Sports

The first box is checked.

Now, Middleton’s girls golfers hope many more are soon to follow.

The Cardinals captured the Big Eight Conference dual meet championship last Thursday, putting the final touches on a 9-0 league record with a win over Madison La Follette.

“Going 9-0 in conference regular season play was just one of our goals for this season that we can now check off our list,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “I'm so happy for these girls and how well they have come together as a team this season.”

The championship was somewhat anticlimactic, as the Lancers didn’t have any varsity golfers. So Middleton simply had to post a score to win the match.

The Cardinals shot a 339 team score, led by a 75 from all-state senior Alexis Thomas. Middleton’s team score wasn’t one of its better numbers this season, but all that mattered was the Cardinals left Yahara Hills Golf Course as league champions.

Middleton’s girls swimming and diving team has never won a WIAA Division 1 state championship.

But the 2016 Cardinals seem determined to change that.

Middleton saw some of the state’s finest swimmers and top teams at last Saturday’s Waukesha South Invite. And the Cardinals showed that they just might be the team to beat at state come November.

Middleton won the star-studded invite, finishing with 349 points. Verona-Mount Horeb was second at 285, while Arrowhead (230), Waukesha South/Mukwonago (218) and Cedarburg (196) rounded out the top five.

“This meet featured the state's top teams in Verona, Arrowhead and Cedarburg and gave us some great competition — especially for our relays,” Middleton coach Lauren Cabalka said. “The girls were challenged at a level they had not felt yet and I think they handled it very well.”

Middleton had winning performances up and down the lineup, especially with the relays.

They started thinking about Friday night the minute their last game ended. Maybe even earlier.

Middleton’s football team has developed an intense, passionate rivalry with Verona in the short time they’ve been in the Big Eight Conference together. The Cardinals don’t care for the Wildcats — and vice versa.

When the two meet at Middleton’s Breitenbach Stadium Friday at 7 p.m., emotions will be as high as ever. That’s because both teams are 4-0 overall and in the league, and the winner will exit with sole possession of the Big Eight lead.

“Everyone is raving about Verona this week,” Middleton quarterback/cornerback C.J. Fermanich said. “People know how big this rivalry is and that adds to the hype around the game. We have to let that excitement motivate us to work hard and get a lot better in practice this week.”

Cardinals senior linebacker Joe Ludwig agreed.

It’s a season of great expectations inside Middleton’s boys cross country program.

And the Cardinals showed last Saturday they’re ready to live up to the hype.

Middleton won the 25-team, star-studded Verona Invitational. The Cardinals finished with 54 points, while Madison West (60), Monona Grove (131), Madison La Follette (134) and Sun Prairie (138) rounded out the top five.

Middleton put four runners in the top-13, led by senior Gus Newcomb. The Cardinals’ standout finished second overall with a personal-best time of 15:18.89 on the 5,000-meter course and was narrowly edged for the title by Lancers senior Finn Gessner (15:17.93).

“It was pretty awesome to win a big meet,” Middleton coach Brian Finnel said. “I think the juniors and seniors were waiting for this for a while. They have certainly earned it with all the miles they have put in.

Middleton’s girls golfers remain the No. 1 ranked team in the state.

Now, the Cardinals are closing in on another Big Eight Conference meet.

Middleton won a pair of triangulars last week and improved to 8-0 in conference dual meets.

Middleton won the Sun Prairie Triangular held at Sun Prairie Country Club last Tuesday. The Cardinals then captured the Madison West Triangular last Wednesday at Odana Hills Golf Course.

Middleton shot a 323 in its win at Sun Prairie. Verona was a distant second with a 371, while Sun Prairie was third at 377.

Middleton senior Alexis Thomas captured medalist honors with a 1-under-par, 72. Senior Morgan Miles carded a 79, junior Peyton Hodson shot an 80 and junior Allison Richards notched a 91.

“I was really pleased with our scores at Sun Prairie,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said.

