On Tuesday, September 10, the Whippet Swim Team took on Edgerton/Evansville in their first conference dual meet of the season.
2024 Whippet Girls’ Swim Team
The Whippets put up a close battle against Edgerton/Evansville by putting up some impressive times. Here are some highlights from the night:
In the 200 Medley Relay, Makayla Bazeley, Emerson Dunham, Charlotte Hajewski, and Maggie Maas beat out the rest of the competition by 5 seconds.
In the 50 Freestyle, Laken DePorter, Lucy Davis, and Georgia Esch all posted best times.
Charlotte Hajewski swam a lifetime best of 1:18.26 in the 100 Butterfly. And a quick shout out to Marijose Verduzco for competing in the 100 Butterfly for the first time.
In the 100 Freestyle, Maggie Maas, Maya Davis, Laken DePorter, and Caitlin Alford all posted best times. Maya Davis had an impressive 10 second time drop which puts her under 1:30. Way to go!
In the 500 Freestyle, Georgia Esch went a lifetime best time of 7:33.78. Emerson Dunham went a season best time of 6:17.82. And finally, we were so excited to see Zoe Zei back competing in the 500!
Marijose Verduzco went a lifetime best in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:34.40.
Makayla Bazeley improved in the 100 Breaststroke by going a time of 1:17.20. This secures her 8th place spot in the Whippet Top 10 list.
The Whippets are back in action on Saturday, September 14, at the Elk Invite in Elkhorn. We hope to see more red in the crowd cheering on our team!
Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach ReynoldsSM07@uww.edu
Brock Grosinske, an accounting and finance major from Whitewater, WI, and graduate of Whitewater High School, is a member of the 2024 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team, which started its 2024 season last Saturday with a 34-7 victory against John Carroll (Ohio).
The Warhawks are ranked third in the nation by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association.
UW-Whitewater will be led by three Preseason All-Americans on offense including center John Pekar (Franklin, Wis./Franklin), lineman Alex Pethan (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) and running back Tamir Thomas (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls). The Warhawks return breakout returner and wide receiver Tyler Vasey (Crystal Lake, Ill/Prairie Ridge) – the 2023 WIAC Newcomer of the Year – to the team this season. Kyle Koelblinger (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) returns to help lead the defense after claiming Newcomer of the Year honors in 2021 as a defensive back.
UWW returns a number of all-league players to the squad this season. Running back Drake Martin (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) and wide receiver Steven Hein (St. Charles, Ill./North) join Pekar, Pethan and Thomas offensively. Defensive lineman Matt Burba (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Huntley) and Nehemiah Lomax (Park Forest, Ill./Crete-Monee) are joined by linebacker Ethan Gallagher (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township) in addition to Koelblinger on the defense. Mason Stepanski (Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) and Vasey head the all-conference earners returning on special teams.
UW-Whitewater finished second in the league a season ago after securing a 6-1 mark against Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference competition. The Warhawks made a run to the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals before capping the season with an 11-2 record. UWW has secured at least a share of the conference title in 14 of the last 18 seasons. The Warhawks have claimed more WIAC championships than any other team in the league — 39.
UW-La Crosse has been picked to win the title in 2024 followed in order by the Warhawks, UW-River Falls, UW-Platteville, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stevens Point.
The first road game of the season is set for September 14th at Roosevelt University in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
UW-Whitewater returns to The Perk for the final non-conference game of the season – a September 21 matchup against Mary Hardin-Baylor (Alumni Day presented by Mercyhealth). The Warhawks will host UW-Oshkosh in the WIAC opener on October 5 for UW-Whitewater’s annual Family Fest and Shriners Day presented by PremierBank.
Back on the road on October 12, the Warhawks will be in Menomonie for a meeting with UW-Stout. Kickoff against the Blue Devils is slated for 2 p.m. UWW will host UW-Stevens Point on Military Appreciation Day presented by the UW-Whitewater ROTC under the lights on Friday, October 18 at 7 p.m. Following an October 26 match-up at UW-Platteville, the Warhawks return to Perkins Stadium to take on UW-River Falls for Homecoming and the annual Hall of Fame Game presented by Educators Credit Union on November 2.
The final two games of the 2024 regular season are set for November 9 at UW-La Crosse and November 16 at UW-Eau Claire.
Whitewater’s Girls’ Tennis Team continued its Rock Valley season by beating host Big Foot 6-1 on Tuesday, September 10. The Whippets host Monroe on Thursday, September 12, at 4:30 pm.
