Sports

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Informatin

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s track and field team finished second of eleven teams in the annual Leonard “Squig” Converse Invitational in Whitewater Friday. Shelvin Garrett II led the Warhawks with a program record in the triple jump – a mark that is also the best in Division III so far this season. 

The meet is split into two days of competition with the men competing Friday and the women on Saturday.  UW-La Crosse won the men’s meet with a total of 180 followed by UWW with 119. UW-Stevens Point captured third with a score of 76.5 followed by MSOE (69), Carthage (56), St. Norbert (30.5), Wisconsin Lutheran (20), Elmhurst (15, Augustana (6), Concordia Wisconsin (6) and North Central (5). 

Garrett II registered a career-best to win the triple jump Friday. His mark of 15.41 meters (50-6.75) broke the over 10-year-old program record by over two inches and is the best mark in Division III so far this season. Garrett II added a second-place finish in the long jump. He tallied another career-best with a mark of 7.15 meters (23-5.50).

Myles Anderson claimed gold in the fastest event of the evening – the 60-meter dash. He edged the competition with a career-best 6.85 while teammate Issac Stanger finished seventh with a clocking of 7.11. Kobe Chandler added first place points to the team total with a time of 50.16 to lead a three-Warhawk contingent in the top eight in the event. 

Gunner Schlender posted a five-second career-best to win the 3,000 with a time of 8:13.59. Christian Patzka was less than a tenth of a second back for silver. 

Marlon Cystrunk and Tamir Thomas finished back-to-back in the 60-meter hurdles with times of 8.39 and 8.43 respectively. Chandler and Anderson followed suit in the 200 with matching times of 22.54. Chandler got the nod for third place by just .002. 

In the final event of the day, UWW’s Drew Davey, Colin Lewandowski, Rhett Reuter and Justin Krause combined for a time of 3:32.88 – good for fourth in the 4×400 meter relay. 

After the first four events of the men’s heptathlon, Jack McGinn holds second with 2442 points. Ben Bunton is fourth with a total of 2420. The heptathlon will conclude with the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1000-meter Saturday.

Additional Top 8 Finishers: Ben Bojar (6th – 200); Chris Kalies (7th – 200, 5th – 400); Andy VanZile (8th – 200); Brad Heller (6th – 400); Reuter (4th – 800); Krause (5th – 800); Dan Anderson (8th – 3000); Josh Krystosek (4th – high jump); Jared Sudbrink (6th – high jump); Spencer Steffen (7th – high jump); Brady Schaller (6th – pole vault)

On Saturday morning, January 20, the varsity wrestlers traveled to Monroe to participate in the Monroe Invitational. This year the event featured 15 teams as some teams joined after having their tournament canceled from last weekend’s snow storm. The added teams were some very strong teams, one featuring three returning state champions and another that is going to be in a battle for a regional title in a strong regional in southwest Wisconsin. This was an outstanding test for the Whippet Wrestlers to help analyze where they are as we are three weeks from the tournament series.

The tournament was a tale of contrasting rounds for the team. They started out extremely strong losing only one match, followed by round two where the team only won two of its matches as they ran into some extremely tough opponents in the quarter finals. After a tough round, the coaching staff was concerned on how the team would respond, but they did great, winning all but two of the matches again. One of those wins put Sebastian Cuellar (165) into the finals after a big pin in the semi-finals. Unfortunately, based on the format of the brackets, the only way a wrestler can place in the top 4 is by making the semi-finals. Besides Cuellar, those that won in the 3rd round all put themselves into the 5th place match. 

The final round was another tough round for the Whippets. Cuellar lost a tough match to a young man from Belleville who is having a very strong year, putting Cuellar as runner up at 165 pounds. Junior (Vicente) Soto at heavyweight wrestled extremely well all day finishing with the bronze medal. On the 5th place mat, the Whippets saw Jasen Porras (113), Jarvis Porcaro (120), and Traysen Thomason (144) all secure victories and reach the podium. Cuellar, Soto, Porras, Porcaro, and Thomason all finished the day an impressive 4-1. Finishing the day 3-2 and in 6th place were Connor Friend (132), Odair Porras (150), JJ Gonzalez (157), Jesus Barajas (175), and Payton Lyon (190). 

The team race was very close with the top two teams; Janesville Parker edged Belleville by one point!  Whitewater finished in 6th place with 143 points. The two teams immediately ahead of Whitewater had 144 points. Looking back on the day, had the Whippets picked up just one more win they would have finished in 4th place. Of course, as a coach it hurts to be so close to the top four as a team. However, based on the quality of competition of the tournament, the coaching staff is happy with the performance of the team. 

The Whippets are next in action on Thursday, January 25th, when they travel to compete against a strong Oregon team.

Article Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka

Whitewater (2-12) fell to Evansville (2-12) in boys’ basketball at Whitewater High School on Thursday night, January 25, by a score of 65-50.

