The Whippet Swim Team had four compete at JV Conference on Tuesday, February 4th. Angel Kilar, Sam Nickelsburg, Xavier Ortiz and Isaac Straight all showed up and swam some really strong and impressive races.

The four of them teamed up to compete in the 200 Medley Relay. Each of them put up impressive splits, Xavier 37.41 in the 50 Back, Isaac 40.44 in the 50 Breaststroke, Sam 32.71 in the 50 Fly, and Angel 36.43 in the 50 FR. Their times were good enough for a 3rd place finish!

Sam crushed his 200 Freestyle dropping 7 seconds and securing a 5th place medal finish!

Isaac and Angel both swam some pretty fast 50 Freestyles finishing 10 & 12 respectively.

Angel had an 8th place finish in the 100 Freestyle going right on his best time!

The four of them worked together to secure another 3rd place finish, this time in the 200 Freestyle Relay!

Isaac and Xavier took on the 100 Breaststroke. Isaac dropped 3 seconds to go a time of 1:26.61 and take home a 4th place medal. Xavier also dropped over 4 seconds to go a best time of 1:36.54 and finished 7th overall.

Up next, the boys will be competing at the Southern Lakes Conference Meet at Beloit Memorial on Saturday, February 8. Swimming starts at 11 am; we hope to see you there!

Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
ReynoldsSM07@uww.edu

Late Saturday morning, February 1, leading into early afternoon provided fans of wrestling with some great action to take in as the Whitewater Boys’ and Girls’ Wrestling teams closed out their home season with dual meets against the Panthers of Oregon.

The day started off with 20 great match ups between the two teams as weights aligned very well and all students from both teams had the opportunity to compete in front of their parents and family on parent/senior night. At the end of the JV competition the Whippets found to be on the positive side of approximately ⅔ of the matches so it was a great showing and very positive way to close out the home season.

Girls’ Wrestling Hosts First Ever Dual Meet Under the Light

Following the Boys’ JV the Girls’ Team had the opportunity to wrestle under the spotlight for the first time ever at Whitewater High School. This was a very nice experience as it had the exact same feel that fans are used to seeing when the boys compete, with the spotlight and their famous 30 seconds of walkout music that pumps them up. The girls wrestled very well with Isabelle Cantu, Aubrey Fuoco, Payton Taylor, and Marianna Kubicz all coming away with wins on the night. Aubrey had the match of the night as she was losing 3-0 in the 3rd period. She chose to go on top when it was her choice and she used lots of grit to turn her opponent to take a lead 4-3 and then turned her again this time to seal the pin. It was a very nice moment for a young lady who had just joined wrestling for the first time this year. Marianna Kubicz closed things out for the girls with a 2nd period reversal and then turned the girl to her back to secure the pin for the Whippets. Unfortunately, Oregon Girls were too much to handle and the Whippets dropped the dual meet 24-42, but it was definitely a step in the right direction for the growth of girls’ wrestling in the area having a dual meet with the same atmosphere as we are used to seeing the boys have at home.

Boys Fall to Oregon in Close Dual Meet

The boys’ team closed out the day’s events with a very good dual meet that saw them fall just short to a very strong Panther team. Oregon is a favorite to win their regional in two weeks, and the Whippets held their own. Unfortunately, in the end a couple of tough losses were too much for the Whippets to overcome, falling 36-38. Junior Soto got the team on the board first with what may have been his best wrestling match of his career as he wrestled extremely smart vs an opponent that was significantly bigger than he was. Junior was able to stay in great position on top and used perfect technique to turn his opponent over for the pin. The Whippets followed with a couple of forfeits at 106 and 113 by Cooper Housel and Juan Garrafa. This brought us to one of the featured matches of the day where Jarvis Porcaro had a very talented opponent from Oregon. Jarvis just missed out on a takedown on the edge of the mat in the first period as his foot just came off the mat; as they say sports are inches from success or failure sometimes. This really could have been a swing in the match. Jarvis ended up wrestling to the bitter end but dropped a tough decision. After a couple more tough loses for the Whippets, Connor Friend came out and went to work securing a pin to bring the Whippets back where they needed to be, needing one win to secure a victory. Another pivotal match occurred at 150 pounds where Traysen Thomason had a great opponent whom he had narrowly beaten at the mid-states 7-6. This was a match that came right to the end with Traysen falling 7-8. Avi Kalra closed out the scoring for the Whippets with a pin at 165 to bring the score to the final of 36-38.

