By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

Seven Warhawk football players represent the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on the 2023 All-Region 6 teams announced by D3football.com Wednesday. UW-Whitewater’s contingent consists of five First Team selections, one Second Team honoree and a Third Team pick. 

Senior defensive back Egon Hein became a three-time All-Region selection with First Team honors this season. A two-year team captain, Hein is a semifinalist for the 2023 Gagliardi Trophy and William V. Campbell Trophy. The First Team All-WIAC pick returned from injury to appear in seven contests. A lockdown defender frequently tasked with shutting down top receivers, Hein registered 22.0 tackles including 2.5 for losses while adding a pair of interceptions and five pass breakups this season.

Also representing the Warhawk defense with First Team honors this season, linebacker Joey Antonietti received his first All-Region nod. The sophomore led UWW in total tackles (90) and interceptions (4) while adding 5.5 tackles for a loss on the season. He ranked among the top ten in the WIAC in interceptions per game and tackles per game in 10 regular season contests.

Tamir Thomas was one of the top running backs in the nation all season. Through regular season games, Thomas ranked eighth in rush yards per carry (7.29) in Division III. In 10 games this season, Thomas averaged just under 100 yards per game, adding 12 rushing touchdowns including an 85-yarder. He added 75 yards on seven receptions with one receiving touchdown. On average, Thomas was responsible for 7.8 points per game in the regular season. The junior became the third fastest Warhawk back to reach 1,000 rushing yards hitting the milestone on his 139th carry (11th game this season) – the fastest since 1997 for UWW.  

Bolstering the Warhawks’ lucrative run game were offensive guard Alex Pethan and center John Pekar – both were First Team All-Region 6 selections this season. The pair helped UWW post phenomenal numbers in the ground game with 2,595 rushing yards, averaging six yards per carry for the regular season. In 706 drop backs, Pethan and Pekar combined to allow just one sack. Through the 10-game regular season slate, UW-Whitewater led the WIAC and ranked eighth nationally in rushing offense (259.5 yards per game). UWW also led the WIAC in fewest sacks allowed (.90 per game) while holding second in total offense (464.4 yards per game). In conference contests only, the Warhawks averaged 1.7 yards more per carry and had 528 more rushing yards than any other team. 

Matt Burba, a junior defensive tackle, earned Second Team All-Region 6 honors this season. In 10 games played, Burba registered 30 tackles including 7 for losses. He added 2.5 sacks for a total loss of 33 yards while forcing one fumble on the season. The 2023 First Team All-WIAC selection helped lead the league’s top defensive team (293.1 yards per game allowed), top scoring defense (18.0 points allowed per game) and best fourth-down defense (36.8 conversion percentage). 

Mason Stepanski added Third Team All-Region 6 honors for special teams play. The sophomore was a Second Team All-WIAC pick this season. Stepanski tallied 27 tackles, the majority coming on special teams coverage. He helped lead the WIAC’s third-best kickoff return defense (16.22 yards per return allowed). 

The Whitewater Boys’ Swim Team competed against Edgerton/Evansville on Tuesday, December 5. The team started conference with a win by finishing 1st in 10 of the 11 events. 

200 Medley Relay – Langdon Coburn, Jack Hefty, Cruz Aranda, and Myles Morse with a 1st place finish with a time of 2:04.00

200 Freestyle – Langdon Coburn with a 1st place finish and a time of 2:21.62. Wyatt Esch competed in this event for the first time and earned himself a time of 2:50.37. 

200 IM – Myles Morse with a 1st place finish and a time of 2:41.62 

50 Freestyle (JV) – Angel Kilar and Isaac Straight continue to drop time in this event. We are excited to see what the upcoming meets have in store for them. 

50 Freestyle (Varsity) – Cruz Aranda with a first-place finish and a time of 26.39. Sam Nickelsburg (30.70) and Caleb Kluck (30.49) had impressive swims as well.

100 Butterfly – Langdon Coburn placed 1st with a time of 1:06.21

100 Freestyle – Jack Hefty placed 1st with a time of 57.53. Caleb Kluck earned himself a best time of 1:13.38. That’s a 2 second time drop. 

500 Freestyle – Sam Nickelsburg with a 1st place finish and a time of 7:14.11. David Enns also had an impressive swim with a time of 8:26.09

100 Backstroke – Cruz Aranda (1:11.36) with a 1st place and Miles Nickelsburg (1:15.29) with a 2nd place finish.

100 Breaststroke – Jack Hefty with a 1st place finish and a time of 1:18.08. David Enns had a best time with a 1:40.23

400 Freestyle Relay – Cruz Aranda, Langdon Coburn, Myles Morse, and Jack Hefty with a 1st place finish and a time of 4:05.46. Then a 3rd place finish by Miles Nickelsburg, Sam Nickelsburg, Wyatt Esch, and Angel Kilar with a time of 5:16.16.

