The Whippet Baseball Team competed against Evansville on Tuesday, April 9, and unfortunately came out on the losing end by a score of 6-4.
Owen Hicks
The Whippets fell behind 4-0 in the middle innings but cut the deficit to 4-2 in the top of the 6th. The tying run was on 2nd base when the final out was recorded.
Leading the offense was Owen Hicks and Emmett Spear who went 2×4 and 1×2 respectively.
Owen Hicks handled the starting pitching duties and went 4⅔ innings. Mike Pope came in relief to finish the game.
The Whippets will be in action again on Friday, April 12, against Big Foot at home. Game time is set for 4:45 pm.
Article Submitted by Michael Hookstead Whitewater High School Head Baseball Coach mhookstead@wwusd.org File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
On April 9th, the Whitewater Whippet Softball Team defeated the Delavan-Darien Comets 21-3 thanks in part to 14 runs in the first inning. Falyn Krahn homered to left field, scoring three runs. Gaby Kubicz doubled, scoring three runs. Paige Kollwelter doubled, scoring two runs. Sydney Schilt singled, scoring one run. Taiya Kolb singled, scoring two runs. Savannah O’Neal doubled, scoring one run. Marianna Kubicz doubled, scoring one run.
Savannah O’Neal
The Whippets added to their early lead after the top of the second inning when Schilt tripled, Gosh singled, and O’Neal singled each scoring a run. A single by Lauren Buehler, and a walk by Kubicz extended their early lead in the third.
O’Neal earned the win for the Whitewater Whippets. The left-handed pitcher surrendered two hits and one run (unearned). Kollwelter appeared as the relief pitcher. The Whippets had seven stolen bases in the game.
Article Submitted by Krista Sbarra Whitewater High School Head Softball Coach sbakr01@wwusd.org File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
Congratulations are in order for Mr. Paul Majors! Majors was named the 2024 Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association District 6 Wrestling Assistant Coach of the Year. This is an award voted on by the WWCA Coaches in District 6 which includes the area from Clinton, north to Markesan, to Fond Du Lac, to Mukwonago, and to Lake Geneva.
Mr. Majors has been involved in the wrestling program as a volunteer or paid coach for over 20 years and is very deserving of this award. The student-athletes love how well he connects with them and the advice about not only wrestling but more importantly life that he provides. Congratulations, Coach Majors. Job well done!
Article and Photos Submitted by John Schimming Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach jschimming@wwusd.org
Whitewater High School Forensics competed at the RVC Tournament on Saturday, led by outstanding performances from seniors Emerson Ellenwood (1st place in Expository Speaking), Emilia Houwers (2nd place in Expository Speaking), Emmanuella Mbifi (1st place in Extemporaneous Speaking), Lauren Rollette (1st place in Solo Serious Acting), and junior Carley Boudreau (1st place in Informative Speaking).
An Edgerton student, Carley Boudreau, Emmanuella Mbifi, Lauren Rollette, and Emerson Ellenwood
Ellenwood, Houwers, Rollette, Boudreau, and senior Marina Linos will finish out the season at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Speech and Dramatic Arts Association (WISDAA) State Tournament at DeForest High School on Saturday, April 20th.
Article and Photo Submitted by Elizabeth Miller Whitewater High School Forensics Coach emiller@wwusd.org
The cost is $20 if paying by cash/check; $20.66 if paying online. Orders may be submitted using the link at the top of this post. They must be submitted by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, April 12th. Payment is not due now, but must be made before signs can be picked up or delivered.
The WHS Portfolio Committee is seeking community members to be a part of the listening audiences on Wednesday, May 22, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. We are hoping for at least 15 Whitewater Community members to participate. Community members willing to attend the presentations can email lmoll@wwusd.org or call 262-472-8203 to sign up by Friday, May 3.
Members of the Whitewater High School Class of 2024 are currently preparing for the annual Portfolio Event which will be held on Wednesday, May 22, 4:00-7:00 p.m. at the high school.
File Photo from the Class of 2023
This event for seniors allows them to showcase their academic achievements, celebrate their accomplishments, and share their postsecondary career and academic plans before graduation. To make the presentations more meaningful, students present to an audience of WHS staff members and members of the community along with family and friends who are invited to attend.
Students present examples of their best work in core academic and elective areas, share 2 or more examples of their involvement in activities in and outside of school, or work experiences, and at least one service activity that had special significance. Students then describe their future career & educational plans and the pathway they have chosen to accomplish their career goals. Graduates end their presentation by summarizing the most important learning experiences they’ve had in high school and how they hope to use their knowledge and skills to become a productive and responsible member of society.
We are looking forward to having our community support for this event.
Article Submitted by Kate McNulty WHS Senior Class Advisor kmcnulty@wwusd.org
Ferradermis spent part of their Spring Break in Chicago, enjoying some strong competition at the Midwest Regional, which featured 50 teams from 6 countries and 10 states. Teams traveled from Panama, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Canada, and Mexico, to join American teams from Hawaii, California, Florida, Arkansas, New York, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Minnesota at Credit Union 1 Arena on the campus of the University of Illinois Chicago from March 27 – 30. Among the participants were four FIRST Hall of Fame teams – Team 359 Hawaiian Kids, Team 111 Wildstang, Team 16 Bomb Squad, and Team 191 the X-Cats – as well as a member of last year’s world championship alliance, Team 4096 Ctrl-Z.
Ferradermis more than held its own in this elite field on day one of qualification matches, going 5-2 and ending the day ranked 11th. The team returned to action on Saturday morning for 3 additional qualification matches, going 1-2, with a final ranking of 18th out of 50 at the end of the morning. The robot’s performance has steadily improved at each of the team’s three regional events, scoring more and more points in each aspect of the game (autonomous, tele-op, and the endgame).
