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The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
Sam Whittaker

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter

Also known as the voice of Millard West Hockey, Sam is a junior at Millard West beginning his first full year on the Catalyst Staff. He spent the summer working alongside Logan Moseley for the Corn Belt League gaining valuable broadcasting experience. In his free time, Sam cheers on the Tennessee Volunteers and Nashville Predators whenever he isn’t broadcasting or photographing Millard West sports.

All content by Sam Whittaker
Junior pitcher Dylan Swiercek delivers a pitch during the middle innings. Swiercek’s 58 pitches resulted in four strikeouts, and one hit en route to the 6-1 win over Millard North. “It was good to go out and compete for coach Frey’s 300th win,” Swiercek said. “You know a rival like North with a former coach of ours was obviously highly anticipated.”

Pitching past the Ponies

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
April 15, 2024

Teaching tech

Nathan Delaney and Sam Whittaker
March 21, 2024
Emotionally, junior Reece Wilson hugs his senior teammates Seamus Bygrave and Bryce Kriha following their playoff elimination. With seven total seniors on the roster, the Cats will look to rebuild through the off-season. “This team meant so much to me,” Wilson said. “I don’t have words for these seniors, all these guys from Joey to Bryce to Seamus, all of them gave it everything they had. It does sting knowing we lost but I couldn’t have been more proud because we gave it everything that last game.” Photo courtesy of Pete Wilson

Storm thrash Cats

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
March 8, 2024
Near the point, Wildcat senior defenseman Eddie Patchen readies to fire a shot. Patchen’s two goals in the game propelled the Cats to a 5-2 win, completing the season series sweep over the Millard South Patriots. “It’s always nice to be able to sweep a team in a season, no matter who they are,” Patchen said. “Communicating, passing, and practicing led to results on the powerplay. It just helps us stay motivated and boosts our momentum.” Photo courtesy of Whittaker Media

Cats claim Q

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
February 22, 2024

SuperBowl Predictions

Jacob Larson and Sam Whittaker
February 8, 2024
Millard West junior forward and captain Reece Wilson skates the puck up ice into the zone against a Prep defender. As the leader on the ice, Wilson evaluates not only himself but the team as a whole. “Our problem right now is just being able to create offense,” Wilson said. “We are a great team when we play good offense because we have a great defense to back us up. Emotion-wise the morale for the team honestly wasn’t too bad, we know this was a loss but we’re going to learn from it.” Photo by Whittaker Media

Jr. Jays soar past Cats

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
February 2, 2024

The Wildcat-nection

Nathan Delaney and Sam Whittaker
January 25, 2024
Senior Wildcat defenseman Eddie Patchen observes as the puck prepares to drop on a faceoff. Although without a point in this game, Patchen and the Cats held strong defensively en route to a 2-1 win over Papio. “It’s mainly to just keep doing what I’m doing because clearly in those situations it was working,” Patchen said. “So long as I’m not overthinking the plays I make then I should be able to keep up the defensive work. I think as long as we focus on playing as a team and not worrying about who our opponent is then I believe we can keep this trend going.” Photo courtesy of Whittaker Media

Cats keep climbing

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
January 17, 2024
Senior forward Kerek Heithier lines up near the faceoff against a Metro forward. Heithier picked up the lone goal for Millard West which was his first goal of the season. “I expect the rest of the season to be very fun,” Heithier said. “If we keep up the fight we could get more wins this season.” Photo courtesy of Whittaker Media

Cats clash champs

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
December 19, 2023
Freshman Cade Walker weaves his way through the lane to get an easy lay in. Walker would finish with seven points propelling the Cats to a win. ‘’Being a freshman on this team has put a lot of pressure on me, but playing my game has helped me relieve the nerves,’’ Walker said. ‘’This win felt good especially because it was on the road, so you could say we walked in their trap and set their trap.’’