Evansville was led in scoring by Mason Brown with 16 points off the bench. Whitewater was led by sophomore Casey Lyon with 16 points. Evansville’s freshman Karter Tway had 12 points in the second half. 

Next up for the Whippets is Milwaukee Reagan. Whitewater plays at JustAgame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells on Saturday. JV1 and JV2 tip at 2:30 p.m., and Varsity is scheduled to start at 4:10 p.m.

Article Submitted by Mike McCabe
Whitewater High School Head Boys’ Basketball Coach
mccmi01@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

La Crosse, Wis. – The No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the 2023-24 campaign Wednesday – 77-66 at UW-La Crosse. 

Box Score

The game was tight until the fourth when the Eagles’ offense took flight. UW-La Crosse shot 60-percent (6-10) from the floor and 71-percent (5-7) from three-point range to pull away in the final 10 minutes of action. 

The Warhawks battled back from an early seven-point deficit to knot the game by the end of the first quarter. UW-Whitewater went on a 6-0 run with Aleah Grundahl registering an old-fashioned three-point play followed by a Kacie Carollo triple that brought the score to 17-17 at the end of the first. 

UWW claimed the lead, 27-25, midway through the second quarter on a Maggie Trautsch coast-to-coast layin following a steal. Another Trautsch layup at the 1:47 mark gave UW-Whitewater its largest lead, 35-29. The Eagles hit a jumper and a three-pointer to cut the lead to one, but Katie Hildebrandt capitalized on a second chance opportunity to send UWW into the intermission with a 37-34 lead. 

The third quarter was a roller coaster of a period with three ties and five lead changes. By the end, UW-La Crosse had flipped the three-point advantage in their favor.

The Warhawks trailed by just two at the halfway mark of the fourth before the Eagles really started to heat up from the floor. Following the final media timeout of the game, UWL hit 4-5 of their shots from the floor, including three from long range, and hit all of their free throw opportunities to keep UWW at bay. 

Grundahl and Carollo combined for 52 points in the game. Grundahl had a double-double in hand by halftime and ended with 27 points, bolstered by 9-10 from the free throw line, and 12 rebounds. Carollo chipped in 25 points on 8-16 from the floor, 4-8 from beyond the arc and 5-6 from the charity stripe. She added six boards and five assists. 

The now 17-1 Warhawks maintain position on top of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings with a 6-1 league mark. UWW opens the second round through the WIAC with UW-Oshkosh Saturday, January 27 in Kachel Gym. 

Whitewater JV Gymnastics kicked off a great start to the season last week. The girls have been working very hard on new routines and skills for the meet.

The balance beam was the highlight of the night for the girls. The four girls had a no fall beam routine. Gabriella Pena Perroni scored a high for her at 5.1.

Maddie Joseph and Emy Islas competed on bars. The girls are both freshmen and working very hard on new skills for the bar.

The vault exercises were competed by all freshmen. This was the first time for all five of them competing in a meet. Maggie Maas scored a 5.8, and Amaya Conner scored a 5.9.

Zoe Zei kicked off the floor exercise scoring a 4.7. We had four girls compete the floor exercise and all scored very well.

Whitewater Whippets Gymnastics will have another home meet January 30 at 6:00.

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

On Thursday night, January 18, the Whitewater Wrestling Team hosted the Jefferson Eagles in a full night of wrestling, also honoring seniors and parents. The night kicked off with a whopping 38 JV matches, allowing for many wrestlers to have the opportunity to compete in front of their family and friends. Upon completion of the JV matches, 55+ wrestlers and managers recognized their parents, thanking them for their support over the course of the last eight weeks and continued support for the weeks ahead.

Coach Schimming then recognized the 17 seniors that are involved in the program: three managers – Mackenzie Schimming, Leah Newmann and Adrea Alcala and 14 wrestlers – Jason Villegas, Odair Porras, JJ Gonzalez, Nate Black, Avery Janovec, Sebastian Cuellar, Yovanni Rojas-Reyes, Jesus Barajas, Payton Lyon, Ethan Barels, Lauren Buehler, Giulia Ristagno, and Myia Cobbs. These students have been involved in wrestling since middle school, or for some, only this year. Thank you for your efforts in making coaching an enjoyable time for the coaches!

After all of the recognitions, the varsity competition got underway with our dual meet against Jefferson. The team wrestled very well. After seven matches, the team was still in a close dual, up 24-18, with JJ Gonzalez (157), Sebastian Cuellar (165), Payton Lyon (190), and Vicente (Junior) Soto (HWT) all winning by pin. The team then took a brief intermission so the pom squad could do a performance for the crowd; it was an outstanding performance and enjoyed by the crowd. Once wrestling action began again, the Whippets dominated the second half, winning all but one of the final seven matches to close out the victory 55-24. Those winning by pins in the final six were Connor Friend (132), Curtis Rossmiller (138), and Odair Porras (150). Winning by a technical fall (15 points) were Jasen Porras (113) and Jarvis Porcaro (120). 

