WOMEN'S COLLEGE SWIMMING: WAVERLY'S KITTLE SIGNS TO SWIM FOR DIVISION I BRYANT UNIVERSITY (February 11, 2026)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
WAVERLY — Senior Mira Kittle will leave the Waverly swim program as its most highly-decorated swimmer ever, having raised the bar for future generations. She raised it even higher Wednesday when she became the first Waverly girl to commit to swim for a Division I program.

In a brief ceremony in the high school learning center, Kittle signed a national Letter-of-Intent to swim at Division I Bryant University, which is located in Smithfield, Rhode Island and is a member of the America East Conference.

"I really enjoyed the team aspect when I was (at Bryant), and the coaches just do so much for their athletes and show how much they care," said Kittle. "It was really all I was looking for in a college.

"(Bryant) has a pretty strong sprint program, and from what I've seen, they have a growing program, too," added Kittle.

It wasn't an easy decision for Kittle, who also considered Binghamton University, the Naval Academy, and the University of Buffalo.

"It was a pretty hard decision," she said. "They were all really good schools, and they all have a special place for me, because I went and visited them. 

"I talked to the coaches, and I met all the team members, and it was hard in the sense that I connected with the team when I was there, so then I was like, 'what team do I want to be a part of?'

"They were all super-nice, and it definitely was difficult to choose, but I knew Bryant just felt like home," Kittle added.

Kittle leaves Waverly with eight school records, including diving, a record she broke on her first attempt in the event. She also has the second-fastest time in Section IV history in the 50-yard freestyle, and third-fastest in the 100 free.

Waverly assistant coach Kyle Ackland says her ultra-competitive streak is the biggest reason for her success.

"She hates to lose, hates to lose, and you can't always even teach that," said Ackland. "We try to bring that out in some of the other girls ... not everyone has that."

"She's a spitfire," he added.

Ackland said Kittle is at her best when the lights are shining the brightest.

"I'm not saying she's a bad practice swimmer, but I wouldn't define her as this incredible workhorse," he said "Where she really shines is when she gets up to the block. 

"She hates to lose, and we've seen that over and over and over again," Ackland added.

Ackland attributes her massive success not only to her competitiveness, but to her gymnastic background, and her work in the weight room in recent years.

"I have to give credit where credit is due," he said. "She came to us already extremely strong and coordinated from gymnastics

"I tell anyone that I would start my son or daughter in gymnastics after what I've seen. 

"So when she first came to use she was already very strong, then in the last five years she has worked in the weight room with our strength and conditioning coach Eric Ryck, and we've seen incredible results," Ackland noted.

"If you have an athlete at Waverly and you want to be successful, you're doing them a dis-service if they're not working with coach Ryck," said Ackland.

"Our girls are stronger than most of the girls we're swimming against  and that's in no small part due to coach Ryck," he added.

Waverly coach Amy Steck, who knows Kittle has the talent to be successful at the Division I level, believes her biggest challenge could be adjusting to college.

"To go from high school swimming to Division I, or just a collegiate program in general, is going to be an adjustment in itself," said Steck. "Then, there's all the components that play into it, transitioning to a new environment and everything that accompanies entering college. 

"The (Bryant) program is gonna have different expectations," she noted. It's a co-ed program, it will be a larger team, she's going to be the youngest one again. 

"And just the length of the season in itself, too," added Steck. "They're gonna start at the end of August, and it will continue through March; so that's going to be different."

Ackland said Kittle has a unique talent not a lot of athlete possess, and it will help her make the necessary adjustments.

"She has an incredible talent that not everyone has," he said. "When you explain something to her that you need done, she can do it.

"There are all kinds of disconnects when you're explaining technical things, and you're trying to coach someone," said Ackland. "She just picks it up whereas others girls or guys don't. 

"For others, sometimes it takes months, years, sometimes never. They just don't understand," he noted. "You tell Mira once or twice, and she's like 'I got this,' then she does it.

"That's very rare," Ackland added.

Kittle wasn't always sure Division I swimming was in her future.

"I'm really excited," she said. "I know when I was first talking to colleges, I was very nervous I wasn't going to be able to talk to any D-1 schools.

"I wasn't sure what was gonna happen with it, but I'm very grateful that they've given me the opportunity, and took time to even talk to me and look at me as a swimmer," said Kittle. 

"I'm just super-happy (Bryant) is going to allow me to swim with their program." Kittle added.

Kittle will major in Exercise Science with the goal of being an athletic trainer or a physical therapist.



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