Sports

Article by Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Head Cross Country Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org

Whippet CC runners had a great day racing on the new CC course created on the golf course formerly known as Decatur Golf Course in Brodhead. This meet featured four teams: Belleville, Brodhead-Juda, Turner, and Whitewater. Coupled with a great course layout, ideal weather conditions, and stronger fitness, all athletes smashed their personal bests for the spring CC season. 

The girls went first and executed perfectly. Sophie Walton placed 8th with a new best time of 23:38. Following close behind were the 2nd through 5 runners of Gwen Truesdale, Trinity Nickels, Olive Coburn, and Lauren Beuhler. There was less than a minute spread between this group, and it was thrilling to see those four Whippet uniforms power their way around the course. The next pack of Whippets to come through were Danielle DePorter, Caelyn Caputo, and Emma Weigel. Their spread of 19 seconds is getting about as close-knit as you can be over 5000 meters. Jenny Villarreal and Evie Troxel closed out the finishers for the Whippets with finishing places of 32nd and 36th overall. The girls’ team placed 3rd with 54 points.

The boys raced next, with Trenten Zahn again leading the Whippets as he crossed the finish line in second with a time of 16:59. CJ Tomomitsu and Cooper Hammond ran tight together and placed 6th and 7th. Will Hofmann threw down the hammer late in the race despite battling some lower leg injuries and pulled up within 15 seconds of Cooper. Nate Holden is learning quickly and rounds out the top five scorers with his 26th place finish. Ben McCulloch was coming up on Nate as he was just 20 seconds behind in 29th. Andrew Rollette dropped significant time to stop the clock at 25:02. Keith Cameron finished in 28:40, and Sterling Truesdale crushed his race in 28:40. The boys’ team was edged out by Turner for the win by just two points. WW finished with 49 points. 

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Next up will be the RVC meet hosted by Whitewater High School at Whitewater High School on Thursday, April 22nd. Come on out and cheer for the Whippets as they enter the Championship portion of their season. Girls JV will race at 4:00, followed by Girls Varsity 4:45, Boys Varsity 5:30, and Boys JV at 6:15.

Results: https://www.whs.wwusd.org/sites/whs.wwusd.org/files/files/Private_User/ccarstens/xc_brodhead_april_13.pdf

From Packerswire:

“The Green Bay Packers have talked with one of the most intriguing interior offensive lineman prospects in the 2021 NFL draft class.

Wisconsin-Whitewater offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz, a likely Day 2 pick, has been in contact with all 32 NFL teams during the pre-draft process, according to Bob McGinn of The Athletic.

The majority of teams like Meinerz as a center prospect in the NFL, per McGinn.

The Packers have an obvious in-state connection, but the team also has a need at center and the interior of the offensive line after losing Corey Linsley in free agency. Meinerz, who opened eyes at the Senior Bowl, could be a starting-caliber player capable of either replacing Linsley or playing guard and allowing a player like Lucas Patrick or Elgton Jenkins to move to center.”

Click here to see the complete article.

Article by Baron West
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Tennis Coach
bwest@wwusd.org

The Whitewater Girls’ Tennis Team has been battling the weather all season. On Thursday, part of the team was able to get a match in at the conference meet until the rain finally set in. The rest of the conference matches will be played on Friday, April 16.

On Monday, except for the wind, the weather cooperated enough for the sub-sectional meet to take place. 1 singles, Emilia Houwers, was the first Whippet to earn herself a place at the sectional meet since she had already earned herself a sub-sectional bye. 4 singles, Crystal Chan, also earned a trip to sectionals by winning her match 6-2, 6-0 against Janesville Craig. The 3 doubles team of Jeanette Falcon and Vanesa Wence were the final Whippets to reach sectionals by winning 6-4, 6-4 against Milton.

The sectional meet will take place at Palmer Park in Janesville beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 14. Good luck, Whippets!

The Whitewater Whippet Football Team traveled to East Troy to compete in a Rock Valley Conference game on Friday, April 9. The Whippets lost that game, 28-6.

Photos and captions from the first half courtesy of Bob Mischka:

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Photo 1: Quarterback junior Brock Grosinske looks to throw a pass with junior Mason DePorter defending him.

