Sports

Wrapping up their regular season racing schedule on Saturday, September 30th, the Whippet Cross Country Teams competed in Platteville in a 33-team invitational. With challenging terrain and warm conditions, both programs had really strong race performances to boost their confidence as the team moves into the championship phase of the season. 

The Varsity Boys raced first with Jack Hefty running a really solid race to place 5th overall in 16:28. He put himself in a good position early and battled well with those around him. Nate Holden came in 15th with a time of 17:16. This is a really nice performance, and Nate has been solid in the number two position on the team. Xavier Zei rebounded well after last week’s Midwest Invitational and placed 26th in 17:55. These top three individuals all medaled in the meet. Miles Nickelsburg placed 39th with a time of 18:14. Onyx Thompson placed 122nd in 20:01, and Quincy Boudreau placed 133rd in 20:16. Overall, the boys placed 4th in the large school division.

The Varsity Girls’ race saw Mady Hefty have a breakthrough race and place 16th in 20:59. She extended herself in a way she hadn’t all season and beat some girls she had only seen from behind for some time. Athena Soto came in as the team’s second runner and placed 43rd in 22:06 but earned a medal by placing 25th in the large school division. Carley Boudreau and Nola Coburn once again found each other early in the race and ran together and drag raced to the finish. Today they finished with Carley in 59th and Nola in 62nd with times of 22:46 and 22:49. Ema Aranda was the team’s fifth runner today and placed 110th in 25:04. Isabella Aranda placed 132nd in 26:44. Overall, the girls’ team finished in 5th place in the large school division.

Isaac Straight led the boys’ JV team with a 42nd place showing and stopped the clock in 21:15. Not far behind was Wyatt Esch in 54th and Isaiah Mendez in 56th. Their times were 21:31 and 21:50, respectively. The boys’ JV team placed 11th overall amongst both the small and large school divisions.

Lauren Buehler led the JV team with a 36th place finish to stop the clock in 26:49. Sami Van Daele and Lucy Troxel placed 45th and 47th overall with times of 27:17 and 27:26. Overall the team placed 8th amongst both the small and large school divisions combined. 

Coach Carstens added, “I am really proud of the way the kids battled this difficult course with hot conditions. It was not easy, but they rose to the challenge. We now set our sights on putting our most complete races together in the month of October at the conference meet and beyond.”

BOYS RESULTS: http://www.accuracetiming.com/results/2023/plattcc_23b.pdf

GIRLS RESULTS: http://www.accuracetiming.com/results/2023/plattcc_23g.pdf

The team will now turn their attention to the Rock Valley Conference Meet on Thursday, October 12th. This event will be at UW-Whitewater with the varsity boys starting at 4:10, girls’ varsity at 4:50, and boys’ and girls’ combined JV at 5:25.

Article Submitted by Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Head Cross Country Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org
Photos Courtesy of Erica Holden

By Angela Kelm
UW-W Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information

Oshkosh, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team opened its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference slate with a big 37-21 win at UW-Oshkosh Saturday afternoon. The Warhawks are ranked third in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll and fourth according to D3football.com. UW-Oshkosh is ranked 21^st and 20^th in the two polls respectively.

Box Score 

The Warhawks scored early and often to take a 23-0 lead into the break. UWW had an opportunity to put up points in the first drive of the game as Jeff Isotalo-McGuire attempted a 47-yard field goal, just two yards shy of his career best but the kick was no good. The Warhawk defense forced a three-and-out to bring the offense back on to the field. 

UW-Whitewater drove 60 yards in 14 plays in their second drive of the day. To cap the over seven-minute drive, Alec Ogden hit a wide-open Tommy Coates cutting across the end zone from three yards out for the score. A failed extra point made it 6-0 UWW. The Warhawk defense got off the field just five plays later after forcing a punt and the offense took care of business once again. 

Late in the drive Coates hauled in another pass from Ogden for 15 yards to put the Warhawks on Oshkosh’s 12. Alijah Maher-Parr took the handoff and turned the corner off the left side of the line for a touchdown run. The extra point from Isotalo-McGuire split the uprights to give UWW a 13-0 advantage. 

