Sports

Years from now, nobody will remember what runners finished where.

No one will recall who finished in what spot.

Instead, everyone will remember that the inaugural ‘Evan Kratochwill Memorial Cross Country Invite’ was an enormous success.

The first time event was done to honor Kratochwill, a former MHS runner who died in Oct., 2021 following a car accident that took the lives of three teenagers.

The invite featured varsity, JV, middle school and a community race. Middleton boys coach Brian Finnel — the architect of the event — was quite pleased how things went.

“Our inaugural Evan Kratochwill Memorial Invite went overall quite smoothly,” Finnel said. “Putting on a large event took a lot of time and energy. It was a good learning experience. I made some notes for next year and we will tweak a few things to enhance the meet.”

While the meet itself was a hit, Middleton’s runners also gave solid showings.

JANESVILLE — In many ways, Middleton’s 51-32 dismantling of Janesville Parker last Friday was a win-win for Cardinals head coach Jason Pertzborn and his staff.

Middleton dominated much of the game, piled up 331 total yards and built a 31-point lead before emptying the bench. But the Cardinals also had 11 penalties, a handful of key defensive breakdowns and struggled on special teams.

So now Pertzborn & Co. get the best of both worlds.

The Cardinals left Monterey Stadium with their third straight win and sits at 4-3 overall — the first time all year they were over .500. Middleton also improved to 4-1 in the Big Eight, stayed within a game of league-leading Verona (5-0, 6-1), and kept their slight conference title hopes alive.

On the flip side, Middleton had plenty of errors Friday to give the coaches a lot to harp on in practice this week.

Middleton’s wrestling program inducted charter members of the Middleton Wrestling Hall of Fame on Sept. 17. 

Inductees included:

PARKER VIVODA

Vivoda wrestled for Loyal High School as a heavyweight from 1969-1973. He was a two-time Cloverbelt conference champion and two-time sectional participant. He wrestled freestyle for the Wisconsin National Team.

He then attended Ripon College and was a three-time football letter winner and captain, and a four-time letter winner and two-year captain of their wrestling team. He also was a three-time NCAA Division III national qualifier. 

Vivoda graduated in 1977 and began his career coaching and teaching in Glenwood City. His team won the conference championship in 1979, then he left Glenwood City to move to Middleton in January, 1981.

It’s taken most of the season for anyone to notice.

But Middleton’s boys soccer team is one of the better outfits in the state — something the Cardinals proved again last week.

Middleton defeated Verona, 2-0, on Sept. 28 and moved into first place in the Big Eight Conference. The Cardinals then held their own going 1-2 at the star-studded, Burlington (Iowa) Tournament last Friday and Saturday.

Middleton is now 10-2-4 on the season, and for the first time all year, cracked the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Division 1 poll, coming in at No. 9.

Here’s a recap of Middleton’s highly eventful week:

• Middleton 2, Verona 0 — The Cardinals downed the visiting Wildcats and took over sole possession of first place in the Big Eight Conference at 5-0-2 (17 points). Verona fell to second place at 5-2-0 (15 points).

Another weekend.

Another high level tournament.

Middleton’s boys volleyball team consistently seeks out the top competition, and last week was no different.

The Cardinals went to the ultra-competitive Whitefish Bay Invitational last Saturday and finished fifth overall.

“Saturday was a mixed day,” Middleton coach Rob Kleinschmidt said. “We had some times where we looked really, really good followed by some spots where we struggled.”

The Cardinals opened with a relatively easy 25-4, 25-20 win over West Allis Central/Hale. Kettle Moraine then defeated Middleton, 25-20, 25-17.

The Cardinals rebounded with a 25-17, 25-15 win over Brookfield East. Then in the quarterfinals, Wauwatosa East defeated the Cardinals, 24-26, 25-15, 15-13.

‘Tosa East went on to win the invitational.

