Today is Tuesday, May 12, 2026
The Whitewater Volleyball Program hosted Johnson Creek at our Dig Pink home finish on Thursday, October 13. It was an incredibly emotional night as Cali Kopecky and Kindyl Kilar began, “During our Dig Pink event last year, we had the honor of celebrating three of our moms who were breast cancer survivors. One of our moms, Angelica Verduzco, had JUST finished her final chemotherapy treatment and rang the celebratory bell in front of our Whippet Volleyball community. Little did we know that her battle wasn’t over yet. Over the last year, Angelica continued to fight the cancer with radiation, chemotherapy, and multiple surgeries. Her grit, tenacity, and positivity never dwindled as she battled day in and day out. Sadly, Angelica lost her battle to cancer in September of this year. Her beaming smile and love will be greatly missed, but never forgotten.” Peyton Clark gave a tribute to her grandmother who is a breast cancer survivor, and Aidyn Amundson and Calli Grosinske gave a heartfelt tribute to their moms, also breast cancer survivors.
The Whippets concluded with highlighting all in the stands who have been impacted by breast cancer and presented them a pink carnation and hugs.
This team, this program, understands that there is more to volleyball than the win-loss column. We are supporting each other through the toughest of times; we are playing for causes and people whom we hold dear to our hearts. Athletics brings people together, and this team understands the impact we have. They are a true team!
The Whippet Varsity squad (8-1 conference, and 20-6 overall) then took to the court and continued their win streak against the visiting Johnson Creek Blue Jays and swept them 25-14, 25-11, 25-16.
The Whippets controlled their side of the net and were able to stay in system most of the night. “Controlling the ball to stay in system is key to running a fast offense. I felt we ran the middle well tonight, with Jenna Pope and Aidyn Amundson getting some nice swings. CC Alexander also had a solid night on the right side and had some key blocks for us. Kindyl Kilar and Cali Kopecky had great nights on the outside, and both Calli Grosinske and Marina Linos set consistently for us. Caleigh Yang continued to be a force defensively in the libero position. Everyone got some playing time, and it was great to see Caroline Skindingsrude get some key serves and digs, and Cara Yang, our lone freshman, came in hot and played some great defense!”
We are now heading into our conference tournament on Saturday. Following, we begin the playoff run seeded fourth in our regional. We will host Monroe on Tuesday, October 18th at 7:00 p.m. We hope we can pack the gym with fan support!
We have been so thankful to our fans this season. They have come and supported us and created an awesome playing atmosphere!
Statistical leaders on the night included Ella Spear with 6 digs, Cali Kopecky with 6 digs and 5 aces, Calli Grosinske dished out 20 assists, and Kindyl Kilar had 21 kills and hit an outstanding .875 on the night.
Hope to see you Tuesday in the gym!
Article and Photos Submitted by Mary Kilar
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
mkilar@wwusd.org
The Whippet CC teams absolutely crushed their races on Thursday, October 13, in cold, windy, and sometimes rainy conditions at the Rock Valley Conference Meet at UW-Whitewater. It was certainly memorable as so many athletes showed such poise and grit throughout their 5000m races to achieve incredible results. All levels and genders finished 3rd or higher across the board.
To kick things off, the girls’ varsity was first and set the tone for what would amount to be a thunderous day. Mady Hefty went for it and put herself into position early with the front runners and showed no fear. It was inspirational to see Mady do her thing as soon Sophomore Athena Soto ran the race of her life and caught her teammate in the last moment to finish 9th and 10th overall and earn 2nd team all-conference honors. This was Athena’s first time assuming the number one spot, and she did so with a new lifetime best of 22:05. Mady finished a few ticks behind in 22:08. Nola Coburn had an incredible day herself and was seconds behind the top two girls placing 13th to also earn second-team all-conference honors. Nola’s time was 22:19. Senior Caelyn Caputo battled a cold throughout the week and poured her heart into the race to come home in 34th with a time of 24:37. Great pack running from junior Lauren Buehler, Sophomore Jackie Franco and Senior Emma Weigel proved to be very helpful all throughout the course as they finished 37th, 38th, and 39th with times of 24:51, 24:52, and 24:54. It was with this group of runners’ collective efforts that they catapulted themselves to 3rd place overall as a team, a significant improvement from the program’s 6th place finish one year ago.
