Sports

It’s a given that the Middleton’s boys basketball team is going to get its opponents’ ‘A’ game night in and night out.

Case in point: the Sun Prairie West Wolves might be in their first year as a program, but they put a scare into the highly ranked and unbeaten Middleton last Thursday night.

The Wolves jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first half and provided the Cardinals with one of their toughest tests of the season.

But Middleton tightened up its defense and used a double-double from senior guard Gavyn Hurley to eventually tame the Wolves, rallying for a 70-64 victory in a Big Eight Conference thriller.

Hurley finished with a team-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, while senior wing Kaden Fosdick chipped in 10 points and a game-high eight assists to help the Cardinals — ranked third in both the wissports.net and Associated Press Division 1 polls — improve to 10-0 overall, including a league-leading 8-0 mark in conference play.

VERONA — Senior co-captain Audrey Deptula is a proven scorer for Middleton’s girls basketball team.

But last Saturday night, Deptula took her game to a whole new level.

Deptula, a University of Loyola Chicago recruit, scored a career-high 39 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to help Middleton overpower Madison Memorial, 78-47, in a Big Eight Conference matchup and the final game of the 2023 MLK Showcase hosted by Verona High School.

The scoring explosion didn’t surprise Deptula’s teammates.

“She is very much a leader,” said senior Addy Gmur, who is a team co-captain along with Deptula and junior Kenzie Zimmerman. “When Audrey’s scoring and is on, it pushes everyone else to go for it and succeed. She’s an inspiration. She’s an all-around player. She’s a defender, rebounds, and gets assists, too.”

Added Zimmerman: “When she gets hot, you can’t stop her. Anywhere on the court, she can score. It’s awesome to see.”

Middleton High School was a circus Saturday afternoon.

On one side of the building, fans poured in to watch a bevy of boys basketball games as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Showcase.

On the other end, Middleton’s boys swimming team was putting on a show of its own.

Middleton hosted the 10-team Cardinal Relays and left everyone several laps behind.

Middleton won seven of 11 events and finished with 241 points, while Madison West was a distant second (194). Madison Memorial (158), Sun Prairie East (105) and Verona (101) rounded out the top five.

“I was happy to see high energy both in and out of the pool,” Middleton first-year coach Wes Lagerhausen said. “It created some exciting comebacks and hold-off victories for the team.”

Middleton’s 800-yard freestyle relay team of Jackson Esteves, Noah Dorn, Espen Morner and Nick Chirafisi finished first, while the foursome of Kyler Mahoney, Miles Wagener, Ben Freiberg and Jesse Mai was ninth.

Middleton’s wrestling team crowned four champions and finished third overall at the Ithaca-Weston Invitational last Saturday.

Middleton’s champions were Reese Miller at 126 pounds, Sam Zanton at 138, Finn Grauwels at 145 and Bryce Falk at 170.

Parkview won the title with 199.0 points, while Wisconsin Dells (194.5), Middleton (182), Ithaca/Weston (169) and Blair-Taylor (158) rounded out the top five.

Here’s how the Cardinals fared:

106 — Tavish Frank (6-14) placed 7th and scored 6.0 team points.

Amazingly, the postseason is only a month away for Middleton’s girls gymnastics team.

And Cardinals’ first-year coach Alexis Lindahl loves how her team is shaping up.

Middleton rolled past Madison West, 126.475-111.70 on Jan. 12.

Middleton’s Ana Bollig won the all-around competition with a 30.750 score, while Abby Arnold was second (29.975).

“This is the best my girls have done so far this season and I am so proud of them,” Lindahl said. “We've been working incredibly hard on cleaning up our routines and adding in a few new skills and it seems to have definitely paid off. Even so, I know the best is yet to come.”

The Cardinals dominated on every event.

Aubrey Anderson won the vault with an 8.650, while Bollig was second (8.40), Jaelynn Kemp was third (8.150) and Anja Schmidt-Voils was sixth (7.70).

Middleton’s hockey team had another grueling week.

And while the Cardinals dropped two of three games, they once again discovered they can play with anyone in the state.

Middleton traveled to Janesville and notched an impressive 4-3 win overtime on Jan. 12. The Cardinals then traveled to Wausau for a weekend tournament where they battled with some of the state’s elite programs.

Middleton dropped a 6-5 thriller to No. 1 ranked Green Bay Notre Dame last Friday. The Cardinals then fell to Wausau West, 5-4, last Saturday.

“Tournaments like Green Bay and this past weekend are so pivotal for our program to test ourselves against the best in the state,” Middleton coach Dan Truehl said. “Last year we felt like we weren’t battle tested heading into playoffs.

“I can’t predict the future but there is no doubt that we are much more equipped for a deep run this year based on our strength of schedule.”

It’s a given that the Middleton’s boys basketball team is going to get its opponents’ ‘A’ game night in and night out.

Case in point: the Sun Prairie West Wolves might be in their first year as a program, but they put a scare into the highly ranked and unbeaten Middleton last Thursday night.

The Wolves jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first half and provided the Cardinals with one of their toughest tests of the season.

But Middleton tightened up its defense and used a double-double from senior guard Gavyn Hurley to eventually tame the Wolves, rallying for a 70-64 victory in a Big Eight Conference thriller.

Hurley finished with a team-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, while senior wing Kaden Fosdick chipped in 10 points and a game-high eight assists to help the Cardinals — ranked third in both the wissports.net and Associated Press Division 1 polls — improve to 10-0 overall, including a league-leading 8-0 mark in conference play.

There were times last summer that Will Comerford put the offense on his back for Middleton’s summer league team.

The Cardinals were operating without some of their key players — who were off with their AAU teams — and Comerford was asked to carry a greater load.

“There were nights he’d have 25, 26 points,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said. “There were nights he carried us.”

Middleton has the band back together today, but the Cardinals have discovered Comerford can be a go-to guy no matter who’s on the floor. The latest example came in Middleton’s 64-55 win over Madison La Follette on Jan. 10.

Comerford had 12 of his 15 points in the first half and helped Middleton build a 35-27 halftime lead. Gavyn Hurley had nine of his team-high 16 points after intermission and the Cardinals notched a big home win.

PRAIRIE DU SAC – Freshman Sam Zanton likes quick matches.

Last Saturday, the Middleton 138-pounder displayed glimpses of why he is a rising star.

Zanton pinned three of his four opponents, finished third individually and paced Middleton to a 12^th-place finish at the 24-team Eagle Invitational hosted by Sauk Prairie High School.

“That was the highest finish for us today, the highest finish in a tournament for him so far,” Middleton coach Joe Miller said. “He beat two kids who were seeded higher than him. His only loss was to the runner-up.

“Sam just keeps getting better and better. Probably one of our hardest workers, maybe the hardest worker. There’s no quit in him. He just fought today. He beat two really good kids in the quarterfinals and then in his third-place match.”

Two-week layoffs.

High level opponents.

None of it seems to slow down Middleton’s boys swimming team.

The Cardinals have tackled every challenge that’s come their way this season and last week was no different.

Middleton won the ultra-competitive, 22-team Marquette Invite on Saturday. The Cardinals also stayed atop the Big Eight Conference by winning the Verona triple dual last Friday.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ big week:

• Marquette Invitational: The Cardinals finished with 328 points and easily outdistanced runner-up Madison West (257.5) for the title. Mequon Homestead (234), Fenwick (Ill.) (232.5) and Brookfield’s co-op (190) rounded out the top-five.

“It was great to see so many of our swimmers post season-best times,” Middleton coach Wes Lagerhausen said. “That was our goal and we accomplished that and more. We had multiple first place finishes both in individual and relay events, as well.”