Today is Wednesday, May 1, 2024
On Saturday, February 17, the Whitewater Girls’ Wrestling Team traveled to Campbellsport to participate in the Girls’ Wrestling Sectional, all hoping to end up on the top of the podium in their weight class to punch their ticket to the Girls’ State Wrestling Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison.
It was a great day filled with lots of excitement for the Whippet fans and the highs of highs and the lows of lows for the coaches as the day progressed. The day started outstanding for the Whippets with all 8 of the girls reaching the semi-finals. Starting the day off was Silvia Harris (107) who was competing against a girl she had lost to twice this season. She did not let that bother her as she was able to secure a pin. Just moments later Giulia Ristagno (126) drew a girl she had lost to 3 times this year. Coaches just told her that she was getting closer each time and to have confidence. Giulia came out with the first takedown putting the girl to her back and secured the pin. Also getting a first-round pin was Katie Rojas-Reyes (120) who wrestled very well in her opening match of the tournament.
The semi-final round was a lot of fun for the girls and the Whippet fans as there were lots of arms raised. At one point, the Whippets had a girl on their back on two mats right next to each other. Giulia Ristagno and A’lani Ross both got pins within five seconds of each other to really get the crowd in our section roaring! A’lani started her match showing just how strong she is by lifting the girl up on the edge of the mat, bringing her inbounds, and eventually pinning her. Also getting pins for the Whippet Girls were Ema Aranda (100), Lauren Buehler (114), and Marianna Kubicz (185). That put the team with 6 pins and 6 finalists to close out the round. Coming up short in the round included Silvia Harris who wrestled an extremely good girl who ended up easily winning her weight class. Also coming up short was Katie Rojas-Reyes. falling as well to the girl who ended up winning her weight class.
The finals started off very well for Whitewater as Ema Aranda battled back from a deficit but stayed patient and ended up pinning her opponent in the second period to secure her ticket to state. It was a very cool scene to see the first ones coming off the mat were her sister and Coach Gomez, her uncle, to celebrate the achievement.
Lauren Buehler followed, making fast work of her opponent with a 22 second takedown to secure her second trip to the state tournament. She knew coming in it was going to be a tough weight class, and it was exciting for the coaches to see her just push through and wrestle very well with two pins on the day.
Myia Cobbs had an interesting day as our 3rd girl to qualify for the state tournament. On Friday night we had prepared for a couple of girls whom she had seen before and did have success against but just wanted to clean things up for them. When weigh ins came around, neither girl was present and Myia got a default to the state tournament! She was excited, however did want to be on the mat pinning girls like her teammates!
Unfortunately, there were the lows coaches experience as the Whippets dropped two tough matches in the championship where they were close matches but came up just short. Giulia Ristagno (126), A’lani Ross (132), and Marianna Kubicz (185) each lost in the finals and are considered alternates for the state tournament with their runner-up finish.
Trackwrestling does keep unofficial team scores, and the Whitewater Girls were in first place at the end of the tournament! Well done, ladies!
The three qualifiers will compete in Madison at the Kohl Center at 3:00 on Thursday afternoon, February 22, in a sixteen-person bracket, looking to climb into the top 6 in the state for their weight classes.
Article Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
Photo courtesy of Kenzie Schimming
On Saturday, February 17, the Whitewater Wrestling Team traveled to Campbellsport with 9 individuals hoping to wrestle their way into the top 3 in their weight class and punch their ticket to the WIAA Individual State Wrestling tournament. I was a very busy day for the Whippets as there were also 8 girls competing vying for the championship and to also qualify. (Girls’ information is in a separate article.)
The end of the day showed the best performance the coaching staff has ever been a part of at the sectional wrestling tournament. At the end of the day, the Whippets found themselves in 2nd place as a team with the unofficial WIAA scores. Five of the nine wrestlers found themselves still competing in the last round, with four of the five securing victories and punching their ticket to the state tournament taking place at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Leading the way of Qualifiers was Jarvis Porcaro (120). Jarvis had a very tough opponent in the semi-finals but battled his way back in the wrestle-backs, defeating an opponent for the 4th time this season, which over the years has proven to be a difficult task. Jarvis then followed with a first period pin in the 3rd place match to secure his place in state. The crowd then got to witness Jarvis running into an unexpected Coach Sedano’s arms knocking him over!
Up next, Connor Friend was defeated by a big time throw in the semi-finals and had to wrestle his way back to 3rd place. Connor pinned his first opponent in quick fashion and then had to face a familiar foe whom he too defeated 3 times previously. This opponent is very strong and quick, so there was much nervousness for Coach Schimming. Connor was not going to be denied and pinned him in the second period. Connor finished the day 3-1 with three pins.
