Sports

This week, the Whippet Wrestlers had a busy couple of days being in action on Thursday night, December 8, and again on Saturday, December 10.

On Thursday night, the Whippets traveled to East Troy to participate in a dual meet with Clinton and East Troy, our first two dual meets of the season. The team wrestled very well in both duals coming out on top 60-12 against Clinton and 47-36 against East Troy. Clinton had been down over the years number wise, but the new coach is doing a very nice job getting students out, and they had many competitive matches. The Whippets wrestled well in all the matches to seal wins in many of them. Clinton also provided our JV members with some good matches as well. Whitewater has 44 student-athletes on the team, so it can be difficult getting good matches for all the students. Many had the opportunity on Thursday and performed well.

In the next dual meet against East Troy, it was typical East Troy vs Whitewater fashion. Three of the last four times these two teams have met it has come down to criteria after it finished in a tie. This year could very easily have been the same; however, Whitewater was able to wrestle with grit and win the swing matches. The coaches were proud of the performance of the team after one of their teammates went down with an injury. They did not know what was wrong but were concerned for their teammate. They kept wrestling hard to finish it out. One of the key swing matches came at 126 when CJ Tomomitsu battled back after losing the majority of the match but was able to secure a pin in the 3rd period which created a huge change in events for the dual meet.

On Saturday, the team hosted a 12-team invitational. This year was the most competitive it has been in the 9 years Whitewater has hosted it. There were many very competitive matches throughout the day, and in the end, Burlington won the tournament with Riverdale coming in second place. Whitewater wrestled well during the day and finished in 4th place. The coaching staff was happy with this finish. We were shorthanded in a couple of weight classes to take care of injuries as the focus is the big picture, not a one-day event. 

Unfortunately, the team did not have any finalist this year, but they did have four finish in 3rd place. Jason Villegas, CJ Tomomitsu, Connor Friend, and Payton Lyon all had one loss on the day, but each finished 4-1 to claim 3rd place. Each of the losses were to extremely tough competitors but they all did well in the loss. It is difficult to come back from a loss, but each of them did so to win their last match of the day.

Alongside the boys’ competition there were also brackets set up for the girls to compete in. The women’s wrestling team has some very nice numbers with some new additions in the last week as well. Whitewater had three competing on Saturday. Khloe Meyer has not found success in the win column; however, she is showing much improvement each time she competes. Lauren Buehler wrestled well, pinning her first opponent then losing in the championship in a well wrestled match where she got out of position and took the loss. Lauren finished in 2nd place.

Ashly Xochipa had a great day going 4-0 and bringing home the gold. She pinned all four of her opponents. In one, she was behind in a close match but got a big reversal to the girl’s back for the pin. Ashly improved her record to 9-1 on the year with the wins on Saturday.

Against East Troy and Clinton the ladies also had some very good competition. Coming away with wins for the girls were Lauren Buehler, Stephanie Wence, and Ashly Xochipa who had 3 wins on the night. This was a great performance for the ladies’ team.

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

The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball Team traveled to Jefferson for a conference game Friday night. Teamwork, solid defense, and confidence were all contributors to the win for the Whippets. 

It was a battle all the way though the game. We were able to pull away, knocking down clutch free throws at the end. With just over a minute remaining, Cali Kopecky missed a free throw but got her own rebound and knocked down a 2-pointer to put us up by 6. Ashlyn Enke answered back with a 3 pointer, putting the score 36-33. Clutch free throws were scored by Kilar (2), Grosinske (1), and Amundson (1) to solidify the win.

Cali Kopecky led the Whippets with 12 points and 6 rebounds. Cali Grosinske finished with 11 points and 7 steals. Kindyl Kilar added 10 points and 6 rebounds. 

Final score: 43-36

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

According to an article on the Wisconsin Newspaper Association website, “After more than 40 years as a sportswriter and sports wire editor with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Mike Hart has accepted a voluntary buy-out from Gannett, the Milwaukee Business Journal reports.

He is part of a team of digital producers who work on content for the Journal Sentinel, Green Bay Press-Gazette, (Appleton) Post-Crescent and other USA TODAY-Network organizations in Wisconsin.

Hart is a 1981 graduate of UW-Whitewater. He began working for the Journal Sentinel in 1982. His last day with the newspaper will be Friday, Dec. 9.”

The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball team traveled to Beloit Turner for a conference game on Tuesday night, December 6. 

It proved to be a defensive battle with a low score of 7-6 9:00 minutes into the first half of the game. We were able to capitalize on some steals and knock down a few shots from outside to finish out the first half with the lead 20-18. 

The Whippets connected a series of breaks to the rim and some kick outs for a couple 3-point shots to give an 11-point lead 32-21, with 12 and half minutes left in the game. Being in foul trouble throughout the game, our defense shut down, and Turner took over on offense going on a 21-point scoring run. 

We battled until the end, but could not overcome the deficit, losing by 8, 60-52. 

Katie Gillette led the Whippets with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Danielle DePorter added 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. Mayte Navejas also added 12 points and 3 rebounds. Calli Grosinske scored 7 points with 3 rebounds and 2 steals. 

We travel to Jefferson this Friday, December 9, for another conference game. 

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

Last week Thursday, December 1st, the Boys’ Swim Team competed in the Southern Lakes Conference Relay meet. The boys had some AMAZING races!

In the 1000-meter Crescendo Relay, where each swimmer swims 100-200-300-400 respectively, the relay comprised of Andrew O’Toole, Cruz Aranda, Jack Hefty, and Tyler Arnett swam strong throughout the race. This strong performance led to a 3rd place finish and geared up the team for other mentally challenging races.

