Today is Monday, November 25, 2024
In beautiful La Crosse, Wisconsin, athletes from the Whitewater Track and Field program competed their guts out at the highest level with several athletes advancing to Saturday’s final day of competition.
Traysen Thomason started things off in the 100m dash with an incredible start out of the blocks and placed 2nd in his run, running 11.16 into a headwind. Combining the heats qualified Traysen into the final seeded fifth.
Next up was the girls’ 4x200m relay. The quartet of A’lani Ross, Sydney Schilt, Calli Grosinske, and Athena Soto ran their second fastest of the season to stop the clock in 1:49.02. They placed 14th overall and will not advance into Saturday’s final.
Ethan Dugan breezed through his 400m prelim in 49.01 to win his heat and is the second fastest seed going into Saturday’s final.
The final event was the boys’ 4x400m relay. The team of Ethan Dugan, Quincy Boudreau, Jack Hefty, and Nate Holden debuted a different relay order and strategy in the prelim. It paid off as the team handed off in first place at every exchange and was clear of the chaos that can sometimes clutter up the exchanges in this event. They placed third in their heat and advanced to the finals as the fourth seed. Their time of 3:24.38 is the fifth fastest time ever run in program history, and just shy of a full second from being school record holders. They will get another chance to give it their all Saturday in the final.
Jack Hefty will also compete on day two in the 1600 where he looks to defend his state title from one year ago in the same event.
Go, Whippets!
Article Submitted by Chad Carstens
Whitewater High School Track and Field Coach
ccarstens@wwusd.org
By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
May 23, 2024
Myrtle Beach, SC – The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s and women’s track and field programs opened competition in the 2024 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Thursday, May 23.
Gracie Holland competing in the pole vault at the 2024 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship (Credit: Olivia Zinanni)
Gracie Holland led the way with a runner-up finish in the pole vault competition. Holland cleared the bar on her second attempt at 4.01 meters (13-1.75) to break the program record in the event. She is now a two-time national runner-up (2022) and three-time All-American (2023, fourth) outdoors. Adding in her national title indoors (2023) along with another All-America finish in 2022 (5th), Holland is now a five-time All-American in her signature event.
Two Warhawks advanced to the finals in their events Thursday. Christian Patzka won his heat of the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:03.96 to qualify for the finals scheduled for tomorrow evening. Justin Krause posted a time of 3:52.90 to finish sixth and qualify for the finals in the 1,500-meter run. That final is slated for Saturday afternoon.
Tina Shelton competed in a pair of events Thursday. She registered a career-best time of 24.37 to finish 15th in the prelims in the 200-meter dash. That mark is sixth-fastest in program history. Shelton joined teammates Hannah Bilodeau, Jacqueline Kornowski and Danielle Pouska in the 4×100 meter relay. The squad crossed the line in 46.94, just .08 away from qualifying for the finals in the event.
In the final event of the evening, Gunner Schlender gave it his all in a tough 10,000-meter run. The heat and humidity created an interesting race as Schlender held fifth for over half of the race. A couple of big moves from a few athletes stretched the group and Schlender crossed the line 14th with a time of 31:28.27.
On the docket for Friday, Shelton will be back in action for the prelims of the 100-meter dash and Patzka will go for a defense of his 2023 national title in the steeplechase. Saturday’s slate features both Patzka and Schlender competing in the 5,000 while Shelvin Garrett II and Jordan Hall will compete in the triple jump. Kenni Czarnecki will also represent UWW in the hammer throw.
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team [D3baseball.com end of regular season #5] is headed to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship this week. The eight-team championship is slated to run Friday, May 31 through Thursday, June 6. The North Coast Athletic Conference in combination with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and the Lake County Captains are hosting the championship at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake, Ohio.
LOCATION – CLASSIC AUTO GROUP PARK (35300 Vine St., Eastlake, OH)
Classic Auto Group Park is home of the Lake County Captains, the High A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The stadium features 6,500 seats and an upper level of suites.
