Sports

The Whippets Boys’ Swim Team had a sensational day in the pool competing in the Southern Lakes Conference Championships on Saturday, February 4th. The Whippets finished 6^th overall as a team, took home 4 medals, and posted 17 of 21 best times!

Placing in the Top 16 includes (Top 6 medal):

 200 Medley Relay A (Tyler Arnett, Jack Hefty, Cruz Aranda, Andrew O’Toole) with a 9^th place finish and a time of 2:01.44.

200 Medley Relay B (Onyx Thompson, Xavier Zei, Myles Morse, David Enns) with a 15^th place finish and a time of 2:21.07. Dropped 7 seconds off seeded time. 

Miles Nickelsburg had an 8^th place finish in the 200 Freestyle going a best time of 2:18.69.

 Tyler Arnett finished 3^rd in the 200 Freestyle with a best time of 2:00.18. He moved up on the Whippet All Time Top 10 List to 7^th overall.

 Jack Hefty won his heat in the 200 IM with a best time of 2:23.35. His time was fast enough to beat two swimmers in the following heat to earn himself a 5^th place finish. 

 Cruz Aranda won his heat in the 50 Freestyle with a new best time of 25.69. He placed 10^th overall!

 Cruz Aranda finished 10^th in the 100 Butterfly with a time of 1:09.42.

 Tyler Arnett finished 2^nd in the 500 Freestyle with a best time of 5:29.50

 Andrew O’Toole dropped 27 seconds in the 500 Freestyle going a time of 6:24.42. Placing 11^th overall.

 Myles Morse dropped over 6 seconds in the 500 Freestyle going a time of 6:25.19. Placing 12^th overall. 

Onyx Thompson placed 15^th overall in the 100 Backstroke dropping over 3 seconds going a best time of 1:25.50 

Miles Nickelsburg dropped over 3 seconds in the 100 Backstroke placing 10^th overall going a 1:13.04

 Jack Hefty swam a fun 100 Breaststroke race where he and an opponent from Jefferson/Cambridge touched at the same time. The two of them ended up tying for a 6^th place finish. Jack went a new best time of 1:15.16.

 400 Freestyle Relay A (Cruz Aranda, Andrew O’Toole, Jack Hefty, Tyler Arnett) placed 5^th overall with a time of 3:54.63. They bested their seeded time by nearly 5 seconds. Jack Hefty posted an impressive 55.82 split and Andrew O’Toole also had an impressive split going a 1:01.68.

 400 Freestyle Relay B (Myles Morse, Onyx Thompson, Xavier Zei, Miles Nickelsburg) placed 10^th overall with a 4:41.92. They all swam well and beat their seeded time by 11 seconds. 

With an impressive meet like this, we are excited to watch the Whippets compete in the WIAA Sectional next Saturday, February 11^th at Sauk Prairie at 1 p.m. Go Dogs!

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

The Whippets fell 37-40 in a close game by a last second shot to the Jefferson Eagles in a girls’ basketball conference match up at home Thursday night, February 2. 

Working a good inside out game offensively and communicating on defense were key going into this game. We got into foul trouble early in the first half, but we continued to play aggressively on defense, making adjustments to protect the hoop. We started to connect on our outside shots and hit key free throws to give us the edge going into the second half up 18-15. 

To start the second half we struggled offensively, stuck at 18 as Jefferson went on an 8-point scoring run. Working our inside out game, hitting our free throws, and putting on our press helped us chip away and tie up the game 27-27 with 5 minutes left in the game. The rest of the game was back and forth right up to the end. Danielle DePorter fought for an offensive rebound, got fouled, and hit both free throws to tie it up 37-37 with seconds left in the game. 

Jefferson’s Lenz connected on a last second shot scoring 3 of her 4 points to win the game. 

Mayte Navejas led the Whippets with 12 points and 3 steals. Danielle DePorter followed with 7 points and 3 rebounds. Cali Kopecky added 5 points and 8 rebounds. Kindyl Kilar also scored 5 points. 

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

THE JEFFERSON COUNTY SNOWMOBILE TRAILS WILL CLOSE
@ 6:00am SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2023
DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS AND WILL REMAIN CLOSED UNTIL CONDITIONS ALLOW.

PLEASE DO NOT RIDE THE TRAILS UNTIL AN OFFICIAL TRAIL OPENING NOTICE IS POSTED.

RIDING CLOSED TRAILS IS TRESPASSING.

PLEASE RESPECT LANDOWNERS’ PROPERTY.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE
24 HOUR SNOWMOBILE HOTLINE AT: 920-699-7669

Congratulations to the Whippet Wrestling Team on closing out the regular season Wednesday night, February 1, with a very exciting win against Janesville Craig. It was very much a back and forth dual meet with it culminating with Avi Kalra clinching the team win with a big pin at 195 to lead the wrestlers to a 46-33 victory.

