Today is Tuesday, May 12, 2026
On Saturday, June 4, the Whippets competed in Day 2 of the WIAA State Track and Field Championships in La Crosse, WI. The team had several competitors who had qualified for Saturday’s events during the preliminary rounds on Friday, as well as other athletes competing in distance and field events.
Day two proved to be a day to remember for the Whippets, despite the weather changing significantly from day one, which was full of sun and temps in the 70’s, to overcast skies, cooler temps, headwinds on the home stretch, and rain falling intermittently throughout the day.
Maddie Buehler was up first for the Whippets as she coiled into her blocks for the last time in the 100-Meter Dash Final. She got off to a great start and looked strong throughout in the toughest field she has faced in her career yet. She finished in 10th overall in a time of 12.94 seconds with a gritty effort. It was a great season for Maddie in this individual event, as she got to rub elbows with state finalists for the first time during the State Final. Her Sectional time of 12.41 pulled her to within .06 of the school record, good for #2 all-time in Whitewater history. Maddie’s accomplishments in the individual sprint events during the 2022 season are a lot to be proud of!
Next up was the Girls’ 4×200 Meter Relay Final, running out of lane three on the ten-lane track. The team qualified for the final by running within the top 10 teams on Friday. Maddie Buehler returned for her second race of the day, getting into the blocks to lead off the relay. She shot out of the blocks and ran a strong leadoff leg and made a clean exchange to fellow Whippet Emma Weigel. Emma came screaming down the home stretch in front of the roaring crowd of a full grandstand and got the baton to Olive Coburn early in the zone. This quick exchange saw Olive press on the gas, and she gave it her all during her last race in a Whippet uniform. Olive finished her leg of the relay strong and passed the stick to a patiently waiting Kindyl Kilar. Another smooth exchange from Olive to our anchor, and Kindyl was off like a rocket with one goal in mind: bringing home a medal. With the entire fanbase of Wisconsin Track & Field cheering the relays on down the home stretch, Kindyl brought it home and crossed the finish line in 6th place, claiming the final podium position! Their time of 1:47.00 was a hair off their best time of the season from the prelims, but at this point, it didn’t matter as their smiles on the podium said it all!
With the rainy weather conditions unsafe for vaulting outdoors, the Girls’ Division 2 Pole Vault was moved inside Mitchell Hall where Evie Troxel competed in her first ever State meet. Surrounded by her family members, teammates, and coaches, Evie used her home crowd advantage of the cheering fans to sail cleanly through the opening height of 9’ 0”. The next height of 9’ 6” was her previous goal entering the 2022 season, but as she crushed that height at sectionals, she proved that 9’ 6” is no longer a challenge for her! At State she showed that same demeanor and cleared 9’ 6” on her first attempt. With several other competitors remaining in the competition, the bar was raised 6 more inches to 10’, a height that Evie had several attempts at last week at the Sectional meet. Of her three attempts at that height, Evie had two that were very close to clearing and setting a new personal best on the biggest stage. With her ability to stay clean through the first two heights, she finished tied for 9th place and a smile a mile wide that is trademark Evie!
The final event for the Whippets was freshman Jack Hefty in the 3200-meter run. Jack had been waiting nearly two full days of competition for his event as the gun went off at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday. In what were the best conditions for a distance event in years, Jack ran the most thrilling race one could imagine. The race strung out early as both the winner and runner-up would eventually break the state record in this event. He started out in 15th place at 400 meters as he knew the pace would be brisk. He stayed true to himself, controlling what he could control and made his way to 13th in two laps, 11th in three laps and 9th coming through the 1600 in 4:47.12. Jack stayed locked in on his pacing as the pack he was with chased down other runners in front of them. On the penultimate lap he pressed on the accelerator and ran a 70 second lap, and from there it was all guts as he went into overdrive and passed four runners on this final lap to come screaming home in 7th place overall and closed in 63.1 seconds! Jack cut just over 20 seconds off his previous personal best from Sectionals, nearly breaking the school record held by Ben Maas from 1996. Jack’s time catapulted him into the #3 spot all-time in the Whitewater Track and Field record books in the two-mile. His 7th place finish was one place away from the podium and scored the Whippets two points for the weekend. It was a stunning effort, and an incredible end to a stupendous freshman season for Hefty!
This concludes the 2022 Track and Field Season! It was the first “normal” season for nearly the entire program, as the team was able to resume a typical schedule full of invitationals and a two-day state meet for the first time in three years. The coaches would like to thank all the athletes, parents, fans, staff, and the Whitewater community that have supported the team through this season. We will celebrate all the athletes on Monday during our end-of-season banquet as we close the chapter on a fine season!
Girls D2 Results: https://www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF/Results/Track/2022/D2girlsstateresults.pdf
Boys D2 Results: https://www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF/Results/Track/2022/D2boysstateresults.pdf
Article and Photos Submitted by Matt Green and Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Track and Field Coaches
mgreen@wwusd.org
ccarstens@wwusd.org
The Lady Whippets were the first to burn up the track at the WIAA State Track and Field Meet in La Crosse on Friday, June 3, starting with Junior Maddie Buehler in the 100 prelims. Maddie battled her way hard to the finish to come away with a sixth-place finish in the second and final heat. Her time of 12.53 was strong enough to finish in 10th overall, claiming the final spot in Saturday’s Final.