2024 Whippet Girls’ Tennis Team
Here are the results of the match:
No 1 Singles Taryn Rothwell 6-0, 6-3
No 2 Singles Jackie Franco 6-2, 6-0
No 3 Singles Liz Servin 6-0, 6-0
No 4 Singles Lilian Navejas 6-2, 6-2
No 1 Doubles Maritza Vidales and Stephanie Wence 6-2, 6-4
No 3 Doubles Madeline Joseph and Berma Vubumuh 6-3, 6-1
The WHG Girls’ Tennis Team would like to thank Stacey Joseph for the photo she included in this story.
Article Submitted by Greg Stewart Whitewater High School Assistant Tennis Coach gstewart@wwusd.org
The Whippet Football Team fell to McFarland 35-6 on Friday, September 6.
Coach Sam Bartlett stated, “This game was a situation where we got off the ball to attack very well; we just did not play disciplined football. We had penalties, turnovers, and other mistakes that held us back. The exciting part is that they are all things we can fix and that we will fix. Every day is a new opportunity to get better, and we will be a better team after facing off against McFarland. We are learning how to continuously compete every second of the game.
Offensively, it was our best game moving the ball, but untimely penalties and turnovers kept us from finding the end zone. We will correct those mistakes and become a team that finishes consistently in the end zone.
Defensively, we played hard and played a lot of the game very well. There was a coverage bust we will fix, and we were put in a bad position from a blocked punt. Overall, we will be a better team in Week 4 and look forward to the opportunity to keep competing!”
Article Submitted by Sam Bartlett Whitewater High School Head Football Coach barsa01@wwusd.org Photo Credit Olivia Kowalski
Aubrie Krzus sets a ball during the team’s home invitational earlier this season (Michael Gouvion)
By Angela Kelm Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
St. Paul, Minn. – The No. 7 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team topped a pair of ranked opponents to wrap up play in the KTIS Classic in St. Paul, Minnesota Saturday. The Warhawks opened the day with a 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-15, 25-22) win over No. 22 Cornell before sweeping No. 12 Northwestern-St. Paul 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-13).
The Warhawks have now won three consecutive matches against teams ranked among the top 25 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III poll. UWW swept No. 20 Berry College in the team’s first match of the invitational Friday.
UW-Whitewater’s tandem of outside hitters led the offense against Cornell. Alayna Jansky hammered down 17 kills while Jenna Weinfurt registered 15. The pair notched double-doubles with 17 and 14 digs respectively. Middle hitter Abbie Dix added nine kills in the contest.
Setter Aubrie Krzus was active in all facets of the match. In addition to dishing out 44 assists, the sophomore tallied 6 kills in 10 attempts, 6 digs, a solo and four assist blocks.
Jaedynn Evans rounded out the Warhawks in double figures with 16 digs against the Rams.
The UWW defense was phenomenal against the Eagles in the second match of the day. The Warhawks registered 13 blocks and held UNW to a negative attack percentage for the match. Meanwhile, the UW-Whitewater offense was efficient posting an attack percentage of .316 bolstered a fantastic third set. In the final set of the tournament, UWW pounded down 11 kills in 19 attempts while committing just two errors – an attack percentage of .474.
Jansky was nearly unstoppable in the match with 12 kills in 17 attempts with just a single error – an attack percentage of .647. Weinfurt added 10 kills in the three-setter.
Dix was a force at the net defensively. The sophomore tallied a solo and seven assist blocks in the match. Six Warhawks registered at least one block in the contest. In addition to Dix’s eight, fellow middle Hannah Proctor and Weinfurt each posted five assist blocks.
Krzus notched 26 assists adding three aces and three assist blocks in the match.
Evans was the lone Warhawk to post double digit digs with 10.
In the three matches against three ranked opponents in the classic, Jansky hit .417 with 50 kills — an average of 5 kills per set to lead the offense. Krzus totaled 103 assists averaging 10.30 per set. Dix led the blockers with one solo and eleven assisted – an average of 1.20 blocks per set. Evans averaged 4.30 digs per set with a three-match total of 43 on the weekend.
Brian Stanton bursts up the sideline for a touchdown in the Warhawks’ win over John Carroll (Michael Gouvion)
By Angela Kelm Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Box Score – The No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team opened the 2024 campaign in stellar fashion. The Warhawks cruised to a 34-7 win over John Carroll University in front of the UWW faithful at Perkins Stadium Saturday afternoon. UW-Whitewater is now 18-2 in season openers in the last 20 seasons.
The pace may have looked a little different than years past, but the result was the same. After a touchback on the opening kick, the Warhawk offense jogged out to the 25 for their first possession of 2024. UW-Whitewater established the run game right off the bat with Tamir Thomas gaining eight yards on the first carry of the game. He would take the handoff six more times in the drive hitting paydirt from one yard out for UWW’s first score of the season. Jackson Fox split the uprights on the extra point and the Warhawks had a 7-0 lead less than six minutes into the game.
The UW-Whitewater defense followed with a three-and-out. After a seven-yard gain to open the Blue Streaks’ first drive, Lucas Sadler got into the backfield and sacked the JCU quarterback for a loss of six. On third down, Trey Castella and Jakob Simmons blasted through the line for another sack and a loss of 11 to force a punt.
The punt was down at the 22 and the UWW offense returned with all of the momentum. Following a couple of short gains, Brian Stanton was tapped for the handoff, burst through the line and bounced to the outside bolting up the sideline past defenders for the 56-yard touchdown run. Fox hit the point after for a 14-0 Warhawk lead with just over four minutes left in the first quarter.
The teams turned the ball over on downs on the next two drives before the UWW defense forced a turnover early in the second quarter. Six plays into a Blue Streak drive, a short pass up the middle was completed and fumbled at the Warhawk 36. Mika Gutoski jumped on the loose ball to bring the UWW offense back onto the field.
UW-Whitewater capitalized on the turnover with a 28-yard field goal by Fox.
As halftime neared, head coach Jace Rindahl did a phenomenal job of managing the clock to give the Warhawks another scoring chance. The defense forced a punt and Jason Ceniti led UWW back onto the field with 1:35 left to drive 87 yards – and that’s exactly what they did.
Ceniti hit Nick Wind on a crossing pattern for a 31-yard gain. Two plays later, he found Brian Wilterdink for 12 more and another first down at the JCU 20. Next, it was Wind again, this time for nine yards to the Blue Streak 11. From there, Thomas got the nod once again. He found his way through the middle and into the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown scamper. Fox’s extra point made it 24-0 at the break.
After a scoreless third, the Warhawks scored on the first play of the fourth quarter. Ceniti found Wind in the end zone from 11-yards out for the team’s first touchdown through the air of the season. Fox hit the point after to give UWW a 31-0 advantage. Fox would connect on a 24-yard field goal later in the fourth for UW-Whitewater’s final score of the game.
John Carroll’s final drive lasted nearly five minutes. The Blue Streaks negated the shutout with a touchdown strike with just one second remaining. The extra point was good to make it 34-7 and the game ended as time expired on the ensuing kickoff.
UWW registered 439 yards of total offense including 286 yards on the ground. The defense held JCU to just 226 yards on the day.
Ceniti was 14-25 for 153 yards through the air. He added 43 yards with his feet. Blake Haggerty was Ceniti’s favorite target on the day with five receptions for 79 yards. Wind added three catches for 51 yards.
Stanton led the Warhawks in the ground game with 123 yards on 10 carries. Thomas registered 77 yards on 14 rushing attempts. The duo combined for three rushing touchdowns in the game.
Ethan Gallagher posted a team-high seven tackles while Castella tallied 1.5 tackles for a loss of 10 yards.
It was a terrific day for the Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country Teams as they competed at the West Allis Bulldog Invitational on Friday afternoon. There were six boys and six girls who all ran a lifetime best in the first meet of the season!
Leading the boy’s field and never looking back was Jack Hefty, who blitzed the course to a new personal record time of 15:56 to secure the win. Xavier Zei ran a very strong race and also ran a lifetime best to place 16th in 17:26. Luc Pomazak has transformed himself into a killer runner and was the team’s third runner, cutting over six minutes off his personal best from last year in 18:01 and placing 32nd. Miles Nicklesburg wasn’t far behind and placed 34th in 18:08. Rounding out the top five scorers for the team was Andrew O’Toole placing 66th with a new lifetime best of 18:55. Onyx Thompson placed 86th in 19:38, and Isaac Straight ran a new lifetime best to place 100th in 20:06. The team had a very strong showing and placed 4th out of 18th teams, one point from Oak Creek which was 3rd.
Jack HeftyLuc PomazakXavier Zei
In the JV race, Quinton O’Toole ran a new lifetime best of 20:16 and placed 33rd. He led the team to a 9th place finish out of 15 complete teams.