The win closes out the regular season for the Varsity Whippet Wrestlers with a dual meet record of 9-1 on the season.

For full results visit https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/seasons/LoadBalance.jsp?pageName=DualMatches.jsp&dualId=6734923132

The JV team travels to Badger for a dual, and the Varsity heads to the Rock Valley Conference Tournament at Clinton on Saturday.

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

The Whippets fell two points short against Fort Atkinson Thursday night, January 26. 

Fort got a jump offensively early in the game up 11-2, but Danielle DePorter hit a 3 to kick start our offense. Calli Grosinske followed with 2 back to back 3’s to tie up the game at 11. From there it was a battle back and forth with the Whippets down at half 24-29. 

In the second half, Fort maintained the lead until we got a spark from Calli Grosinske and Katie Gillette with back to back steals with fast break finishes. The rest of the half was a battle back and forth right up to the last seconds. 

The Whippets fell just short, 51-53. We handled Fort’s press well and played aggressively on defense forcing turnovers and connecting on those possessions. A few shots didn’t land, but it was an amazing fight. 

Calli Grosinske led the Whippets with 17 points, followed by Kindyl Kilar with 14, and Mayte Navejas with 12. 

The Whippets take on Beloit Turner at home Friday night, January 27, which is also our annual Youth Night!

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

The Whippet Swimmers competed against Jefferson/Cambridge on Tuesday, January 24th. The boys finished off conference duals with a win!

Wins and best times on the night include:

In the 200 Freestyle:

• Tyler Arnett won the event with a time of 2:05.08
• David Enns dropped 20 seconds going a 2:51.46

In the 200 IM:

• Jack Hefty won the event going a best time of 2:27.27, which is a 3 second drop from his previous time.

In the 50 Freestyle

• Andrew O’Toole continues to drop more time going 28.10

In the 100 Fly:

• Cruz Aranda won the event with a time of 1:09.77

In the 100 Freestyle:

• Xaiver Zei drops over 13 seconds going a time of 1:08.86
• Onyx Thompson drops 2 seconds going a time of 1:15.96
• David Enns drops 3 seconds going a time of 1:17.08

In the 500 Freestyle:

• Tyler Arnett won the event going a time of 5:32.02
• Myles Morse drops 18 seconds going a time of 6:32.61

In the 100 Backstroke:

• Miles Nickelsburg won the event going a time of 1:16.56
• Onyx Thompson drops 3 seconds going a time of 1:29.34

In the 100 Breaststroke:

• Jack Hefty out touched his opponent to win the event by .39 seconds and went a best time of 1:15.53.
• Xavier Zei drops over 4 seconds going a time of 1:27.40
• Andrew O’Toole drops over 3 seconds going a time of 1:36.57

In the 400 Freestyle Relay:

• Myles Morse and Cruz Aranda both in the lead off position put up new best times in the 100 Freestyle with Cruz going a time of 58.55 and Myles going a time of 1:11.36

The Whippets are entering Championship season and will compete on Saturday, February 4th at 11 a.m. in Delavan-Darien for the Conference Meet. Come out and show your support!

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

Another exciting game! The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball Team traveled to East Troy for a conference game Tuesday night, January 24. Both teams played tight defense and fought for points in the first half. We knew they were going to pack the lane, forcing us to shoot from outside. Early in the game we took good shots, but they just didn’t fall. Being aggressive and scrappy on defense and getting some put backs on offensive rebounds right before half kept us within 2, 17-19.

Early in the second half, the Trojans connected on a couple 3 pointers putting them up by 11. We fought back, started communicating better on defense, and hitting our outside shots to close the gap. The Trojans were up by 2 with around 4 minutes left in the game and began to stall. We added pressure and forced a turnover to give us possession and momentum. After a time out, Kindyl Kilar drove to score 2 and tie up the game with 1:25 left in the game, 43-43. Katie Gillette got fouled on an inside shot and hit two clutch free throws that put us up by two and won the game. 

Calli Grosinske led the Whippets with 14 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds. Danielle DePorter followed with 10 points. Mayte Navejas added 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Katie Gillette scored 7 and added 4 rebounds and 2 assists. 

The Whippets play Fort Atkinson at home on Thursday, January 26. 

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

Congratulate the wrestlers on a hard-fought dual meet on Tuesday night, January 24, against Evansville. Both teams came in 7-0 in the conference, and it was a well wrestled dual. We were down 27-22 going into the last four weight classes, so it was right there for us. Things did not go our way, and we ended up dropping our first dual meet of the year 51-22. We had matches early on that could have gone our way that we let slip away. There is stuff to get cleaned up prior to the regional tournament.

Congratulations to Victor Hernandez, Nate Black, Aaron Porras, and Avi Kalra on their victories Tuesday night.