The splash and dash of the evening was an amazing event to watch! Each swimmer sprints one length of the pool for a total of 100 meters to find out how quickly they can get themselves up to speed. With just over 2 seconds separating 2nd thru 5th place, the boys were able to clinch 2nd place. Cruz Aranda led off the relay followed by Jack Hefty, Myles Morse, and then Tyler Arnett for a time of 58.01!  David Enns, Xavier Zei, Onyx Thompson, and Sam Nickelsburg won their heat which was fabulous as well!

The 500-meter Crescendo Relay, 50-100-150-200, was the highlight of the night for the team. The boys came back from almost being a full length behind the 3rd and 4th place teams to taking the 3rd place medal position! There were a lot of fast swims at the beginning of the race and the swimmers’ mental toughness allowed for them to come back strong. Miles Nickelsburg, Cruz Aranda, Jack Hefty, and Tyler Arnett came in with a time of 5:52.79.

Then on Saturday, December 3rd, the Whippet Boys’ Swim Team competed at the 2nd Annual Tom Lieder Invitational in Milton. There was success for each swimmer in their individual swims, and two were able to grab hardware in their events.

Tyler Arnett started off by taking 3rd in the 200 Free. He out-touched the next person in the final yard of the race.  

Then Jack Hefty tied for 6th in the 100 Free with a time of 58.94. This was the first time Jack broke 1 minute in a 100 Free!

In the 500 Free, Tyler Arnett came on strong, and this was a grueling match-up from several swimmers from other teams. He was able to hold strong until the end; he finished first and again out-touched 2nd and 3rd place by less than half a second.

Other top 10 finishes were 8th in the 200 Medley Relay (Tyler Arnett, Cruz Aranda, Jack Hefty, and Andrew O’Toole), 7th in the 200 yard Individual Medley (Cruz Aranda), and 8th in the 200 Free Relay (Myles Morse, Xavier Zei, David Enns, and Miles Nickelsburg).

The boys swam fast and are looking forward to their next away meet against Edgerton/Evansville on Tuesday, December 6th. 

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

Our Whippet Gymnastics team had a great 1st meet of the season where they placed 3rd overall at the Jefferson Invite on Friday, December 2. 

They started on the bars where Makayla Bazeley earned 4th place and Halee Peters earned 2nd place – both taking home hardware! 

Next up was beam where Myialynn Cobbs had a no fall beam routine. We also got to cheer on Brenda Aguilar for the first time in a while after taking a year off. We’re so happy to have her back with us.

The third rotation allowed the girls to show off their fun floor routines. Freshman Alexa Wildenberg was able to compete in her first ever gymnastics meet and performed well, while putting on an entertaining routine. Nola Coburn showed us her spunk in her floor routine where she scored close to her personal best. 

Last up was vault where all the girls did awesome! Both Makayla Bazeley and Halee Peters had lifetime best scores with a 7.75 and 8.425, respectively.  Halee earned herself another medal with a 2nd place finish.

In all-around, Halee Peters took 4th place, Makayla Bazeley took 6th, Nola Coburn took 13th, and Myialynn Cobbs took 14th.

We are so excited to watch the girls progress through the season. What a great start to what will be an amazing season!

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

The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball Team faced East Troy Tuesday night, December 1, at home. The Whippets got off to a slow start offensively, getting outscored 11-24 in the first half. The second half proved to be an even bigger challenge getting into a 20-point deficit with 10 minutes left in the second half. The Whippets fought back, outscoring East Troy 23 -19 to get within 10, but ran out of time, losing 34-44.  

Danielle DePorter led the Whippets with 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. Cali Kopecky followed with 6 points. Calli Grosinske added 5 points and 5 steals. Kindyl Kilar scored 2, ripped down 11 rebounds, and had 1 steal and 5 deflections. Katie Gillette scored 4 with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. 

The Whippets travel to Beloit Turner Tuesday, December 6, for their next conference game.

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

From wiacsports.com

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Christian Patzka has been named the 2022 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Kwik Trip Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year, while UW-La Crosse was selected the Kwik Trip Coaching Staff of the Year, based on voting conducted by the league coaches.
 
Patzka is the second Warhawk to receive the conference honor, joining David Fassbender (2021). Patzka finished as the individual runner-up at the NCAA Division III Championship. His second-place performance is the highest in school history. He claimed the individual title at the NCAA Division III North Regional with his time of 24:08.4 breaking the course record. Patzka took second at the WIAC Championship and finished no lower than second place in any meet during the 2022 campaign. He won the Concordia University (Wis.) Ken Weidt Classic and UW-Whitewater Tom Hoffman Invitational.
 
UW-La Crosse won the WIAC Championship for the fifth consecutive season and 37th time in program archives. The Eagles placed second at the NCAA Division III North Regional and eighth at the NCAA Division III Championship. The coaching staff includes: head coach Derek Stanley; and assistant coaches Hannah Beilke and Nathan Petesch.

The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball team traveled to Elkhorn for a non-conference game Tuesday night, November 29. 

The Whippets struggled to get their offense going, scoring only 14 the first half. The majority of the first half we trailed by 8-10 points. We ended the first half of the game down 14-26.  

Whitewater continued to struggle offensively, getting into an 18-point deficit halfway through the second half. Then the Whippets got fired up after a series of deflections and steals going on a scoring run closing and the gap to within 6. We ended up outscoring the Elks 33-28, in the second half of the game, just not quite enough to get the win, with the final score, 47-54. 

Statistical leaders included Calli Grosinske leading the Whippets with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 steals. Kindyl Kilar had her first double-double of the season with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 deflections. Mayte Navejas added 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals. 

The Whippets take on East Troy at home Thursday night, December 1. 

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