer wasn't boys. Instead, Katie mentioned reading "The Twilight Series" by Stephenie Meyer. Everyone perked up at the mere mention of the series, which they likened to the Harry Potter books. The discussion quickly turned to the movie currently in the making and which book they like the best. "Oh my gosh," Katie exclaims, "You have got to get these books! They are so addictive! I've read them, like, three times!"