The Whitewater Boys’ Basketball Team had a rough end to 2021 last week, losing to two non-conference opponents. On Tuesday, December 28, Monona Grove defeated the Whippets 77-55. Monona Grove took control of the game towards the end of the first half and never looked back. Their balanced scoring and 43-23 rebounding advantage were too much for Whippets to overcome. Whitewater was led by Wyatt Nickels (20 points), Sam Brown (11 points), and Jake Hintz (8 rebounds).
Wyatt Nickels drives for two against Elkhorn
On Thursday, December 30, Elkhorn outscored Whitewater 83-65. The end of the first half, again, was a problem time for the Whippets, as Elkhorn turned a back and forth game into a 16-point lead in the last six minutes. Wyatt Nickels again led Whitewater with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Jake Hintz chipped in 17 points on five 3-pointers, and Sam Brown added 10 points, but it wasn’t enough as Elkhorn maintained that lead throughout the second half, led by Drew Davey’s 41 points.
The Whippets next play at Clinton on Tuesday, January 4th, and Friday, January 7th, at McFarland.
Article Submitted by Dwayne Lange Photo Courtesy of Peter Mischka
The Whippet Wrestling Team had the opportunity to host and participate in the Mid-States Wrestling Classic held at UWW on December 27 and 28. This is a long-standing tournament that has been going on for over 40 years and has some of the top talent from Wisconsin and Illinois participating. This year this talent consisted of 38 teams partaking in the very talented pool.
This year the Whippets all wrestled well with 5 of the 12 competitors, CJ Tomomitsu, Connor Friend, Marcus DePorter, Carter Friend, and Mason DePorter, reaching day two of competition.
CJ Tomomitsu wrestled very well throughout the tournament. We have continued to see progress from him, and it was exciting to see him have success against tough competition as he finished in 10th place.
Connor Friend had some good matches and would show some areas of his youth and dropped some matches, although he wrestled well. In the end Connor finished in 12th place.
The Mid-States Classic honors the top 8 wrestlers in their weight class on the podium at the end of the night. This year, Whitewater claimed 3 top eight finishers.
Marcus DePorter wrestled a very good tournament, going 5-3 on the weekend to claim 8th place.
Carter Friend (file photo)
Carter Friend was in a very competitive 170 lb weight class and was able to reach the semi-finals, dropping his match to a tough student from McHenry, Illinois. He was able to close out the tournament with a well wrestled match to finish in 5th place. Over the course of the tournament Carter achieved his 100th win, which is a great milestone for wrestlers!
Mason DePorter wrestled very well throughout the day. He lost a very close quarterfinal match, 8-7, that came right down to the end. Mason came back strong and won 2 of 3 on day two to finish the tournament in 7th place, after going 5-2.
Overall the coaching staff was happy with how the entire team wrestled as this is a very competitive tournament and if you are not up for it, it can be a short-lived competition. We felt the team was ready to wrestle and just missed out having a few more advance to day two. This tournament also exposes areas we need to work on as we move onto the second half of the season.
Article Submitted by John Schimming Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach jschimming@wwusd.org File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
The Whitewater Boys’ Basketball Team used an aggressive defense and some efficient shooting to defeat Jefferson 57-40, last Friday, December 17.
Jon Aron pulls up for 3 of his 21 points.
The Whippets took control of a back and forth game late in the first half to build a 32-20 halftime lead. Jefferson closed the gap early in the second half, but Whitewater quickly pushed the lead back to double digits in their most consistent effort of the season.
Whitewater was led in scoring by Jon Aron with 21 pts and Jake Hintz with 13 pts. Wyatt Nickels’ double-double of 12 pts and 10 rebounds and Sam Brown’s 10 assists contributed to the all-around team effort.
The Whippets next play at home Tuesday, December 28 (JV at 1 pm and Varsity following) and Thursday, December 30 (JV at 4:30 and Varsity at 6).
Article Submitted by Dwayne Lange Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
Former Whippet Ben Heller was recognized for his career achievement of making it to the Major Leagues on Friday evening, December 17, during halftime of the boys’ basketball game.
Ben Heller with Coach Dan Gnatzig
Ben Heller with Coach Ron Sdano
Ben Heller with Jersey that will be hung in the gym.
According to Coach Michael Hookstead, “It was a great night that Ben said he will never forget, and he was honored with all the support shown.”
Before the ceremony Friday evening, all athletes had the chance to listen to Ben speak about his journey. Ben then allowed for a little Q&A session with the student athletes. Coach Hookstead added, “Ben said that it was a privilege to come in and speak to the student athletes.”
Article and Photos Submitted by Michael Hookstead Whitewater High School Head Baseball Coach mhookstead@wwusd.org
On Saturday morning, December 18, the Whippet Varsity Wrestling Team was up bright and early to travel to Mount Horeb to participate in their annual invitational. This is a very nice tournament for the team as it is a mix of teams that they see, but also some new looks. When the day came to an end, just before sundown, Whitewater was awarded the Team Championship, finishing just ahead of a very good Verona team.
Individually, the team wrestled very well. Although we always have some we’d like back, everyone battled back and finished strong, not thinking about the result if it did not go their way, but rather looking forward at doing the best that they could to finish as high as they could individually in the tournament.