Next up on the track was the Girls’ 4x200m Relay prelim. In this race, junior Maddie Buehler, senior Olive Coburn, junior Emma Weigel, and junior Kindyl Kilar had strong exchanges and finished third in their heat. Their time of 1:46.74 placed them in 5th heading into tomorrow’s final. Having never cracked the top ten in program history, this relay found themselves 6th all-time in WHS history in this event.
Sophomore Ethan Dugan was the lone male to compete today on the track for the Whippets, and that was in the 400m Dash. Ethan ran a very strong race and came away with a new personal best of 51.74, just missing out on the final as he placed twelfth overall.
The same quartet from the 4×200 lined up for the 4×100 and ran their second best time of the season, falling just short of reaching tomorrow’s final.
The last event on Day 1 for Whitewater was Kindyl Kilar in the 200 prelims. In probably the deepest field in memory, Kindyl got out hard and ran a gutsy race to finish in 25.63 to place 16th.
Saturday will feature Maddie in the 100, Maddie, Olive, Emma and Kindyl in the 4×200, junior Evie Troxel in the Pole Vault, and freshman Jack Hefty in the 3200. It’s a great day to a be a Whippet!
Live Results: https://live.pttiming.com/?mid=5086
Article Submitted by Matt Green
Whitewater High School Head Track and Field Coach
mgreen@wwusd.org
Photos Courtesy of Justin Crandall
On Wednesday night, June 1, the Whitewater High School Athletic Department hosted its first ever Whippet ESPY night. ESPY stands for Excellence in Sports Performances Yearly. The night was devoted to recognizing all of the athletic accomplishments throughout the course of the 2021-22 school year.
Individual sport MVP’s, All-Conference athletes, scholarship winners, state qualifiers, and multi-sport athletes were all recognized during the ceremony. Several coaches, teachers, and community members were on hand to present the awards to the athletes in attendance. The department also recognized longtime athletic trainer Danielle Koran who is serving in her final year as the school’s trainer. Danielle has served as the school’s athletic trainer for over a decade. Also in attendance and recognized was longtime photographer and friend of the program Bob Mischka. Bob has provided the school and families high quality pictures of sporting events for years!
This year Whitewater High School had 450 individuals sign up for at least one sport, which accounts for almost 80% of the overall student body. After the awards ceremony, the athletes, coaches, and parents mingled in the lobby where refreshments were served and “selfie booths” were provided. It was a great night for all in attendance and a great night to be a Whippet! #1Family #TheStandard
Article and Photos Submitted by Justin Crandall
Whitewater HS/MS Athletic Director
jcrandall@wwusd.org
By Chris Lindeke, UW-W
Rebekah Schumacher, a native of Whitewater, and student-athlete at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, is one of six Warhawks who have been named All-Americans by the National Strength and Conditioning Association for their commitment to strength and conditioning and athletic accomplishments during the 2021-22 academic year.
David Fassbender (Slinger, Wis./Slinger) of the men’s cross country and track and field teams, baseball’s Eric Hughes (Janesville, Wis./Craig), golf’s Jessica LaBerge (Bonduel, Wis./Bonduel), football’s Ryan Ponick (Stanley, Wis./Stanley-Boyd), women’s basketball’s Rebekah Schumacher (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) and softball’s Hannah Wusterbarth (Oconto, Wis./Oconto) garnered the NSCA All-America accolades.
Fassbender has earned three All-America medals so far in 2021-22, finishing sixth at the NCAA Cross Country Championships and placing among the top five in both the 3,000-meter run and 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He will compete this Thursday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000-meter run, an event he broke the school record in earlier this spring.
Hughes has appeared in 13 games for the baseball team, which won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship and the NCAA Whitewater Regional. The team will compete in the NCAA Whitewater Super Regional this weekend.
LaBerge played in 13 rounds during the 2021-22 season, averaging a score of 96.7 per 18-hole round. She recorded her best score of the season (91) in two rounds at the WIAC Championship. LaBerge helped the Warhawks claim their fifth straight conference team title and reach the NCAA Championship.
Ponick was named first team All-WIAC for special teams and served as a captain for the football team in 2021, helping UW-Whitewater win the WIAC championship and reach the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Playoffs. As a running back, he totaled 18 carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
Schumacher helped the Warhawk women’s basketball team win the WIAC regular season championship and reach the 2022 Final Four, where the team finished as national runner-up. She averaged 8.8 points per game and led the team with 58 made 3-pointers and added 52 steals on the other end. Schumacher was one of three UW-W players to start all 33 games.
Wusterbarth appeared in 10 games for the softball team primarily as a pinch hitter. She helped the Warhawks post the program’s 16th consecutive 20-win season and reach the WIAC Tournament.
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