Today is Thursday, October 8, 2026
On Friday night, February 21, Whitewater Girls’ Wrestling had three ladies competing in the Sectional hosted at Whitewater High School for their opportunity to place in the top 2 and advance to the WIAA State Wrestling Individual Wrestling Championships at the Kohl Center. To note, girls’ wrestling is all one division so it can be the smallest schools in the state vs. the largest schools in the state.
Leading the way for the girls was Marianna Kubicz who wrestled her way into the championship match by starting off with a bye and then getting a strong first period pin after two great takedowns against her Janesville Craig foe. Marianna has been working hard on some technique on her feet and it showed in the semifinal match. In the championship, Marianna came out strong but ended up getting pinned. She did not have a wrestle back so she was able to hold onto her runner up finish and her ticket to Madison.
Payton Taylor was next up. Payton started the night off strong with a very nice first period pin against her Janesville Craig foe. She came out and got the early takedown and then showed her improvement over the course of the season, securing the pin. In the semi-finals, Payton dropped the match against a girl who really wrestles well. Payton was not out of the running for state just yet, but she would need to win her next match and then get some help and hope to get a wrestle back. She wrestled an outstanding match for 3rd as she just kept holding good position and wore her opponent down. Both girls were really tired, but Payton was able to dig deeper and secure the bronze medal with an 11-7 victory. Payton then got the help that she needed and the girl who had defeated her did win the championship, so Payton got a true second wrestle back to try to get to state. In this match she came out and got the opening takedown and was very close to turning the girl with just a slight movement of her body position but unfortunately went the wrong way and got pinned. This was Payton’s first year of wrestling, so with another year of experience that positioning will improve.
Closing out our girls competing was A’Lani Ross who had a difficult first round draw. Her opponent had taken 3rd at state as a freshman and was a state champion last year. This was unfortunate, as with the girls and division 1 boys if you lose your first round, you are eliminated. The Milton girl proved that she is one of the best in the state getting the first period takedown. A’Lani had a strong senior season and has nothing to be ashamed of; it was just unfortunate with the “luck of the draw.”
Marianna will be competing in Madison at the Kohl Center. Wrestling will begin at 2:00 pm on Thursday afternoon, February 27.
Article and Photos Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
The Whippet Swim Team finished out the season on some incredible swims at the State Meet on Friday, February 21st. Cruz Aranda started us off with a strong performance in the 200 Freestyle, finishing 14th with a time of 1:51.18. Cruz was then up in the 100 Freestyle where he swam a best time of 50.10! Myles Morse rocked his 500 Freestyle going right on his best time with a time 5:21.15. It was fun to watch his season and his high school swim career close out at the state meet!
The relays really put on a show! In the 200 Freestyle Relay (Jack Hefty, Langdon Coburn, Mateo Bazeley, Cruz Aranda), those boys were chasing a school record and they got that school record and absolutely crushed it. The previous school record was set in 2019 with a time of 1:33.24. Each of them went out and went season best splits and broke the record by nearly 3 seconds. The school record now sits at 1:30.89! Jack Hefty led the way with a lifetime best 23.24; that time puts him 5th all-time on the Whippet Top 10 List. Langdon Coburn got under 23 seconds with a time of 22.97, Mateo Bazeley put up the fastest split with 22.19, and Cruz Aranda rounded us out with a time of 22.49.
Cruz Aranda, Jack Hefty, Langdon Coburn, and Mateo Bazeley closed out the night with an 8th place finish in the 400 Freestyle Relay, dropping 7.28 seconds from last week’s sectional time with a 3:22.77. Cruz Aranda led the way with a time of 50.68, Jack Hefty posted a 50.71, Langdon Coburn went a 51.19, and Mateo brought it home with a 50.19. The boys won their heat and moved up 7 spots from their original 15th seed coming into the meet.
Congratulations to the Whippet Swim Team on a phenomenal season!
Article and Photos Courtesy of Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
ReynoldsSM07@uww.edu
On Friday night, February 14, the Girls’ Wrestling Team traveled to Mukwonago High School to participate in the Girls’ Regional Wrestling Tournament. This tournament consisted of 22 teams with girls wrestling to place in the top four of their weight class to advance to the Girls’ Sectional to be hosted by Whitewater High School on Friday, February 21. The girls are all in one division so participants range from Badger High School to a small division school like Catholic Central. Based on our location in the state this posed as a huge challenge for the girls.
All of our Whippet Girls wrestled very well on Friday night. Yes, there were disappointed ladies at the end of the day as unless you do not qualify in the top four you realize your season has come to an end. The coaches truly believe our girls are not ready to be finished with their season.
Leading the way for the Whippets was Marianna Kubicz who went 3-0 on the day securing a pin in the semi-finals and then a strong double leg takedown to start the championship match, unfortunately hurting the young lady she was wrestling who had to injury default.
Coming in 3rd place with an outstanding last match of the night for her was Payton Taylor who was in a very close match throughout, however continued to hold good positions. She was able to use her power in the end to get the opponent out of position scoring the decisive takedown near the end of the 3rd period. Payton is in her first year of wrestling but does a great job listening and adjusting during matches.
Rounding out our qualifiers was A’Lani Ross. A’Lani started her night off in great fashion with a 2nd period technical fall 17-0. She unfortunately dropped her semi-final match. In the 3rd place match she found herself in a tough battle with her opponent and was unable to finish with the victory but still secured her position on Friday night with a 4th place finish.