[Photo] Wildcats blow away the Storm

Brady Mar, Staff Writer
December 18, 2023

West celebrates French Week

Trey Jochims and Sam Whittaker
December 14, 2023
Near the point, senior defenseman Eddie Patchen readies to fire his one-timer shot. Patchen picked up his third goal of the season en route to Millard West’s 5-2 overpowering of Fremont. “We need to take our practices seriously while also just staying loose and not putting too much pressure on ourselves,” Patchen said. “Our next game is against Prep, so we just need to prepare ourselves for that game.” Photo by Whittaker Media

A jungle battle

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
December 4, 2023

Vending wars

Connor Michalski and Sam Whittaker
November 21, 2023
Denying a shot in warmups, senior netminder Seamus Bygrave prepares for the game against Elkhorn. Bygrave picked up his second shutout of the season where he was only tested with six shots. “We have to carry our momentum over,” Bygrave said. The first three games have gone very well, and continuing a good forecheck, and producing are our keys to success. I have to be sure I’m prepared to face a lot of shots at any time because you never really know when you may get bombarded with shots during a game.” Photo courtesy of Whittaker Media

Cats clobber Elkhorn

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
November 13, 2023

New way of hearing

Trey Jochims and Sam Whittaker
November 8, 2023
Senior defenseman Eddie Patchen works around a Creighton Prep defender. Although he didn’t tally any points, Patchen was a key contributor in limiting the large number of chances the Jr. Jays had. “We can use this game as a good reference to why we need to take our time,” Patchen said. “We started to rush things even when no one was pressuring them which led to odd-man rushes on Seamus. If we kept a tight d-zone, didn’t chase the puck, and created space for more time on offense, I believe this game could have ended differently.” (Photo courtesy of Whittaker Media)

Preseason problems

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
October 30, 2023

Preparing for the future

Jack Schense and Sam Whittaker
October 18, 2023
Released in October of 2023, superstar Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar graces the cover of the 33rd installment in the NHL video game series.

A whole new feel

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
October 17, 2023
Senior goaltender Seamus Bygrave denies a shot with his left pad. The senior netminder had 24 saves en route to the Wildcats dismantling of Elkhorn in a 6-1 victory. “I’m excited for the new season,” Bygrave said. “It’s my 11th year playing, so I definitely want to make the best of it. I’m definitely optimistic about this year.”

Working off the rust

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
October 3, 2023

New age of technology

Sam Whittaker, Nathan Delaney, and Jack Schense
September 28, 2023

Good Standing PSA

Blake Kahler and Sam Whittaker
September 14, 2023
Willamsburg’s colorful Margherita, Cup & Char Grandma, and Garlic Knots.

A Pizz-a home

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
September 13, 2023
Seniors Logan Moseley, and Nathan Delaney, work on putting together a weekly update for “The Uproar.” With creative freedom and flexibility, the two seniors put on their own twists into the weekly recording. “My favorite part was the customization,” Moseley said. “The HSRP was really fun controlling what played on the air and what I talked about on the air.”

On the air

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
August 30, 2023

2023-2024 Wildcat football season preview

Nathan Delaney and Sam Whittaker
August 24, 2023

Senior Sign-Off 2022

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
May 25, 2022

Kicked out

Miguel Paredes Reyes and Sam Whittaker
May 11, 2022
Millard West DECA outside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in their trip to Atlanta for the DECA International Competition. The event lasted from April 23-26 with the students eligible to achieve widening of their skills in each of their respective topics. “I would really just encourage people to join DECA because it’s a great resume builder. Along with giving students just general life skills that are going to make them competitive in any career,” DECA sponsor Ashley Dworak said. “Really, a lot of the competitions and things we do are centered around business content, but all of the skills in which they’re learning and improving on is really gaining practice for them.”

All in for Atlanta

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
May 9, 2022

Turning the page

Logan Moseley and Sam Whittaker
April 27, 2022
A volunteer at the Celebration of Nations Japanese booth paints a guests name in black ink. Free of charge, every booth had something to offer just like this one, ranging from snacks to artwork. “We wanted children to learn about other cultures and countries not of their own origin,” Black Elk Spanish Teacher Sarah Valasek said. “We wanted families to feel valued and we want all of our students to be represented at this event. Moving forward, our hope and our goal is to make sure every single background and country of origin is represented from a booth, a dance or a food throughout the event.”

The world will live as one

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
April 18, 2022
Senior Jaxon Cahoy delivers a pitch in the first inning against a Storm batter. Cahoy had a strong game totaling six strikeouts, two walks, and only one hit in four innings of work. “I felt pretty good,” Cahoy said. “[We] had to come in, and we were playing a good team, and you know just went up there and did my thing. [I] Had to make sure to stay loose during those long innings.”

Wildcats blow away Storm

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
April 14, 2022

B-major

Miguel Paredes Reyes and Sam Whittaker
March 31, 2022
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