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

Saturday morning, five Whippet Wrestlers left bright and early to travel to Richland Center to compete in a very competitive sectional field of wrestlers with the hopes of finishing the day in the top two of their weight class, thus punching tickets to the state tournament. During a season that saw many changes and adjustments due to our current health situation, we were grateful as a team to be in this position and commend Richland Center on a job well done. It was an extremely well run tournament that went very smoothly.

Entering the last round of competition, the Whippets still had all 5 wrestlers competing, which was a great feat as the competition at that level is stiff. Although they may not have achieved goals they had set for themselves coming into the tournament, the coaching staff felt they all wrestled very well and should be proud of themselves.

Brian Porcaro finished off a very nice senior season taking 6th place. He lost a couple of well wrestled matches, but came up on the short end. He stated after his last match that he felt that although he lost he thought he wrestled well. 

Marcus DePorter started off the day wrestling the eventual champion, however gave the opponent his toughest match of the day. Marcus came back to win his next two matches putting himself in the 3rd place match. Marcus dropped this match, and that opponent went on to win his 2nd place match so both of Marcus’s losses came to the two guys that qualified for the state tournament. Marcus showed very nice improvement as his season progressed.

David Cushman has been a staple in the middle weights four 4 year and battled extremely well in a loaded weight class. This class saw the number 2, 3, 10, and 11 (Cushman) ranked kids in the state. David started off with a tough draw having the #3 but wrestled him tough. The opponent had lots of length and was strong. David does what he does and wrestled until the final whistle but came up short. In the wrestle backs David secured two pins for himself to put him into the 3rd place match. Again he was against a tough opponent (#10) and it was a great battle. David was extremely close to putting his opponent on his back from his feet but came up short 6-4. David has been a great worker in the program over the years, and the coaches know his future is bright at the next level.

Mason DePorter entered his first sectional tournament in nice fashion with a high scoring 14-12 victory over his first round opponent. Mason came back and dropped his next couple of matches to finish in 6th place, however the coaches are proud of the work he put in to make himself a better athlete. Mason set a goal for himself last Spring to make himself stronger physically. He crushed that goal; now he will reevaluate his goals as he goes into his senior season.

Carter Friend worked his way through a very tough bracket starting off the tournament with two nice wins to reach the finals. In the championship, he ran into a tough young man from Evansville and Carter was not able to get his style going, and dropped the championship. Because he had not wrestled the guy who took 3rd, Carter had to wrestle again to hold onto his position. This was a tough, high intensity match. Going into the 3rd period Carter was down 6-3, but his extra work that he and teammate David do after practice paid off. Carter took control of the match and came out on top 8-7, thus punching his ticket to the state tournament for the 2nd year in a row.

The coaches are proud of the student-athletes on their performance on Saturday. They should all be proud of their day even though the outcome may not be quite what they wanted.

Per packers.com, “On Saturday night, the Packers quarterback became just the sixth player to be named the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player three times since the award’s inception in 1957.”

Per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Rodgers indicated that he had gotten engaged at some point during the 2020 season, and twice referred to his fiancee….That would be news to Packers nation; only last week did a report link Rodgers to actress Shailene Woodley.” Rodgers, however, did not name his fiancee.

2/5/21
Men: UW-Whitewater 91, UW-Stevens Point 78 (Stevens Point, WI)
Women: UW-Whitewater 64, UW-Stevens Point 50 (Whitewater)

2/3/21
Men: UW-Stevens Point 70, UW-Whitewater 68 (Whitewater, Wis.)
Women: UW-Whitewater 61, UW-Stevens Point 50 (Stevens Point, Wis.)

Whitewater’s Reynolds Earns Spot on 2021 UW-Whitewater Women’s Track and Field Roster

(UW-W press release) — Miranda Reynolds, a native of Whitewater, WI, and graduate of Whitewater High School, will compete for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s track and field team during the 2021 season, which begins this weekend.

Reynolds, a sophomore at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in mathematics.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s and women’s track and field teams begin an unprecedented season this Saturday at Kachel Fieldhouse with a dual meet against UW-Platteville, the program’s first of four dual meets this season and six competition dates.

The Warhawks will host five meets during the indoor season over the next five weeks. All home duals will be streamed online using StretchCast, YouTube and Facebook Live. Links will be available each week on the men’s and women’s track and field schedule pages.

Attendance at meets will be limited to participating coaches, student-athletes and meet personnel. Spectators will not be permitted to enter the building.

Both teams last competed in March 2020 during the indoor season. The men placed fourth and the women finished fifth at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships before the remainder of the season was canceled two weeks later.

Mike Johnson is in his 12th season as the head coach of the men’s program and his 10th year at the helm of the women’s program. He has led the Warhawks to 13 top-10 national finishes on the men’s side and four on the women’s side.

On the women’s side, several conference placers return in a variety of event groups.

Sophomore Sarah Niehueser (Fond du Lac, Wis./Winnebago Lutheran Academy) was the team’s top WIAC finisher in the 400-meter dash and 800-meter run, reaching the podium in the 400 with an eighth-place showing. Senior Jessie Braun (Wales, Wis./Kettle Moraine) placed fifth in the 3,000-meter run.

Niehueser returns along with sophomore Paige Fassbender (Slinger, Wis./Slinger) on the team’s top 4×400-meter relay, which finished fifth at the WIAC Championship in 2020. Braun, Fassbender and junior Kylie Jacobs (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) are back from the team’s fourth-place distance medley relay squad.

Sophomore Miranda Reynolds (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) is coming off a fourth-place conference showing in the high jump. Senior Shelby Nickels (Manitowoc, Wis./Lincoln) is the defending league champion in the long jump and a 2020 All-American thanks to qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championship in the event.

Junior Abigail Missiaen (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) reached the podium for the first time in her career in the pentathlon at the 2020 WIAC Indoor Championship. It was her fourth appearance on the conference podium for her career.

Senior Sydney Davidson (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) is a past placer in pole vault, finishing eighth at the 2019 WIAC Indoor Championship.

Junior Morgan Huntley (Hillsboro, Wis./Hillsboro) is the team’s returning thrower. She qualified for last year’s conference indoor meet in the weight throw.

For more than 150 years, UW-Whitewater has provided students with the education and training to begin their careers with a solid foundation behind them. The UW-Whitewater is committed to the development of the individual, the growth of personal and professional integrity and respect for diversity and global perspectives. These are met by providing academic and co-curricular programs that emphasize the pursuit of knowledge and understanding and a commitment to service within a safe and secure environment.