TICKETS (Purchase Here)
Tickets will be available at the entrance to the stadium on the day of the game or in advance here. Tickets can be purchased on a per-game basis or via an all-session package. Per game ticket prices are $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors (62+). All-session packages for students and seniors are $25 and $40 for adults.
PARKING/TAILGATING
Parking will be available in lots around the stadium. Tailgating is allowed as space permits.
LODGING/AREA INFORMATION
Please visit the tournament page for more information on the Eastlake area including lodging, the stadium, attractions and food.
CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT (Interactive Bracket | Printable Bracket)
The championship is split into two four-team double-elimination brackets. The winners of each bracket advance to the Championship Series, a best-of-three series set to begin Wednesday. The Warhawks’ four-team pod includes their first round opponent Randolph-Macon, Salve Regina and Birmingham Southern. The other bracket includes Pomona-Pitzer, Misericordia, Endicott and Lynchburg.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP OPENER
UW-Whitewater (40-9) will open the 2024 NCAA Division III Championship against Randolph-Macon (33-14). The matchup will be the first between the two squads in program history.
The Warhawks claimed the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles to punch their ticket in the NCAA tournament. Cruising through regional action, UWW won a three-game series over UW-La Crosse in Super Regionals to secure their spot in the DIII College World Series.
RMC received an at-large bid into the 2024 postseason tournament. The regular season Old Dominion Athletic Conference champions won a NCAA Regional hosted at Penn State Harrisburg before defeating Adrian College in a three-game secures to punch their ticket into the final eight.
The Warhawks have the most championship experience of any team competing in Ohio this week. UW-Whitewater has seven DIII College World Series appearances in program history including national titles in 2005 and 2014.
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Game 1 box score
Game 2 box score
By Broderick P. Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team is heading to the World Series for the first time since 2016 after overcoming Friday’s loss to UW-La Crosse. The Warhawks battled back with a 8-0 first game before a 8-2 victory in the second game punched the Warhawks’ ticket to Eastlake, Ohio.
In the first game, the Warhawks opened up the scoring right in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead.
With Cade Berendt (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) doing his work on the mound, the Warhawks held the Eagles off the base path for much of the game. The Eagles did not have a runner past second the entire game.
A huge fourth inning added four more runs to the lead. Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) started off the scoring with a solo home run.
The Warhawks scored three more runs between the sixth & seventh, with the defense keeping the Eagles from scoring. The Warhawks forced game three with an 8-0 shutout win.
Berendt picked up the win, pitching one of his career best games in the battle. He pitched all 9 innings, recording a career-high 13 strikeouts as well as his first career complete game shutout.
The Warhawks carried the momentum forward into the second game of the day, scheduled to begin only 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game, after tying the series up 1-1.
UWW struck first once again, with Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port) blasting a two-run homer in the bottom of the third to go up 2-0. The next inning, the Warhawks added two more to their lead, going up 4-0.
The Eagles scored their first run of the day on a sacrifice fly in the top of 5th, but the Warhawks answered back with a RBI single from Aaron Holland (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) in the bottom of the frame.
The Warhawk lead was closed to just three runs in the top of the sixth as UW-La Crosse added another run to make it 5-2.
But in the bottom of the eighth, Matt Scolan (Downers Grove, Ill./South) all but sealed the game with a three-run homer to put the Warhawks up 8-2.
The freshman pitcher Jack Hagen (San Clemente, Cal./San Clemente) only needed three outs and the Warhawks sealed their spot in the 2024 NCAA DIII World Series.
Hagen picked up his ninth win of the season, pitching the whole game. He allowed only eight hits, with no runs earned on the game.
Offensively, the Warhawks had home runs from Frank, Scolan, and Cootway between the two games. Frank and Scolan each had three RBIs in the second game. Holland had two RBIs in the first game.
The Warhawks will advance to the NCAA DIII World Series held in Eastlake, Ohio from May 31 to June 7. The tournament will be two double-elimination pods of four-teams. The winners of each pod will play a best of three series for the Championship. For more information visit https://www.ncaa.com/sports/baseball/d3
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