Sports

Whippet Wrestling Drops Hard Fought Semi-Final Dual at Team Sectionals

On Tuesday night, February 15, the Whippet Wrestling Team traveled to River Valley to compete in the Team Sectional Wrestling Tournament with the hopes of getting two dual meet wins and the right to advance to Team State. The Whippet Community should be proud to call the Whippet Wrestlers their own as they fought hard against a very good Evansville team, but ended up losing the dual, hence ending the team portion of the season. Whitewater finished the season 9-2 with both losses coming to Evansville. I feel as though we wrestled much better last night than we did earlier in the season, so the coaching staff is proud of the team for that.

Individually in the dual, Marcus DePorter got the team on the scoreboard with a well wrestled match against his opponent, winning by a major decision. Aaron Porras followed with another win for the team by getting a second period pin to help spark some excitement for the team. Sebastian Cuellar followed with an exciting takedown to start the match against a young man who has 40 wins on the season and was wrestling well but unfortunately dropped the match. Carter Friend showed he will not back down to anyone as he went up a weight class to get another shot at an opponent he lost to earlier in the season and who was a state runner-up last year. Carter wanted to show he can do better, and indeed did, securing a couple of takedowns in the match and wrestling better overall. However, he was unable to get a victory. The team ended the dual meet by winning the last two matches, so they ended on a couple of positive notes. Mason DePorter got a first period pin, his 27th of the season, which has now broken the single season record held since 2010. Jarvis Porcaro ended the evening for the Whippets when he avenged his Conference Championship loss by defeating his opponent 13-10 in a very exciting match to end the dual meet.

The coaching staff is very proud of the team this season. They showed they are a true team as they are always there in each other’s corner, no matter what, supporting and picking each other up when needed. Although this is the end of the dual meet season, seven individuals will be traveling to Richland Center to participate in the Individual Sectional with the hopes of punching a ticket to State. Wrestling begins at 10:00.

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

Whippet Girls Honor Seniors, Fall to Evansville

The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball team hosted Evansville for a conference game Monday, February 14th. 

  • Kindyl Kilar
  • Gwen Truesdale and Lexi Juoni

The Whippets struggled to gain momentum offensively throughout the game, falling 45-28. 

Kindyl Kilar led the Whippets with 10 points, followed by Gwen Truesdale and Calli Grosinske each with 5. 

The Whippets also honored seniors Lexi Juoni and Gwen Truesdale for their last home game of their high school careers. These two are extremely dedicated athletes that demonstrate tremendous grit and leadership. 

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

Whippet Gymnasts Score New Team High

The Whippet Varsity Gymnastics Team competed at the Platteville Invitational with 12 other teams on Saturday, February 12th. The girls had such an amazing meet, scoring their highest team score of 110.425, improving their old team score by almost 2 points! Breaking that 110-barrier is a big deal! We had our highest team Beam score of the season which was really awesome to see.

Halee Peters made the podium with her no-fall Beam routine – earning herself a medal.  She also was right on her best scores for Vault, Floor, and All-Around.

Makayla Bazeley scored a personal best on Beam with a no-fall routine and also improved her All-Around score to 29.5. She tied her personal best on her Bars routine and was right on her best score for Vault.

Myia Cobbs had season bests on Vault and Beam and tied her best score on Bars. She also scored her highest in All-Around. Miyu competed varsity for Vault for the first time and scored a season best.

Our next meet is our Conference meet in Elkhorn on Friday, February 18th.

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

WHS Wrestlers Bring Home Regional Title

On Saturday, February 12, the Whitewater Wrestling Team achieved one of their goals that they set out to accomplish after last season, win a Regional Wrestling Championship. After the dust settled in a great tournament held at Jefferson High School, the Whippets brought home their first Regional Championship since 2017 by outdistancing Delavan-Darien. As a team, the Whippets wrestled very well and proved it was a team effort, as everyone did their part. If a teammate had a hiccup, others were there to step up and make up for it. Of the 14 competitors, 13 finished in the top four, with our sole 5th place finisher, Sebastian Cuellar, wrestling his heart out to finish his day with a pin in the 5th place match. He had a tough first round loss to the young man who ended up coming in 2nd place for the weight class.

Jarvis Porcaro

Individually, the Whippets had 3 champions in Jarvis Porcaro, Marcus DePorter, and Mason DePorter. Each of these champs had big wins on the day to help push the points more into Whitewater’s favor.