Odair Porras (150) had a very good day with only one hiccup in the semi-finals. Odair came out in the first match with lots of intensity, building a big lead in takedowns before securing a pin. In the wrestle-backs he also had a familiar foe but made quick work, pinning him in the second period. In the 3rd place match, Odair wrestled a young man who was very tough in the top position. Odair made sure to not stay on the bottom by getting three takedowns in the first period and piled on more in the 2nd period when he started to chip away at his opponent’s will and pinned him in the 3rd period. Because Odair did not wrestle the opponent who took 2nd he got a true second wrestle-back and continued wrestling well, winning 9-4 and securing a runner-up finish.
Rounding out the qualifiers was Sebastian Cuellar (165). Sebastian had a quick pin in the first round and in the semi-finals wrestled a familiar foe who we knew was extremely flexible and difficult to pin. Sebastian wrestled very smart and was able to secure a technical fall 18-3 for the win. Sebastian fell in the championship match to a solid student from Kewaskum. He did have to wrestle back to hold onto his second-place finish and did very well again, wrestling very intelligently both on his feet and on the mat. He held his position as a runner-up with an 11-3 victory.
Coming up just short was Payton Lyon (190) who pinned his first opponent in the first round. In the semi-finals he lost to the number 2 ranked student in the state, and he definitely showed us why this is his ranking! Payton was able to come back with a pin to go into the 3rd place match. Unfortunately, Payton came up just short of his state tournament berth, which was his goal coming into the season. Payton has nothing to be disappointed in. He had 33 wins on the year and has Conference Champion to his name. The coaches feel he is not done on the mat as he does have aspirations at the next level.
Also competing for the Whippets were Jasen Porras, Brady Friend, and Traysen Thomason. All three of these gentlemen wrestled their hearts out but were unable to extend their season. They have no reason to hang their heads as they all had a great season and all three will return next year to continue with or re-establish their goals.
All four wrestlers will compete at the Kohl Center on Thursday night, February 22, at 7:00.
Article Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
Photo courtesy of Kenzie Schimming
By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Platteville, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestling team finished third while a pair of Warhawks claimed individual titles at the 2024 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Wrestling Championship hosted by UW-Platteville Saturday.
Dominik Mallinder defended his 2023 title at 133 pounds by defeating the same opponent he faced a year ago. Ethan Pogorzelski secured the 141-pound crown after battling his teammate in the final. The Warhawks advanced six wrestlers to title bouts Saturday.
Mallinder received a pair of byes to open his day in the semifinal against UW-Eau Claire’s Travis Moelter. He needed just over three minutes (3:18) to register the win by technical fall, 22-3, to punch his ticket to the final. In the championship, Mallinder topped UWEC’s Tyler Fleetwood by 9-3 decision to claim a second consecutive WIAC title at 133 pounds.
Pogorzelski and Justin Fortugno each won their first two matches of the day at 141 pounds to set up an all-Warhawk title bout. Fortugno opened his day with a fall over UW-Stevens Point’s Mohammed Abbosov in 2:46. He defeated Kaiden Schrandt (UW-La Crosse) by 4-1 decision to claim his spot in the final. Pogorzelski went through Bo Niewiadomski (UWEC – 7-4 decision) and Cooper Peterson (UWSP – 6-5 decision) to advance to the final. The pair of Warhawks battled it out taking the bout into extra time with Porgorzelski taking the crown in sudden victory 4-1.
Scott Busse made his way to the championship at 149 pounds. After receiving a first round bye, Busse defeated Riese Thornberry (UWSP) by 7-2 decision. He punched his ticket to the final after Zach Sato of UWEC was disqualified in the semifinal but was forced to forfeit the title bout to finish as the runner-up.
Jermaine Butler, UW-Whitewater’s representative on the All-Sportsmanship Team this season, went 2-1 on the day to finish as the WIAC runner-up at 157 pounds. Following a first round bye, Butler won by major decision over UWL’s Cooper Larson. He topped David Cushman in sudden victory in the semifinal to advance to the championship. In the title bout, Butler fell to undefeated Nolan Hertel of UW-La Crosse by 5-0 decision to claim second.
Ryan Riser added a third runner-up finish for UWW in the 2024 championship. Riser received a first round bye at 174 pounds before taking down Bryce Buchanan (UWSP) by major decision 11-0. In the semifinal, Riser defeated Eddie Simes (UWL) in sudden victory 4-1. Riser fell to UW-Eau Claire’s Jared Stricker by major decision in the title bout.
