Sports

When the girls cross country season began two months ago, Middleton sophomore Olivia Chellevold gathered with her coaches and outlined her goals.

Among them was a top-five finish at state.

“It goes without saying that she blew that goal out of the water,” Middleton co-coach Kelly Julian said.

Boy, did she ever.

At the WIAA Division 1 state meet held at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids last Saturday, Chellevold led for most of the race. Down the stretch, though, Muskego sophomore Ella Anschutz surged to the lead and took control, and Chellevold settled for second.

Anschutz finished the 5,000-meter run in 18 minutes, 0.3 seconds, while Chellevold finished second in 18:15.2. Mackenzie Babcock of Monona Grove was third in 18:27.3.

Another year, another Big Eight Conference title.

This one was far tougher to achieve than the rest, though.

Middleton’s girls swimming and diving team won the league title last Saturday with 653 points and edged runner-up Verona (620). Madison West (404), Madison Memorial (265) and Sun Prairie West (132) rounded out the top five.

“We were very excited to win another conference championship this year,” Middleton coach R.J. Leiferman said. “It was one of the closest conference meets we have had in years, but our girls handled the pressure really well.”

A big reason for Middleton’s victory was it captured two of the three relays and all of its ‘B’ relays placed fourth, or higher.

The Cardinals’ 400-yard freestyle relay team of Audrey Alexander, Piper Garcia Hall, Brynn Sundell and Tait Haag was first, while the foursome of Isabell Frommelt, Clara Kiehl, Irene Lee and Lily Mair was fourth.

Seven weeks ago, Middleton’s football team was punched in the nose.

Visiting Verona came to town, spoiled a night in which the Borden Athletic Complex was unveiled to the entire community, and defeated the Cardinals, 28-21.

Afterwards, Middleton co-interim coach Tim Simon issued a challenge to his team.

“The thing for our kids to understand is now we find out if we’re a mentally tough team,” Simon said that night. “Anybody can be mentally tough when you’re winning by a couple touchdowns. So we’ve got to hang together.”

Middleton has done just that. And now the Cardinals get a chance at revenge.

Middleton, the No. 3 seed in its bracket, travels to second-seeded Verona for a WIAA Division 1 second round playoff game Friday at 7 p.m. It’s a battle of the Big Eight Conference’s two premier programs and a pair of teams that don’t care for each other.

MADISON — The long wait was over. All the hard work — the lessons, the practices, the workouts — were in the rearview mirror.

Middleton’s girls tennis team — the ones who were on the team a year ago, anyway — made it back to the finals of the WIAA Division 1 team state tournament last Saturday afternoon and got their chance at redemption against the team that prevented them from winning gold in 2022.

They got their chance at Hartland Arrowhead, the reigning champion. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, though, the result was the same.

Silver.

Top singles player Netra Somasundaram and No. 4 singles player Rishika Kommuri both won in straight sets, but the Cardinals were unable to take any of the other flights, suffering a 5-2 loss to the Warhawks at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

It wasn’t the outcome the Cardinals wanted, obviously. But they weren’t hanging their heads afterward.

DEFOREST — It was a nerve-wracking, cooling down period as the Middleton boys’ cross country team awaited its fate at the Don Batty Cross Country Course last Saturday morning.

But as the adage goes, good things happen to those who wait.

There was a collective sigh of relief and a boisterous round of applause from the Cardinals faithful after Middleton learned it had qualified for the WIAA Division 1 state meet for an impressive 11th year in a row with a second-place finish.

“The biggest thing is one more week with the guys,” said junior Jack Johnson, was finished 12^th overall for the Cardinals. “We were planning to go to state if we won or not. We’ve been really bonding for the last couple of weeks, really getting close. We had a great time at dinner last night. We’ve gotten really, really close as a team. That’s what I like.”

DEFOREST — The plan for Middleton sophomore Olivia Chellevold was two-fold last Saturday: put herself in position to contend for an individual sectional title and lead the Cardinals to a return trip to the WIAA Division 1 state cross country championship meet.

Chellevold made it look easy in cruising to the DeForest sectional individual championship to earn her second straight trip to the state meet at the Ridge Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.

But unlike a year ago, when the Cardinals advanced to state as a team and placed sixth, Middleton came up short, placing fifth at the 12-team sectional meet with 118 points.

“It was a really fun race,” Chellevold said after she completed the 5,000-meter course in 18 minutes, 18.78 seconds. “I just tried to put it all out there for my team. We were hoping to make it to state as a team, but we didn’t quite make that goal. But we really did well today.”

“Two down, four to go.”

That’s how Middleton boys soccer coach Kevin Pauls described the opening weekend of postseason play in which his Cardinals captured a regional title.

Middleton, the No. 2 seed in its sectional, defeated 15^th-seeded Madison La Follette, 2-0, in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal on Oct. 17. The Cardinals then edged seventh-seeded Waunakee, 1-0, in a regional final last Saturday.

Middleton advanced to the sectional semifinals, where it will host surprising 14^th-seeded Sussex Hamilton Thursday at 7 p.m. The Chargers upset third-seeded Sun Prairie West and sixth-seeded Oregon to win a regional title of their own.

If Middleton defeats Hamilton, it would face the winner of top-seeded Arrowhead and fourth-seeded Verona in a sectional final Saturday at 1 p.m. at Madison Memorial’s Mansfield Stadium.

The state tournament then takes place Nov. 3-4 at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee.

The Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association closed its doors on June 30, 2000. Later that fall, all member schools joined the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

In the 23 years since, Marquette’s boys volleyball team has been a dominant force, winning 10 state championships and finishing second three times.

So after fifth-ranked Middleton downed No. 3 Marquette, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20, on Oct. 18, it’s easy to see why the Cardinals were incredibly optimistic about what the next two weeks could bring.

Middleton opened the playoffs Tuesday with a home match against Madison Edgewood. And the Cardinals’ win over the mighty Hilltoppers left them believing big things were possible this postseason.

Gabe Passini picked the perfect time to call his own number.

With his team clinging to a 21-20 lead late in the fourth quarter last Friday, Middleton’s senior quarterback faked a handoff then scampered down the sideline 60 yards on a keeper deep into Madison Memorial territory.

Passini’s run eventually led to a touchdown and helped the Cardinals clinch a 28-20 triumph over the visiting Spartans in a WIAA Division 1 first round playoff game at Breitenbach Stadium.

“They were expecting us to want to run out the clock with the running back,” Passini said. “Usually when my key goes in at the running back I can have my freedom to pull it. I just felt my opening, felt my time was there from what we practiced and tried to turn on my jets the best I could, but my tall lengthy self can’t beat those little fast guys.”

Middleton co-interim coach Tim Simon actually missed the play, but heard the reaction from the sideline.

Even now, with a state runner-up finish secure, Keena Cheng couldn't believe what had just happened.

Cheng, a senior at Middleton High School, and fellow MHS senior Ashley Andler went to the WIAA Division 1 state doubles tournament last weekend with high hopes. The Cardinals’ dynamic duo then blew those expectations out of the water.

Andler and Cheng entered the tournament held at Nielsen Tennis Stadium as the No. 7 seed. Middleton’s sensational pair then produced the surprise showing of the tournament, reaching the state finals before losing to Molly Jex and Lizzie Stuckslager — the defending champions from Divine Savior Holy Angels.

“Honestly, I expected to lose somewhere in the fourth round or semifinals, much less make it to the finals,” Cheng said. “I am still somewhat surprised about reaching the title match, but given the hard work we have put in the past four years, it has paid off in getting us this far.”