Katie Hildebrandt goes up for a layin against UW-Stevens Point (Michael Gouvion)
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.
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.
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
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.
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.”
The Whitewater Whippet Girls’ Basketball Team was able to get a few key stops to end the game and close out a five-point win, 46-41, when they hosted Deerfield on Friday, January 5.
Whitewater built a six-point halftime lead and pushed it to double digits for a few possessions midway through the second half. Deerfield would not go away and took a one-point lead with just over four minutes to play, but Whitewater finished the game on a 13-7 run to secure the win.
Danielle DePorter led the Whippets with 18 points.
The Whitewater Youth Basketball Club Girls’ 5th/6th Team played at halftime, and the 7th/8th girls’ team was all in attendance. This combined with a fantastic pit band performance and a great performance by the poms team fed into an awesome, loud crowd. The girls’ team appreciates all in attendance.
Whitewater returns to conference action as the Whippets host Big Foot on Tuesday, January 9, and Edgerton on Friday, January 12.
Article Submitted by Mike Dowden Whitewater High School Head Basketball Coach dowmi01@wwusd.org Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
The Whitewater Swim Team competed against Jefferson/Cambridge on Thursday, January 4th. The dogs battled their way to a victory by beating the Eagle/Jays. We are excited to get back into competition mode!
Jack Hefty
Best times of the night include:
Cruz Aranda – 200 freestyle (2:02.41) and the 100 butterfly (1:02.43) which also put him in the Top 10 of all time
Langdon Coburn – 50 freestyle (26.70).
David Enns – 100 breaststroke (1:35.03) and 100 freestyle (1:11.72).
Wyatt Esch – 200 freestyle with a 5 second time drop (2:36.80) and 100 Backstroke with a 11 second time drop (1:27.36). Wyatt gave it his all in the 50 Butterfly in the 200 Medley Relay for the first time.
Jack Hefty – 200 IM (2:28.21) and the 100 Breaststroke with a 3 second time drop (1:14.49).
Angel Kilar – 50 freestyle (36.30) and 100 freestyle (1:25.00).
Myles Morse – 500 freestyle (5:55.15). Myles had an impressive freestyle split in the 200 Medley with a time of 25.35.
Miles Nickelsburg – 200 IM (2:44.36).
Isaac Straight – 50 freestyle with a 4 second drop (42.68). He also competed in the 100 Breaststroke for the first time, and we are excited to see him compete more in this race!
Onyx Thompson – 500 freestyle had a lifetime best swim time of 7:38.72. Onyx had an impressive split in the 200 Medley with a time of 27.99.
The Whippets are up against Elkhorn and PSC at home on Tuesday, January 9. We hope to see you all there!
Article and Team Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach sreynolds@wwusd.org Action Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
By Broderick P. Frye Asst. Director of Sports Information
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s basketball team fended off a late push from UW-Oshkosh as they picked up the win in the WIAC opener.
The first half was a defensive battle, with neither team reaching the 30-point mark. The Titans had the lead in the beginning, but the Warhawks quickly bounced back and took the lead at the 17-minute mark and led the rest of the way.
The first half was a game of runs, with each team trying to take ahold of the contest. The Warhawks took an 8-point lead with a minute left, but two Titan field goals brought it within 4 at the break.
After a defensive first half, the offense came alive to start out the second. The Warhawks exploded and quickly gained their biggest lead of the night at the mid-point of the half. With 11-minutes on the clock, UW-Whitewater led 48-31. A few minutes later, Oshkosh closed the game back down after a 9-0 run of their own, making it a six-point game with five minutes left.
In the final minutes of the contest, the Warhawks fended off the Titans, keeping the game in their hands to finish out with their first conference win of the season, 62-53.
Miles Barnstable (Sheboygan, Wis./Howards Grove) led all scorers with 18 points. Barnstable also pulled down a game-high 8 rebounds. Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) finished with 14 points, and James Kelley (Milwaukee, WI/St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy) added in 13 of his own and pulled down 7 rebounds. Elijah Lambert (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine’s) (8) and James Barker (7) rounded out the Warhawk scoring. Barker also recorded 7 rebounds and 4 steals.
UW-Oshkosh was led by Will Mahoney with 16 points and 7 rebounds.
The Warhawks will return home for their next contest, taking on UW-Eau Claire on Saturday, January 6th at 5 p.m. The Blugolds fell to #24-ranked UW-Platteville, 74-69 in their WIAC opening game.
The Whippet Wrestling Team closed out 2023 by hosting the Mid-States Wrestling Classic Tournament held on the campus of UWW. This was the 45th year this tournament has taken place in which 42 teams gathered to compete on six mats over the course of two days.
