The Lady Whippets opened up their softball season with a tough 13-16 loss to Edgerton on Thursday, March 23.
The Whippets came out strong, scoring 10 runs in the first two innings. Whitewater could only plate 3 runs the rest of the way, while Edgerton was able to chip away at the lead. Edgerton capitalized on a few walks and defensive miscues late in the game to pull out the win.
Jenna Pope
Whitewater outhit Edgerton 14-10 with Sydney Schilt going 3×4, Falyn Krahn 2X4, Shyan Lesperance 2×5, Gaby Kubicz 2×4, and Nataly Benes 2×4.
The Whippets were home again on Friday, March 24th as they played host to Evansville.
Article Submitted by Ron Sdano Whitewater High School Head Softball Coach rsdano@wwusd.org Photo Courtesy of Bob and Peter Mischka
On Wednesday night, March 8, the Whippet Wrestling Team gathered at Whitewater High School to celebrate the team and individual successes over the course of the season. This was a great evening for the program as there were many things to celebrate for those present. As a team they celebrated a 10-2 season, best in 17 years, with a sectional runner-up finish. Individually lots was said for each of the student-athletes as they all saw great growth over the course of the season.
Award WinnersSeniors
At the JV level, Curtis Rossmiller came away with many accolades including outstanding takedown, outstanding pinning, and outstanding freshman award. JJ Gonzalez came away with the JV Most Valuable Wrestler Award as voted on by his peers.
At the Varsity level, Aaron Porras led the way in awards coming home with most takedowns (109), most pins (20), team leader, most dedicated, and most valuable wrestler. Along with being voted on by their peers for team leader was CJ Tomomitsu, Connor Friend, and Deavion Olson.
Each year those student-athletes with a GPA of 3.0 or higher are given an Academic Certificate. This year the team had 20 student-athletes receive a certificate. The student who is a sophomore or higher who has the highest GPA on the team also receives a plaque as the Scholar Athlete of the Year. This honor went to Lauren Buehler with a GPA of 3.829.
The evening came to a close by honoring the graduating seniors with the accomplishment frames that Dena Schimming makes for each senior as a departing gift. Best of luck to all seniors in their future endeavors!
Article and Photos Submitted by John Schimming Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach jschimming@wwusd.org
The WHS Portfolio Committee is seeking community members to be a part of the listening audiences on Wednesday, May 24, 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, April 28.
Members of the Whitewater High School Class of 2023 are currently preparing for the annual Portfolio Event which will be held on Wednesday, May 24, 4:00-7:00 p.m. at the high school.
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 two 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 and 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.
Article Submitted by Lauren Moll Whitewater High School Special Education Teacher lmoll@wwusd.org
Since this evening’s snow totals continue to be heavy as predicted, the Whitewater Unified School District is going to plan for a 2 hour AM delay tomorrow, March 10th.
Morning bus pick up will be two hours later than normal.
AM 4K will be cancelled. PM 4K will run as scheduled.
119 high school robotics teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and North Dakota descended on the city of Duluth for twin FIRST Robotics Regionals at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (the DECC) from March 1 through March 4. Ferradermis, Whitewater High School’s team, competed with 59 teams in the Northern Lights Regional, while the other 60 took part in the Lake Superior Regional. Ferradermis was one of the final 12 teams standing on the Northern Lights field, finishing as part of the 4th place alliance.
While at the event, the 17 WHS students who traveled with the team each took on different roles and responsibilities.
Driver Andrew O’Toole, Operator Ace Hudec, Technician Erison Dreksler, Human Player Jazmin Cederberg, and Drive Coach Dilpreet Randhawa waiting to take the field at the DECC with the 2023 robot Chief GatorVator
The team was led onto the field by Driver Andrew O’Toole, Operator Ace Hudec, Human Player Jazmin Cederberg, and Technician Erison Dreksler. After some unfortunate events on Friday, the team left the arena with a 2-4 record and ranked in the mid-forties. They returned with a fury on Saturday morning to win their final 3 qualification matches, finishing 5-4 and climbing to number 25 in the overall rankings. Ranked ninth in the offensive power ratings and having proven on Saturday morning that our bot was one of the strongest in the field, we were the 5th pick in alliance selections, joining the number 4 seeded alliance captained by the Warriorbots from Muskego High School. Warriorbots and Ferradermis would later invite Round Table Robotics from Oak Creek High School to join them to form an all-Wisconsin alliance.