The boys were on the docket next, and they created some fireworks of their own. Sophomore Jack Hefty rubbed elbows with the leaders for half the race before the eventual winner gapped him a bit. McFarland’s Spencer Alf set a new course and conference record with a time of 16:23. Hefty cruised to a solid runner-up finish with a time of 17:11. Meanwhile Junior Nate Holden was writing his own history as he absolutely slaughtered what he thought was possible and finished 5th overall with a time of 17:50. Both of these guys earned 1st team all-conference honors for finishing in the top 8 overall. Sophomore Miles Nickelsburg wasn’t going to let his two teammates gather all the honors as he flourished in his own right to take 20th and earn honorable mention all-conference honors with a time of 19:22. Senior CJ Tomomitsu missed some school early this week due to a tough cold but he didn’t let it hold him back from reppin’ the W one last time and giving it his all to finish as the team’s 4th runner position in 40th with a time of 21:01. Sophomore Andrew O’Toole nearly ran his lifetime best on this grueling course to be the team’s 5th runner and place 43rd with a time of 21:39. Sophomores Onyx Thompson and Xavier Zei gutted their way around the course to finish in 47th and 59th with times of 21:53 and 22:51. It was with their collective efforts that the varsity team claimed 3rd overall, also a significant improvement from last year when the team finished 7th overall.
In the JV girls’ race, the girls repeated as JV Conference champs as they bested Jefferson by 5 points, even with Sami Van Daele, finishing as the team’s 2nd runner, not counting in the results due to a timing bib issue. Isabella Aranda was the top finisher in 3rd place overall, Sami in 4th, Danielle DePorter in 7th, Silvia Harris 12th, Lucy Troxel in 13th, Adalynn Frye in 15th, Elisa Albertini in 17th, Stephanie Wence in 20th, Payton Brautigam in 22nd, Evie Troxel in 24th, and Taiya Kolb in 26th. This is the second straight RVC JV title for the girls’ program!
The boys’ JV team also did very well with this group taking 3rd overall, just like their varsity teammates. Ben McCulloch took the top spot for the Whippets in 12th overall, Yovanni Rojas-Reyes finished in 14th, Gavin LaFlash ran in 16th with a near full minute personal best, Sterling Truesdale placed 20th, Quinton O’Toole finished 35th, Payton Lyon, who also ran his personal best, placed in 37th, Keith Cameron came in 40th, Alex Clarksen with a huge personal best took 44th, and Sam Nickelsburg placed 47th.
Overall the teams all finished in 3rd place or higher on all levels, and earned 6 all-conference awards and memories that will last a lifetime. It was a great day!
The team will now look toward the WIAA Sectional CC meet next Saturday, October 22nd at UW-Parkside where the top two teams will earn a trip to the state meet, and the top five individuals not on those qualifying teams will earn a spot as well.
FULL RESULTS: https://my.raceresult.com/222789/
Article and Photos Submitted by Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Head Cross Country Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team returns home for a game under the lights at Perkins Stadium against UW-Oshkosh Friday, October 14. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Immediately following the game, a fireworks show is scheduled at Perkins Stadium powered by Generac.
The Warhawks improved to 2-0 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 45-24 win at UW-Eau Claire last week. After a back-and-forth first half, the Warhawks outscored the Blugolds 21-7 in the second half to cruise to the win. UW-W posted nearly 300 yards on the ground while holding their counterpart to just 65. Quarterback Evan Lewandowski has hit his stride with his second consecutive game tossing three or more touchdown passes. He was 21-35 for 190 yards in the game. Three Warhawks registered touchdown runs while three others caught scoring passes from Lewandowski. Defensively, Roy Panthier had a fantastic outing with four tackles including a pair of sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the contest.