Whitewater had ten team members competing in the tournament, and they competed well. The Whippets had five reach what Coach Schimming calls the blood round. This is the round that has winners move onto day two and claim a place in the top 12. Jesus Barajas and Vicente Soto both dropped tough losses in the blood round, just missing out on day two. Both guys competed very well on day one, finishing 2-2 in the tournament.
Connor Friend
Jarvis Porcaro, Connor Friend, and Payton Lyon each made day 2. Porcaro and Lyon reached the quarterfinals before dropping their first loss while Connor Friend had three first period pins on day 1 to reach the semi-finals.
On day two, Porcaro won his first match, putting him on the podium as a top 8 finisher. Jarvis had two hard fought matches, unfortunately dropping them, and putting him in 8th place.
Payton Lyon dropped his first match on day two, unfortunately removing him from the podium, but he came back strong wrestling a very good match to put himself into the 9th place match. In the placement round Payton wrestled very well but came up just short in the 3rd period.
Connor Friend had a very good tournament. To open day two in the semifinals, he wrestled the number 1 seed from Sun Prairie. At the end of regulation, it was tied 6-6 so it went into 1 minute overtime where the first points win the match. The two got into a very intense scramble situation with Connor on the losing end. It is always tough to come back from a close loss in a big tournament. Connor drew a young man from Pecatonica whom he had lost to two weeks ago but wrestled a very patient match. Down 0-3 in the 3rd period, Connor got an escape and worked very hard pushing through a tough takedown attempt, putting his opponent to his back, and then securing the pin! The win put Connor into the 3rd place match and again, Connor kept composure and patience down in the 3rd period. Again, the patience paid off as Connor was able to secure a pin, bringing home the bronze medal. Connor was 5-1 in the tournament with 5 pins, and his sole loss was a very well contested overtime match.
The coaching staff was very happy with the performance of the team. Although we did not have as many make the podium as we would like, we felt like the team came and competed, and that is what we ask every time we take the mat in practice or competition.
Thank you to all that helped provide goods for the workers’ room and a big thank you for the great job the team did clearing three mats for the finals, then cleaning up and returning the mats to the high school. The tournament is a huge undertaking for the team, and they did great.
Next up for the Whippets is a Rock Valley Conference dual against Delavan-Darien on Thursday, January 4 at Delavan. The JV then hosts a 30-team tournament at Whitewater High School, and the girls travel to Kenosha Bradford on Saturday, January 6th.
Article Submitted by John Schimming Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach jschimming@wwusd.org Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
Jameer Barker defending Northland player. Credit Dane Sheehan
By Broderick Frye Asst. Sports Information Director
River Falls, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s basketball team finished the Radisson Holiday Classic, surpassing the century mark in a 105-71 win over Northland on December 30.
Northland scored the first basket of the game, but it took them seven minutes to find the next as the Warhawk defense started out the game, forcing seven turnovers. On the offensive end, the Warhawks scored 18 straight points, jumping out to a 20-4 lead at the 13-minute mark.
The Lumberjacks started relying on the three ball to close the gap but had no luck as the Warhawks kept finding ways to score. UW-Whitewater was up 32-16 with eight minutes left in the half.
At the break, the Warhawks led 53-32 over Northland. A large portion of the Warhawk points came off turnovers, forcing 13 Northland turnovers and converting them into 22 points.
The second half was similar, with the Warhawks expanding their lead to 30 points midway through the half (77-47). The Warhawks didn’t stop there, hitting the century mark with 50 seconds left in the contest.
UW-Whitewater closed the game from there, defeating the Lumberjacks 105-71.
Four Warhawks hit double digits in the contest. Jameer Barker (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine’s) led the team with 15 points. Barker also dished out five assists and pulled down four rebounds.
Miles Barnstable (Sheboygan, Wis./Howards Grove), Carter Capstran (Franklin, Wis./Franklin), and Delvin Barnstable (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan Lutheran) all had 12 points. Capstran led the team with six rebounds. James Kelley (Milwaukee, WI/St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy) helped his teammates out in scoring, dishing out five assists.
Northland was led by Jordan Brennan, scoring 25 points. The Warhawks won the battle on the glass, collecting 42 rebounds to Northland’s 22.
UW-Whitewater will return home for their next game, kicking off WIAC play against UW-Oshkosh. The Titans were picked to finish second in the conference at the beginning of the season. The tip-off is at 7 p.m. on January 3rd, 2024.
St. Thomas More beat Whitewater 52-27 in girls’ basketball action at Whitewater High School on Thursday, December 28. St. Thomas More jumped out to an early double-digit lead and led 27-9 at halftime.
Danielle DePorter
Danielle DePorter was the leading Whippet scorer with 9 points, making all 4 of her free-throw attempts.
Whitewater hosts Deerfield on January 5, Big Foot on January 9, and Edgerton on January 12 to start the new year.
Article Submitted by Mike Dowden Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach dowmi01@wwusd.org Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