Taking the Field for a MatchThe Alliance Selection Process for the Playoffs
The alliance lost their first playoff match in the double elimination tournament by three points, 108-105, to the fifth seeded alliance. They then bounced back with two strong wins, 104-60 and 112-75. In round 4, the alliance thought they had secured a victory, but after the match ended, the officials called for a replay due to a problem with the field. The Ferradermis alliance lost the rematch and was eliminated from the playoffs, finishing in fourth place.
Working in the PitsRecording Scouting Data in the Stands
Support in the pit was provided throughout the event by Safety Captain Daniel Portwine and electrical team members Elora Wildermuth-Breitzman and Belle Cohen. Competition Logistics Lead Emerson Dunham led the scouts including Zoe Olson, Chacha Binagi, Margaret Brown, and Rae Breisath, with many other students rotating through scouting shifts as well and Emerson representing the team on the field for alliance selections.
There are many activities and responsibilities at an FRC event that are not directly related to the robot as well. Cosette Wildermuth-Breitzman, Maddi LaHaie, and Andrew Zimmermann worked tirelessly on the team’s presentation for the Impact Award, which allows teams to highlight their community outreach and STEM education efforts. Five team members, including Willow Vogelzang and Mel Prince volunteered for the FRC Team choir, performing the national anthem at opening ceremonies for both regionals.
The Impact Presentation TeamFive Ferradermis Members in the FRC Team Choir
Ferradermis will next compete at the Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee at UW Milwaukee Panther Arena from March 22 through March 25. The event is free and open to the public on Friday and Saturday for the qualification and elimination rounds. We encourage spectators to both cheer from the stands and visit the pits to see the robots up close. Ferradermis members are especially looking forward to exposing some of our elementary and middle school students to this FRC event as we have chartered two busses to bring the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) teams from Lincoln, Lakeview, Washington, and the middle school to Milwaukee on Friday morning!
Team SpiritTalking with the JudgesTeam MealCheering on the TeamPost Event Bowling Fun
A special thanks to Tim O’Toole for pulling his trailer to Duluth and to our bus driver extraordinaire Bruce Parker for helping us arrive safely on Wednesday despite a winter storm that turned out to be much worse than predicted. Thank you also to all of our sponsors who make this team possible, our volunteer mentors who work tirelessly with the students, and our parents who keep us well fed and cheer us on both in person and online.
The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball Team traveled to Racine Lutheran for the Regional Semifinal Game on Friday night, February 24. Racine Lutheran played a tight zone defense denying us open shots. We adjusted our offense and worked to get the ball inside. At the half, we were down 28-16.
Danielle DePorter
Racine Lutheran came out on fire and our shots were not falling to start the second half, creating a bigger scoring gap. The second part of the half, we dug deep and fought hard with our defense forcing turnovers, which gave us a spark. Our offense started picking up, hitting our outside shots, but it was too big of a gap to overcome that late in the game, losing 45-62. We fought hard right to the very end and our post defense (Aidyn Amundson, Alex Martin, and Katie Gillette) did an amazing job containing Racine Lutheran’s 6’2 center.
Danielle DePorter led the Whippets with 15 points, all from 3-point range. Cali Kopecky scored 8 points and ripped down 11 rebounds. Katie Gillette also scored 8 and had 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Cali Grosinske added 6 points, 4 assists, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals. Kindyl Kilar scored 3 and had 5 rebounds.
Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach klippens@wwusd.org File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
On Thursday afternoon, February 23, Lauren Buehler and Aaron Porras had the opportunity to complete in their first appearance at the Wisconsin State Individual Wrestling meet at the Kohl Center in Madison. This is a great accomplishment for each of these two competitors as it is not an easy path to get there.
Lauren started our afternoon at state on Thursday in a great way. She started off the match with a beautiful takedown and did not look back. Up 11-3 in the second period Lauren was able to secure a pin for herself advancing her to the quarterfinal round. In her next match she ran into a young lady who is a real hammer and ended up getting pinned by her. Lauren came back on Friday morning needing to secure two wins to make the podium. Unfortunately, this year was not in the cards for Lauren, and she was defeated in her wrestle back match. Both young ladies who had defeated Lauren did making the top 6; one placed 3rd and the other 6th, so at least Lauren knows she went toe to toe with two of the top 6 students at her weight class in the state. Lauren is a junior so this was a valuable experience for her as she enters the off season.
Aaron Porras wrestled his opponent very well going with his game plan but unfortunately got into a scramble and ended up on his back and was pinned. Aaron closed out a very nice career with a 37-11 record as a senior, conference champion, Regional champion, sectional runner up and state qualifier. He ended his career with 72 wins.
Congratulations to both Lauren and Aaron on a great season as well as to the entire team as they have now concluded the 2022-23 campaign. The awards banquet is scheduled for Wednesday, March 8, 2023 in the high school cafeteria.
Article Submitted by John Schimming Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach jschimming@wwusd.org
It was truly a team effort! The Whippet Girls’ Basketball Team (#10) defeated Clinton (#7) 57-54 in the first round of regionals on Tuesday, February 21. Losing two close games to the Cougars in the regular season, we knew we needed to play two solid halves.
Cali Kopecky
We came out on fire with two steals by Cali Grosinske resulting in a 3-point shot by Danielle DePorter in our first possession. Grosinske stole the ball and hit a shot putting us up 5-0. Clinton inched ahead 5-6, but that was the last time they would lead as Kopecky hit her first of five 3-pointers of the game, putting us up 8-6. That set the tone for us offensively. Zoe Kohl, Kindyl Kilar, and Danielle DePorter joined Kopecky in connecting on shots from the arc.
Hitting those shots from outside was important for us a to counter Clinton’s zone defense. Mayte Navejas penetrated the gaps to score and create open looks on the perimeter. Senior, Cali Kopecky connected on four of her five 3s in the first half of the game.
Going into halftime we led 34-26.
The ball wouldn’t drop for us the first 5 minutes of the second half as Clinton started to close the gap 38-34. Solid defense in the lane by Kilar, Amundson, and Gillette, as well as hitting our free throws at the end of the game helped us maintain our lead. Danielle DePorter (5-5) and Kindyl Kilar (2-2) were 100% from the free throw line. Gillette hit the final bucket with 15 seconds left to secure the win.
Cali Kopecky led the Whippets with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Danielle DePorter added 11 points, and Katie Gillette scored 8. Cali Grosinske added 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. Mayte Navejas also scored 7 with 5 assists and 2 steals. Kilar scored 5 and rebounded 5.
Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach klippens@wwusd.org File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
On Tuesday, February 20th we celebrated our Whitewater Boys’ Swim Team season accomplishments. We have been so impressed with the team this year! Every single swimmer on this team has been valuable, dedicated, and grown into a better swimmer in their own way. They all have seen possibilities of where they can go and look forward to seeing their growth both in the pool and out.
WHS Boys’ Swim Team
All Conference Awards:
2nd Team – Tyler Arnett 2nd Team – Jack Hefty Honorable Mention – Cruz Aranda
Team Awards:
MVP – Jack Hefty Most Dedicated – Tyler Arnett Most Improved – Xavier Zei
Tyler Arnett, Jack Hefty, and Xavier ZeiCruz Aranda, Jack Hefty, and Tyler Arnett
Congratulations on an amazing season!
Article and Photos Submitted by Sarah Reynolds Whitewater High School Co-Head Boys’ Swim Coach sreynolds@wwusd.org
The Whippets got a spark offensively early on in the game with a steal and 3-point shot by junior Danielle DePorter within the first minute of the game. Clinton answered back, hitting two/ 3-pointers in back to back possessions. Clinton packed the lane on defense making it challenging for us to get inside looks. At half we were down 27-38.
Mayte Navejas
At the start of the second half, Cali Kopecky got our offense started, hitting a 3-point shot, but we got stuck at 30 while Clinton scored 11, putting us down by 19. We were able to close the gap a bit when we hit 4 consecutive 3-point shots. Our defense tightened up and forced some turnovers with our full court press and got within 3 with around 5 minutes left in the game. Clinton scored 11 of their 13 points in those last minutes on free throws to solidify the win 57-67.
Mayte Navejas led the Whippets with 16 points, followed by Danielle DePorter with 12 points, and Cali Kopecky with 10.
We play our first regional game on Tuesday, February 21 against Clinton at Clinton. Game time is 7pm.
Article and Senior Posters Submitted by Kristen Lippens Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach klippens@wwusd.org Action Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
