Sports

“Slow it down,” yelled Madison La Follette coach Torrance Holmes. “Slow it down.”

If ever there was a moment that summed up the 2025-’26 season for Middleton’s boys basketball team, this was it.

The Lancers, who have played at a breakneck pace for years, were trying to downshift from fifth gear to first in their game against Middleton on Feb. 11. The Cardinals, meanwhile, kept their foot on the peddle throughout.

Middleton put four players in double figures, cleared the 100-point barrier for the second time this season and ran away from La Follette, 102-83. The Cardinals improved to 17-2 overall and 12-1 in the Big Eight, while the Lancers fell to 12-7, 9-5.

“That was amazing,” sophomore forward Carter Parks said.

Senior guard Jackson Guerrero felt the same.

“It’s great,” Guerrero said. “We knew we could hit 100 on that team, because they don't play the best defense. We played great. It's always good to hit 100.”

Middleton’s boys swimming team keeps checking items off its “to do” list.

Perfect regular season. Check.

Conference dual meet title. Check.
And now, a Big Eight Conference swim meet championship. Check.

Middleton continued its magical season by rolling to the conference crown last Saturday in a meet held at MHS.

The Cardinals — who are chasing their fourth straight WIAA Division 1 state title — finished with 652.5 points to easily outdistance runner-up Madison West (465). Verona (340), Madison Memorial (312) and Sun Prairie West (163) rounded out the top five among the nine conference teams.

“Seeing results like this is why I coach,” Middleton coach Wes Lagerhausen said. “I love seeing my athletes achieve success and receive the payoff from all of their hard work put into the season.”

SUN PRAIRIE — In the 2004 smash comedy ‘Anchorman’, there’s a memorable scene where several local news teams engage in a no‑holds‑barred throwdown.

When it’s over, Ron Burgandy — played by Will Ferrell — says: “Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast.”

Last Saturday’s boys basketball game between Middleton and host Sun Prairie East had a similar feeling.

East hung around much of the night and was within single digits with 10 minutes remaining. Then Middleton unleashed a 23-7 haymaker and ran away and hid for a convincing 88-64 win.

Playing the part of Ferrell was Middleton senior guard Jackson Guerrero, who went wild with 19 of his career-high 30 points in the second half. Guerrero knocked down five 3-pointers and drilled 11 total triples in Middleton’s two wins last week.

It took a while, maybe longer than Middleton’s boys basketball team would have liked.

Eventually, though, the Cardinals’ depth and pace of play won the day as Middleton pulled away for an 84-64 win at Janesville Parker on Feb. 3.

Middleton won its fifth straight game, improved to 15-2 overall and stayed tied atop the Big Eight Conference at 11-1. Parker fell to 2-14, 0-11.

“We played our tail off,” Parker coach Matt Bredesen said. “I think we played really, really hard. That’s the (No. 7-ranked) Division 1 team in the state, and I don’t think they could relax until the last three, four minutes of the game.”

Middleton senior guard Jackson Guerrero had a game-high 24 points and knocked down six 3-pointers. Guerrero added a team-high six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

The regular season title was memorable.

The conference championship was even sweeter.

Middleton’s wrestling team won the Big Eight Conference title, which was held at Madison West High School last Saturday. The Cardinals finished with 242.5 points to edge runner-up Verona (231.5).

Janesville Parker (214.5), Madison Memorial (134.5) and Janesville Craig (121.0) rounded out the top five.

It was Middleton’s first conference title since 2015.

The Cardinals had won the conference dual meet title one week earlier after going unbeaten in league matches.

“Winning the conference meet after securing the dual meet title meant a lot to the group,” Middleton coach Kevin Meicher said. “It validated the work the guys put in all season, and it’s motivated us knowing there’s still more to accomplish moving into the postseason.”

There are always runs and changes in momentum throughout a game.

Sometimes, though, there are those special, game-changing runs.