The next two drives were deja vu — a five-play Titan drive ending in a punt followed by a long UWW drive capped with a touchdown. In the longest drive of the game, the 17-play, 77-yard scoring drive was capped on a scoring run by Ogden. The quarterback scampered out of the pocket to his left, surveyed and tucked the ball bolting for the goal line. He took a hit as the Titan defender wrapped him up, but Ogden reached for the line, with the ball just crossing for the score. Another extra point had UWW enjoying a 20-0 advantage. 

With time ticking down in the first half, the Warhawk defense came up with a huge turnover. Carter Sessa snagged a pass intended for a UWO receiver and returned it seven yards to the Titans’ 30. Just 14 seconds remained before the intermission and that was all UWW would need as Isotalo-McGuire hit from 38-yards out as time expired to send the Warhawks into the locker room with a 23-0 lead. 

The host team got on the board in the third quarter capping an 11-play drive with a short touchdown pass. The Titans opted to go for a two-point conversion, but the attempt failed. 

The Warhawks responded with another touchdown drive. This time it took just nine plays with Tamir Thomas entering the scoring column on a 17-yard run. Isotalo-McGuire’s kick made it 30-6. 

UW-Whitewater’s stifling defense continued to frustrate the Titans. Joey Antonietti jumped a passing lane and hauled in the interception with open space ahead of him securing the 45-yard pick-6. With the extra point, the Warhawks took a 37-6 lead. 

UW-Oshkosh registered the longest play of the day, a 71-yard touchdown pass in their next drive to make it 37-13 in the fourth. An interception for the Titan defense led to more points for UWO as they narrowed the gap to 37-21. 

The Warhawk defense responded in kind two drives later as Kamrin Hutt picked off the UWO quarterback with less than three minutes to go. A couple of big runs for Thomas gave the Warhawks the first downs they would need before the team could kneel out the clock to secure the win. 

UW-Whitewater put up nearly 500 yards of total offense while the defense held the Titans to under 300 on their home turf. Ogden was 18-28 for 262-yards, two touchdowns – one passing and one rushing – and an interception in his first game back from an injury. Coates was Ogden’s favorite target on the day, hauling in six catches, including a touchdown reception, for 86 yards. 

The Warhawks’ back field tandem of Thomas and Maher-Parr combined for 207 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. 

UWW’s defense was phenomenal with three interceptions, two sacks, three tackles for a loss and numerous pass breakups. Roy Panthier and Ethan Gallagher tallied five tackles each. Braeden Barrett and Caden Naselli got to the UWO quarterback for sacks and Kyle Koelblinger added a tackle for a loss in the game. 

By Angela Kelm
Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
UW-W

UW-Whitewater Football Returns to Action with WIAC Opener at Oshkosh Saturday | Game Notes (PDF)

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team is back in action Saturday for the 2023 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at UW-Oshkosh. Kickoff at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium is slated for 1:05 p.m. 

Coming off of the bye week, the Warhawks moved up one spot to third in the latest release of the American Football Coaches Association poll while remaining fourth in the D3football.com Top 25. UW-Oshkosh moved up two spots to 21st according to the AFCA and two spots to 20th in the D3 poll.

Both squads should be well rested for the WIAC opener after the bye week last week. Saturday’s matchup will pit two of the top four rushing offenses against two of the top four total defenses. UW-Whitewater leads the league with 224.7 yards per game while UW-Oshkosh is ranked fourth in the WIAC at 164.7 yards per contest. So far this season, both teams have been phenomenal at extending drives. The Warhawks are ranked 10th in 3rd down conversion percentage (56.4%) while the Titans convert nearly 60% of the time, ranked fifth nationally. Defensively, UWO is third in the conference allowing 291.0 yards per game while UWW is fourth at 314.3 per outing.