The win on the evening pushed the Whippets record to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the Valley Division of the Rock Valley Conference, thus securing the championship for the Valley Division.

Coach Schimming was very impressed with the performance of all students involved during the events. Great job to all!

Article and Photos Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org

The Whippets traveled to Jefferson on Saturday, January 20th to compete in the Eagle Jay Invitational. They posted 19 of 22 best times on the day!

Top 16 finishes & some highlights include:

200 Medley Relay
✔(10th – 1:58.85): Langdon Coburn, Jack Hefty, Cruz Aranda, Wyatt Esch

200 Freestyle –
✔Cruz Aranda (4th – 2:00.16) This time now put Cruz 7th all-time on the Whippet Top 10 List!
✔Wyatt Esch dropped 10 seconds off his time going a 2:26.66.

200 IM –
✔Jack Hefty (3rd – 2:21.65) Jack took home a medal for his 3rd place finish and now sits 10th all-time on the Whippet Top 10 List!

50 Freestyle –
✔Myles Morse (27.33), Wyatt Esch (28.55), David Enns (29.71) and Angel Kilar (35.21) all posted new best times!
✔Angel Kilar won his heat!

100 Butterfly –
✔Cruz Aranda (10th – 1:04.03)

100 Freestyle –
✔Langdon Coburn (16th – 59.08) – Langdon dropped nearly 2 seconds!
✔Onyx Thompson won his heat by dropping 7 seconds going a new time of 1:10.48.
✔Angel Kilar continues to drop more time in the 100 Freestyle, going a new time of 1:20.44!

500 Freestyle –
✔Myles Morse (7th – 5:46.96) – Myles won his heat by over 10 seconds!

200 Freestyle Relay
✔(10th – 1:44.49) – Cruz Aranda, Langdon Coburn, Myles Morse, Jack Hefty

100 Backstroke –
✔Langdon Coburn (6th – 1:06.04) – Langdon won his heat by out touch his competitor at the finish!
✔Onyx Thompson dropped 6 seconds of his previous time going a 1:23.35

100 Breaststroke –
✔Jack Hefty (9th – 1:14.24)
✔David Enns drops 8 seconds off his time to go a 1:28.10
✔Isaac Straight continues to make improvements in his breaststroke and goes a time of 1:44.51!

400 Freestyle Relay
✔(14th – 4:49.32) – Wyatt Esch, David Enns, Onyx Thompson, Angel Kilar

The Whippets are back in action on Tuesday, January 23, at home against Beloit Memorial starting at 5:30 p.m. We hope to see you there for their last conference dual meet!

Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

Whitewater, Wis. – The No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team cruised to a 69-52 win over UW-River Falls in Kachel Gym Saturday afternoon. The Warhawks are now 17-0 on the season and 6-0 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. 

Box Score

File photo of Katie Hildebrandt from a game earlier this season (Michael Gouvion)

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

Despite a relatively slow start, UWW started to pick up the offensive efficiency toward the end of the first quarter. Katie Hildebrandt sparked a late run with a jumper in the paint at the 2:37 mark. Lunden Alexander added a free throw before Mallory Oloffson knocked down a three-pointer to make it 13-6. Meanwhile, the Warhawk defense held the Falcons scoreless in that span to take the seven-point advantage into the second quarter. 

UW-Whitewater’s lead quickly hit the double figure mark with Hildebrandt’s triple widening the gap to 18-8 and it never dipped into single digits the rest of the way. 

The Warhawks dominated in the paint outscoring UWRF 36-18. UWW also held a 16-7 sway in fast break points. 

Hildebrandt led UW-Whitewater with 17 points on 6-11 from the floor, 2-4 from long range and 3-3 from the free throw line. She added three rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Aleah Grundahl posted 15 points bolstered by a 5-6 performance from the charity stripe. Oloffson rounded out the double-digit scorers for UWW with 10 on 4-5 from the field. 

Kacie Carollo and Bri McCurdy paced the Warhawks on the glass with six boards each while Carollo added five assists in the game. 

Edgerton (10-3) beat Whitewater High School (2-12) in boys’ basketball on Friday, January 19 by a score of 68-91.

Reece Condon led the Whippets with 18 points. Freshman Aaron Garcia entered the starting lineup and had 12 points. Casey Lyon also scored 12, and Marcos Sagrero had 10.

Whitewater played hard the entire game, but could not get stops when they were needed. Edgerton out rebounded the Whippets by a large margin.

Next up, Evansville High School comes to town on Thursday, January 25. All youth wearing a jersey get in free!

Article Submitted by Mike McCabe
Whitewater High School Head Boys’ Basketball Coach
mccmi01@wwusd.org
File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka