According to si.com, former UW-W football coach Lance Leipold was reportedly offered the open head coach position at the University of Washington, but he has decided to stay at the University of Kansas. Quoting Sports Illustrated, “The news is absolutely huge for the Jayhawks, as they have seen one of the biggest improvements in the sport under Leipold. After taking over a team that went 0-9 during the 2020 season, the Jayhawks have steadily improved. With two consecutive bowl appearances in the last two seasons, capped by a win over UNLV at the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, optimism is high for the future of the program.”
Sports
No. 4 UW-W Women’s Basketball 15-0 After Historic Win
By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
The No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team secured a historic win over No. 22 UW-Stout Saturday evening. With the 80-70 win over the Blue Devils, the Warhawks are 15-0 to start the season for the first time in program history. Junior guard Kacie Carollo added to the historic night with a pair of career milestones and a career high.
Kacie Carollo shooting a three-pointer in front of the UWW bench (Michael Gouvion) (Note: file photo from earlier this season, not from tonight’s contest)
Carollo dominated in the first half with nearly half (21) of the team’s 43 points. She went on to score 30, a career high. In a rare feat, she also registered a pair of career milestones reaching the 500-rebound and 1,000-point marks in the same game. The junior now has 1,007 career points to move into 18th in the UW-Whitewater record book. Her 507 career boards is 20th in UWW history. Carollo is the 19th Warhawk to hit the point milestone and 22nd to tally 500 rebounds.
UW-Stout scored the first bucket of the game after winning the tip but that was the only lead they saw in the contest. Aleah Grundahl knotted the game with a layup followed by a Maggie Trautsch jumper and a Carollo steal and fastbreak layin for a six-point Warhawk run. Late in the quarter, Carollo nailed a pair of threes just 30 seconds apart to push the lead into double digits. By the end of the first, UWW enjoyed a 16-point advantage, 23-7.
The Blue Devils won the second quarter outscoring UWW 25-20, but the Warhawks still maintained a double figure lead at the break, 43-32.
UW-Whitewater scored the first nine of the third quarter to see the lead hit 20, 52-32. The margin remained in double digits until under the three-minute mark in the fourth. The Blue Devils chipped away, pulling to within five with 1:34 on the clock. Lunden Alexander and Carollo hit back-to-back jumpers to push the lead back to nine. From there, UWW sealed the game at the charity stripe.
The Warhawks capitalized on their trips to the free throw line hitting 17-24 while the Stout was just 9-16 in the game.
Carollo’s 30 points led all scorers. She hit 11-16 from the floor and 3-3 from downtown adding a perfect 5-5 from the line. Carollo also posted eight rebounds, six steals and a pair of assists. Grundahl registered 21 points bolstered by 7-9 from the free throw line. Trautsch rounded out the double figure scorers for UWW with 11 points adding six rebounds.
Early in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference slate, the Warhawks are the lone team with an unblemished record in league play, 4-0.
All Jefferson County Snowmobile Trails Now Open
Editor’s note: Any future announcements regarding snowmobile trails will be posted to the sports section of the Banner this season.
All Jefferson County Snowmobile Trails will open at
3:00 PM, Friday, January 12, 2024.
Please ride with caution.
Some trails may be closed due to open water.
Please be mindful of the conditions around you.
If you encounter any life-threatening hazards, including downed trees,
please call Jason Lenz 920-988-5445
Please stay on the marked trails and obey all signage.
Please call the Snowmobile Alliance 24-hour Hotline at 920-699-SNOW (7669) daily for current information. Snowmobile trails in adjoining counties may be closed. Trail users should check with each county to determine trail status.
Girls’ Wrestling Places Third at Kenosha Tourney
On Saturday, January 6th, the Whippet Girls’ Wrestling Team traveled to Kenosha Bradford High School for a scramble format tournament. The wrestling tournament was made up of 19 different schools. This girls’ tournament doubled in participants from the year before. Our Whitewater Whippets returned to this tournament having placed third last year, and set a goal to finish in the top again this year. With the tournament doubling in size, that was a great goal. Our twelve girls scored a total of 86 team points, which placed them in third at the end of the tournament.
As a team, the girls wrestled really well. Out of the twelve athletes, five placed in the top three for their respective weight classes. Leading the way was Marianna Kubicz, as champion at 185 pounds. Marianna pinned her way through the tournament.
Myia Cobb placed 2nd at 138 pounds, also pinning her way to the finals. Myia dropped her first loss of the day to a girl from Burlington.
A’lani Ross also placed 2nd at 126 pounds. A’Lani wrestled really well throughout the tournament, losing her last match in the final to a girl from Milton High School who took 2nd in the state last season.