Ferradermis worked with teams from Mukwonago, Muskego, and Chicago as part of a scouting allianceThe drive team steps from their nearby pit into the queue for a match
During the 15-second autonomous period at the beginning of each match, the robot runs pre-programmed code to pick up and shoot notes (orange foam rings) from various pre-determined positions on the field. The Ferradermis Programming Team, led by Ace Hudec, has been logging extra hours between and during competitions to improve the autonomous routines. The biggest challenge of autonomous is coordinating with your alliance partners to make sure your pre-programmed paths are complementary and will not interfere with each other. Bumping another robot during autonomous will force both robots off of their planned paths, and neither will be successful. Ferradermis has prepared a variety of different autonomous routines in order to coordinate with their other alliance robots.
The Ferradermis robot, Chief Lee the Tangerine, has become an expert at scoring notes in the amp (a shorter field element) during the tele-op period when the robot is controlled by Driver Andrew O’Toole and Operator Kay Mikos. When one note has been placed in the amp for each alliance, there is an opportunity for the human players for the two alliances to push a button and activate a “coopertition bonus” which lowers the threshold that both alliances need to meet to earn a ranking point for note scoring. During the Chicago event, only two teams – Ferradermis and Mukwonago – had a perfect 1.0 Coopertition score. This score is also used as a tie-breaker in the rankings if multiple teams have the same average number of rank points.
In addition to managing the coopertition bonus, Human Player Erison Dreksler also controls amplification. Notes scored in the larger field element (the speaker) count as 2 points each during tele-op, unless the speaker is amplified, and then they count as 5 points. The speaker can be amplified for 10 seconds at a time each time two new notes have been placed in the amp, and the human player has pressed the amplification button. Timing is everything in this operation, as you want all 3 alliance robots prepared to shoot notes into the speaker within that 10-second timeframe after the button is pushed, potentially also having other notes on the ground nearby to try and get off additional shots.
During the endgame (the final 20 seconds of a match), robots try and climb onto chains on the stage (a third field element). Chief Lee the Tangerine is an excellent climber, and can be counted on by its alliance partners to climb when needed as part of match strategy.
Only 24 teams make the playoffs (not necessarily the top 24 ranked teams), and by midday Saturday, the team anxiously awaited alliance selections. During alliance selections, the top 8 ranked teams get to choose their alliance partners for the playoffs. Decisions are based on scouting data gathered during the event as well as sometimes, prior relationships. Teams attempt to build well-rounded alliances with 3 robots that will complement each other in all aspects of the game on the field. Ferradermis Game Strategy Subteam Lead Emerson Dunham graciously accepted an invitation from Team #5847 Ironclad from Bradley, Illinois, who was ranked #5 in qualifications, and Team #930 from Mukwonago, who was ranked #30 in qualifications, to join the #4 seeded playoff alliance. Ferradermis then agreed to mount a shield onto Chief Lee for the playoffs that would help them play defense on behalf of their alliance, and this added an interesting twist to the remaining matches. The alliance was eliminated after only two playoff matches, when both Chief Lee and the Ironclad robot experienced mechanism failures.
Representatives of the teams forming the #4 seeded playoff alliance – Ironclad, the Mukwonago Bears, and Ferradermis – stand together on the field.
Throughout the week, the team was supported by students serving in many additional roles including Technician Nina Heim, Safety Captain Elora Wildermuth-Breitzman, Head Scouts Andrew Zimmermann and Cyrus Hudec, Videographer Margaret Brown, Judging Spokespeople Maddison LaHaie and Cosette Wildermuth-Breitzman, Scouts Chacha Binagi, Zoe Olson, Toby Kapfer, and Belle Cohen, and Pit Crew Member Luc Pomazak.
Ferradermis had never participated in the Midwest Regional before, and it was a fantastic experience. The team spent time at the WNDR (wonder) Museum upon arrival in Chicago on day one, and enjoyed several meals together as well. The competition itself was a really great warm-up for what the team will see in Houston at the FIRST World Championships in two weeks, both in the high level of competition and in the global nature of the teams in attendance. For the 2023 Championships, Houston hosted around 50,000 people representing 974 student robotics teams from 59 countries across the FLL, FTC, and FRC levels. The FRC competition this year (the level in which Ferradermis competes) expects to host 600 teams from approximately 30 countries divided into 8 fields/divisions. Each division will crown a champion alliance, and then the division champions will play off against each other for the title of world champion.
Lights, mirrors, and optical illusions entertained students at the WNDR Museum.
Article and Photos Submitted by Laura Masbruch Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor lmasbruch@wwusd.org
The FFA Dairy Cattle Evaluation team competed at the regional Career Development Event (CDE) contest in Janesville on March 15th.
Pictured (l to r) is team of Katie Gillette, Emily Schmidt, Eloise Rohloff, and Payton Bunger.
Students demonstrated their dairy cattle knowledge through a written assessment, evaluating and ranking classes of dairy cattle, and providing verbal reasons to judges for their evaluation rankings.
All our students scored well individually to earn an overall team ranking of 2nd place. Their 2nd place ranking qualifies the team for the state contest on April 25th at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. Congratulations to the team, and good luck at State.
Article Submitted by Paul Majors and Allison Parsons Whitewater High School Ag Teachers and FFA Advisors pmajors@wwusd.org, paral01@wwusd.org
The Whitewater High School Forensics Team had amazing performances at Thursday night’s District competition hosted by Stoughton High School. This is part of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Speech and Dramatic Arts Association (WISDAA) State Series.
