Today is Monday, May 11, 2026
The Whippet Gymnasts had an awesome first meet of the season last Friday, December 3, at Jefferson! Here are some highlights:
Halee Peters had a great performance, taking first place on beam (despite the tough competition) with an 8.75! She joined the 8.0 club on 2 other events as well, finishing 4th in the All-Around competition.
Brooklyn Griswold and Nola Coburn, both freshmen, showed lots of bravery and courage while competing high school gymnastics for the very first time! Nola did vault, beam, and was given a last-minute bar routine, all of which went very well. Brooklyn competed in bars, beam, and competed her new floor routine, remembering her choreography, and landing all of her tumbling passes.
Anna Ejnik came ready to go, also competing in the All-Around competition. She is a versatile gymnast and did very well with powerful tumbling and a confident beam routine.
Makayla Bazeley, a freshman, also performed very well for her first high school meet. She was confident in her dancing and floor routine, which is awesome to see in a first-year high school gymnast! Makayla competed in the All-Around and is definitely one to keep an eye on for the next 4 years!
Lexi Kuhnke stepped in right when we needed her, performing last-year’s floor routine on short notice. She did very well, including new tumbling passes. We can’t wait to see her compete more events in the near future!
Our next meet is this Saturday the 11th, at 10:00 a.m. at Janesville Craig. Go, Whippets!
Article and Photos Submitted by Shawnda Peters
Whitewater High School Head Gymnastics Coach
speters@wwusd.org
After going through last year without being able to participate in regular season tournaments, the Whitewater Wrestling Team was back in action on Saturday to mark the official start of the 2021-2022 campaign.
The DePorter Brothers 
The Friend Brothers
The varsity team traveled to Watertown on Saturday to compete in the Watertown Tom McGarvie Invitational. This is a very competitive tournament, with 17 teams from all three divisions. Winning the team trophy was Winneconne, the returning Division 2 State Champion, and coming in Runner-up was Mineral Point, the returning Division 3 State Champion from a year ago. Whitewater wrestled well during the course of the day and finished in 7th place. This was a nice finish considering the level of competition at every weight class.
Leading the way for the Whippets was Carter Friend at 170 pounds. He finished the day 5-0 with some very strong matches along the way to his championship. This is the 2nd time Carter has won this tournament, winning it in 2019, the last time we competed in it.
Following Friend was Mason DePorter who wrestled very well on the day, finishing 4-1 and in 5th place. Mason had some very good matches and he showed his increase in strength and mobility in winning those matches.
Brother Marcus DePorter also finished 4-1 on the day. Marcus dropped his first match but then battled back with some very competitive matches. He showed grit in his victories throughout the day.
Next up were CJ Tomomitsu, Connor Friend, and Sebastian Cuellar Meza, who all went 3-2 on the day. CJ and Sebastian finished in 6th place, while Connor finished as consolation champion. These young men wrestled well, with Sebastian and Connor seeing their first ever varsity tournament and handling it very well. CJ came out each time with a fire in his eyes that he is going to be a force to reckon with. Even in his two losses he was very strong.
Also wrestling well but missing out on a medal were Cooper Hammond, Jesus Barajas, Mason Nobs, Hector Arnodo, Payton Lyon, Armando Villarreal, Leo Ortiz, and Scott Krebs.
The coaching staff was very pleased with the efforts of the team; however, there are always areas for improvement as we progress into the next week of practice. We were proud of the students as this is a very large tournament, and the coaching staff is quite busy, so the team did a great job helping each other out with mat assignments and support throughout the day!
The Whippets are next in action on Thursday night when they travel to Clinton for a dual meet and then again on Saturday, December 11th, when they host the 8th annual Whitewater Invitational. Wrestling will begin at approximately 9:15 a.m. at Whitewater High School.
Article and Photos Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
The Whippet Boys’ Swim Team traveled to Milton High School to compete in the Lieder Invitational on Saturday, December 4. The boys got to compete for the first time this season in individual events.
Tyler Arnett took a 4th place finish in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 2:07.20. Tyler went home with a 2nd place medal in the 500 Freestyle where he went a personal best time of 5:32.10. This time now puts him 6th all-time on the Whippet Top 10 List! Tyler also had some nice relay splits; in the 200 Freestyle Relay he anchored with a 25.67, and in the 400 Freestyle Relay he also anchored with a 1:01.30.
Jack Hefty put together some nice swims with an 8th place finish in the 50 Freestyle, going a 26.84, and a 6th place finish in the 100 Freestyle, with a time of 1:01.52. Jack swam another 50 and 100 Freestyle in the 200 and 400 Freestyle relays where he led off sitting right around his best time from his earlier swims.
Miles Nickelsburg followed along with teammate Jack, swimming in individual events of 50 Freestyle, going a 36.32, and 100 Freestyle, going 1:23.79. Miles also had a nice relay split in the 400 Freestyle Relay, going a 1:23.80.
Zach Tomomitsu swam the 200 Freestyle, where he went a 3:17.32 and already showed improvements from Tuesday’s meet with a 20 second drop! Zach also swam in the 100 Backstroke, the only swimmer who ventured out and swam something other than Freestyle. Zach also had a nice relay split in the 200 Freestyle Relay!
The boys will swim again on Tuesday, December 7th, at 5:30 p.m., at Delavan-Darien.
