Sports

The 2nd annual Whitewater Holiday Tournament Boys’ Basketball Tournament has concluded. The Laconia Spartans won the championship game over the Clinton Cougars 79-61. Clinton, Laconia, and Poynette all traveled and showed up to support their teams! 

The All-Tournament Team included the following:

• Reece Condon, Whitewater High School, 19.5 points per game (second time on all-tournament team)
• Bryce Frey, Poynette High School
• Reagan Flickinger, Clinton High School, 24 points per game, (second time on all-tournament team)
• Camden Smit, Laconia High School 
• Cash Ferrell, Laconia High School, 32 points in the championship game

Friday Summary

Game 1 Laconia vs Poynette (5:30 pm):

Laconia defeated Poynette 85-44. Laconia’s defense was led by senior guard Camden Smit, who also contributed 16 points and hit four 3’s. Junior Cash Farrell led Laconia is scoring with 17 points. Head Coach Dylan Wurtz played 12 and led the team to their fourth win of the season. Poynette battled, played hard, and had two players in double figures. Paceler Moll had 13 points, and senior Bryce Frey had 10. 

Game 2 Clinton vs. Whitewater (7:00 pm):

Clinton blew out Whitewater 66-37. The Whippets of Whitewater were down two at halftime and a series of turnovers led to the Clinton Cougars extending the lead. Senior Reagan Flickinger had 20 points. Sophomore Mason Floberg contributed 11 points. Whitewater was led by Reece Condon with 21 points. He had 13 of the 17 second half points for the team. Clinton went to 4-3 with the victory and Whitewater fell to 1-7.

Saturday Summary

Game 1 Poynette vs. Whitewater (5:30 pm):

Whitewater (1-8) fell to Poynette (4-4) by a score of 72-56. The game was close until the final two minutes and was a back-and-forth contest throughout most of the second half. The Whippets had three players in double figures: Reece Condon (18), Marcos Sagrero (13), and Matthew Carollo (12). The Poynette Pumas also had three players in double figures: Paceler Moll (16), Bryce Frey (15), Mason Freimuth (13). Poynette made free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. 

Championship Game Clinton vs Laconia (7 pm):

The championship game featured two teams playing hard and playing together. Clinton competed and was led by Reagan Flickinger with 28 points. The Cougars were down by 3 with 10 minutes to go, but the Spartans poured on a run to open up a double-digit lead and never looked back. Cash Farrell was dominant on both ends of the court and finished with 32 points. 

Whitewater High School will host the tournament again next season and is appreciative of all the communities that make this two-day event possible. 

Article and Photo Submitted by Michael McCabe
Whitewater High School Head Boys’ Basketball Coach
mccmi01@wwusd.org

On Tuesday, December 19th, the Whippet Swim Team competed in a dual meet against Jefferson/Cambridge, where they triumphed over the EagleJays with a decisive 116-48 victory. The Whippets dominated the meet, showcasing their strength and skill across multiple events. Swimmers got a chance to swim in new events with many showing great success.

In the 200 Freestyle, Miles Nickelsburg won the event with a time of 2:12.94. Caleb Kluck tried out the event for the first time and had a solid swim going a time of 2:33.25.

Cruz Aranda continues to cut time in his 200 IM. He has improved his time to a 2:13.52. Big shout out to Xavier Ortiz for taking on the challenge of the 200 IM.

David Enns, Isaac Straight, Myles Morse, and Andrew O’Toole all went best time in the 50 Freestyle.

Miles Nickelsburg and Jack Hefty both tried out the 100 Fly for the 1st time this season. Jack Hefty won the event with a time of 1:06.99 and Miles Nickelsburg placed 3rd with a time of 1:11.44.

In the 100 Freestyle, Cruz Aranda swam an impressive 52.51. That puts him 7th all-time on the Whippet Top 10 List! Langdon Coburn dropped a whole second to go a time of 57.53. Isaac Straight dropped exactly 10 seconds going a time 1:29.47!

Myles Morse dropped nearly 12 seconds in his 500 Freestyle to go a time 5:47.90. Andrew O’Toole also had a great swim going a time of 6:42.57.

Mateo Bazeley, Wyatt Esch, and Sam Nickelsburg respectively went 2, 3, 4 in the 100 Backstroke, all going best times on the night.

David Enns continues to drop time in the 100 Breaststroke going a time of 1:25.88.

The Whippets will be back up after the holiday break for a dual meet against Badger and Platteville Lancaster on Tuesday, January 7th; the meet will begin at 5:30 pm.

Article and Photo Courtesy of Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
ReynoldsSM07@uww.edu

Whitewater beat Jefferson 43-40 in overtime in a Rock Valley Conference girls’ basketball game on Thursday, December 19. The game was a game of runs as both teams went on multiple scoring runs all night long.