Photo 2: Brock Grosinske drags a host of Trojan defenders with him as he crosses the goal line for the lone Whippet touchdown. Senior Chase Conn happily signals the touchdown in the background by raising his arms.

Photo 3: Senior Dylan DuClos starts out on a run with Grosinske in the background and Whippet senior Carter Friend rushing up to help with blocking.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in their article, “Steelers mock draft tracker: Let’s talk Round 2, shall we?,” suggests that the Steelers should consider UW-W’s Quinn Meinerz for a second-round pick in the NFL draft, taking place April 29-May 1. They say, “Perhaps the greatest riser out of anyone throughout the draft process, Quinn Meinerz has certified himself as a top-five center at the very least. In fact, it is possible Meinerz could go as high as the second center off the board…..”

Click here to see the complete article.

Game 1 Box Score: https://static.uwwsports.com/custompages/baseball/2021/bb14.htm

Game 2 Box Score: https://static.uwwsports.com/custompages/baseball/2021/bb15.htm

The No. 16 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team recorded 32 hits in two games Friday in back-to-back wins over UW-Oshkosh in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.

The Warhawks (13-2 overall, 7-1 WIAC) posted a 15-0 victory in seven innings in the opener before defeating the Titans 8-5 in Game 2.

In Game 1, UW-Whitewater mashed 18 hits, and eight of the team’s nine starting batters tallied two or more hits. UW-W broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth with six runs, and added four more in the sixth.

Donovan Brandl tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out eight to improve to 2-1 on the season. He also contributed with two hits, two runs scored and one run batted in at the plate.

Right fielder Jacob DeMeyer and first baseman Taylor White tallied two hits and three RBIs apiece to pace the offense. Third baseman Tucker Criswell recorded two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs, and pinch hitter Ian Drays collected a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth.

Centerfielder Zach Campbell scored a team-high three runs and added one walk and a pair of hits. Second baseman Sam Vomhof, left fielder Matt Korman and catcher Ryan Norton added two hits apiece.

In the nightcap, the Warhawks turned a 5-2 deficit into a three-run lead with six runs in the bottom of the seventh. After consecutive singles by Norton and second baseman Bryan Sturdevant to start the inning, Brandl plated two with an RBI single through the right side. DeMeyer tied the contest with a two-out hit to center, and Vomhof’s two-run triple gave UW-W the lead for good. Korman added another run-scoring hit to cap the rally.

Connor Moroder improved to 3-0, pitching four shutout innings in relief of starter Connor Spear. Moroder allowed only one hit and two walks, stranding a pair of runners in the top of the ninth to seal the victory.

UW-Oshkosh (6-8, 4-4) hit four home runs in the game, including two in the top of the fifth and one in the sixth to take a three-run advantage.

Brandl, DeMeyer, Vomhof and shortstop Nick Santoro registered two hits apiece. DeMeyer and Santor each scored two runs, and Vomhof knocked in three runs. Sturdevant finished 3-for-3 at the plate before he was pinch run for in the seventh.

The Warhawks play two more games against the Titans Saturday in Oshkosh. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m.

Article by Chad Carstens, Photos by Bob Mischka
Whitewater High School Head Cross Country Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org

Six RVC Cross Country Teams competed at Whitewater High School on Tuesday, April 7.

Trenten Zahn finished 4th out of 53 boys, and Sophie Walton placed 9th out of 36 girls.

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Both teams were able to earn a third place finish which was encouraging knowing the talent level of the RVC.

The kids did a nice job grinding through a hot day after racing just five days ago.

Boys’ 5K Results
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NqmaCDUpfYiCOij_E57A5ACbG6p4o-nv/view?usp=sharing

Girls’ 5K Results
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nq8jUgkUPBTZ0nc-SEnLintHmiPrFOyj/view?usp=sharing

Photo and Comments Courtesy of Bob Mischka

Whitewater hosted Columbus in tennis on Monday, April 5, and won, 4-3. The Whippets swept the four singles matches and Columbus swept the 3 doubles matches. Pictured is the Whippet #1 singles player, freshman Emilia Houwers, who defeated Alyson Theilen 6-0, 6-2.