Coming in runner up and also earning a trip to Individual Sectionals on Saturday were Traysen Thomason, Aaron Porras, Carter Friend, and Leo Ortiz. Each of these gentlemen lost tough ones in the championship round, but were able to hold onto their position as a qualifier.     

Just missing out on qualifying and finishing in 3rd place were CJ Tomomitsu, Connor Friend, Cooper Hammond, and Hector Arnodo. CJ, Connor, and Cooper each had an opportunity to wrestle for true second but came up just short, so they are alternates for Saturday in case of injury to a wrestler that finished ahead of them.

Last but definitely not least, as they brought in great team points, were Jason Villegas and Jesus Barajas. Jason wrestled outstanding all day and continued to show the great improvement he has all season long, dropping a good match to his opponent for 3rd. Barajas also wrestled well on the day, knowing he had an uphill battle, as he was bumped up a weight to help the team win a title. He did not back down in the 3rd place match, but came up short.

The coaching staff is extremely proud of the accomplishments of this team. As an underclassman said afterward, “Yes, we get to spend another week competing with these seniors. I love this team!” 

The team is in action on Tuesday night, February 15, when they travel to participate in the Team Sectional at River Valley High School in Spring Green. Their first dual is at 6:00, and then the championship dual will be at 8:00. The winner on Tuesday night in the two duals qualifies for Team State.

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

Swimmers Wrap Up Season at Sectionals

The Whippet Boys’ Swim Team traveled to Baraboo on Saturday, February 12, to compete in the WIAA Sectional Meet. They came to swim fast and did just that; they went 8 for 10 in individual best times! 

Miles Nickelsburg, Tyler Arnett, Andrew O’Toole, Zach Tomomitsu, Jack Hefty

Senior Zach Tomomitsu finished off his swim career with some spectacular swims in the 100 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke! In the 100 Free, Zach nailed down some perfect flip turns. In the 100 Back, he went a best time by 4 seconds! 

Tyler Arnett continues to flourish in the 200 and 500 Freestyle. Tyler started off the day going a best time in the 200 Free by dropping 4 seconds and earned himself a spot on the Whippet Top 10 List! Tyler also had a lifetime best swim in the 500 Free where he had a 6 second drop going 5:24.97 and placing 5th overall at the meet! Tyler also had a season best split in the 400 Freestyle Relay going 56.04!

Jack Hefty improved his time in the 200 IM, dropping 2 seconds. He also continues to improve his time in the 100 Freestyle, going a 57.91. Later in the meet, during the 400 Freestyle Relay, Jack dropped his time even more from the leadoff spot, going a 57.31! 

Miles Nickelsburg had a wonderful swim in the 100 Backstroke, where he had a 4 second drop. He also had a season best relay split in the 400 Freestyle Relay, going a 1:09.39.

Andre O’Toole improved his overall 50 Freestyle time, going a 30.67! He also had a season best time in the 100 Breaststroke, where he had a 2 second drop! 

Congratulations to the boys’ swim team on an amazing season. We can’t wait to see what they can accomplish next year!

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

No. 7 UW-Whitewater Women’s Hoops Clinches WIAC Title Outright

By Chris Lindeke, Assistant Athletic Director, Strategic Communications and Branding, UW-W

Box Score

The No. 7 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team secured the program’s 10th Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship outright on Saturday with an 87-56 win against UW-Stout at Kachel Gymnasium.

The Warhawks (22-2 overall, 12-1 WIAC), who have now won three conference regular season titles in the last five years, also honored Courtney Oomens, Rebekah Schumacher and Johanna Taylor on Senior Day presented by Educators Credit Union in a halftime ceremony.

Aleah Grundahl registered a game-high 18 points to go with three rebounds and three steals to pace a group of seven UW-W scorers with eight or more points in the contest. Veronica Kieres collected 13 points and five rebounds, and Abby Belschner posted 12 points and five rebounds.

Taylor recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with four blocks and two steals. Schumacher and Kacie Carollo totaled nine points apiece and Yssa Sto. Domingo added eight points.

UW-W turned 28 turnovers into 36 points on the other end and added 20 second-chance points on 20 offensive rebounds.

