Women’s History Month, Rachel (Heitkamp) Chaney (’22)
OSHKOSH, Wis.- This Women's History Month, UW-Oshkosh Athletics is proud to honor our female Hall of Famers in a series of eight stories throughout March. This campaign creates the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our female Hall of Famers. Our sixth story will look at what Hall of Fame class of 2022 member Rachel (Heitkamp) Chaney did with the Titans and her life after Oshkosh.
Rachel (Heitkamp) Chaney ('22), a Mequon native, came to UW-Oshkosh in 2000 after graduating from Homestead High School. While competing for the Titans, she earned seven WIAC Diver of the Week selections, Oshkosh's first WIAC Championship Diver of the Meet (Abbi Priestley became the second in 2023) and their only NCAA Division III Championship Diver of the Meet. Over her four years, she collected two NCAA Division III Individual Titles (First in program history), eight NCAA Division III All-America honors (First in program history) and five WIAC individual titles, which ranks second in program history. She is tied with Cheri (Tiegs) Meyer (HOF Class of 2018) and sits behind Renee Porter who holds six.
In her freshman year, Chaney won the 1-meter dive at the WIAC Championship in Oshkosh's Albee Hall with a score of 416.35 and took second in the 3-meter dive behind fellow Titan Erin (LeRoy) Klump (HOF Class of 2021) with a 389.80. During the NCAA Division III Championship in Buffalo, N.Y., she earned All-America honors in the 1-meter dive with third place finish (371.35), also earning All-America Honorable Mention in the 3-meter dive, placing ninth (384.70).
Chaney placed second behind Klump in both dives with a score of 413.65 on the 1-meter dive and a 458.05 on the 3-meter dive at the 2002 WIAC Championship, hosted by UW-Whitewater. She qualified for the national tournament again, competing for Oshkosh at the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center in Oxford, Ohio. She placed ninth in the 3-meter dive, scoring 375.55 and 10th in the 1-meter dive, scoring 345.15, earning All-America Honorable Mention for both.
Chaney won both dives at the 2003 WIAC Championships, held in Stevens Point. She scored a 486.65 on the 3-meter dive and a 437.60 on the 1-meter dive and was named the WIAC Championship Diver of the Meet. The NCAA Championship was hosted by Emory University in Atlanta that season. A 383.85 finish in the 1-meter dive placed her is second and earned her an All-America nod. She also finished fourth in the 3-meter dive, scoring a 430.00 on her way to the NCAA Division III Championship Diver of the Meet honor.
Chaney swept both dives in the conference and national meets and earned Diver of the Meet at both as well. During the WIAC Championships at Albee Hall, she scored 437.60 in the 1-meter dive and 486.65 in the 3-meter dive. At the NCAA Championships, hosted by Principia College at the St. Peters, Mo. Rec-Plex, she finished with scores of 387.05 in the 1-meter dive and 457.05 in the 3-meter dive. She set the program 1-meter dive (six dives) record on October 31, 2003, with a 283.25 during a dual meet at Albee Hall against North Central College (Ill.). She also set the program 1-meter dive (11 dives) on February 20, 2004, during the WIAC Championships with a 428.25. The record stood until November 12, 2022, when Priestley reset the record at the Lawrence University (Wis.) Gene Davis Invitational.
Current UW-Oshkosh diving coach, Amy McQuillan, joined the staff for the 2003-04 season. "Rachel was an unwavering athlete. Always a fierce competitor with her eye on the prize, so to speak. As a senior specifically, she knew what it took to reach the top of the podium at the NCAA Championships and performed accordingly." McQuillan said Chaney also pushed her to be a better coach "As a young coach just starting my career, Rachel challenged me in a way that has helped shape who I am today, and in many ways, how I coach." Overall, McQuillan is proud of Chaney and the woman she has become, "I enjoyed watching Rachel succeed as a UWO student-athlete and sharing a portion of that journey with her. I now enjoy observing her succeed as a wife and mother. As a home educator to her four boys, Rachel is helping to shape the men they will become one day. Rachel is a patient and resilient woman, and truly embodies the meaning of a strong woman."
After graduating from Oshkosh in 2006, Chaney worked as a Healthcare Recruiter and Hairstylist before starting as a Home Educator in 2017. She lives in Warrenville, Ill. with her husband, Adam and their four children; Jack, Sam, Levi, and Luke. During the WIAC's Centennial Celebration in 2012, she was named to the All-Time Women's Swimming and Diving Team. Meyer and Porter joined her on the team.
Stay tuned to uwoshkoshtitans.com and our social media accounts for the next story on our Hall of Famers. Next week, we will be highlighting Robyn Jarocki-Hughes ('19) and Mary (Leivian) Taylor ('05).