During the three-game non-conference campaign, the Warhawks averaged 33.3 points, 224.7 rushing yards, 202.3 passing yards and over 400 total yards per game. UW-Oshkosh averages 43 in scoring, 164.7 on the ground, 277.7 through the air and over 440 total yards per game.

ON THE AIR
Football fans can watch the game live on the WIAC Network or tune into Josh Golberg and Bill O’Leary on 105.9 The Hog for the call. 

SERIES
This is the 112th meeting between these two WIAC powerhouses. The Warhawks own the series 78 wins dating back to the first game in 1897. Since 2005, the Warhawks are 6-3 against UWO in games played at Titan Stadium. In that span, just two WIAC openers have been hosted by UWO — the Titans won in 2017 37-20 while the Warhawks took the 2006 matchup 17-3. In the nine games played at Titan Stadium since 2005, UW-Whitewater has averaged 25 points per game and held the host team to just over 16.

Thursday night, September 28, saw Whitewater play host to Jefferson in Boys’ Soccer on what turned into a thrilling senior/parent night for all involved.

The first half was closely contested with Whitewater’s Sebastian Cuellar scoring a deserved penalty. Jefferson equalized 5 minutes later, and we went to half time all square at 1-1.

A special halftime ceremony honoring our seniors and their parents developed into a successful 2nd half of play for the Whippets. All aspects of the second half were dominated by Whitewater, and Sebastian Cuellar added two more goals to complete his hat trick.

It was a bittersweet evening for our seniors as they saw their final home game of the regular season come and go. The Whippets travel to Lodi on Saturday for a tournament to take on Middleton’s Varsity Reserve, Madison Country Day, and Lodi. 

Whitewater:

• 24’ Sebastian Cuellar goal
• 59’ Sebastian Cuellar goal assisted by Ethan Dugan
• 78’ Sebastian Cuellar goal assisted by Johan Perez

• Phoenix Jones with 4 saves
• Casey Schlicher with 4 saves

Monroe:

• 29’ Jacob Kerkenbush goal

• Sam Steies with 9 saves

Article Submitted by Sam Burns
Whitewater High School Head Boys’ Soccer Coach
dburns@wwusd.org

The Whitewater Girls’ Swim Team competed at home against Jefferson/Cambridge on Tuesday, September 26. Our athletes showed up to compete as many obtained personal best times for the season.

Adalynn Frye took on the 200 Freestyle for the first time this season. She also went a best time in the 100 Breaststroke by 16 seconds. 

Zoe Zei has found a love for the 500 Freestyle and is absolutely crushing it. She dropped 21 seconds from just last week! 

Lucy Davis swam the 200 Freestyle for the first time this season and dropped 24 seconds from last year. She also went a best time in the 100 Butterfly by dropping 8 seconds. 

Marijose Verduzco swam the 50 Butterfly in a Medley relay which we hope is the first of many Butterfly races. She also went a best time in the 100 Freestyle by 5 seconds. 

Atreya Wilson went 3 of 4 in best times for the night which included a 3 second drop in the 100 Breaststroke. 

The 400 Freestyle Relay consisting of Makayla Bazeley, Charlotte Hajewski, Maggie Maas, and Emerson Dunham won their heat with a time of 4:27.43. 

The Swim Team is back in the pool on Tuesday, October 3, at Elkhorn. We hope to see you all there!

Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org

The Whitewater Volleyball Team beat visiting Monroe in 4 sets on Dig Pink Night (19-25, 25-18, 25-13, 25-18), Thursday, September 28. The night started with some heartfelt tributes to two special moms who beat breast cancer, Nicole Grosinske and Nikki Amundson. Both Calli and Aidyn gave moving speeches about their moms and their fight against cancer. Our continued love and support of them, and anyone impacted by cancer, is endless.

Coach Mary Kilar commented, “We finally put together a match and played like the team we know we are! When we visited Monroe, we lost in a 5-set battle. So, to turn around and host them and beat them solidly in four sets shows our improvement. As a coaching staff we have been preaching playing to win, and tonight we took control and did just that! We also have been working hard to improve our ace to error ratio on serve, and we accomplished this with 16 aces and 8 errors.”