UW-Oshkosh dropped a top-25 matchup at River Falls last week 27-24. The Titans claimed the lead in the third quarter before the Falcons tied the game with a touchdown late in the third. A 23-yard UW-RF field goal with just under eight minutes left was the final score of the game. UW-O registered just 90 yards on the ground while giving up 220 to the Falcons. Kobe Berghammer was 17-34 for 216 yards, three touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions. Tory Jandrin bolstered the defense with 13 tackles including 11 solo and a tackle for a loss of two yards.
UW-Whitewater is ranked third in both the d3football.com and American Football Coaches Association national polls this week. The Titans fell from 16th to 19th in the latest d3football.com poll and are ranked 21st by the AFCA. UW-W and UW-O are two of five WIAC schools ranked among the top 25 or receiving votes in the pair of national polls.
Key to the game continues to be time of possession for the Warhawks. UW-W leads the league and is ranked 18th in Division III in time of possession with an average of 33:39 per game. UW-Whitewater will need to capitalize offensively going up against the best scoring defense in the WIAC as Oshkosh allows just 14.8 points per outing.
TICKETS/PARKING
Tickets can be purchased online in advance or at Perkins Stadium on Friday. For complete information regarding parking on gameday including purchasing spots in advance, at a discount, visit the parking webpage.
ON THE AIR
Friday’s game will air live on UWWTV in the Whitewater area and also on TVW in the Madison and La Crosse areas. Fans can stream the game on the WIAC Network. Live stats can be followed on the UW-Whitewater athletics’ website. The contest can also be heard on 105.9 FM The Hog in the Whitewater/Janesville area, or online at www.1059thehog.com.
SERIES
The Warhawks lead the all-time series against UW-Oshkosh 78-30-3. UW-W topped the Titans 32-13 in last year’s meeting at Oshkosh. The Warhawks have won eight of the last nine games played at Perkins Stadium between the two teams.
The Whippet Swim Team competed against the Delavan-Darien Comets Tuesday night, October 11, and we celebrated our Seniors at their last home meet with a win!
Here’s our senior highlights of the night:
☀Brooke Bazeley had a spectacular senior night with two new personal best times – in the 50 Freestyle going a time of 27.58 and the 500 Freestyle by breaking that 6-minute mark with a time of 5:57.19!
☀Grace Foucault had an extravagant senior night with two great swims and 1st place finishes in the 100 Butterfly and the 100 Backstroke!
☀Josie Treder had a tremendous senior night with a 2nd place finish in the 200 IM and a best time in the 100 Freestyle with a time of 1:10.58!
☀Karime Velazquez had a marvelous senior night with a 2nd place finish in the 100 Butterfly and a best time in the 50 Freestyle with a time of 33.62!
☀Ashly Xochipa had a stupendous senior night with a best time in the 50 Freestyle with a time of 30.11 and a strong performance in the 100 Backstroke!
Some other sensational swims of the night include:
✔Lucy Davis had best times in the 50 and the 100 Freestyle. She dropped 11 seconds in the 100 Freestyle.
✔Emerson Dunham had a best time in the 100 Breaststroke where she dropped 5 seconds.
✔Atreya Wilson had a best time in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 3:04.16. That is a 25 second drop from her previous 200 Freestyle time!
✔Sanibel Fox-Simes had a best time in the 50 and 100 Freestyle. She dropped 4 seconds in both events.
✔Andrea Alcala had a best time in the 100 Freestyle with a 24 second drop in time!
✔Lucy Troxel competed in the 100 Breaststroke for the first time!
We are so proud of our Whippet athletes, and we still have a lot of our season left! The Whippets are back in the pool on Tuesday (10/18) against Jefferson/Cambridge at 5:30 p.m. for the last dual meet of the season.
Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org
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