The Blue Devils (13-9, 8-4) scored the first four points of the game and held an 8-3 lead three minutes into the opening quarter. UW-Whitewater rallied for 11 straight points and never trailed again in the contest.

The Warhawks’ lead increased to double digits in the final minute of the period, and Taylor’s put-back layup made the score 24-13 through 10 minutes of play.

UW-Stout scored the first basket of the second before UW-Whitewater’s 8-0 run made it 32-15 just past the midway point of the quarter. The Warhawks maintained a double-digit advantage and led 47-32 by halftime.

UW-Whitewater scored six consecutive points to start the third quarter, including buckets by Schumacher, Kieres and Grundahl, for a 21-point advantage with 8:42 on the clock. UW-W led by as many as 27 points in the period and held a 69-46 advantage heading to the fourth.

All 19 players saw action in the fourth quarter for the Warhawks and eight of them found their way into the scoring column.

UW-Whitewater closes the regular season Wednesday at UW-Oshkosh. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.

Whippet Girls Fall at Brodhead

The Whippet Girls’ Basketball Team came out strong in the beginning of the first half in a very physical, faced-paced game at Brodhead on Friday, February 11. We were tied within the first 9 minutes of the first half, playing a tight defense. Brodhead went on an 11-point scoring run, stretching their lead. Going in to halftime, we were down 14-37.

We got into foul trouble, and struggled to stop Brodhead’s offense, coming up short, 37-67.

Josie Treder led the Whippets with 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist. Gwen Truesdale contributed 6 points (4 for 4 from the free throw line), 3 blocks, and 2 rebounds. Cali Kopecky also added 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals.

The Whippets will host Evansville at home Monday, February 14th. It is our last regular season home game and Senior Night.

Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach
klippens@wwusd.org

Shinhoster Wins Title; UW-W Wrestling Places Fifth at WIAC Championship

By Chris Lindeke, Assistant Athletic Director, Strategic Communications and Branding, UW-W

Saturday, February 12, 2022

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestling team placed nine wrestlers among the top six of their respective weight classes Saturday on its way to a fifth-place finish at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship (presented by Culver’s) in Oshkosh, Wis.

Jaritt Shinhoster earned the individual championship at 184 pounds to lead the Warhawks, who totaled 85.5 team points for the tournament.

Shinhoster, the 2020 champion at 174 pounds, earned his first title at 184, posting a pair of pins on his way to the final, where he bested UW-La Crosse’s Kalyn Jahn by 7-0 decision. Shinhoster was also named the 2022 WIAC Wrestling Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete, UW-W’s first such honoree since 2005. (Check back in the coming week for the complete announcement.)

Jake Burford finished as runner-up at 149 pounds, tallying a 3-1 record with one pin and one major decision on the way to his second career top-three WIAC finish. He was also selected to the WIAC All-Sportsmanship Team following competition. Ryan Vedner rebounded from a semifinal loss to place third at 174 pounds, and Cadin Koeppel finished third at 285 pounds following a narrow semifinal defeat.

Fourth-place finishers included Ethan Pogorzelski at 133 pounds, Dakarai Clay at 141 and Shelby Jones at 285.

Ryan Riser placed fifth at 174 pounds, and Drew Nash finished sixth at 141.

UW-Whitewater is set to compete next at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional, which is slated for Feb. 25-26 in Eau Claire.

See below for complete UW-Whitewater results from Saturday’s tournament.

125

Griffin McEnroe

First Round: lost to Remington Bontreger (UW-La Crosse) by decision, 11-8

Consolation: lost to Brandon Murphy (UW-La Crosse) by technical fall, 18-2 (7:00)

133

Matt McEnroe

First Round: Bye

Quarterfinal: lost to Denis Murphy (UW-Oshkosh) by decision, 7-5 (SV-1)

Consolation: lost to Julian Purney (UW-La Crosse) by fall, 3:24

Ethan Pogorzelski

First Round: Bye

Quarterfinal: lost to Zach Thompson (UW-Platteville) by decision, 8-4

Consolation: d. Caleb Radtke (UW-Platteville) by decision, 6-4 (SV-1)

