Ames Today

Iowa State athletes Kate Mitchell and Carlotta Gazzola have received Big 12 weekly awards after strong performances during the team's recent road competitions against South Dakota State and South Dakota.

Mitchell, from Frankfort, Illinois, was named Big 12 Women's Diver of the Week. She secured three individual event wins over the weekend, including sweeping the diving events against South Dakota with scores of 274.80 in the 1 meter and 281.70 in the 3 meter diving categories. At South Dakota State, Mitchell finished second in the 1 meter but took first place on the 3 meter boards with a weekend-best score of 295.50.

Gazzola earned recognition as Big 12 Women's Newcomer of the Week after her debut collegiate road meets. The Milan, Italy native won four individual distance events across both meets. She set a pool record at South Dakota State in the 1650 freestyle with a personal-best time of 17:24.79, surpassing the previous mark by 3.5 seconds. Gazzola also swept both the 500 and 1000 freestyle events against each opponent, finishing undefeated in her individual races.

According to Iowa State officials, "The efforts of Mitchell and Gazzola helped Iowa State capture two road wins, continuing the team's strong start to the 2025-26 season."