Sports

Becky Halverson doesn’t shy away from competition.

When Middleton’s girls golf coach was putting together teams for the Cardinals Invitational last Saturday, she loaded the tournament with the best teams she could find.

The list included No. 2 Brookfield Central, which won the WIAA Division 1 state title last fall. Others such as Waunakee, Notre Dame and Oregon are all currently ranked in the top-10, or receiving votes.

Middleton welcomed them all to Pleasant View, then proved to be rude hosts.

The Cardinals — who won the spring state title and are currently ranked No. 1 in the latest Division 1 poll — shot a 311 and cruised to the tournament championship. Waunakee was second out of 19 teams with a 332, while Brookfield Central (334), Notre Dame (341) and Oregon (349) rounded out the top five.

Middleton's boys soccer team has jumped to No. 8 in the WIAA Division 1 Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association poll. And the Cardinals showed why last week.

Middleton went 2-1 against a stout schedule.

The Cardinals defeated Madison East, 3-1, last Thursday. Middleton then toppled DC Everest, 5-0, at the Baraboo Tournament last Friday.

The Cardinals then fell to Lakeville North (Ill.), 3-0, at the Baraboo Tournament last Saturday.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Middleton 3, Madison East 1 — Chris Vanden Boom had two goals and an assist as the Cardinals toppled the Purgolders.

“East has always played us tough and this was no different,” Middleton coach Kevin Pauls said. “They were very dangerous with some long balls in the middle of the field and I thought our back line did well to slow them up.

Middleton’s girls swimming and diving team faced some of the best teams in the state last Saturday.

And the Cardinals more than held their own.

Middleton finished in third place at the star-studded, 13-team Brookfield East Invite.

The host Spartans were first with 347 points, while Madison Edgewood (341) and Middleton (335.5) rounded out the top three. Madison West was fourth at 291, followed by Brookfield Central (213) and Verona-Mount Horeb (210.5).

“Our team performed very well at the Brookfield Invite,” Middleton coach RJ Leiferman said. “We were able to show off our depth with every one of our girls finishing at least one of their races in a scoring place. It was a long meet, and we were very happy with the way our girls managed to remain focused and keep their energy up throughout the entire meet.”

Middleton’s girls tennis team finished in a tie for second place at the Nicolet “Sweet 16” Invite last Friday and Saturday.

The tournament featured 16 players in all seven flights and teams were awarded points accordingly. So, for example, a first place finisher in their flight earned 16 points, second place notched 15 points, etc.

Divine Savior Holy Angels won the tournament with 93 points, while Middleton and Whitefish Bay tied for second at 85. Eau Claire Memorial was fourth with 80 and Neenah was fifth with 78.

Here’s how the Cardinals fared:

• Sonya Agapov, No. 2 singles, first place (16 points) — Agapov had three comfortable wins to reach the finals. Then the Cardinals’ junior defeated Neenah’s Annalise Zenzick, 6-2, 3-6, 10-5, in the finals.

Agapov opened with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Oshkosh West’s Evan Giordano, then she bested Badger’s Tinker Trent, 6-4, 6-3. In the semifinals, Agapov toppled DSHA’s Grace Packee, 6-2, 6-1.

Cole Toennies isn't sure when he first realized he had a knack for returning punts.

Maybe it was in fourth grade, when he played running back and discovered he had a rare elusiveness. Perhaps it was when he played on Middleton’s JV team a few seasons back and shined in the return game. Or it could have been last spring, when he developed into a dangerous weapon at the varsity level.
While the timeline might be unclear, one thing is for certain. There may not be a better punt returner in the state today than Toennies.

Toennies, a senior wide receiver/cornerback/return man, had a night to remember last Friday when the Cardinals routed host Beloit Memorial, 55-0. Toennies returned two punts for touchdowns, caught a third touchdown and powered Middleton to an easy win.

In U2’s smash hit “A Sort of Homecoming”, Bono finishes the brilliant tune by saying:

“For tonight, at last, I am coming home. I am coming home.”

Joe Miller can relate.

Miller, one of the top wrestlers in Middleton High School history, is coming home himself. Miller, a 1993 MHS graduate, was recently hired as the Cardinals’ new head wrestling coach.

Miller replaces Kent Weiler, who stepped down at the end of last season.

“It’s like a full circle moment for me,” Miller said last week. “This is where, shoot, some of the most important moments of my life happened.

“It’s really like a time warp. I kind of flashed back to my first moments in the program back in 1991 and what it meant to me to wrestle here. I just can’t tell you how excited I am.”

Middleton athletic director Jamie Sims was just as excited to add Miller to his staff.

The No. 1 girls golf team in the state continues to live up to their lofty ranking.

Middleton’s sensational squad had another memorable week.

The Cardinals won the star-studded, Crusade Fore a Cure on Aug. 30.

Middleton won a triangular against Madison West and Janesville Parker on Aug. 31.

And the Cardinals won the 10-team B&B Shootout held Sept. 1 at Blackhawk.

“The girls had an outstanding week with 54 holes of golf played over three days,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said.

The Crusade Fore a Cure raises money for the UW Carbone Cancer Center. Middleton raised $4,051 total in honor of former Athletic Director Bob Joers, current assistant Athletic Director Ben White and teammate Mackenzie Sloan.

The event was a five-person speedy scramble and Middleton shot a 60 to edge runner-up Tomah (61) by one stroke.

Middleton’s cross country teams have extremely hopes this season.

And both showed why at last Saturday’s season-opening Verona Invite.

Middleton’s boys and girls won the star-studded event, letting the cross country world know it could be a big year for both Cardinal teams.

Middleton’s girls — which began the year ranked No. 1 — finished first with a miniscule 41 points. Madison West was second with 67 points, while Whitefish Bay (162), Lincoln-Way Central (202) and Sun Prairie (213) rounded out the top five at the 23-team invite.

“I was very impressed with how the girls performed,” Middleton coach Alexa Richardson said. “That was definitely an accurate representation of how their training has been going.

Kevin Pauls waxed poetically about his boys soccer team at Middleton before the season began.

But after the Cardinals were handily defeated by Oregon in their season-opener, many were wondering if Pauls was blowing smoke.

Turns out, the Cardinals’ boss knew just what he was talking about.

Middleton went to the highly-competitive Brookfield East Invite last weekend and had a pair of impressive performances.

The Cardinals and Brookfield East — the No. 7 ranked team in Division 1 — played to a 2-2 tie last Friday. Middleton followed that up with a 3-1 win over Cedarburg — the 10^th ranked team in Division 2 — on Saturday.

In all, it was a terrific weekend for the Cardinals.

“Both games were an improvement from last Saturday against Oregon,” Pauls said.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ two games:

This much we know about Rob Kleinschmidt.

Middleton’s boys volleyball coach likes heavyweights, not cupcakes. So when Kleinschmidt is assembling a schedule, he loads the Cardinals up with many of the state’s elite teams.

Middleton saw a murderer’s row of terrific foes at last Saturday’s Brookfield East Invite. And after a solid all-around day, the Cardinals left with a fifth-place finish in the elite tournament that included several teams likely to reach the state tournament.

“We had a very good opponent in every match, and it was exactly what we wanted going into the tournament,” Kleinschmidt said. “We learned a lot about ourselves and improved even within the day as we played bigger and bigger matches.” 

Middleton opened against third-ranked Milwaukee Marquette, a program that’s won nine state championships since 2002. The Cardinals battled, but fell to the Hilltoppers, 25-19, 25-20.