Leading the way for Whitewater were the Friend brothers. Neither of them were a friend to their opponents as they both won their respective weight classes in dominate fashion. Connor finished the day 3-0 with 3 pins, and Carter finished the day with a record of 4-0 with a bye, 2 pins, and a dominating 14-5 victory in the finals. Along the way Carter had an eight-second pin!
Coming up just shy in the finals were Marcus DePorter and Sebastian Cuellar, each coming in runner-up respectively. Both of these student-athletes were lower seeds in the tournament on paper but as we talk about we don’t worry about seeds, we just worry about wrestling the match, and that is exactly what both of them did on their way to a 3-1 record on the day.
Bringing home the bronze for the Whippets included Jarvis Porcaro, Aaron Porras, and Scott Krebs. Nice job to these young men. Jarvis was wrestling a weight class over where he will be and it showed against a couple guys. Both Aaron and Scott wrestled above their on-paper seeds, wrestling very well.
The coaching staff is very excited about where the team is heading as they continue to work hard and make gains each day. As we enter the winter break, the Varsity is looking forward to the famous Mid-States tournament held on the UWW campus and hosted by WHS. This is a great opportunity to see where we sit among the best competition in our weight classes leading into the second half of the season after break.
113- Jarvis Porcaro took 3rd 120- CJ Tomomitsu took 5th 126- Conner Friend took 1st 132- Victor Hernandez took 5th 138- Cooper Hammond took 4th 145- Marcus DePorter took 2nd 152- Aaron Porras took 4th 160- Sebastian Cuellar took 2nd 170- Carter Friend took 1st 195- Payton Lyon took 4th 220- Mason DePorter took 6th 285- Scottie Krebs (non scorer) took 3rd 285- Leo Ortiz took 7th
Article and Photo Submitted by John Schimming Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach jschimming@wwusd.org
By Lynn Binnie Whitewater Banner volunteer staff whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
Mary Hardin-Baylor, which knocked the Warhawks out of NCAA Division III championship contention last week, beat defending champion North Central on Friday, December 17 with a score of 57-24 to win the Stagg Bowl in Canton, Ohio. Mary Hardin-Baylor also won the national title in 2016 and 2018. Since there was no 2020 tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Crusaders have now lifted the trophy in three of the last five seasons. Click here for a full report on ncaa.com.
The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball Team travelled to Edgerton for a conference game Thursday, December 16. The Whippets struggled to create scoring opportunities on offense in the first half. Going into halftime we were down 10-43.
Mayte Navejas
In the second half, the team moved the ball better and executed on offense, outscoring Edgerton 17-15, but could not close the gap, losing 27-58.
Kindyl Kilar had 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Mayte Navejas also scored 7, and had 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 assists. Jenna Pope added 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist. Danielle DePorter had 4 points, 1 rebound, and a steal. Gwen Truesdale ripped down 7 rebounds and had 1 block. Cali Kopecky also scored 4 points.
Article Submitted by Kristen Lippens Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Basketball Coach klippens@wwusd.org File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
Editor’s Note: This information was submitted by Coach (Bob) Schramm
Little Dribblers (Kindergarten and 1st graders) and Shooting Stars (2nd and 3rd graders) completed another great year. Participants learned listening, passing, dribbling, rebounding, defensive and shooting skills. All participants showed a great deal of progress as the 8-week clinic proceeded.
Little Dribblers
Shooting Stars
Coach Bob believes there is a bright future ahead for the girls and boys basketball teams with these dedicated basketball players.
Congratulations to all, Coach Bob, Coach Adam, Coach Zander
The Whippet Boys’ Swim Team traveled to Elkhorn High School to compete in a triple dual against Elkhorn and Platteville-Lancaster on Tuesday, December 14. The Whippets were able to beat Platteville-Lancaster by 10 points!
Tyler Arnett
Tyler Arnett swam in the 100 Fly for the first time this season, putting together a nice race. He also swam in the 100 Backstroke, dropping time from last week, and going a season best, as well as taking second at the meet.
Jack Hefty swam in two new events, taking on the 400 Freestyle, where he was able to take a second-place finish, with a time of 5:28.55. Jack also swam in the 100 Breaststroke, with an impressive time of 1:39.40.
Miles Nickelsburg continues to drop time in the 50 and 100 Freestyle, going personal best times in both events.
Andrew O’Toole swam in his first meet of the season, and with only having four practices in thus far, put on nice races in the 200 and 100 Freestyle. We can’t wait to see what he can do at our next meet!
Casey Schilling started the night in the 200 Freestyle Relay, swimming the 50 freestyle with his goggles around his neck, and still had a nice time of 44.61. He then swam in the 50 Freestyle, with an impressive time of 43.69. He also took on the 100 Backstroke.
Zach Tomomitsu took on 200 IM and 100 Breaststroke. He continues to improve his time in the 100 Breaststroke, going a personal best time!
The Whippets are back in action on Tuesday, January 4th, at 5:30 in Jefferson/Cambridge!
Article Submitted by Sarah Reynolds Whitewater High School Co-Head Boys’ Swim Coach sreynolds@wwusd.org Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