On the girls’ side, pack running was as strong as ever. There was only a 52 second spread between the team’s first runner and fifth runner. Athena Soto finished as the top runner on this day after running much of her race with Mady Hefty and Virginia Nelson. Athena placed 37th in 22:01. Virginia placed 42nd in 22:20 for a new lifetime PR, and Mady was not far behind in 22:23, good enough for 45th. Carley Boudreau and Nola Coburn have been finding each other early as they work together picking people off throughout the race. Carley finished in 22:50 for 55th, and Nola ran 22:53 for 56th. Sami Van Daele crushed her race and ran a lifetime best 24:06, finishing in 71st. Ema Aranda was the team’s 7th runner in 24:45 and placed 83rd. Lucy Troxel also ran a lifetime best today by stopping the clock in 25:14, with an overall placing of 89th. The varsity team placed 10th out of 13 complete teams.
Athena SotoMady Hefty and Virginia Nelson
In the JV race, Delaney Hammack ran a new lifetime best of 25:41 to place 43rd. Tying her previous personal best was Mya Graves-Koran in 27:05. Also running a lifetime best was Vivian Harris in 31:32. The JV squad placed 10th out of 13 complete teams.
Next up for the Whippets will be the Marshall Invitational on Tuesday, September 17th.
Jaedynn Evans digs a ball during a home match this season (Michael Gouvion)
By Angela Kelm Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Box Score || St. Paul, Minn. – The No. 7 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s volleyball team swept No. 20 Berry College 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-16) in the team’s first match of the KTIS Classic hosted by the University of Northwestern-St. Paul.
The Warhawk offense came out on fire hitting .486 with 19 kills in the first set to set the tone. UWW registered double figure kills in all three sets while the defense held Berry (BC) to single digits the first two sets. UW-Whitewater held a hefty advantage from the service line with six aces compared to just one for BC.
Outside hitter Alayna Jansky led all players with 21 kills. She added three aces, a pair of assist blocks and nine digs on the evening. Right side Ally Warburton was the most efficient attacker for UWW. The senior registered a hitting percentage of .643 – hammering down nine kills without committing an error.
Setter Aubrie Krzus set up the Warhawk attackers on 33 kills and posted 13 digs in the match. Defensively, libero Jaedynn Evans led all players with 17 digs.
UW-Whitewater will wrap up play in the KTIS Classic with a pair of matches Saturday. The Warhawks will take on No. 22 Cornell at noon followed by a matchup against the host, No. 12 UNW, at 2 p.m.
The Whippet Swimmers came in and made a splash at Conference Relays on Thursday, September 5th! Bringing home the medals for our team were Makayla Bazeley, Emerson Dunham, Charlotte Hajewski, and Maggie Maas. These girls combined for four 3rd place finishes – 4×100 IM Relay, 1000 Freestyle Crescendo Relay, 500 Freestyle Crescendo Relay, and the 4×100 Backstroke Relay. In the 4×100 IM relay the girls worked hard to get redemption for this relay last year. The 1000 Freestyle was another great race; each of them absolutely rocked their distances! The 500 Crescendo tested their grit and determination, and they had to work from behind. Emerson Dunham had a great split in the unusual 150-yard distance with a 1:45 split! All four girls had nice splits on the 500 Crescendo Relay. In the 4×100 Backstroke relays the girls battled until the very end, Makayla Bazeley led off the relay with a great time of 1:00.69!
Makayla Bazeley, Charlotte Hajewski, Maggie Maas, and Emerson Dunham
In addition to our medal winning relays, the entire team impressed with many times close to their end of season times last year. In our first relay of the night, Kendra Serrano, Atreya Wilson, Lucy Davis, and Laken DePorter raced hard to finish in 10th place. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Georgia Esch, Maya Davis, Caitlin Alford, and Grace Coleman were up next; they all continue to get faster in their freestyle from our first meet a few weeks ago. Georgia Esch had a great lead off split of 35.39. In the splash and dash event of the night, we had two relay teams battling it out. Our “A” Relay of Atreya Wilson, Kendra Serrano, Grace Coleman, and Lucy Davis swam fast winning the first heat by 5 seconds and beat 3 teams in the 2nd heat to finish in 6th place. Our “B” Relay of Marijose Verduzco, Caitlin Alford, Laken DePorter, and Maya Davis crushed their seed time by over 9 seconds! Rounding out our relays was the 400 Freestyle Relay of Kendra Serrano, Atreya Wilson, Georgia Esch, and Lucy Davis finishing in 9th place overall. All four posted great split times including Lucy Davis anchoring with a 1:11.74.
2024 Whitewater High School Girls’ Swim Team
The Whippets finished 6th overall as a team! It was a great meet for the girls, and we can’t wait to see what they do the rest of the season! They will be back in the pool on Tuesday, September 10th at 5:30 pm against Edgerton/Evansville at Edgerton High School.
Article and Photos Submitted by Sarah Reynolds Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach ReynoldsSM07@uww.edu