A big thank you goes out to all parents and family members who make wrestling possible for their sons and daughters. Also, a congratulations goes out to the seniors as they competed on the Whippet home wrestling mat for the final time on Saturday. It was a nice career for all of them, and we look forward to seeing what the future holds in the tournaments series as well as their future selves.

The Lady Whippets are next in action on Tuesday night, February 4, when they travel to Beloit Turner for a quad starting at 5:30. Both teams then close out the regular season on Wednesday night at Janesville Craig. Friday night sees the JV team traveling to East Troy to compete in the JV Conference Tournament followed by the boys’ and girls’ teams traveling to East Troy on Saturday morning for the RVC Conference Tournament. Wrestling begins on Saturday at 9:15.

Article Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org

Following a tough loss the night before, the boys’ varsity wrestling team traveled to Monroe for an individual tournament on Saturday, January 25. The boys recovered quickly from the previous day’s disappointment. Since the tournament was individual, each wrestler had their own personal goals for the day. It was inspiring to see them test their determination in the quest for victory and overcome adversity throughout the event.

Leading the way was Jarvis Porcaro. He opened the day by winning his first match by pinning his opponent. This victory propelled him into the semifinal match against a competitor from Belmont/Platteville, where he won decisively by a major decision, 15-1. This win advanced him to the finals against a tough wrestler from Boscobel/Wauzeka-Steuben. We believe this was one of Jarvis’s best matches of the year. He displayed persistence throughout the match and secured the victory with a last-second takedown.

As mentioned earlier, each wrestler had individual goals, and most were able to achieve at least some of them. Following Jarvis in the tournament standings were Jason Porras, Traysen Thomason, and Avi Kalra. All three wrestlers won their first-round matches but lost in the second round. This loss placed them in contention for fifth place, which they fought hard to attain. 

Overall, it was a very successful tournament. The Whippets finished 9th out of 16 teams, despite competing with only 11 wrestlers. The coaches were impressed with how the team performed after a tough loss the night before. As a team, they have committed to continuous improvement throughout the season, aiming to peak at the right time.

Article and Photo Courtesy of John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org

On Thursday, January 30th the Whippet Boys’ Swim Team held their final conference dual meet at home against Delavan-Darien. The Whippets closed out the regular season with a 126 to 32 win over the Comets. The boys went 21 of 28 best times and even had a few try out a new event.

Angel Kilar and Jack Hefty both swam the 200 Free for the first time this season, Angel swam an impressive 2:58.78. Jack won the event with a time of 2:00.86, with Mateo Bazeley close behind where he went a 2:02.90, dropping 8 seconds. Jack’s time put him 10th on the Whippet Top 10 List.

Andrew O’Toole gave the 200 IM a shot and had a great swim going a time of 2:48.93. Xavier Ortiz stepped up to the challenge and crushed his previous time by 20 seconds.

Sam Nickelsburg, Isaac Straight, Cruz Aranda, and Langdon Coburn all went best time in the 50 Free.

Jack Hefty dropped 4 seconds in his 100 Butterfly going a time of 1:02.66, and Myles Morse dropped 8 seconds going a time of 1:03.90.

Wyatt Esch continues to drop more time in the 100 Freestyle going a time of 1:02.50 while battling it out against teammate Andrew O’Toole who went a time of 1:02.36.

Langdon Coburn and Caleb Kluck both gave the 500 Freestyle a try for the first time. Langdon went a time of 5:47.80, and Caleb went a time of 6:54.94. Sam Nickelsburg had a massive time drop; he dropped over 42 seconds going a time of 6:38.94.

Myles Morse swam the 100 Backstroke for the first time this season going a 1:11.98.  Wyatt Esch dropped 3 seconds going a 1:14.50.

Cruz Aranda and Mateo Bazeley both swam the 100 Breaststroke for the first time. Cruz went a time of 1:10.70, which puts him 8th on the Whippet Top 10 List. Isaac Straight continues to drop time going a time of 1:29.60.

The Whippets are now headed into Championship Season. We have JV Conference up first on Tuesday, February 4th.

Article and Photo Submitted by Sarah Reynolds
Whitewater High School Head Swim Coach
ReynoldsSM07@uww.edu