Sports

The Whippet Gymnasts had an awesome first meet of the season last Friday, December 3, at Jefferson! Here are some highlights:

Halee Peters had a great performance, taking first place on beam (despite the tough competition) with an 8.75! She joined the 8.0 club on 2 other events as well, finishing 4th in the All-Around competition.

Brooklyn Griswold and Nola Coburn, both freshmen, showed lots of bravery and courage while competing high school gymnastics for the very first time! Nola did vault, beam, and was given a last-minute bar routine, all of which went very well. Brooklyn competed in bars, beam, and competed her new floor routine, remembering her choreography, and landing all of her tumbling passes.

Anna Ejnik came ready to go, also competing in the All-Around competition. She is a versatile gymnast and did very well with powerful tumbling and a confident beam routine.

Makayla Bazeley, a freshman, also performed very well for her first high school meet. She was confident in her dancing and floor routine, which is awesome to see in a first-year high school gymnast! Makayla competed in the All-Around and is definitely one to keep an eye on for the next 4 years!

Lexi Kuhnke stepped in right when we needed her, performing last-year’s floor routine on short notice. She did very well, including new tumbling passes. We can’t wait to see her compete more events in the near future!

Our next meet is this Saturday the 11th, at 10:00 a.m. at Janesville Craig. Go, Whippets!

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

After going through last year without being able to participate in regular season tournaments, the Whitewater Wrestling Team was back in action on Saturday to mark the official start of the 2021-2022 campaign. 

The varsity team traveled to Watertown on Saturday to compete in the Watertown Tom McGarvie Invitational. This is a very competitive tournament, with 17 teams from all three divisions. Winning the team trophy was Winneconne, the returning Division 2 State Champion, and coming in Runner-up was Mineral Point, the returning Division 3 State Champion from a year ago. Whitewater wrestled well during the course of the day and finished in 7th place. This was a nice finish considering the level of competition at every weight class. 

Leading the way for the Whippets was Carter Friend at 170 pounds. He finished the day 5-0 with some very strong matches along the way to his championship. This is the 2nd time Carter has won this tournament, winning it in 2019, the last time we competed in it.

Following Friend was Mason DePorter who wrestled very well on the day, finishing 4-1 and in 5th place. Mason had some very good matches and he showed his increase in strength and mobility in winning those matches.

Brother Marcus DePorter also finished 4-1 on the day. Marcus dropped his first match but then battled back with some very competitive matches. He showed grit in his victories throughout the day.

Next up were CJ Tomomitsu, Connor Friend, and Sebastian Cuellar Meza, who all went 3-2 on the day. CJ and Sebastian finished in 6th place, while Connor finished as consolation champion. These young men wrestled well, with Sebastian and Connor seeing their first ever varsity tournament and handling it very well. CJ came out each time with a fire in his eyes that he is going to be a force to reckon with. Even in his two losses he was very strong. 

Also wrestling well but missing out on a medal were Cooper Hammond, Jesus Barajas, Mason Nobs, Hector Arnodo, Payton Lyon, Armando Villarreal, Leo Ortiz, and Scott Krebs.  

The coaching staff was very pleased with the efforts of the team; however, there are always areas for improvement as we progress into the next week of practice. We were proud of the students as this is a very large tournament, and the coaching staff is quite busy, so the team did a great job helping each other out with mat assignments and support throughout the day!

The Whippets are next in action on Thursday night when they travel to Clinton for a dual meet and then again on Saturday, December 11th, when they host the 8th annual Whitewater Invitational. Wrestling will begin at approximately 9:15 a.m. at Whitewater High School. 

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

The Whippet Boys’ Swim Team traveled to Milton High School to compete in the Lieder Invitational on Saturday, December 4. The boys got to compete for the first time this season in individual events. 

Tyler Arnett took a 4th place finish in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 2:07.20. Tyler went home with a 2nd place medal in the 500 Freestyle where he went a personal best time of 5:32.10. This time now puts him 6th all-time on the Whippet Top 10 List! Tyler also had some nice relay splits; in the 200 Freestyle Relay he anchored with a 25.67, and in the 400 Freestyle Relay he also anchored with a 1:01.30.