Jefferson jumped out to an early double digit lead before Whitewater cut the halftime deficit to 15-21. Whitewater came out of the second half on a 7-0 run to go up 22-21 but the lead was short lived. Jefferson followed that run with an 8-0 run of their own to make it 29-22. To return the favor, Whitewater went on another 12-0 run to take a 34-29 lead with a few minutes remaining. Whitewater had a shot to win the game at the end but Jefferson blocked the potential game winning shot.

In overtime, Jefferson scored the first basket but that was the only basket they would get in the extra period. Whitewater hung on to win a well fought game by both teams.

Article Submitted by Mike Dowden
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
dowmi01@wwusd.org

The Whitewater Whippets were blown out and run out of the gym by the Monona Grove Silver Eagles on Monday night in boys’ basketball. The final score was 82-42. Whitewater started off the game strong with an opening three pointer by senior Marcos Sagrero. The Whippets were tied with the Silver Eagles at 14-14 early in the first half, but Monona Grove applied pressure on defense and attacked the open court to build a 51-20 lead at halftime.

WHS was led in scoring by Marcos Sagrero with 13 points, and Matthew Carollo added 11. Leading scorer Austen Luchette was one of four Silver Eagles in double figures. He had 19 points.

Monona Grove is 3-1, and the Whippets fall to 1-4. Whitewater High School goes to East Troy on Friday night and then plays in the Win Parkinson Tournament at Milwaukee Bradley Tech on Saturday.

Article by Michael McCabe
Whitewater High School Head Boys’ Basketball Coach
mccmi01@wwusd.org

On Tuesday, December 17th the Whippet Boys’ Swim Team competed against Burlington Co-op. The Whippets beat Burlington by a score of 95 to 72. There were quite a few best times and some first-time swims for a few swimmers.

The 200 Freestylers took a clean sweep of 1st thru 3rd. Cruz Aranda went a best time of 1:55.80. Mateo Bazeley and Andrew O’Toole both had great times for their first time swimming the event!

Miles Nickelsburg and Myles Morse battled it out in the 200 IM; this was a first time swim in this event for the two of them. Both put up good times and we’re looking forward to watching them drop throughout the season.

In the 50 Freestyle, all swimmers went season best times! Jack Hefty went a 24.92, Wyatt Esch went a 27.39, Sam Nickelsburg had a 2 second drop going a 30.73, and Angel Kilar went a 34.32!

All swimmers in the 100 Butterfly also went season best times! Cruz Aranda went a 1:00.64. With this time, it now puts him 7th on the Whippet Top 10 List! Langdon Coburn dropped 2 seconds to go a time of 1:02.57, and Sam Nickelsburg also dropped 2 seconds to go a time of 1:13.99.

Angel Kilar dropped 3 seconds in the 100 Freestyle and is officially under the 1:20 mark by going a time of 1:19.77. David Enns also swam a season best time by going a 1:06.59.

Myles Morse dropped 4 seconds in his 500 Freestyle to go a time of 5:59.38. Wyatt Esch dropped nearly 13 seconds off his time going a time of 6:41.78.

Jack Hefty dropped 2 seconds in the 100 Breaststroke to go a time of 1:16.66.

The Whippets are back in action on Thursday, December 19th at home against Jefferson/Cambridge! Swimming starts at 5:30pm; come out and cheer on the boys! 

Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
ReynoldsSM07@uww.edu

New Berlin West beat Whitewater 72-31 in girls’ basketball action on Tuesday, December 17. After the game started 12-12, West went on a 23-4 run to close the first half with a halftime score of 35-16. 

Freshman Emery Kachel led the Whippet scoring with 12 points, including three 3-pointers.

Article Submitted by Mike Dowden
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
dowmi01@wwusd.org

The Whippet Boys’ Swim Team competed at the Elk Invite on Saturday, December 14th. The boys finished 5th overall, brought home 14 medals, and had 23 Top 16 finishes. There were lots of really good swims from the boys!

