Sports

MILWAUKEE — Tick, tick, tick …

As the calendar turns to February, and the postseason is just one month away, Middleton’s boys basketball team knows time is of the essence.

The Cardinals’ season — one that began with enormous expectations — has clearly hit a crossroads, something that was clearly evident during Middleton’s 70-58 loss to Hartland Arrowhead at Fiserv Forum last Friday.

The Cardinals showed they have all the pieces to succeed by playing Arrowhead — ranked No. 2 in the latest Division 1 poll — to a 29-29 first half tie. But Middleton’s inconsistency, which has been an issue all season, reared its ugly head in the second half.

The result was the Cardinals’ second straight loss and their fifth setback in seven games, dropping Middleton’s record to 8-6. Arrowhead won its 14th straight game since dropping its season-opener against Wisconsin Lutheran, the top-ranked team in Division 2.

Up and down, loopty-loop.

No doubt, Middleton’s boys basketball team went on a thrilling roller-coaster ride last Thursday night against Verona. Fun as it was while it lasted, though, the Cardinals were sick to their stomach when it was over.

Their emotional comeback went for naught and for the third time in three weeks they were dealt a close loss in league play, this time suffering a 79-73, Big Eight Conference defeat at the hands of the Wildcats.

Middleton trailed by 10 at halftime and again by 10 with 4 1/2 minutes gone by in the second half, but slowly clawed back, ultimately going in front 72-67 with 2 minutes, 50 seconds remaining.

Then the Cardinals’ fortunes changed.

“We kind of got sped up at the end there — threw a couple bad passes,” said 6-foot-5 senior Avery Houden, who was integral to the comeback with 10 second-half points after being shut out in the first half. 

MADISON – Looks can be deceiving.

Middleton appeared to have a mismatch when it made its first appearance in the new Madison La Follette Field House to take on the host Lancers last Friday night.

The visiting Cardinals soared to an early 13-point lead against La Follette, which had mustered just one victory in its first 10 games. But if you let the underdog hang around long enough, it can make life interesting.

That was the case as Middleton had to hold off a second-half flurry to pull away for a hard-fought 75-61 victory over La Follette in a Big Eight Conference prep boys basketball game.

“They were playing scramble basketball,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said of the Lancers, who relentlessly attacked the rim all night and weren’t shy at pushing the pace of the game. “They spread us out in a way that we didn’t need to be spread out.

If revenge is indeed best served cold, it seemed only fitting that when Middleton hosted Madison Memorial on Jan. 16, the high temperature was zero.

When these teams first met on Nov. 30, Memorial routed the Cardinals, 50-34.

Six weeks later, the Cardinals got their payback on frigid, bone-chilling night with an impressive 71-58 win.

Middleton snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 7-4 overall and 6-3 in the Big Eight Conference. Memorial fell to 5-9, 4-5.

Middleton also defeated Memorial for the fifth time in seven meetings.

“They played a lot more man this time around and our guys were very confident and ready for whatever they were going to bring on both ends of the court,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said. “It didn't matter to us man, zone, or some of the combination defenses they've run in the past.”

Alexis Cairo knew this was possible.

She believed this day was coming.

Cairo, Middleton’s girls gymnastics coach, felt her Cardinals had potential for big things this season. Last Saturday, Middleton proved its head coach right.

The Cardinals won the six-team Southwestern Invite, posting a 131.50 team score that was its best in several seasons. Southwestern was second at 127.0, while Prairie du Chien/Fennimore was third (124.525).

“My girls needed this,” Cairo said. “They needed to see the potential they have. I am so proud and lucky to be their coach.”

The Cardinals got terrific performances from up and down the lineup.

Sophie Pop-Vicas was second in the all-around at 33.625, while Abby Arnold was fourth (32.675).

Pop-Vicas was second on the floor exercise with a 9.050, while Jaelynn Kemp was fourth (8.40), Arnold was seventh (8.325) and Buna Karanezi scored a 7.70.