Jack Hefty put together some nice swims with an 8th place finish in the 50 Freestyle, going a 26.84, and a 6th place finish in the 100 Freestyle, with a time of 1:01.52. Jack swam another 50 and 100 Freestyle in the 200 and 400 Freestyle relays where he led off sitting right around his best time from his earlier swims.

Miles Nickelsburg followed along with teammate Jack, swimming in individual events of 50 Freestyle, going a 36.32, and 100 Freestyle, going 1:23.79. Miles also had a nice relay split in the 400 Freestyle Relay, going a 1:23.80.

Zach Tomomitsu swam the 200 Freestyle, where he went a 3:17.32 and already showed improvements from Tuesday’s meet with a 20 second drop! Zach also swam in the 100 Backstroke, the only swimmer who ventured out and swam something other than Freestyle. Zach also had a nice relay split in the 200 Freestyle Relay!  

The boys will swim again on Tuesday, December 7th, at 5:30 p.m., at Delavan-Darien.

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

The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball Team played their hearts out Thursday night, December 2, in an exciting game at East Troy. Every player that stepped on the floor contributed to the 42-41 overtime win.

We entered the second half down 16-21, but we tightened up our defense, took care of the ball, and played with composure in key moments. That gave us the edge, outscoring East Troy 20-16 in the second half.

We had players come through in the clutch, especially when Gwen Truesdale hit 2 free throws with 7.4 seconds left in the game. That clinched the win in overtime 42-41.

Gwen Truesdale led the Whippets with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Kindyl Kilar scored 14 and ripped down 7 rebounds, had 1 steal, and 2 assists. Danielle DePorter scored 5, pulled down 5 rebounds, and had 2 steals. Jenna Pope had 7 rebounds, 2 points, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Calli Grosinske led in assists with 3, scored 2, had 6 rebounds, and 1 block. Cali Kopecky added 2 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 rebounds. Josie Treder had 2 points and 2 rebounds. Aidyn Amundson had 1 block and 3 rebounds.

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

The Whitewater High School Boys’ Basketball Team lost their season opener on Tuesday evening, November 30, by a score of 51-72. 

The team took a one-point lead into halftime in a scrappy 1st half effort. After half, the team got off to a slow start offensively. Wyatt Nickels led the team with 23 points. 

The team will take on East Troy on the road on Friday evening, December 3.

Article Submitted by Dan Gnatzig
Whitewater High School Head Boys’ Basketball Coach
dgnatzig@wwusd.org

The Whippets Boys’ Swim Team traveled to Badger High School to compete in the Conference Relays on Tuesday, November 30. 

We started the night with the 200 Medley Relay with the squad of Zach Tomomitsu, Jack Hefty, Tyler Arnett, and Miles Nickelsburg. The boys took a 5th place finish. Most impressive was newcomer Miles Nickelsburg with only having a total of 3 practices, putting together a nice split in the 50 Freestyle, with a time of 33.65!

The 200 Freestyle Relay consisted of Tyler, Zach, Casey Schilling, and Jack. Casey Shilling competed in his first swim meet ever and had a nice first swim going 38.00 in the 50 Freestyle. 

The 1000 Freestyle Crescendo crew of Miles, Zach, Jack, and Tyler were able to take home some hardware with a 3rd place finish! Miles started off with swimming the 100 Freestyle going a 1:21.02. Next, Zach swam the 200 Freestyle, going an impressive 3:38.56. Jack then swam the 300 Freestyle going 3:51.47, and Tyler ended the relay with the 400 Freestyle, going 4:27.89!

The night ended with Casey, Miles, Jack, and Tyler swimming the 500 Freestyle Crescendo, where they finished 3rd in their heat and 5th overall.

What a fun night of swimming, and we can’t wait to see what they can do with the rest of the season!

The Whippet swimmers are back in action on Saturday, at Milton High School, starting at 10 a.m.! 

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

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

At the Warhawks’ second round NCAA Division III playoff game on November 27, there was a round of applause in memory of Roger Johnson, a recently deceased standout athlete. Per Chris Lindeke UW-W Assistant Athletic Director, Strategic Communications and Branding, “Roger Johnson was a quarterback and the first All-American in UW-Whitewater football history (1960) and a three-time first team all-conference selection. He was also a shortstop for three Warhawk baseball seasons. Roger continued to follow UW-W football until his death as he was always proud of the winning tradition established by Coach Forrest Perkins and continued through the current playoff team.”

