Three members of the JV team earn gold in tournament
By Heather Ruenz
Editor
Members of the Whitewater High School wrestling team had a bit of a reprieve last week but coaches took advantage of the break from competition to encourage teambuilding activities.
With a day off of school due to it being the end of the semester, the team had a morning practice last Friday, featuring several different exercise stations. Following that, many of them went to coach Gomez’s home for a hearty breakfast and a day of ice fishing.
According to coach John Schimming, the student-athletes “had pretty good luck on the ice as there were many pike and bass pulled through the ice. The big fish of the day went to the smallest wrestler.”
Indeed, as Tyler Gamble, a 106-pound Whippet wrestler pulled in a 29-inch Northern Pike on the fishing excursion.
But the fun didn’t end there for the wrestlers as members of both the high school and middle school teams boarded a bus and went to the Kohl Center in Madison to watch a dual college meet.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers played host to the No. 2 ranked team in the country – the Iowa Hawkeyes, according to Schimming.
“The Whippets had great seats as they watched the Iowa team use constant pressure to defeat Wisconsin 31-3,” he said.
On Saturday it was back to competition and another bus ride for the WHS junior varsity team as they traveled to Beloit Turner for a tournament.
Schimming said the team wrestled well against some “tough JV kids from Turner, Waukesha South, Beloit Memorial, Jefferson, and Edgerton, just to name a few.
“Going undefeated on the day and bringing home a gold medal included Ernesto Magana, Darrick Riggs and Henri Kinson,” Schimming said, the first gold medals earned by Riggs and Kinson in their first year of wrestling.
“It was neat to see the excitement of getting their wins during the day,” he said.
Higmet Dauti also medaled, earning silver though he came close to winning the final match, the coach said.
“In the gold medal match Dauti came out and got the first takedown but unfortunately was unable to hold onto the lead,” Schimming said.
Overall, the head coach said, the team wrestled well yet showed some things the coaching staff will work on with them in the coming week.
Schimming said he was appreciative of the efforts put forth to allow the team to spend time together over the weekend.
“Thank you to coach Gomez for allowing the team to come to his place on Friday for great team bonding during ice fishing,” Schimming said. “Thank you also… on a wonderful job planning and organizing the bus trip for the high school and middle school wrestlers to watch a Division 1 college wrestling meet.
“What a great experience for all of the student-athletes,” Schimming said.