Ema Aranda, wrestling at 100 pounds, and Lauren Buehler, wrestling at 120 pounds, both placed 3rd in their weight classes.
Overall, the Whitewater girls improved on Saturday, with some picking up their first win. The team taking third place was a team effort, and everyone who wrestled on Saturday helped solidify that team score. All our girls helped pick each other up and supported each other throughout the day. As a coach, it is nice to see teammates help each other the way these athletes did. This tournament will help them prepare for one of the biggest girls’ wrestling tournaments in the state, in Wausau, on January 20th.
Article Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
Photos Courtesy of Johnny Gomez
Whippet Girls Defeat Big Foot
The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball Team jumped out to an early 12-2 lead on Wednesday, January 10, but Big Foot battled to be within three at halftime. The game was close throughout with Whitewater up four with about four minutes to play. The Whippets eventually secured a 45-38 victory.
Even without shooting the ball well, Whitewater’s defense was able to keep them in the lead for most of the night. Whitewater was able to push it double digits with about three to play, but credit Big Foot’s shooting for keeping them in the game all night.
Calli Grosinske led the Whippets with 24 points, and Leah Paulsen put in 25 for Big Foot.
Whitewater is scheduled to host Edgerton on Friday, January 12 [presumably this game is canceled] and then travels to Evansville next Thursday, January 18.
Article Submitted by Mike Dowden
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
dowmi01@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
Weinfurt Earns CSC Academic All-America Honors
By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater senior outside hitter Jenna Weinfurt (Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) has been named a Third Team Academic All-American by College Sports Communicators.
Weinfurt holds a 3.88 grade point average with a major in digital marketing. The 2023 CSC Academic All-America Teams for volleyball feature 83 student-athletes across three divisions of the NCAA and NAIA including 24 that compete in Division III.
The 2023 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Weinfurt also garnered Second Team All-America honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association. She ranked among the top 30 nationally in kills per set (4.03) and total kills (463) this season. The senior reached the 1,000 career kill milestone this season and currently ranks 14th in the program record book with 1,150 kills.
Academic All-America Teams are voted on and selected by CSC members. Student-athletes must earn All-District honors to be considered for All-America recognition. To be eligible for Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must be of at least sophomore status, hold a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 and have competed in 90-percent or started in 66-percent of sets played this season.
No. 4 UW-W Women Match Best Start in Program History with Win
By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
The No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team defeated UW-Stevens Point 53-44 Wednesday night in Kachel Gym. With the win, the Warhawks match the best start in program history (2007-08) with a 14-0 mark.
Box Score
UWW built a 19-11 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. The Warhawks shot well in the first quarter hitting 57-percent from the floor and 3-4 of their three-point tries. Kacie Carollo was 4-6 from the field and 2-2 from long range for 10 points in the first 10 minutes.
UW-Whitewater’s offense cooled off shooting 33-percent in the second and just 17-percent in the third as the Pointers pulled to within six, 41-35, with one quarter remaining.
The Warhawks sealed the game from the free throw line with eight of the team’s 12 points in the fourth coming from the charity stripe. UWW was 8-10 from the line down the stretch leading to the final.
Carollo tallied a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. She is now just one rebound away from 500 career boards. She added three assists and a block. Aleah Grundahl posted 15 points on 6-12 from the floor with seven rebounds.
Wrestling Team Hosts 30-Team JV Tournament
On Saturday, January 6, the Whitewater Wrestling Team hosted 30 teams at the high school with Junior Varsity wrestlers eyeing a trip to the JV State Finals in Wausau on January 20th. Of the 30 teams, there were 352 wrestlers with many of the brackets having 32 students in the weight class. This was a great opportunity for the Whippet Wrestlers to get some high-quality wrestling experience to see where we are and what needs to improve. Although there was no team award, trackwrestling does keep track of scores, and the Whitewater JV team came out on top with overall team score!
The Whitewater JV team wrestled extremely well. Twenty-seven wrestlers competed for Whitewater, with 5 of the competitors placing in the top 3, thus earning their trip to the finals in Wausau. All of the wrestlers wrestled well, with many winning at least two matches on the day.
Leading the way for the Whippets was Curtis Rossmiller, as he had a great day going 5-0 and winning the 126-pound weight class. This is the second year that Curtis has reached the challenge series, and he has his eyes set on placing in the 24-person bracket at Wausau.
