Today is Friday, July 26, 2024
This past week, before the Big Foot game, five seniors were honored for their contributions to the Whitewater Softball Program. These Whippets have had a positive impact this year as well as throughout their high school careers. The seniors will be missed, but we wish them well in their future endeavors.
Article and Photo Submitted by Ron Sdano
Whitewater High School Head Softball Coach
rsdano@wwusd.org
Saturday, May 13, was an incredible day at the track for the Whitewater High School Track and Field team. In the team competitions, both the boys’ and girls’ teams finished as team runners-up to strong teams from McFarland. Overall, the girls scored 104 points behind McFarland’s 133, and the boys put up 121 points to McFarland’s 129.5. This was the boys’ best team finish since they were RVC champions in 2019, and the girls’ best finish since the 2011 season.
Girls’ Recap:
The girls’ team scored a majority of their points in the sprints, as they placed seven individuals across the 100, 200, and 400-meter dashes. In the 100, sophomore A’lani Ross was 5th, and seniors Kindyl Kilar and Maddie Buehler earned medals by crossing the finish line in 3rd and 1st, respectively. Buehler’s time of 12.54 in the preliminary round was a season’s best, and Kilar’s time of 12.60 in the prelim was a season’s and personal best, as well as a Top-10 time in Whitewater history. Buehler’s personal best of 12.41 from 2022 is #2 on the Top-10 list. The Whippets again were 1st-3rd-5th in the 200-meter dash, including freshman Sydney Schilt in 5th, Kilar in 3rd, and Buehler in 1st. Buehler’s time of 25.92 was a personal best, and also the second-best time in WHS Track and Field history. With her two first-place finishes, Maddie Buehler was also named the Rock Valley Conference Girls Track Athlete of the meet! Rounding up the sprint events, Kilar placed second in the 400-meter dash. Her time of 1:00.67 scored eight points for the team, and was an improvement to her #5 all-time mark from 2022.
In the distance events, Athena Soto used a strong kick in the second lap of the 800-meter run to finish in 5th place. Freshman Mady Hefty, returning to the track for the first time in several weeks due to injury, ran a personal best time in the 1600-meter run. She placed 7th, significantly outperforming her seed expectation. Nola Coburn ran a strategic race in the 3200-meter run, and was able to secure a point for the Whippets, as she crossed the finish line in 8th place.
The Whippets showed their depth across the relay events as well, earning medals in all four of those events. Kicking off the meet in the 4x800m relay, the team of Nola Coburn, Mady Hefty, Cara Yang, and Athena Soto outperformed their seed and placed 4th in their first time running the event this season. The 4x400m relay team of Calli Grosinske, Soto, Yang, and Sydney Schilt earned silver, which was a great ending to the meet. The 4x100m relay team of Grosinske, Maddie Buehler, Emma Weigel, and A’lani Ross also placed second. Their time of 50.75 was also good for 8th all-time in Whitewater history! The final first place of the day for the girls came from the 4x200m relay team of Grosinske, Ross, Weigel, and Schilt. Their time of 1:49.82 earned them both a gold medal and a season’s best time in the event.
In the field events, the Whippets posted several medal-winning and point-scoring performances. In the Pole Vault, Evie Troxel earned a silver medal with her vault of 10’-0”, and teammate Izzy Dieter placed 6th. Dieter also had a strong day in the Discus, as she earned a bronze medal with her toss of 104’-7”. Capping off her strong day in individual events, Kindyl Kilar placed 8th in the Long Jump with a jump over 15’. It was only her second time attempting the event.
Boys’ Recap:
The boys also had a strong showing in the sprint events. In the 100-meter dash, sophomore Traysen Thomason ran a personal best of 11.27 to place second. His time moves him into the WHS Top-10 list’s #10 spot. Thomason also placed in the 200-meter dash, earning a medal for his 4th place performance. In the 400-meter dash, junior Ethan Dugan earned the first Conference Championship of his career, cruising to a first-place finish in a time of 50.86. Dugan’s time is 7th all-time in Whitewater Track and Field history.
The boys also had a strong showing in the distance events on the track, which were kicked off by a 1st place performance from Jack Hefty in the 1600-meter run. Jack’s time of 4:23.25 is #5 all-time. Nate Holden also placed 8th in that same race, adding a point to the team’s total. In the 3200-meter run, Hefty returned to the track to earn a silver medal in the event. Teammate Xavier Zei also added a 7th place finish in the event.
Several of the boys’ relay teams outperformed their expected seed times and finishes. At the beginning of the meet, the 4x800m relay team of Miles Nickelsburg, Xavier Zei, Chad Hein, and Nate Holden placed 6th. The 4x100m relay team of Curtis Rossmiller, Ty Hagedorn, Nate Black, and Akamion McHenry placed 5th. The 4x200m relay of Rossmiller, Black, McHenry, and Quincy Boudreau outperformed their seed and earned a silver medal as they crossed the finish line in second place. And, in the final event of the day, the Whippets crossed the finish line first, securing a gold medal in the 4x400m relay. The team of Boudreau, Traysen Thomason, Rossmiller, and Ethan Dugan ran a strong time of 3:32.81.
