The Whitewater Girls’ Wrestling Team had a busy week starting off with a trip to Lodi on Monday night, January 6, and closed it out with a 39-team tournament at Muskego on Saturday, January 11. Both of these events were very good for the girls as they had the opportunity to see some teams that they will be training to compete against in the tournament series which is a month away.
The girls wrestled well at Lodi coming in 3rd place out of the 8 teams competing. A’Lani Ross led the way for the Whippets going 3-0 on the night with two pins. Ema Aranda followed by going 2-1 on the night with 2 pins as well. Also going 2-1 was Payton Taylor who had a couple of very good matches that forced her to stay in good position in the closing moments to maintain her lead. She showed good shot defense which was nice to see as it is something we as a team have worked on for the girls.
On Saturday our girls then traveled to Muskego to compete in the 2025 Warrior Cup Girls’ Invitational. The tournament featured 39 teams from both large and small schools. Going into this event, our girls recognized that it would be a challenging day. Eleven girls participated, and they all agreed that their goals were to maintain a positive attitude and put in their best effort. With this focus, they knew they would wrestle well.
Leading the team was sophomore Ema Aranda, who achieved four impressive victories, propelling her to the championship match, where she fought hard but ultimately finished in second place. A’Lani Ross secured fourth place, gaining positive experiences that will help her improve her wrestling skills. Marianna Kubicz also finished in fourth place. As a team, the girls ended up in eighth place out of 39 teams.
This tournament was an excellent opportunity for the girls to identify areas for improvement both as individuals and as a team. They understand that some of their competitors that day will likely be the same ones they face at the end of the season. The girls are eager to rise to the challenge, work hard, and enhance their wrestling skills as the season progresses.
Article by John Schimming
Whitewater High School Head Wrestling Coach
jschimming@wwusd.org