The Boys’ Swim Team is back in the pool on Saturday, December 9, at Elkhorn. We hope to see you all there!

Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org

The Whippet Swimmers traveled to Milton on Saturday, December 2nd to compete in the Tom Lieder Invitational. The Whippets placed 7th overall as a team.

Placing in the Top 16 include (Top 3 medal):

• 200 Medley Relay:
  • 7th – Langdon Coburn, Jack Hefty, Cruz Aranda, Myles Morse (2:00.14)
• 200 IM:
  • 4th – Cruz Aranda (2:23.94)
  • 6th – Jack Hefty (2:30.10)
• 100 Fly:
  • 7th – Cruz Aranda (1:04.45)
  • 16th – Sam Nickelsburg (1:22.54)
• 100 Free:
  • 4th – Jack Hefty (55.86)
• 100 IM:
  • 6th – Langdon Coburn (1:05.99)
• 200 Freestyle Relay:
  • 6th – Miles Nickelsburg, Wyatt Esch, Onyx Thompson, Caleb Kluck (2:04.29)
• 100 Backstroke:
  • 6th – Langdon Coburn (1:07.86)
• 400 Freestyle Relay (8 Swimmer swam a 50 Freestyle)
  • 2nd – Cruz Aranda, Langdon Coburn, David Enns, Miles Nickelsburg, Caleb Kluck, Sam Nickelsburg, Myles Morse, Jack Hefty (3:44.07)

The Whippets are back in action on Tuesday, December 5th in Edgerton at 5:30 p.m. 

Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org

The Whippet Boys’ Swim Team had an AMAZING night of racing at the Southern Lakes Conference Relay Championship Meet on Thursday, November 30th. The boys placed 5th overall as a team, two relay teams took home medals, and there were many impressive swims on the night!

The night started off with the Medley Relay team of Onyx Thompson, David Enns, Sam Nickelsburg, and Wyatt Esch. The boys each had impressive splits in their respective strokes, but most notable was Sam Nickelsburg’s 50 Fly with a time of 33.45 and Wyatt Esch’s 50 Freestyle of 32.63.

Miles Nickelsburg and Caleb Kluck joined David Enns and Sam Nickelsburg in the 200 Freestyle Relay. The boys had a fantastic race and out touched Burlington by 2 seconds to secure a 3rd place finish and were the first to take home some hardware for the Whippets!

Langdon Coburn, Jack Hefty, Myles Morse, and Cruz Aranda all teamed up to take on the 1000 Free Crescendo Relay and the 200 Butterfly Relay. They all had fantastic performances, placing 4th in the 1000 Free Relay with a time of 11:06.15 and 5th in the 200 Fly with a time of 1:56.98. Langdon Coburn had some impressive splits with 1:01.02 in his 100 FR and 27.15 in his 50 Fly.

The Whippets had two relays in the splash and dash of the evening. Each swimmer sprints one length of the pool for a total of 100 yards. Miles Nickelsburg, Onyx Thompson, Sam Nickelsburg, and David Enns won their heat and finished 7th overall with a time of 56.62. And Caleb Kluck, Angel Kilar, Wyatt Esch, and Isaac Straight all racing in their first meet ever, all swam a great race and placed 11th overall with a time of 1:08.77.

Miles Nickelsburg, Jack Hefty, Cruz Aranda, and Myles Morse put on a stellar performance in the 500 Freestyle Crescendo, 50 -100-150-200, a very fun race to watch where they battled back and forth with Badger with only 4 seconds separating them. They were able to clinch a second-place finish and take home a medal!

The 400 Backstroke relay of Langdon Coburn, Sam Nickelsburg, Onyx Thompson, and Miles Nickelsburg secured a 7th place finish.

We finished out the night with our 400 Freestyle Relay of Caleb Kluck, Wyatt Esch, David Enns, and Angel Kilar. All had some great times and have made some serious improvements from their first timed 100 Freestyles at practice during the first week.

Now that the first meet jitters are out of the way, the boys are ready for their next races on Saturday, December 2nd at the Milton Invite. Racing starts at 10 a.m.; we hope to see you there!

Article and Photos Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
sreynolds@wwusd.org