Article and Photo Courtesy of Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Co-Head Boys’ Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org
UPDATE December 5, 2021
By Chris Lindeke
Assistant Athletic Director, Strategic Communications and Branding, UW-W
UW-Whitewater Football to Host National Semifinal; Game to Air Live on ESPN+
The No. 3 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team will host second-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) in a semifinal of the NCAA Division III Playoffs this Saturday, Dec. 11, starting at 2:30 p.m. at Perkins Stadium in Whitewater.
Saturday’s game will air live on ESPN+. Tickets and parking for the game can be purchased online starting Tuesday. Tickets and parking will also be available for game day purchase.
The Warhawks (13-0 overall), champions of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, advanced to the national semifinals with a 51-21 victory against No. 8 Central (Iowa) on Saturday at Perkins Stadium. UW-Whitewater will make its third straight trip and 13th appearance overall in the Division III semifinals.
The Crusaders (13-0), who won the American Southwest Conference, topped No. 7 Linfield (Ore.) 49-24 on Saturday in Belton, Texas.
UW-Whitewater and Mary Hardin-Baylor have split the last two meetings. The Crusaders defeated the Warhawks in a 2018 NCAA semifinal in Belton on their way to the national championship. UW-W topped UMHB in the 2019 NCAA quarterfinals on its way to a national runner-up finish.
The winner of Saturday’s game advances to the Stagg Bowl (Division III national championship game), which is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 17, in Canton, Ohio.
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December 4, 2021
By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
Breaking News: UW-W Hosting Mary Hardin-Baylor in Semifinal Next Sat.
Chris Lindeke, UW-W Asst. Athletic Director, told the Banner that Perkins Stadium has been chosen to host the NCAA Division III semifinal between the Warhawks (13-0) and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders (13-0) (TX) on December 11 at 2:30 p.m. This semifinal will determine the team that will play in the Stagg Bowl championship on December 17 in Canton, Ohio versus the winner of the North Central (IL) vs. Mount Union game on December 11. North Central is the reigning champion, having defeated the Warhawks in the last Stagg Bowl, which was held in 2019.
A good turnout of 1400 was on hand for today’s contest in which the Warhawks trounced Central (IA). See below for the report that was posted earlier on that game. It would be great to have an even larger turnout for what promises to be a very competitive game next Saturday.
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No. 3 Warhawk Football Advances to NCAA Semifinals
By Chris Lindeke
Assistant Athletic Director, Strategic Communications and Branding, UW-W
Saturday, December 4, 2021
Game Statistics: https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/uwwsports.com/documents/2021/12/4/28525.pdf
The No. 3 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team outscored eighth-ranked Central (Iowa) by 24 points in the second half Saturday afternoon on its way to a 51-21 victory in a quarterfinal game of the NCAA Division III Playoffs at Perkins Stadium.
The Warhawks (13-0 overall) will play in the national semifinals for the third straight season, and will face No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) next Saturday, Dec. 11, at a location and time to be announced Sunday.
UW-Whitewater held the high-octane Dutch (12-1) to zero points and 71 yards in the second half, including only two yards in the third quarter, to build on a 27-21 halftime advantage
Max Meylor completed 17-of-22 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns, ran for one score and caught a touchdown to lead the Warhawks, who totaled 490 yards of offense.
Alex Peete posted the fifth 100-yard rushing performance in his last six games and his sixth of the season with 32 carries for 181 yards and three touchdowns. Tyler Holte recorded five receptions for 85 yards and two scores, and Ryan Wisniewski eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the season with a five-catch, 69-yard effort.
Shane McGrail paced the defense with seven tackles. Justin Allen registered five stops, including three sacks, while Kyle Gallagher collected 1.5 sacks. Mark McGrath and Thomas Wojnowski each recorded interceptions.
After a blocked punt, scoop and score by Central, the Warhawks responded with a seven-play, 81-yard drive to tie the game on Holte’s 10-yard touchdown reception from Meylor just before the midway point of the first quarter.
Following a touchdown drive by the Dutch, UW-Whitewater responded again. A 59-yard kickoff return by Wisniewski set up UW-W with great field position, and Meylor took a keeper on third and goal for a 2-yard score to make it 14-13 with 2:07 on the clock.
The Warhawks found the end zone twice in the second quarter. After a Central punt, Meylor hit Holte up the seam of the field for a 36-yard touchdown at the 12:51 mark. Later in the period, McGrath’s interception and 25-yard return set up UW-W for a touchdown with 5:59 remaining. Wisniewski took the handoff from Peete on a reverse and hit a wide-open Meylor for a 4-yard score.
The Dutch drew to within 27-21 with less than one minute to play in the second.
The two teams exchanged punts to start the second half. Following Central’s second punt of the third quarter, UW-Whitewater took a 34-21 advantage thanks to a 13-yard run by Peete with 4:56 left.
Matt Maldonado made it a 16-point game just under two minutes into the fourth quarter with a 30-yard field goal.
The Warhawk defense forced a three-and-out, and UW-W went 50 yards on eight plays as Peete hustled around the right side and inside the pile-on on third-and-goal for a 44-21 lead with 8:54 on the clock.
Peete did all the work on UW-Whitewater’s final scoring drive, rushing six times for 63 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown at the 3:40 mark.
Wojniewski intercepted Blaine Hawkins in the end zone on the next drive to preserve the second-half shutout.
The Warhawks will make their 13th appearance in the semifinals of the NCAA Playoffs since joining Division III.
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