Consolation: d. Denis Murphy (UW-Oshkosh) by decision, 7-3

Third Place: lost to Zach Thompson (UW-Platteville) by decision, 11-6

141

Dakarai Clay

First Round: Bye

Quarterfinal: d. Tyler Shackle (UW-La Crosse) by fall, 6:38

Semifinal: lost to Zach Sato (UW-Eau Claire) by decision, 8-6

Consolation: d. Luke Hill (UW-Stevens Point) by decision, 6-1

Third Place: lost to Tyler Shackle (UW-La Crosse) by technical fall, 15-0 (7:00)

Drew Nash

First Round: d. AJ Schoenfuss (UW-Oshkosh) by fall, 6:43

Quarterfinal: d. Markus Brown (UW-Eau Claire) by decision, 8-6 (SV-1)

Semifinal: lost to Zach Licht (UW-Platteville) by fall, 4:41

Consolation: lost to Tyler Shackle (UW-La Crosse) by major decision, 10-1

Fifth Place: lost to Luke Hill (UW-Stevens Point) by medical forfeit

149

Jake Burford

First Round: d. Wyatt Willey (UW-Platteville) by fall, 0:43

Quarterfinal: d. Tyler Goebel (UW-La Crosse) by decision, 6-4

Semifinal: d. Gabe Pugh (UW-Eau Claire) by major decision, 10-2

Final: lost to Brock Parker (UW-Platteville) by decision, 3-2

Alex Valenzona

First Round: lost to Brock Parker (UW-Platteville) by major decision, 14-2

Consolation: lost to Tyler Goebel (UW-La Crosse) by technical fall, 17-1 (5:13)

157

Ty Miller

First Round: lost to Owen Norman (UW-Platteville) by decision, 5-4

Consolation: lost to Mason Wheeler (UW-Stevens Point) by decision, 3-1

Simon Rillie

First Round: lost to Isaac Ortegon (UW-Oshkosh) by decision, 10-4

Consolation: lost to Adam Rients (UW-Eau Claire) by major decision, 11-2

165

Tommy Hoy

First Round: Bye

Quarterfinal: lost to Seth Brossard (UW-La Crosse) by major decision, 19-5

Consolation: lost to Cody Welker (UW-Oshkosh) by medical forfeit

Nick Klug

First Round: lost to Nick Fetzner (UW-La Crosse) by fall, 2:35

Consolation: lost to Josh Heuss (UW-Stevens Point) by fall, 4:38

174

Ryan Riser

First Round: d. Trystan Altensey (UW-Stevens Point) by decision, 5-1

Quarterfinal: lost to Jared Stricker (UW-Eau Claire) by decision, 10-5

Consolation: d. Muzi Siseltha (UW-Oshkosh) by major decision, 16-2

Consolation: d. Niall Schoenfelder (UW-Eau Claire) by major decision, 12-3

Consolation: lost to Ryan Vedner by decision, 7-3

Fifth Place: d. Luke Clark (UW-La Crosse) by decision, 11-5

Ryan Vedner

First Round: d. Niall Schoenfelder (UW-Eau Claire) by decision, 8-4

Quarterfinal: d. Luke Clark (UW-La Crosse) by decision, 5-2

Semifinal: lost to Nick Dado (UW-Platteville) by decision, 3-2

Consolation: d. Ryan Riser by decision, 7-3

Third Place: d. Isaac Gust (UW-La Crosse) by decision, 4-3

184

Jerred Grell

First Round: lost to Kalyn Jahn (UW-La Crosse) by fall, 1:59

Consolation: lost to Jacob Sklenar (UW-Platteville) by major decision, 12-2

Jaritt Shinhoster

First Round: Bye

Quarterfinal: d. Darren Leibsle (UW-Stevens Point) by fall, 1:27

Semifinal: d. Chase Melton (UW-Eau Claire) by fall, 3:54

Final: d. Kalyn Jahn (UW-La Crosse) by decision, 7-0

197

Jakub Maciorowski

First Round: Bye

Quarterfinal: lost to Tyler Hannah (UW-Platteville) by decision, 4-0

Consolation: lost to Blake Flach (UW-Stevens Point) by fall, 1:56

285

Shelby Jones

First Round: d. Matt Hanke (UW-Oshkosh) by major decision, 14-5

Quarterfinal: d. Ben Gunderson (UW-Stevens Point) by decision, 3-1 (SV-1)

Semifinal: lost to Ben Kawcyznski (UW-La Crosse) by decision, 4-2 (SV-1)