“The match was intense all the way through with big swings and strong defense both ways,” Kleinschmidt said.

Middleton’s girls tennis team was tied for the lead after Monday’s Madison Memorial Subsectional.

The Cardinals and Madison West both finished with 22 points and will carry those to the La Crosse Central Sectional Wednesday. Madison Memorial, Verona and Waunakee (10 points each) were all tied for third at the Memorial Subsectional.

Spots for the WIAA Division 1 individual state tournament (Oct. 13-15) and the state team tournament (Oct. 21-22) will be on the line at sectionals.

Middleton advanced players to sectionals in six of seven flights. Here’s how the Cardinals fared:

• No. 1 singles — Middleton’s Netra Somasundaram, the No. 2 seed, posted a 6-1, 6-0 win over Madison East’s No. 7 seed Maria Brennan in the quarterfinals.

Middleton’s girls swimming team finished second at the Cardinal Relays Saturday.

Hartland Arrowhead won the team title with 420 points, while Middleton was second with 368. Verona (340), Madison West (336) and Waunakee (270) rounded out the top five at the 12-team event.

“It was a really fun meet,” Middleton coach R.J. Leiferman said. “We kept great energy through the meet, and had quite a few girls swim their season best times. We still have to work on being more consistent as a team going into the end of the season.”

Middleton’s quartet of freshman Sulia Miller, sophomore Izzy Ensenberger, junior Tait Haag and junior Piper Garcia-Hall won the 200-yard freestyle relay.

The Cardinals’ foursome of senior Emma Kleine, sophomore Hannah Machleidt, sophomore Isabell Frommelt and Garcia-Hall was second, while the 800-yard freestyle relay team of freshman Clara Kiehl, senior Sophie Benson, sophomore Audrey Alexander and Haag was also second.

When the bar is raised to incredible heights, it can be tough to fully appreciate your accomplishments during times you’re not at your best.

And that’s what Middleton girls golf coach Becky Halverson reminded her team of late Monday afternoon.

The Cardinals won the WIAA Division 1 Middleton Sectional on a day their score trended higher than usual.

Middleton shot a 338 at Pleasant View Golf Course and edged Waunakee (341) for the sectional title. Oregon was third with a 352, while Reedsburg (368) and Sun Prairie West (389) rounded out the top five.

Afterwards, though, Halverson and assistant coach Tom Schmitt were quick to find the good.

Middleton had survived — and advanced — meaning it will compete at the state tournament for the 11^th straight year.

That’s right — 11^th straight year.

Homecoming is a time for celebrating the past and present.

It is supposed to be filled with many activities culminating with a school dance.

However, one year ago, the communities of Middleton and Madison were mourning the loss of three young student-athletes, who were killed in the Town of Middleton on the evening of Oct. 2, 2021 when their car was hit by another vehicle and burst into flames.

While it has been a long grieving process since the lives of the three teens — Middleton seniors John ‘Jack’ Miller and Evan Kratochwill and Madison West senior Simon Bilessi, a former Middleton student — were lost, they have not been forgotten.

On Saturday morning, Middleton High School will host the inaugural ‘Evan Kratochwill Memorial Cross Country Invitational’ at Glacier Creek Middle School in Cross Plains.

MADISON – Middleton’s boys soccer team was looking for some respect when it arrived at Mansfield Stadium on Thursday night.

“We’ve been talking that we didn’t have that statement victory,” head coach Kevin Pauls said of the Cardinals, who took a 10-game unbeaten streak into their showcase game with host Madison Memorial. “We had some statement ties against (Hartland) Arrowhead and (Green Bay) Preble. But we didn’t have that statement win. Maybe this will open some eyes.”
It should, indeed.

Junior forward Cal Avery converted a crossing pass from sophomore midfielder Nestor Sharaf in the eighth minute for the game’s only goal as Middleton blanked third-ranked Madison Memorial, 1-0, in a battle for first place in the Big Eight Conference.