Taking 5th place and just missing out on the opportunity to advance was Atreya Wilson. Atreya won her 5th place match doing extremely well coming back from a tough loss early in the tournament and picking up a couple of wins to stay in contention. Unfortunately, the girl that Atreya needed to win the 3rd place match lost, so that girl took fourth. Had the other girl won, Atreya would have had the opportunity to wrestle for true 4th. She is an alternate so if something were to happen over the course of the week, she could be given the call up, so she will still keep her nose to the grind.
Other girls who competed with all their hearts included Isabelle Cantu who took 6th losing a very tough match for 5th. She was so close to pinning the girl but just couldn’t get the 2nd shoulder blade down. Ema Aranda was in the same boat, riding tough, but could not turn a girl with very flexible shoulders. Silvia Harris participated in the largest bracket in the tournament and wrestled well throughout, securing a very nice win by pin in her second match but was unable to get into the placement match. Aubrey Fuoco had a great last match, but inexperience showed, and she came up short. Vivian Harris drew a young lady who is someone you would want to come and watch on Friday night as she is so technically and physically strong. Vivian then came back, losing her final match and ending her first season in high school wrestling. To close out our girls was Alexa Arredondo who showed heart wanting to compete, battling through being not 100%.
Friday night Whitewater High School hosts the Girls’ Sectional starting at 5:00. The top two girls from each weight class will advance to the state tournament held at the Kohl Center. If you want to see some really good girls’ wrestling it is recommended you come to Whitewater on Friday night as many will argue this will be the toughest sectional in the state with many highly ranked girls participating.
Article Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
The Whippet Boys’ Swim Team had a very fun and exciting day at the WIAA Sectional in Milton on Saturday, February 15. The swimmers all posted great times and even had a few STATE QUALIFIERS!
Qualifying for the State Meet on Friday, February 21st are:
- Cruz Aranda 200 FR & 100 FR
- Myles Morse 500 FR
- 200 Freestyle Relay: Jack Hefty, Langdon Coburn, Mateo Bazeley, Cruz Aranda
- 400 Freestyle Relay: Cruz Aranda, Jack Hefty, Langdon Coburn, Mateo Bazeley
Finishing in the Top 16 at Sectionals:
- 200 Medley Relay (8th – 1:57.61) – Miles Nickelsburg, Jack Hefty, Myles Morse, Caleb Kluck
- 200 Freestyle:
- Cruz Aranda (8th – 1:50.67) – 3rd on the Whippet Top 10 List
- Miles Nickelsburg (12th – 2:07.40) *Best Time
- Sam Nickelsburg (16th – 2:23.41) *Best Time
- 50 Freestyle:
- Mateo Bazeley (11th – 24.02) Myles Morse (26.11) *Best Time Caleb Kluck (26.80) *Best Time
- Wyatt Esch (27.00) *Best Time
- 100 Fly:
- Langdon Coburn (7th – 58.42) – 6th on the Whippet Top 10 List
- Sam Nickelsburg (11th – 1:09.15) *Best Time
- 100 Freestyle:
- Cruz Aranda (5th – 50.24) – 5th on the Whippet Top 10 List Jack Hefty (12th – 53.12) – 10th on Whippet Top 10 List Mateo Bazeley (13th – 53.46)
- Caleb Kluck (1:00.18) * Best Time
- 500 Freestyle:
- Myles Morse (7th – 5:19.23) – 6th on the Whippet Top 10 List
- Miles Nickelsburg (13th – 5:43.22) *Best Time
- 200 Freestyle Relay (5th – 1:33.94) – Jack Hefty, Langdon Coburn, Mateo Bazeley, Cruz Aranda
- 100 Backstroke:
- Langdon Coburn (11th – 1:01.77) – 8th on the Whippet Top 10 List
- Wyatt Esch (16th – 1:13.45) *Best Time
- 400 Freestyle Relay (5th – 3:30.05) – Cruz Aranda, Jack Hefty, Langdon Coburn, Mateo Bazeley
Come watch the boys compete one last time at the WIAA State Meet on Friday, February 21st. Swimming starts at 5:30 pm!
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 101st Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Swimming and Diving Championships will be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21-22, at Waukesha South High School in Waukesha, Wis.
TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket prices for each tournament session are $9 plus online fees, and they are only available to be purchased on-line on the WIAA website through GoFan, the WIAA ticketing partner, at: https://www.wiaawi.org/Tickets#42691538-boys-swimming.
MEET INFORMATION: The Division 2 championships will be held Friday, with the Division 1 championships to follow on Saturday. The Division 2 diving competition begins Friday at 1:30 p.m., and the swimming finals will follow at 5:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIPS LIVE ON WIAA.TV: Every event of the WIAA State Boys Swimming and Diving Championships will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a subscription basis. To purchase a subscription to the live programming for only $11.99 per month, log-on to www.wiaa.tv or www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the “Subscribe Now” link located at the top right area of the page. Archived streams of the meets will be available on demand on the NFHS Network 72 hours after the tournament with a subscription.
Further information on the meet is available at State Boys Swimming & Diving Championships Preview
Article and Photos Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
ReynoldsSM07@uww.edu
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