Consolation: d. Matt Hanke (UW-Oshkosh) by decision, 3-1

Third Place: lost to Cadin Koeppel by fall, 1:47

Cadin Koeppel

First Round: d. Ethan Tegels (UW-Eau Claire) by major decision, 16-6

Quarterfinal: d. Noah Wieczorek (UW-Stevens Point) by major decision, 13-3

Semifinal: lost to Jordan Lemcke (UW-Oshkosh) by decision, 3-1

Consolation: d. Brett Schoenherr (UW-Platteville) by decision, 10-4

Third Place: d. Shelby Jones by fall, 1:47

UW-W Football Leads NCAA Division III in 2021 Attendance; Believed to Be a UW-W Record: Nearly 70,000 Fans

Warhawk running back Alex Peete, a general management major from Ringwood, Illinois, runs 57 yards for a touchdown during Family Fest on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. UW-W Photo by Craig Schreiner

Editor’s note: The following was posted on February 10 to the UW-W website.


The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team led NCAA Division III in both cumulative and average attendance during the 2021 season, drawing nearly 70,000 fans to Perkins Stadium for home games.

The Warhawks averaged a nation-leading 6,975 fans over 10 home games, including six in the regular season and four in the NCAA Playoffs.

The team’s total attendance of 69,754 was nearly 18,000 more than its closest peer and is believed to be the most in one season in school history, passing the 2016 team, which drew 51,459 fans.

UW-Whitewater has now finished among the top 10 in the nation in attendance in each of the last 15 seasons. Perkins Stadium’s unique atmosphere, highlighted in this video, includes fan tailgating, the “Cannon Guy” firing off the cannon after each Warhawk scoring play, one of the best bands in NCAA Division III under the direction of Dr. Glenn Hayes and a winning tradition that includes six national championships and 10 trips to the Stagg Bowl since 2005.

“I get the chills every time,” defensive lineman Mackenzie Balanganayi (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) said on the Inside Warhawk Athletics podcast in 2020 regarding the Perkins Stadium atmosphere. “It’s different anywhere else, you don’t get that anywhere else. You feel unbeatable.”

Former UW-W head coach Bob Berezowitz, who coached the Warhawks from 1985-2006, spoke of the fan experience for a 2020 story on the 50th anniversary of the venue.

“I feel UW-W has the best tailgating gathering in Division III football,” Berezowitz said. “I am so excited every Saturday to be at Perkins Stadium to see everyone getting ready for a great game. Attendance just keeps increasing each year.”

More than 11,000 fans walked through the Perkins Stadium gates three times during the 2021 season:

15,406 against UW-Platteville on Oct. 9 – ninth-highest single-game attendance in Division III history according to D3football.com (sixth highest on-campus attendance) and second-highest single-game attendance in program history
11,248 against UW-Eau Claire on Oct. 30 – ranks among the top 50 in single-game attendance in Division III history according to D3football.com
11,991 against UW-La Crosse on Nov. 6 – ninth-highest single-game attendance in program history and among the top 30 in Division III history according to D3football.com

UW-Whitewater’s three other regular season games each drew more than 7,000 fans:

7,423 against Carthage on Sept. 4
8,102 against Berry (Ga.) on Sept. 18
8,963 against UW-Stout on Oct. 2

Gymnasts Take on Waterford

The Whitewater Gymnasts took on Waterford in their last dual meet of the season on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.

Halee Peters had a great night as she took 2nd in All-Around with a score of 30.825. She stomped it in Vault, taking 1st place, took 2nd in Bars with her difficult routine, and had a career best score of 8.275 with her sassy Floor routine, which also earned her 2nd place. Halee tied for 3rd place on Beam with Makayla Bazeley. Makayla also had a strong night and placed in the top 8 for all the events, taking 5th in All-Around and 5th on her solid Bars routine.

Myia Cobbs showed everyone how tough of a competitor she is as she took on Bars for the first time ever. She also scored a season best on the Vault with a 7.25, tied her season best score on Floor, and competed in All-Around for the very first time, and scored a 23.30! We love seeing how much she has grown as a gymnast since the first meet! She meets every challenge head on and is a determined gymnast!

 Miyu Takeda scored a season best on Vault as she continues to push herself to learn new skills.

The team heads to Platteville for their last invitational on Saturday, February 12th, and then will move on to Conference and Sectionals the following two Fridays. Wish them luck as they finish their season strong!

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