Roger Johnson’s obituary may be viewed here. It references Wisconsin State College. Our school was named Wisconsin State College-Whitewater from 1951 to 1964.

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

NCAA has announced that UW-Whitewater’s Perkins Stadium will be the site of the Warhawks vs. Central (IA) contest in the quarterfinals for the D III championship. Kickoff is at 12 p.m. on Saturday, December 4.

Central College is a four-year liberal arts college located in Pella, Iowa and is affliated with the Reformed Church in America. Enrollment is approximately 1100 students.  Their nickname is “The Dutch.” Per Wikipedia, the football team has not had a losing season since 1960. The Dutch have won 14 straight games, 17 straight in the regular season.

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UPDATE:

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

Monday, November 29, 2021

UW-Whitewater Football to Host National Quarterfinal Saturday

The No. 3 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team will host eighth-ranked Central (Iowa) this Saturday, Dec. 4, in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs starting at 12 p.m. at Perkins Stadium in Whitewater.

The Warhawks (12-0 overall), which qualified for the NCAA Playoffs after winning the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship for the 38th time in program history, advanced to the national quarterfinal with a 45-0 victory against DePauw (Ind.) on Saturday.

UW-Whitewater will make its 14th appearance in the national quarterfinals in the last 16 seasons.

Central (12-0), winner of the American Rivers Conference, topped No. 9 Wheaton (Ill.) 30-28 on a 3-yard touchdown pass on the game’s final play.

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Game Statistics: https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/uwwsports.com/documents/2021/11/27/28456.pdf

The No. 3 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team scored 38 first-half points and put forth a complete effort on both sides of the ball Saturday, November 27 on its way to a 45-0 victory against DePauw (Ind.) in a second round game of the NCAA Division III Playoffs at Perkins Stadium.

The Warhawks (12-0 overall) advance to the national quarterfinals, where they’ll face eighth-ranked Central (Iowa) next Saturday, Dec. 4, at a location and time to be determined.

UW-W totaled 600 yards of offense and limited the Tigers (9-3) to 171 yards, including minus-2 on the ground.

Alex Peete led the Warhawks with 14 carries for 209 yards and four touchdowns, tying the program record for the most scoring runs in one game in program history. Max Meylor completed 13-of-20 passes for 208 yards and one touchdown while adding a rushing touchdown.

Ryan Wisniewski led the receiving corps with six catches for 124 yards and one score.

Niko Lemke paced the UW-W defense with seven tackles, including 2.5 sacks and four tackles for a loss. Kyle Gallagher tallied three tackles for a loss, including two sacks, and Matt Burba finished with 1.5 sacks. The Warhawks’ nine sacks as a team matched a program record for sacks in one game, which was last accomplished in 2017.

The two teams exchanged empty possessions to start the game before UW-Whitewater got on the board with a nine-play, 71-yard drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown run on third and goal by Peete with 4:25 left in the first quarter.

The Warhawks added to the lead with 1:51 remaining in the period on a 27-yard field goal by Matt Maldonado.

Following another defensive stop, Peete recorded his second touchdown of the day, a 39-yard run with 10:57 on the clock in the second quarter.

Peete posted another long run for his third score, a 56-yarder just over three minutes later for a 24-0 UW-W lead.

Burba and Mackenzie Balanganayi combined for a sack on third down to force another punt, and UW-Whitewater drove 60 yards on seven plays, with Meylor’s 19-yard pass to Wisniewski on third down giving the team a 31-0 advantage with 2:35 to play in the half.

The Warhawks got the ball back one more time in DePauw territory thanks to a blocked punt by Kamrin Hutt, and Meylor scampered 14 yards with an assist from the offensive line near the goal line for a touchdown with two seconds to play in the half.

UW-Whitewater scored on its first drive of the second half as Peete weaved through the defense for a 40-yard touchdown, his fourth of the contest, for a 45-0 lead with 11:22 to play in the third quarter.

Neither team was able to put points on the board the rest of the way as the UW-W defense continued its strong pass rush and stout play at the line of scrimmage.

The Warhawks last played Central on Nov. 19, 2005, in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs, defeating the Dutch 34-14.

Central (12-0), the American Rivers Conference champion, defeated No. 6 Wheaton (Ill.) 30-28 on a last-second touchdown in Saturday’s second round.