Tonight, Calli Grosinske saw the court and bettered the ball each chance she got. She led us again with another double-double and ended the night with 24 kills, hitting a .283, scoring 3 aces and 13 digs. I was so pleased to see her respond with leadership; she had a solid night tonight!

Ella Spear also had a great night passing a 2.0, and was a force behind the serving line and defensively. She racked up 6 aces, 13 digs, and 7 assists. Falyn Krahn contributed 3 kills, 8 digs, and a block. Zoe Kohl added 14 digs and an ace. Manny Mbifi added 3 kills and a block, Meg Roselle finished the night with 2 kills and 5 digs, and Savannah O’Neil came in with 2 aces!

Finally, our senior setter Marina Linos, had a stellar night behind the line with 4 aces, and a double-double of 15 assists and 12 digs, also adding 2 kills.

To see our team regroup after a loss of 5 sets at Delavan and take over this match was exactly what we knew this team is capable of. I am happy for them and proud of their work tonight!

Thank you to all who came out and supported our Dig Pink. Next up is Play for Trey on Tuesday, October 3rd. Wear your Play for Trey gear, blue and gold, and come out to support us against Jefferson. JV1 and JV2 at 5:00 PM and varsity to follow at 6:30.

Article and Photos Submitted by Mary Kilar
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
mkilar@wwusd.org

A couple calls didn’t go our way that should have, and the Whippets lost a tightly contested volleyball match in 5 sets (23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 16-18) to Delavan on Tuesday, September 26.

Coach Mary Kilar commented, “This match was ours. I felt we played more consistently, managed our game plan and played well as a team. Unfortunately, a couple critical calls and we found ourselves losing in the final set 16-18. I was truly disappointed for the athletes, as I felt they deserved this match because of the way they battled and played offensively and defensively. We truly need to overcome the mental doubt that creeps in when matches get close and are on the line. We need to have ‘finish’ mentality, because these matches are ours!”

Manny Mbifi had an outstanding match for us. It was so awesome to see Manny fired up about her blocking and play. Manny ended the night with 6 kills and 5 blocks. She was a leader tonight, and the coaching staff has wanted all season to see her confidence blossom, and tonight it did.

Falyn Krahn also had an outstanding night both offensively and defensively. Falyn listens to every bit of coaching and immediately puts it into practice. She is so fun to coach because she works hard, leaves it all on the court, and although undersized for an outside hitter, she always follows the scouting plan and scores for us. She works just as hard on defense as she does on offense and she ended the night with 9 kills, 3 aces, 21 digs, and 3 block assists.

Ava Alvarado passed a 2.5 on the night and was so consistent in defense. She is so solid and consistent! She never quit on a ball, and had some amazing saves.

Ella Spear is a consistent leader for us. She is passing solidly, and owning the libero position. She works so hard, and wants her team to do well. She had 5 aces and led us in digs on the night with 25. Our defense is strong, and tonight was no different. Zoe Kohl finished the night with 16 digs and 3 aces. Sydney Schilt added 6 kills (hitting a .200), 4 digs, and 2 blocks.

Meg Roselle came through with her serve and defense. She added 4 kills, 1 ace, 4 assists, 6 digs, and 3 blocks.

Marina Linos continues to work hard in the setting position dishing out 19 assists, 1 ace, 6 digs, and 1 block.

Calli Grosinske continued to battle and added yet another double-double with 17 kills and 21 digs.

The Whippets overall hit a .056, had 13 aces and 19 errors, 107 digs, and 8 blocks. I have said all season that we are a defensively strong team. You can see in our dig stat that this is true. We have been focusing on serve, serve receive, and blocking at practices, and it is so nice to see our block stat improve. I am hopeful with continued service training we can improve our ace to error ratio as that will finish matches for us.

To see this fight is so great. We have so much to be proud of tonight. We battled and battled hard. I am so proud of the athletes tonight!

Article Submitted by Mary Kilar
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
mkilar@wwusd.org