Middleton’s wrestling team finished fourth at the 10-team Markesan Invite last Saturday.

Host Markesan won the event with 212.5 points, while Tomahawk (209.0), Royall/Wonewoc Center (181.0), Middleton (170.5) and North Fond du Lac (150.5) rounded out the top five.

Sam Zanton finished first at 150 pounds for the Cardinals, Finn Grauwels was first at 157 and Reed Falk won the title at 190. Grady Hargrove was second at 120 pounds, while Reese Miller was third at 144.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ performances:

120 — Grady Hargrove (11-12) placed 2nd and scored 20.0 team points.

Middleton’s hockey team won two of three games last week.

The Cardinals defeated Beloit Memorial, 4-1, on Jan. 16. Middleton toppled Sun Prairie, 3-1, on Jan. 18, then fell to Stevens Point, 4-1, last Saturday.

The Cardinals are now 11-7 overall and lead the Big Eight Conference with a 7-1 mark.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week:

• Middleton 4, Beloit Memorial 1 — Wyatt Ehrhardt scored a pair of goals and had two assists to power the Cardinals past the host Purple Knights.

Cam Semrad and Cade Semrad both had a goal and assist, as well, while Eli Covey added an assist.

Heuer Stutz had 29 saves and earned the win in goal for Middleton.

“Truthfully, I don’t think we played a very good game down in Beloit,” Middleton coach Dan Truehl said. “It’s a tough place to play in the middle of January as the rink doesn’t have four walls.

Middleton’s boys swimming team defeated Madison Memorial, 92-78, last Friday and stayed unbeaten in the Big Eight Conference.

“Many of the races came down to less than a second, especially for the second, third and fourth place finishes, which is where swim meets are really won,” Middleton coach Wes Lagerhausen said. “Our team fought hard, raced all the way to the wall and came away with wins for both JV (98-72) and varsity.”

Middleton’s 200-medley relay team of Max Carter, Caden VanBuren, Ben Cutler-Heiderscheit and Cowan Vitense broke the pool record with a time of 1:36.63. The Cardinals’ quartet of Ty Carbon, Colin Gabert, Anton Peters and Liam Mair also finished third.

Middleton’s 200-yard freestyle relay team of VanBuren, Cowan Vitense, Jackson Esteves and Sam Wolf was first, while the quartet of Mair, Carbon, Samuel Keith and Miles Wagener was fourth.

SUN PRAIRIE — In Greek mythology, Sisyphus is forced to spend eternity rolling an immense boulder up a hill. Each time Sisyphus neared the top, the boulder rolled back down, forcing him to begin the futile process once again.

“That’s one of my favorite stories,” Middleton boys basketball coach Kevin Bavery said.

Unless he’s the central character, which is just what Bavery and the Cardinals were during their game at Sun Prairie West on Jan. 11.

Middleton dug itself a double digit deficit early, battled back and forged three second half ties against the host Wolves. The Cardinals never could get take a lead, though, and eventually suffered a 77-73 loss.

Middleton, which got 23 points and nine rebounds from junior center Will Garlock, dropped its third straight game. The Cardinals also fell to 6-4 overall and slipped to fifth place in the Big Eight Conference at 4-3.

Middleton’s boys swimming team is the defending WIAA Division 1 state champs.

And all signs continue to point to the Cardinals having every chance to defend that title next month.

Middleton won its own, seven-team invitational last Saturday.

The Cardinals finished the meet with 226 points, while Madison Memorial (173), McFarland (169), Verona (151) and Sun Prairie West (106) rounded out the top five.

Madison West finished sixth with 105 points and Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights was seventh with 74 points.

Middleton had several highlights along the way, including:

• The 200-yard medley relay team of Ty Carbon, Sam Wolf, Ben Cutler-Heiderscheit and Liam Mair finished first. The Cardinals’ quartet of Nathaniel Straight, Brady Vondrak, Ben Vavilov and Ziggy Garcia Hall also teamed up to place sixth.