At 125 pounds, Jalen Dunson advanced to the semifinal before working his way back to a third-place finish. Dunson opened his day with a technical fall (6:47, 22-6) win over Thomas Giere of UWL. He dropped the semifinal bout to Luca Paladino of UWSP by 6-4 decision. Dunson secured his spot in the third-place match with a major decision victory of Platteville’s Chris Karbash, 21-7. He took bronze with a 6-3 decision over UWL’s Quintin Wolbert.
Aden Byal battled back to finish third after dropping his first match of the day at 157 pounds. Byal fell to Colton Sund of UWEC by 4-3 decision in the quarterfinal but worked his way back with a technical fall victory (4:04, 16-1) over Joey Ahern (UWSP) and a major decision (14-3) over UWP’s David Cushman. In the third-place bout, Byal won in sudden victory, 11-8, over UWL’s Cooper Larson.
John Fortugno (133 pounds), Jalin Conner (149 pounds) and Cadin Koeppel (285 pounds) were fourth in their respective weight classes. Warhawks finishing in fifth place included Caden Kirchner (165) and Gavin Kohel (184). Jordan Lewis added sixth-place points to the team total for his finish at 197 pounds.
UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse scored 161.5 to share the WIAC team title with the Warhawks totaling 121 points as a squad. UW-Stevens Point finished fourth (70.5) followed by UW-Platteville (29.5) and UW-Oshkosh (13).
…
By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
River Falls, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater came back to defeat UW-River Falls 72-71 Saturday. Kacie Carollo hit a pair of free throws in the final two seconds to seal the win.
Box Score
The Warhawks battled back from a 25-19 deficit after the first quarter, cutting the margin in half by the break. UWW trailed by as much as nine partway through the third quarter but continued to fight. With the Falcons leading 57-48 with 4:32 left in the third, Aleah Grundahl knocked down a jumper to spark an 8-2 run capped by a Katie Hildebrandt triple to pull within three. Hildebrandt connected from deep again to narrow the gap to one, 64-63, by the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was low scoring with the teams trading the lead throughout. Carollo found Grundahl in transition for a fastbreak layup to claim the lead with the first bucket of the fourth, 65-64. After a three-pointer for UWRF, Grundahl dropped in a jumper to knot the game 67-67 before the offenses went cold.
The Falcons ended the nearly four-minute scoring hiatus with a layup to pull ahead 69-67 with 4:26 to go. Another three minutes ticked away before another score as UWRF hit another layup to extend the margin to four, 71-67, with 1:07 remaining.
Carollo picked the pocket of a Falcon player and hit Grundahl for a triple to pull UWW to within one, 71-70. UWRF called timeout immediately to advance the ball with 36 seconds left. The Falcons took their time, but as the shot clock ran down, the Warhawk defense surrounded the ball with Grundahl knocking the ball free and Lunden Alexander claiming possession.
UW-Whitewater took a timeout, but because a dribble had occurred, the Warhawks were unable to advance the ball. UWW had just 6.3 seconds to go the length of the floor with one timeout in bank. Bri McCurdy inbounded to Carollo who sprinted up the floor before being fouled with 2.7 seconds on the clock.
Before the sideline inbounds pass was made, UW-River Falls was whistled for another foul – their next foul would put the Warhawks at the line. McCurdy set to inbound in front of the UWW bench, but once again Carollo was fouled before the ball was inbounded. Carollo stepped to the line and drained both to give the Warhawks the 72-71 lead with 2.7 left.
The Falcons took a timeout to advance the ball to their front court. UWW head coach Keri Carollo saw the inbound set and called the Warhawks’ final timeout. UWRF found a guard on the inbound and was able to get a shot off before the buzzer, but it fell short sealing the UWW win.
Grundahl posted a game-high 23 points on 10-17 from the floor and 2-4 from beyond the arc. Carollo registered a double-double with 16 points bolstered by a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line while adding 14 boards and seven assists. Hildebrandt rounded out the double-digit scorers for UWW with 12 points on 4-8 from long range.
UW-Whitewater secured a first round bye in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament as the number two seed. The Warhawks will host the semifinals Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Kachel Gym. UWW’s opponent will be the highest remaining seed after the first round games that include UW-River Falls (#6) at UW-Stout (#3) and UW-La Crosse (#5) at UW-Platteville (#4).
The winners of the semifinal games will advance to the WIAC Tournament Championship. The highest remaining seed will host the final Friday at 7 p.m. The WIAC Tournament Champion will receive the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament.
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