January 2013

Middleton’s hockey team is in the middle of its roughest stretch of the season. But the Cardinals refuse to blink.

That’s made for some terrific results now — and bodes extremely well for the upcoming postseason.

Middleton defeated rival Madison Edgewood, 4-2, last Thursday. The Cardinals then upended Fond du Lac — the No. 2 team in the state — 4-2 on Saturday. Middleton also lost to 10^th ranked Eau Claire Memorial, 5-2, on Sunday.

With a game against No. 2 Verona set for Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Eagles Nest, Middleton is in a murderous stretch. So far, though, so good.

“Pretty big stretch for us,” Middleton co-coach Steve Libert said.

Middleton’s win over Madison Edgewood was a huge one for postseason seeding. By defeating the Crusaders, the Cardinals (14-4 overall, 8-2 in the Big Eight) are almost a lock to get the No. 2 seed in their sectional. That means Middleton would have home ice until the sectional finals.

The girls basketball teams from Middleton and Janesville Parker have dominated the Big Eight Conference for more than two decades now.

So it almost seems fitting that the Cardinals’ current run will be stopped by the Vikings.

Middleton dropped a 49-41 decision at Parker last Friday that signaled a changing of the guard — at least for this season. Parker built a 20-point first half lead, then held off the hard-charging Cardinals in the second half.

The Vikings stayed unbeaten in the Big Eight, improving to 12-0 in the league and 14-1 overall. Middleton — which has won or shared six straight conference titles — slipped to 6-4, 8-6.

“We don’t have a big margin of error, so we have to put together a whole game,” Middleton coach Jeff Kind said. “There’s a lot of teams in our league that are similar to us. But we just got too far behind them, fought back and never got over the hump.”

Two young brothers took home silver and gold from a recent spelling bee in the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD).

Colin Butler, an eighth-grader at Glacier Creek, won the District Spelling Bee, which took place at the Performing Arts Center.

More than 100 students competed in the bee, which lasted approximately three hours. The event is organized by the MCPASD advanced learning team. It is open to all elementary and middle school students in the district.

“We have some great spellers,” said Ruth Bachmeier, who attended most of the event and works in the district’s communications department.

The championship became a family affair as Graham Butler, Colin’s younger brother who is a fifth-grader at West Middleton, earned second place. Anders Burck, a sixth-grader at Kromrey, took third.

The National Weather Service has issued Winter Storm Advisories and Warnings for much of Wisconsin. Forecasters are tracking a strong storm producing heavy rain today which will change to snow overnight. Some parts of the state could see 6 and 10 inches of snow before the system passes through the state late Wednesday. The Wednesday morning commute may be difficult with hazardous road conditions due to ice, snow and blowing snow. Arctic air then arrives Wednesday night with wind chills reaching -25 to -35 by Thursday night into Friday.

National Weather Service offered the following tips to help citizens stay safe: