Sports

The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball team traveled to Beloit Turner for a conference game on Tuesday night, December 6. 

It proved to be a defensive battle with a low score of 7-6 9:00 minutes into the first half of the game. We were able to capitalize on some steals and knock down a few shots from outside to finish out the first half with the lead 20-18. 

The Whippets connected a series of breaks to the rim and some kick outs for a couple 3-point shots to give an 11-point lead 32-21, with 12 and half minutes left in the game. Being in foul trouble throughout the game, our defense shut down, and Turner took over on offense going on a 21-point scoring run. 

We battled until the end, but could not overcome the deficit, losing by 8, 60-52. 

Katie Gillette led the Whippets with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Danielle DePorter added 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. Mayte Navejas also added 12 points and 3 rebounds. Calli Grosinske scored 7 points with 3 rebounds and 2 steals. 

We travel to Jefferson this Friday, December 9, for another conference game. 

Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
klippens@wwusd.org
File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka

Last week Thursday, December 1st, the Boys’ Swim Team competed in the Southern Lakes Conference Relay meet. The boys had some AMAZING races!

In the 1000-meter Crescendo Relay, where each swimmer swims 100-200-300-400 respectively, the relay comprised of Andrew O’Toole, Cruz Aranda, Jack Hefty, and Tyler Arnett swam strong throughout the race. This strong performance led to a 3rd place finish and geared up the team for other mentally challenging races.

The splash and dash of the evening was an amazing event to watch! Each swimmer sprints one length of the pool for a total of 100 meters to find out how quickly they can get themselves up to speed. With just over 2 seconds separating 2nd thru 5th place, the boys were able to clinch 2nd place. Cruz Aranda led off the relay followed by Jack Hefty, Myles Morse, and then Tyler Arnett for a time of 58.01!  David Enns, Xavier Zei, Onyx Thompson, and Sam Nickelsburg won their heat which was fabulous as well!

The 500-meter Crescendo Relay, 50-100-150-200, was the highlight of the night for the team. The boys came back from almost being a full length behind the 3rd and 4th place teams to taking the 3rd place medal position! There were a lot of fast swims at the beginning of the race and the swimmers’ mental toughness allowed for them to come back strong. Miles Nickelsburg, Cruz Aranda, Jack Hefty, and Tyler Arnett came in with a time of 5:52.79.

Then on Saturday, December 3rd, the Whippet Boys’ Swim Team competed at the 2nd Annual Tom Lieder Invitational in Milton. There was success for each swimmer in their individual swims, and two were able to grab hardware in their events.

Tyler Arnett started off by taking 3rd in the 200 Free. He out-touched the next person in the final yard of the race.  

Then Jack Hefty tied for 6th in the 100 Free with a time of 58.94. This was the first time Jack broke 1 minute in a 100 Free!

In the 500 Free, Tyler Arnett came on strong, and this was a grueling match-up from several swimmers from other teams. He was able to hold strong until the end; he finished first and again out-touched 2nd and 3rd place by less than half a second.

Other top 10 finishes were 8th in the 200 Medley Relay (Tyler Arnett, Cruz Aranda, Jack Hefty, and Andrew O’Toole), 7th in the 200 yard Individual Medley (Cruz Aranda), and 8th in the 200 Free Relay (Myles Morse, Xavier Zei, David Enns, and Miles Nickelsburg).

The boys swam fast and are looking forward to their next away meet against Edgerton/Evansville on Tuesday, December 6th. 

Article Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Co-Head Boys’ Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka

Our Whippet Gymnastics team had a great 1st meet of the season where they placed 3rd overall at the Jefferson Invite on Friday, December 2. 

They started on the bars where Makayla Bazeley earned 4th place and Halee Peters earned 2nd place – both taking home hardware! 

Next up was beam where Myialynn Cobbs had a no fall beam routine. We also got to cheer on Brenda Aguilar for the first time in a while after taking a year off. We’re so happy to have her back with us.

The third rotation allowed the girls to show off their fun floor routines. Freshman Alexa Wildenberg was able to compete in her first ever gymnastics meet and performed well, while putting on an entertaining routine. Nola Coburn showed us her spunk in her floor routine where she scored close to her personal best. 

Last up was vault where all the girls did awesome! Both Makayla Bazeley and Halee Peters had lifetime best scores with a 7.75 and 8.425, respectively.  Halee earned herself another medal with a 2nd place finish.

In all-around, Halee Peters took 4th place, Makayla Bazeley took 6th, Nola Coburn took 13th, and Myialynn Cobbs took 14th.

We are so excited to watch the girls progress through the season. What a great start to what will be an amazing season!