Middleton’s girls basketball team had one of those last Saturday when the Cardinals used an epic 19-0 run to pull away from visiting Oregon for a 63-47 non-conference victory.

Middleton improved to 13-8 overall with its fourth victory in its last five games. Oregon dropped to 9-11 overall.

“I try to teach the girls that, and let them understand, because that could be either way,” Middleton coach Rashard Griffith said. “That can be us on a 19-0 run or we can be the recipient and receiving a 19-0 run. And the thing about it is, that’s part of basketball. Basketball is runs and you have to be able to sustain those runs. We played (Stevens Point) and we were up 16 and they came back.”

Middleton’s hockey team received the No. 7 seed in its sectional.

The Cardinals open the postseason by hosting 10^th-seeded Reedsburg Feb. 17 at 7:45 p.m. in a regional semifinal. If Middleton wins there it would travel to second-seeded Sun Prairie either Feb. 19 or 20 in a regional final.

The sectional semifinals are Feb. 24 and the sectional finals are either Feb. 27 or 28.

Middleton also dropped two of three games last week.

The Cardinals defeated Oregon, 5-4, in overtime, on Feb. 3. Middleton then fell to Sun Prairie, 4-1, on Feb. 5, and dropped a 6-3 decision to Madison Memorial on Feb. 6.

The Cardinals are now 6-14-2 overall and 5-5-1 in the Big Eight Conference.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Middleton 5, Oregon 4 (OT) — Liam Ward scored just 2 minutes, 17 seconds into overtime to lift the Cardinals past the Panthers. Christian Schuster and Patrick Passini  assisted on the play.

Middleton’s girls gymnastics team finished third at their own invite last Saturday.

Waunakee won the meet with 138.90 points, while Verona’s co-op (130.80) and Middleton (129.975) rounded out the top three at the eight-team invite.

“There were multiple PRs by the girls,” Middleton coach Desiree Peterson said. “The girls continue to step up and perform amongst the multiple injuries our team faces. I continue to be proud of them for stepping up and competing with confidence.”

Middleton’s Abby Arnold was fourth on the vault with an 8.60, while Ana Bollig was seventh (8.35), and Chloe Pfeifer and Anna Bradford tied for 13^th (8.20).

Aubrey Halverson was fifth on the uneven bars (8.275), while Lauren Devine was eighth (7.975), Katya Razenkova was 12^th (7.80) and Abby Arnold was 13^th (7.70).

Middleton’s wrestling team has enjoyed a magical regular season.

And the Cardinals added the latest chapter on Jan. 29 with a 44-28 win over host Verona that gave MHS the Big Eight Conference dual meet championship.

The Cardinals and Wildcats both entered the meet unbeaten in conference dual meets, but Middleton exited with the league title.

“This year has been a really rewarding one,” Middleton coach Kevin Meicher said. “This group bought in early, showed up consistently, and kept pushing even when things weren’t easy. We dealt with injuries, illness, and plenty of close matches, but the guys stayed focused and supported each other the entire way. That says a lot about their character.”

Several Cardinals had big wins during the match.

Middleton co-captain Brooke Michelotti entered last week with a pair of goals on her plate.

The first — end a six-game losing streak against Madison Memorial, which was tied for first place in the Big Eight Conference.

The second — surpass the 1,000-point mark in her high school career.

Michelotti accomplished both goals in the same game, sinking one of two free throws at crunch time to help the Cardinals seal a 60-58 victory over the Spartans on Jan. 27.

But that wasn’t enough for Michelotti.

The senior guard scored a team-high 13 points to lead Middleton to a 56-36 victory over visiting Sun Prairie West last Friday on Youth Night.

Cardinals freshman forward Anna Reinhard couldn’t have been happier for her teammate.

“Brooke is my goal. She is who I want to be when I’m a senior,” Reinhard said. “She is an inspiration for me. It’s great for me to have her as a role model.”