By Kevin Cunningham
Correspondent
Whitewater High School competed in an 11-team tournament at Monroe High School last Saturday.
Monroe took first while the Whippets placed second overall as a team.
“The day was definitely a rollercoaster for the team,” Whippets’ head coach John Schimming said. “We started off wrestling very well, winning nine of the first 13 matches contested, putting nine guys into the semifinals. (But) the next round did not go in our favor as we ended up losing seven of the nine semifinal matches.”
The two winners from the semifinal round were Marcus DePorter and Carter Friend.
DePorter pinned his opponent and Friend got a 17-5 victory to reach the finals.
At that point, Whitewater stood fourth in team scoring, but six wrestlers advanced to the bronze medal match in their particular weight classes, earning the Whippets points.
Whitewater was then first in the meet going into the final round, but Schimming said his team dropped too many last-round matches.
DePorter and Friend came away with second-place medals, while Dylan DuClos and Gehrig Monday earned third-place finishes.
Coming in fourth were CJ Tomomitsu, Cooper Hammond, Brian Porcaro, Jaden Salmieri, David Cushman, Denver Isbell and Will Leibbrand.
The Whippets travel to face Janesville Craig on Tuesday, Feb. 4, and the Rock Valley Conference meet is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start Saturday, Feb. 8, at Whitewater High School.