Middleton shot a 332 at the Madison West Triangular, while Janesville Parker carded a 380 and Madison West shot a 404.

The scoreboard at Mansfield Stadium read Middleton 30, Madison West 22.

If you listened to Cardinals coach Tim Simon, though, you’d have thought his team had just lost by five touchdowns to the Regents.

For roughly 20 minutes Friday, Simon lambasted his squad for nearly letting a 23-0 lead slip away. Simon was extremely agitated by what he perceived as a lack of focus and a loss of intensity.

Yes, Middleton improved to 3-0 and shares the Big Eight Conference lead with Madison La Follette and Verona. But Simon didn’t think his team made the type of progress he wanted.

“We told our guys all week that West is a good football team, but I’m not sure all of our guys believed that,” Simon said. “And when we got up on them, our guys relaxed.

“We can’t play that way and be the kind of football team we want to be. Some of the things happening were unacceptable.”

In some ways, it was a win-win for Simon.

The Middleton and Sun Prairie football programs have a long and storied history of memorable games.

Ryan Oliversen made the play of the 1990s inside Middleton football when he hauled in a fourth down, game-winning touchdown catch against Sun Prairie in the 1999 playoffs.

Sun Prairie came to Middleton in the postseason a year ago as a substantial underdog, then proceeded to post a stunning upset.

And these two programs, which have largely dominated the Big Eight Conference over the past two decades, had gone 12-12 against each other in their last 24 meetings.

But nothing in this battle of titans compared to what took place at Middleton High School’s Brietenbach Stadium last Friday.

Middleton rallied from three different deficits, got heroic efforts from a handful of players, and upended Sun Prairie, 37-31, in a four-overtime, 3 1/2 –hour marathon.

They don’t rebuild inside Middleton’s boys volleyball program.

They reload.

It’s led to nine Big Eight Conference championships in the last 10 years and seven trips to state since 2006.

A few months back, though, Cardinals head coach Ben White wasn’t sure he’d be reloading in 2016.

“I'll be honest there was a point during the summer when I thought of this as a rebuilding year, but it's not,” White said. “It's a reloading. We have a great core of players.”

Middleton lost eight players from a team that won the Big Eight and qualified for the state tournament. But the Cardinals should be loaded for bear again.

Middleton brings back a handful of players that were vital cogs a year ago. And the Cardinals have a solid group of newcomers ready to make their mark.

The Crusade Fore a Cure has always been an important meet for Middleton’s girls golf team.

This year, there’s a greater significance than ever.

Middleton senior Morgan Miles found out shortly before the year that her mother, Rae, had been diagnosed with cancer for a second time.

The Crusade Fore A Cure, hosted by Madison Edgewood at Maple Bluff, raises money for cancer research. So Monday’s event was an extremely emotional one for Miles, her family, and all of the Cardinals.

The fact Middleton — the No. 1 ranked team in the state — won the 19-team event made the day even sweeter.

“I told the girls that if they had a bad shot out there, not to get discouraged, but to think about what they were out there for,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “It wasn't about winning a tournament, it was about coming together as a team and as a community to raise awareness for breast cancer research. I’m so proud of our entire team.”

The first Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin poll was released Sunday.

The poll had Hartland Arrowhead as the No. 1 team in Wisconsin and Middleton No. 2. On Monday, the Cardinals made a statement saying perhaps those spots should be reversed.

Middleton shot a 325 and won the 18-team Waunakee Invite held at The Meadows of Sixmile Creek. Arrowhead was second at 333, while Oregon was a distant third at 377.

Middleton edged Arrowhead by one shot for the state championship last fall. This year, the Warhawks nipped the Cardinals in two early-season events.

“It's always a confidence boost for us to play against Arrowhead and win,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson.  

Middleton senior Alexis Thomas captured medalist honors with a 72, three shots ahead of runner-up Alexa Holland of Arrowhead (75). Thomas struggled off the tees, but her short game was sublime.