At 157 pounds, the Whippets took two of the top three spots with a runner-up finish by Edrick Comacho and a third-place finish by Christian Minnet. Edrick will be making his first trip to Wausau with his runner-up finish in a large 32-person bracket. Edrick wrestled extremely well throughout the tournament going 4-1 and dropping his championship match against a very good student from Verona Area. Christian also wrestled well going 4-1. He, too, lost to the Verona Area student. His 3rd place match that he needed to win to advance was a tough fought match. He was at one point down 8-2, but he just continued to battle back one point at a time to secure a takedown late in the third period to win the match and punch his ticket to Wausau.
Richi Kalra at 175 pounds will be making his first trip to Wausau as he reached the semi-finals dropping a tough match to a Darlington student. Richi then had to come back through the consolation bracket, needing to win two matches on the backside to get to Wausau. Richi did just that winning those two matches and getting a first period pin in the third-place match to make it to Wausau.
Closing out the qualifiers for the Whippets is Avi Kalra. This will also be Avi’s second trip to Wausau by taking runner-up at 190 pounds. Avi made quick work of his first opponents getting three pins to reach the championship match. Avi ran into a familiar foe from Janesville Craig, wrestling better than the first time they met earlier in the season, but still dropping his finals.
Quinton O’Toole had his best day of wrestling going 4-1 at 126 pounds. He unfortunately lost early in the tournament, which due to bracket set up left him unable to reach the top three. Needless to say, Quinton wrestled great after the first-round loss.
Great job to all wrestlers competing on Saturday as they did very well. Coach Schimming also sends out a huge thank you to all the varsity wrestlers who did a great job working the tables. It was a long day, but the group did outstanding all day long, right until the end of the tournament when they also did outstanding with the clean-up of the six mats.
Thank you also to the wrestling parents who did outstanding putting together a hospitality room for the officials and the students who were working. That was much appreciated! Thank you also to the parents who volunteered their time in the concession area. That was non-stop action.
Article and Photos Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
Registration Open for the 12th Annual Discover Whitewater Series
The Discover Whitewater Series (DWS): Half Marathon, Half Marathon Team Event, and 5k is excited to announce that registration is now open for its 12th annual race. The upcoming Discover Whitewater Series is set to be held on September 22, 2024.
Since its establishment in 2013, the DWS has hosted 11 successful races, raising $274,500 for local charities. The DWS partners with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the City of Whitewater to make this race a premium community event. Once again, the DWS plans to host a fun and safe event the entire community can enjoy.
This year, the DWS will be maintaining fan-favorite events from years past such as: Kids Korral childcare, Half Marathon Team Event, and its Post Race Celebration at 841 Brewhouse.
“We’d like to invite runners of all capacities to join us in our 12th Annual DWS, begin training now and join us for another successful race this year!” said Race Director, Dawson Miller.
The DWS is offering an early bird special through the end of the month where registration rates are at their lowest of the year. The DWS team looks forward to another successful race, and is excited to see all the runners come together once again!
“The DWS does so much for the Whitewater community, it brings everyone together and I’m thrilled to be a part of it,” said GWC Chairman, Crystal Singer.
To get signed up while early bird rates still apply, visit: www.RunWhitewater.com/Register.
About the DWS: The goal of the DWS is to promote the City of Whitewater and highlight its greatest features, while keeping everyone in the community active. All the proceeds from the race are donated to five local non-profit partners: Bethel House (which provides interim housing for homeless families), Whitewater LEADS, Working for Whitewater’s Wellness (W3), Whitewater Unified School District and the J-Hawk Aquatic Club. The DWS partners with the city, business community, university and the school district to make this a tremendous event that benefits all who participate. For more information about the race visit www.runwhitewater.com.
Packers Make the Playoffs: Face the Cowboys Next Sunday
By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
With a 17-9 win at Lambeau Field over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, January 7, the Green Bay Packers earned a wild card berth in the playoffs. They’ll face the Dallas Cowboys, coached by former Packers’ coach Mike McCarthy, on Sunday, January 14 at 3:30 p.m. at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. The game will be broadcast on Fox. The Cowboys have won their last 16 games at home.
Reportedly the Packers are the youngest team to reach the playoffs since 1978. They are also currently the youngest team in the league, and Jordan Love is in his first season as full-time starting quarterback. The Packers didn’t make the playoffs with Favre and Rodgers as starting quarterback until year two. Love was quoted as saying after the game, “You want to play in the big-time games when the pressure is on and be able to go showcase what you’re made of. Being on the bench those three years and being behind Aaron [Rogers] and just wanting to be out there so bad, now that I have my opportunity, just make the most of it. Take it and run with it […] It’s definitely something that I was waiting for and dreaming of and it’s definitely everything that it’s living up to be.”