Top 16 finishes (Top 8 medal):

 200 Medley A Relay (2nd – 2:05.95): Langdon Coburn, Jack Hefty, Cruz Aranda, Mateo Bazeley

 200 Medley B Relay (6th – 2:19.60): Miles Nickelsburg, David Enns, Myles Morse, Andrew O’Toole

 200 Freestyle (3rd – 2:14.83): Cruz Aranda

 200 Freestyle (7th – 2”36.27): Miles Nickelsburg

 200 Freestyle (13th – 2:46.91): Wyatt Esch

 200 IM (7th – 2:41.64): Langdon Coburn

 200 IM (10th – 2:54.67): Jack Hefty

 50 Freestyle (5th – 28.10): Mateo Bazeley

 50 Freestyle (13th – 30.41): Andrew O’Toole

 50 Freestyle (15th – 30.75): Myles Morse

 100 Butterfly (6th – 1:10.03): Cruz Aranda

 100 Butterfly (10th – 1:23.40): Sam Nickelsburg

 100 Freestyle (4th – 1:01.09): Mateo Bazeley

 100 Freestyle (7th – 1:03.94): Jack Hefty

 400 Freestyle (4th – 5:16.85): Myles Morse

 400 Freestyle (7th – 5:22.66): Miles Nickelsburg

 200 Freestyle A Relay (3rd – 1:49.86): Cruz Aranda, Langdon Coburn, Mateo Bazeley, Jack Hefty

 200 Freestyle B Relay (11th – 2:08.02): Wyatt Esch, David Enns, Xavier Ortiz, Caleb Kluck

 100 Backstroke (4th – 1:11.70): Langdon Coburn

 100 Backstroke (16th – 1:30.67): Andrew O’Toole

 100 Breaststroke (16th – 1:36.20): David Enns

 400 Freestyle A Relay (8th – 4:43.41): Miles Nickelsburg, Andrew O’Toole, Wyatt Esch, Myles Morse

 400 Freestyle B Relay (13th – 5:49.58): Sam Nickelsburg, Angel Kilar, Isaac Straight, Caleb Kluck

The boys have two conference dual meets this week, starting with an away meet at Burlington on Tuesday, December 17th. The meet starts at 5:30 pm; we hope to see you there!

Article and Photos Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
ReynoldsSM07@uww.edu

East Troy beat Whitewater 61-24 in girls’ basketball action on Friday night, December 13. East Troy is now 3-0 in conference while Whitewater drops to 1-2 in conference play.

East Troy jumped out to an early lead, and although Whitewater played good defense and had chances to get back into the game, Whitewater could not find a way to score. East Troy was able to build their lead to 26-8 at halftime, and Whitewater never got closer in the second half. 

Whitewater plays home against New Berlin West and at Jefferson this week.

Article Submitted by Mike Dowden
Whitewater High School Head Basketball Coach
dowmi01@wwusd.org

Kacie Carollo’s career-high 33 points paced the No. 8 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team to a 65-58 win over Wheaton (IL) Wednesday night. 

The Warhawks capitalized on the pace of play, pushing the ball forward to outscore the Thunder 22-4 on fast break points. The free throw line became pivotal late in the contest as UWW hit 20-25 in the contest compared to Wheaton’s 14-16. 

UW-Whitewater pushed the pace early, tallying 10 fastbreak points in the first 10 minutes to build a 20-14 lead after the first period. Carollo took over in the second quarter, scoring 12 of the Warhawks’ 16 points in the period. She was 4-8 from the field, 2-4 from three-point range and 2-2 from the charity stripe. At the intermission, UWW held a 36-29 advantage heading into the locker room. 

The Thunder whittled away at the lead on the other side of the break eventually pulling to within two, 42-40. A bucket by Renee Rittmeyer followed by a pair of Carollo free throws quickly pushed the margin back to six, 46-40, with 4:17 left in the third. Carollo added another free throw about a minute later before Wheaton capped the scoring in the period with a pair of free throws. Heading into the fourth, UWW held a 47-42 lead. 

The Warhawks scored the first four points of the fourth from the charity stripe – all four made by Katie Hildebrandt – to extend the gap to nine, 51-42. Over the next seven minutes, Wheaton cut into the margin eventually tying the game 56-56 at the 1:43 mark. 

On the offensive end, Carollo knocked down one of the biggest triples of the game to put UWW back on top. The Thunder countered with a step back jumper that dropped to narrow the lead to one and the Wheaton coach immediately signaled for a timeout. UW-Whitewater perfectly executed a play with Hildebrandt hitting a cutting Carollo perfectly in stride for the layin and another three-point UWW advantage with 29.4 seconds to go. 

Wheaton forced up a three-pointer on their end and Bri McCurdy chased down the board drawing a foul in the process. She hit both free throws to add a cushion with 11.1 to go. Carollo came up with a big block on the defensive end before capping the game with the final two points of the contest on a pair of free throws for the seven-point win. 

Carollo tallied a double-double with 33 points and 10 boards. She added three assists, three blocks and three steals in 39 minutes played. Hildebrandt added 13 bolstered by a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe while hauling in five boards. Rittmeyer was active on defense with five steals while dishing out three assists on the offensive end. 

UW-Whitewater will head south for a pair of games at Daytona Beach on December 20 and 21. The Warhawks will wrap up 2024 against Calvin at 1 PM on December 30 in Kachel Gym before opening 2025 with conference play.