The Whippets continued their balanced scoring as they performed well across the field events as well. In the throws, the Whippets earned 4th and 3rd place points in the Shot Put from Jake Kuhlow and Connor Raupp. Kuhlow and Raupp also teamed up to place 4th and 1st in the Discus. Raupp’s winning toss of 147’-0” secured his defense of the RVC Discus title, as he became a 2-time Conference champion in the event. In the Triple Jump, David Rubio bounded out to a 5th place finish with a personal record mark of 38’-5”. In the Pole Vault, senior CJ Tomomitsu placed 2nd with a personal best vault of 12’-6”. Finally, Jaylyn Ewing, a newcomer to the Whippet Track & Field squad this year, earned a gold medal and a Conference championship in the boys’ High Jump. Ewing’s jump of 6’-0” was a personal best, and better than any other jumper’s attempts on Saturday.
The Whippets will be back in action on Tuesday and Thursday this week, in their final Frosh/Soph competitions at Evansville. The following week, the team begins their journey to the State Meet, with the Regional Meet on Monday, May 22, at Big Foot, and the Sectional Meet on Thursday, May 25, at McFarland. At both meets that week, competitors placing in the Top 4 of their events move on to the next competition. Congratulations to all the Whippet athletes, and best of luck the rest of the season!
Full results from the RVC Meet are available at https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/511859/results
Article Submitted by Matt Green
Whitewater High School Head Track and Field Coach
mgreen@wwusd.org
Photos Courtesy of Bob Mischka
Whitewater Soccer played their final conference game against Evansville on Monday, May 8.
Evansville won 4-0, with goals by Jaden LeRoy (6’, 40’), Alli Horgen (25’), and Kendra Frinfrock.
Marina Linos had 8 saves in goal for the Whippets, and MacKenna Slater had 6 saves for Evansville.
Article Submitted by Maddy Blain
Whitewater High School Head Girls’ Soccer Coach
mblain@wwusd.org
File Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka
On Friday night, May 5, the Whitewater Track & Field team traveled to Edgerton for the 50th Annual Tider Invitational. With warm weather, clear skies, and cheering supporters, the Whippets had a great showing in their final competition before the Rock Valley Conference Outdoor Meet. Overall, both teams held their own against some tough competition, as the Girls placed 5th and the Boys 7th.
The following athletes earned medals by placing in the Top 4 of their events:
- 100 Meter Dash – Maddie Buehler, 2nd, 12.83
- 200 Meter Dash – Sydney Schilt, 4th, 27.25
- 4×100 Meter Relay – Calli Grosinske, Maddie Buehler, Emma Weigel, Kindyl Kilar, 1st, 50.08*
- 4×200 Meter Relay – Calli Grosinske, A’lani Ross, Emma Weigel, Sydney Schilt, 1st, 1:50.57
- 4×400 Meter Relay – Maddie Buehler, Athena Soto, Sydney Schilt, Kindyl Kilar, 3rd, 4:20.82
- Pole Vault – Evie Troxel, 2nd, 9’-6”; Izzy Dieter, 4th, 9’-3”
- Discus – Izzy Dieter, 2nd, 118’-1”
- 100 Meter Dash – Traysen Thomason, 3rd, 11.54
- 1600 Meter Run – Jack Hefty, 3rd, 4:32.39
- 4×400 Meter Relay – Traysen Thomason, Jack Hefty, Nate Holden, Quincy Boudreau, 3rd, 3:32.70
- High Jump – Jaylyn Ewing, 3rd, 5’-10”
- Pole Vault – CJ Tomomitsu, 4th, 11’-6”
- Discus – Connor Raupp, 1st, 164’-10”, Jake Kuhlow, 2nd, 136’-10”
- Shot Put – Connor Raupp, 3rd, 48’-8.50”, Jake Kuhlow, 4th, 46’-2.25”
Along with scoring points and earning medals on Friday, several Whippet performances were able to crack the Whitewater Track & Field All-Time Top-10 List, including Connor Raupp in the Discus, who improved from #8 previously to #3 all-time with an 11’ personal best. Izzy Dieter, also in the discus, improved her #3 all-time mark by several inches, and is closing in on the #2 spot all-time.
*The highlight of the night, however, belonged to the Girls sprints. While winning the event by well over 3 seconds, the Whippet girls 4×100 meter relay etched their names into the history books, establishing a new school record in the relay. Their time of 50.08 bested the previous record, set in 2004, by over two tenths of a second. The relay team included Sophomore Calli Grosinske and Seniors Maddie Buehler, Emma Weigel, and Kindyl Kilar. Congratulations!!
Next week, the Whippets compete on Saturday at Big Foot High School for the Rock Valley Conference Outdoor Meet, with competition beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Article and Photo Submitted by Matt Green
Whitewater High School Head Track and Field Coach
mgreen@wwusd.org
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