Article Submitted by Shawnda Peters
Whitewater High School Head Gymnastics Coach
speters@wwusd.org

The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball Team faced East Troy Tuesday night, December 1, at home. The Whippets got off to a slow start offensively, getting outscored 11-24 in the first half. The second half proved to be an even bigger challenge getting into a 20-point deficit with 10 minutes left in the second half. The Whippets fought back, outscoring East Troy 23 -19 to get within 10, but ran out of time, losing 34-44.  

Danielle DePorter led the Whippets with 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. Cali Kopecky followed with 6 points. Calli Grosinske added 5 points and 5 steals. Kindyl Kilar scored 2, ripped down 11 rebounds, and had 1 steal and 5 deflections. Katie Gillette scored 4 with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. 

The Whippets travel to Beloit Turner Tuesday, December 6, for their next conference game.

Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
klippens@wwusd.org
Photo courtesy of Peter and Bob Mischka.

From wiacsports.com

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Christian Patzka has been named the 2022 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Kwik Trip Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year, while UW-La Crosse was selected the Kwik Trip Coaching Staff of the Year, based on voting conducted by the league coaches.
 
Patzka is the second Warhawk to receive the conference honor, joining David Fassbender (2021). Patzka finished as the individual runner-up at the NCAA Division III Championship. His second-place performance is the highest in school history. He claimed the individual title at the NCAA Division III North Regional with his time of 24:08.4 breaking the course record. Patzka took second at the WIAC Championship and finished no lower than second place in any meet during the 2022 campaign. He won the Concordia University (Wis.) Ken Weidt Classic and UW-Whitewater Tom Hoffman Invitational.
 
UW-La Crosse won the WIAC Championship for the fifth consecutive season and 37th time in program archives. The Eagles placed second at the NCAA Division III North Regional and eighth at the NCAA Division III Championship. The coaching staff includes: head coach Derek Stanley; and assistant coaches Hannah Beilke and Nathan Petesch.

The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball team traveled to Elkhorn for a non-conference game Tuesday night, November 29. 

The Whippets struggled to get their offense going, scoring only 14 the first half. The majority of the first half we trailed by 8-10 points. We ended the first half of the game down 14-26.  

Whitewater continued to struggle offensively, getting into an 18-point deficit halfway through the second half. Then the Whippets got fired up after a series of deflections and steals going on a scoring run closing and the gap to within 6. We ended up outscoring the Elks 33-28, in the second half of the game, just not quite enough to get the win, with the final score, 47-54. 

Statistical leaders included Calli Grosinske leading the Whippets with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 steals. Kindyl Kilar had her first double-double of the season with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 deflections. Mayte Navejas added 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals. 

The Whippets take on East Troy at home Thursday night, December 1. 

Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
klippens@wwusd.org
File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka

From wiacsports.com:

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn.—University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Joey Stutzman and UW-Whitewater’s Evan Lewandowski have been named two of the 15 semifinalists for the 2022 Gagliardi Trophy, an accolade presented by Jostens, Inc. and the J-Club of Saint John’s University to the most outstanding football player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III.

Thirteen seniors, one junior and one graduate student make up the semifinalists for the 2022 Gagliardi Trophy.

The Gagliardi Trophy, given annually since 1993, recognizes excellence in athletics, academics and community service. The award is named after John Gagliardi, Saint John’s legendary Hall of Fame head football coach who retired in 2012 with 489 career victories, the most in college football history. He passed away in October 2018 at the age of 91.

Additional semifinalists include: graduate student quarterback Will Bowers of Wheaton College (Ill.); running back Ethan Greenfield of North Central College (Ill.); senior quarterback Kyle King of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas); sophomore running back Jon Lewis of Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.); senior wide receiver Phil Lutz of Tufts University (Mass.); junior running back Jon Murray of Baldwin Wallace College (Ohio); senior defensive end Michael Nobile of Delaware Valley College (Pa.); senior wide receiver Nate Palmer of Utica College (N.Y.), senior quarterback Braxton Plunk of the University of Mount Union (Ohio); senior quarterback Jaran Roste of Bethel University (Minn.); senior offensive lineman Boomer Warren of Hardin-Simmons University (Texas); senior quarterback AJ Wingfield of Ithaca College (N.Y.); and senior defensive lineman Michael Wozniak of Saint John’s University (Minn.). 

Stutzman is the third player for UW-La Crosse in the last six years to be named a semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, joining wide receivers Nick Holcomb (2017) and Cole Spieker (2019). Running back John Janke (1993), quarterback Craig Kusick (1995) and wide receivers Scott Burnoski (2004) and Holcomb (2017) have been named finalists for the award. 

