On Saturday, February 19, seven Whitewater Wrestlers traveled to Richland Center to participate in the WIAA Sectional Wrestling Tournament. This is a very competitive tournament with eight wrestlers per weight class, all with the plan to place in the top three to advance to the state tournament.

Whitewater wrestled well on the day, with them all wrestling their hearts out and leaving it on the mat. In the end, the Whippets will have two young men participating at the Kohl Center on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Carter Friend wrestled very well all day, with three wins on his way to the Sectional Championship. He started the day with a 13-4 major decision, followed by a pin, and then a very competitive match in the finals, coming out on top 5-3. This will be Carter’s third trip to the state tournament.

Mason DePorter continued to have a great senior season by reaching the championship match by defeating his first two opponents by pin. Mason then had a tough match in the finals and then had to wrestle again 45 minutes later, and wrestled very well, coming out aggressive, but ended up on the short end, therefore taking 3rd place. This will be Mason’s first trip to the state tournament.

Jarvis Porcaro started the day off in a very positive way by pinning his first opponent. He then dropped his next two matches against two young men who will be in the state tournament. 

Traysen Thomason started his day against the number one ranked wrestler in the state and almost got the first takedown. He ended up losing both of his matches.

Leo Ortiz had tough draw as he dropped both of his matches against two guys that placed first and second in his weight class.

Rounding out the Whippet Wrestlers were Aaron Porras and Marcus DePorter who had tough first round losses and unfortunately did not get another match as their guy then lost their next match. 

The coaches are very happy with the performance of the seven guys on Saturday. There was disappointment in the results, as of course we wanted all seven to advance, but we are not disappointed in their effort. They wrestled hard, left it on the mat, and can look themselves in the mirror and be proud of their season’s accomplishments.

Article Submitted by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
Photo Courtesy of Bob Mischka