Full results: https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/seasons/LoadBalance.jsp?pageName=DualMatches.jsp&dualId=6879417132

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

The gymnastics team traveled to Southwestern High School for another Invite on Saturday, January 21. There were a lot of amazing gymnasts competing and some super fun routines to watch and cheer on. It was fun to see all the teams supporting and cheering for each other despite being from different schools. Our girls had a great day and posted some awesome scores!

Our strongest rotation was on the Vault where the girls crushed it. Not only did the varsity team have their highest team score of 31.075; 3 girls had lifetime best scores. Makayla Bazeley posted a 7.95, Nola Coburn posted an 8.0, and Mady Hefty posted an 8.275. These scores were all significantly higher than their previous Vault scores.

The girls took on the Beam, and despite a few falls amongst the team, we did have one gymnast have a no fall Beam routine – Brooke Bazeley.  We also had some notable improvements in scores. Nola Coburn scored a season best with a 6.6, while Brenda Aguilar knocked her old score out of the way and scored a season best of 6.8. The varsity team had their highest score of the season with a 26.8. We love seeing these numbers climb!

On the Floor, we heard a lot of teams cheering for us which always gives us a boost. The girls are really pushing themselves and it shows. Brenda competed for the first time this season on Floor and slayed the day with a lifetime best of 7.2. Nola improved her season best with a 6.9, while Stephanie Walters improved her season best with a 6.3. Makayla Bazeley added a beautiful shushunova into her routine and earned herself a 7.85.

Last rotation was on Bars where the girls continued to shine. Stephanie fought for and earned a season best of 4.3. Mady upped her score from last week with another season best score of 5.95. Makayla decided at the last minute to add in a new move on Bars to spice it up and be adventurous – she likes to keep us guessing. She added a switch kip after her double cut catch to earn a 7.05. Love watching the girls attempt and succeed in new moves. 

Mady competed in All-Around for the first time this season and earned 27.525. It’s such an awesome deal when the girls compete in all 4 rotations. Stephanie earned her highest All-Around score with 20.05. Both Nola and Makayla scored lifetime bests in All-Around as well with 26 & 30.1, respectively. 

We have a little break from competition through finals week and then will be back to competing on January 31st against Badger.

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

On Friday night, January 20, seven boys and five girls traveled to Wausau to take part in the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association Challenge Series Finals on Saturday.

The Challenge Series is a qualifying tournament where the top three boys from eight different regionals come together to compete. This shows some great competition for the Junior Varsity Level students across the state. Whitewater was fortunate to have seven boys qualify for this event. They included Curtis Rossmiller, Keenan Sheffield, Nate Black, Christian Minett, JJ Gonzalez, Richi Kalra and Jesus Barajas. Each of these individuals had some very competitive matches throughout the day. 

Barajas was the top place winner, coming in 8th place. He started out the day with his best match of the season in a close 6-5 victory. He continued to wrestle well but came up short, just getting out of positions.

Curtis Rossmiller also had a very nice day going 2-2 with two pins and one close 8-7 loss. Curtis is a first-year wrestler and is progressing nicely.

Nate Black started his day with a pin and then wrestled extremely well before getting caught after being aggressive for a takedown. He learned that he has to have a short memory in tournaments like this as he struggled to get past the upsetting loss. Although he did not do as well as he hoped, he continued to show great improvement on the mat.

Sheffield, Minett, Gonzalez, and Kalra all also wrestled well showing nice things in each match but came up short. In personal reflection on the drive home as they slept I realized we had a lot of losses on the day that we were doing extremely well in. That is tough for students to understand. They often just look at the outcome and not the process along the way.  Each of the boys did very well on Saturday.

Five girls from the wrestling team also competed at Wausau on Saturday in the Wisconsin High School Girls Challenge. All but one of these ladies are first time wrestlers so this may have been quite an experience as there were eight mats, people on all sides of the gym, and brackets of 24-32 competitors in each weight class.

The girls did well, and as was the case with the boys, I felt like I had the same reflection; they wrestled well but came up short. They all seemed to have a good attitude and will learn from this experience.

Khloe Meyer and Ashly Xochipa each lost their first match to the young lady who ended up taking runner-up in their weight classes.

Xochipa came back from her loss and wrestled very well. She ended up pinning her next two opponents and then winning the 3rd by a 2-point decision to come in as Consolation Champion.

Adalynn Frye wrestled for the first time ever in competition and did well. She came out and scored a takedown and almost had her second girl turned, but lack of experience put her out of position.

Athena Soto came out strong against her first opponent scoring three takedowns and wrestled well. Again, more mat time is needed to get the experience of position for her.

Finally, Odeling Gonzales started her day off with a girl who had lots of experience based on the techniques she was showing. In her second match Odeling was aggressive, getting a couple of takedowns but came up short.

Overall, I was happy with both the boys’ and girls’ team at this event. They should be proud of their accomplishment at this large event.

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