Named the 2022 WIAC Kwik Trip Offensive Player of the Year, Stutzman helped UW-La Crosse to a share of the WIAC title this season – the 34th in program archives. The Eagles also earned a spot in the NCAA Division III playoffs. He led the team in rushing attempts (236) and yards (1,189), while finishing second in rushing touchdowns (5) to earn All-WIAC First Team accolades. Starting all 11 games in 2022, Stutzman averaged 5.0 yards per attempt and 108.1 yards per game. He led the WIAC in rushing attempts and yards. Stutzman also had 18 catches for 212 yards and one touchdown this season.  

Stutzman had 24 carries for a career-high 180 yards (7.5 average) with one touchdown in UW-La Crosse’s 30-3 win at the University of Dubuque (Iowa) on Sept. 10. He was named the WIAC Kwik Trip Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 108 yards on 21 carries and catching three passes for 67 yards and a touchdown in UW-La Crosse’s 38-35 win at No. 24-ranked UW-Oshkosh on Oct. 29. 

Stutzman finished his career second in school history in career rushing yards with 3,277. He recorded at least 100-yards rushing in six games this season to give him 16 in his career, second-most in school history.

Stutzman is majoring in physical education and maintains a 3.17 grade point average.

Lewandowski joins a list of former Warhawks that have been semifinalists for the Gagliardi Trophy including: Derrick LeVake (1997); Justin Beaver (2005 and 2007); Ryan Kleppe (2006); Jeff Schebler (2009); Aaron Rusch (2010); Matt Blanchard (2011); Cole Klotz (2013); Brady Grayvold (2014); John Flood (2016); and Harry Henschler (2018). Beaver won the award in 2007.

A senior transfer, Lewandowski wrapped up his second year as a Warhawk this season. He secured All-WIAC honorable mention recognition after helping UW-Whitewater to its 39th conference title and a spot in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

In 2022, Lewandowski completed 200 of his 318 pass attempts (63.0 percent) and threw for 2,356 yards with 18 touchdowns in 11 games. He added a pair of rushing touchdowns.

His four passing touchdowns in UW-Whitewater’s win at UW-La Crosse on Oct. 1 tied the program’s single-game record. He also helped the Warhawks break the record for points in a game (79), rushing touchdowns in a game (10) and touchdowns in a game (11) in the team’s victory over UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 12.  

Lewandowski, a team captain for the 2022 campaign, is a human performance major with a minor in sport management and carries a grade point average of 3.725.

The 40-member Gagliardi Trophy national selection committee reviews the credentials, ranks the candidates 1-15 and casts their votes. Fan balloting, which is available on D3football.com, accounts for the 41st ballot, and is being conducted on D3football.com for the 12th consecutive season. Fans will be permitted to cast one ballot per device, through 12 p.m. Central on Dec. 3.

The Gagliardi Trophy finalists will be announced during a live show on Dec. 7, on D3football.com. Hosts Pat Coleman and Frank Rossi will profile the finalists during the program. The 2022 Gagliardi Trophy winner will be revealed on D3football.com during the week of the NCAA Division III football national championship on Dec. 16 at 6 p.m. CT.  In the lead up to the announcement of the 2022 Gagliardi Trophy winner, D3football.com and the J-Club Twitter account (@JClubSJU) will provide updates on specific dates and times of the announcement.

Nominations were submitted by colleges across the country, and the semifinalists were selected by the J-Club Board of Directors. The Gagliardi Trophy national selection committee is comprised of 18 Division III coaches (three from each NCAA Region), six Division III administrators (one from each region), 12 regional notable voters (two from each region), and eight national voters with Division III backgrounds.

No J-Club members vote as part of the national selection committee.

Editor’s note: The following announcement is on the WIAC website.

LANSING, Mich.–University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Christian Patzka and UW-La Crosse’s Ethan Gregg each posted top-four finishes at the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Championship that was held at Forest Akers East Golf Course on the campus of Michigan State University on Nov. 19.
 
Patzka placed second on the 8,000-meter course with a time of 24:40.0, while Gregg was fourth in 24:52.8. UW-La Crosse’s Isaac Wegner finished 12th in 25:16.2, UW-Whitewater’s Gunner Schlender 30th in 25:30.8 and UW-Stout’s Spencer Schultz 37th in 25:35.6. All five runners received All-America accolades from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
 
Alex Phillip of John Carroll University (Ohio) secured the individual national title with a time of 24:37.6. A total of 292 runners completed the race.
 
In the team standings, UW-La Crosse took eighth with 276 points, while UW-Whitewater was 10th with 365, and UW-Stout 23rd with 562. Massachusetts Institute of Technology secured the first national title in program history with 82 points. Wartburg College (Iowa) placed second with 129, State University of New York Geneseo third with 168, John Carroll fourth with 186 and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (Calif.) fifth with 193. A total of 32 teams participated in the championship that was hosted by Olivet College (Mich.) and the Greater Lansing Sports Authority.