On Saturday morning, December 18, the Whippet Varsity Wrestling Team was up bright and early to travel to Mount Horeb to participate in their annual invitational. This is a very nice tournament for the team as it is a mix of teams that they see, but also some new looks. When the day came to an end, just before sundown, Whitewater was awarded the Team Championship, finishing just ahead of a very good Verona team.

Individually, the team wrestled very well. Although we always have some we’d like back, everyone battled back and finished strong, not thinking about the result if it did not go their way, but rather looking forward at doing the best that they could to finish as high as they could individually in the tournament.

Leading the way for Whitewater were the Friend brothers. Neither of them were a friend to their opponents as they both won their respective weight classes in dominate fashion. Connor finished the day 3-0 with 3 pins, and Carter finished the day with a record of 4-0 with a bye, 2 pins, and a dominating 14-5 victory in the finals. Along the way Carter had an eight-second pin!

Coming up just shy in the finals were Marcus DePorter and Sebastian Cuellar, each coming in runner-up respectively. Both of these student-athletes were lower seeds in the tournament on paper but as we talk about we don’t worry about seeds, we just worry about wrestling the match, and that is exactly what both of them did on their way to a 3-1 record on the day.

Bringing home the bronze for the Whippets included Jarvis Porcaro, Aaron Porras, and Scott Krebs. Nice job to these young men. Jarvis was wrestling a weight class over where he will be and it showed against a couple guys. Both Aaron and Scott wrestled above their on-paper seeds, wrestling very well. 

The coaching staff is very excited about where the team is heading as they continue to work hard and make gains each day. As we enter the winter break, the Varsity is looking forward to the famous Mid-States tournament held on the UWW campus and hosted by WHS. This is a great opportunity to see where we sit among the best competition in our weight classes leading into the second half of the season after break.

113- Jarvis Porcaro took 3rd
120- CJ Tomomitsu took 5th
126- Conner Friend took 1st
132- Victor Hernandez took 5th
138- Cooper Hammond took 4th
145- Marcus DePorter took 2nd
152- Aaron Porras took 4th
160- Sebastian Cuellar took 2nd
170- Carter Friend took 1st
195- Payton Lyon took 4th
220- Mason DePorter took 6th
285- Scottie Krebs (non scorer) took 3rd
285- Leo Ortiz took 7th

Article and Photo Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Mary Hardin-Baylor, which knocked the Warhawks out of NCAA Division III championship contention last week, beat defending champion North Central on Friday, December 17 with a score of 57-24 to win the Stagg Bowl in Canton, Ohio. Mary Hardin-Baylor also won the national title in 2016 and 2018. Since there was no 2020 tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Crusaders have now lifted the trophy in three of the last five seasons. Click here for a full report on ncaa.com.

The Whitewater Girls’ Basketball Team travelled to Edgerton for a conference game Thursday, December 16. The Whippets struggled to create scoring opportunities on offense in the first half. Going into halftime we were down 10-43. 

In the second half, the team moved the ball better and executed on offense, outscoring Edgerton 17-15, but could not close the gap, losing 27-58. 

Kindyl Kilar had 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Mayte Navejas also scored 7, and had 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 assists. Jenna Pope added 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist. Danielle DePorter had 4 points, 1 rebound, and a steal. Gwen Truesdale ripped down 7 rebounds and had 1 block. Cali Kopecky also scored 4 points. 

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