Sports

For the first time all night, Middleton’s boys volleyball team was being challenged.

So head coach Rob Kleinschmidt called a timeout to deliver a message — emphatically so, such that most in the gym watching his Cardinals take on Madison Memorial in the finals of Friday’s Big Eight Conference tournament could hear.

“We’ve been dedicated to some certain things the last couple of weeks, and they’ve done a great job of getting better at it,” Kleinschmidt said of the impetus for the message. “And they came out tonight and really did an outstanding job all night, and then in the last set against Memorial they were kind of playing trying to just let points happen without having to put in the same work. So basically, it was a loud reminder that they needed to put in the work.

And?

“It didn’t quite work,” he said. “So the next time we quietly reminded them they needed to put in the work and they responded much better to that.”

Middleton’s boys volleyball team hasn’t been to the state tournament in traditional (non-COVID) year since 2018.

But the Cardinals’ mini-drought could come to an end this year.

Middleton received the No. 1 seed in its sectional and has a clear path to the state tournament.

The Cardinals received a first round bye, then host either fourth-seeded Madison La Follette or fifth-seeded Edgewood/Madison Country Day in a sectional semifinal Oct. 25.

If the Cardinals win there, they’ll advance to the sectional finals on Oct. 29 in Middleton. The Cardinals’ most likely opponent in the sectional finals would be second-seeded Madison Memorial or third-seeded Madison West.

“The guys have been working hard to improve this season,” Middleton coach Rob Kleinschmidt said. “I am proud of them for their efforts, which has also earned them the No. 1 seed in our sectional.”

Seniors Joe Schwartz and Dean Montour provided a solid one-two punch at the top of the lineup for Middleton’s boys cross country team last Saturday.

But the Cardinals’ mission of taking back the Big Eight Conference team championship it lost a year ago after a three-year reign came up just one point short on a crisp, sun-splashed fall morning last Saturday at Sheehan Park in Sun Prairie.

Defending champion Madison West placed all five of its scoring runners in the top 17 to win the team title with 60 points. Schwartz finished fifth and Montour placed sixth to help the Cardinals repeat as runners-up with 61 points.

“It was bittersweet,” Middleton coach Brian Finnel said of the Cardinals’ near miss at recapturing the title. “But we were still pretty pumped to be down by only one point. We knew West would be tough and so would Verona. They were pretty close behind so it’s going to be a battle next weekend at sectionals.”

It was the perfect start to a day of Homecoming celebrations for Middleton’s girls cross country team.

Senior Zaira Malloy-Salgado won her first Big Eight Conference individual title and freshman teammate Olivia Chellevold finished second to lead the Cardinals to a runner-up finish in the team competition at Sheehan Park in Sun Prairie.

But both Malloy-Salgado and Chellevold weren’t sure how long they would enjoy the evening’s festivities.

“I’m going to go and see how long I can go without falling asleep,” said Malloy-Salgado, who recently made a verbal commitment to attend the University of Wisconsin and compete in track and field and cross country for the hometown Badgers. “I’m not sure how that’s going to go but I’m trying.”

Chellevold, who has emerged as one of the state’s top freshman distance runners this fall seconded that emotion.

“I’m planning to go to Homecoming Dance, but I might fall asleep,” Chellevold said with a laugh.

They are the champions — again.

Middleton’s girls swimming team won the Big Eight Conference dual meet title after capturing

a triangular held at Middleton High School on Oct. 14.

The Cardinals defeated Sun Prairie West, 114-56, and swam past Janesville Craig, 128-42 and improved to 9-0 in Big Eight dual meets.

The conference title should be a springboard for a Middleton team that now heads to the postseason. The Cardinals have this week off, then host the Big Eight Conference meet on Oct. 28 at 1 p.m.

“As we go into the postseason we are feeling good about where we are,” Middleton coach R.J. Leiferman said. “But we need to stay focused and keep getting better every day if we want to succeed at the end of the year, as our conference, sectionals, and state meets will be very competitive.”

Middleton dominated its triangular with Craig and Sun Prairie West.

If Middleton’s football team hopes to make a deep playoff run, they’ll have to be road warriors.

The Cardinals received a No. 5 seed — lower than many projected — and will face fourth-seeded Milwaukee Marshall for a WIAA Division 1 first round playoff game Friday at 7 p.m. at Milwaukee Custer Stadium.

Middleton, which defeated Madison East, 52-20 in its season finale on Oct. 14, finished the regular season 6-3 overall and took second place in the Big Eight Conference at 6-1.

The Cardinals had identical records in both the league and overall last year and received a No. 3 seed. Middleton then won a pair of playoff games and advanced to Level 3 of the postseason.

This time, though, the WIAA gave Middleton a No. 5 seed, meaning the Cardinals won’t have a home game unless there are upsets throughout the bracket.

MADISON — Ellen Close teared up — repeatedly.

Amanda Beckman let the tears of joy flow.

Vivian Cressman beamed with pride.

And Becky Halverson had a perma-grin that might not go away for weeks.

Middleton’s girls golf team — a group packed with potential, but struggling with consistency — put it all together at the WIAA Division 1 state tournament held Monday and Tuesday at University Ridge. The Cardinals compiled a two-day score of 645 and finished second behind defending state champion Westosha Central (626).

Union Grove (660), Brookfield East (662) and Waunakee (665) rounded out the top five.

“God, I’m so proud of all these girls,” said Close, a junior who made massive strides in 2022. “We all came in here just to play our best, we wanted to play our best and we did. We played amazing and there’s just no words for how proud I am. I’m really happy.”

With the playoffs just more than a week away, Middleton football coach Jason Pertzborn had a few goals entering last Friday’s contest against struggling Madison West.

The included: rest the starters, avoid injuries, and, most importantly, take care of business.

All three came to fruition as Middleton rolled to a 51-0 lead in the first half en route to a 51-20 Big Eight Conference victory over the Regents at Mansfield Stadium.

“We wanted to get some things done with our guys and get them out of the game,” Pertzborn said. “We were able to get a bunch of other kids in the game, so that was kind of the goal here this week — stay healthy, do what we need to do, take care of business, and move on.”

With its fourth consecutive victory, Middleton improved to 5-1 in the Big Eight Conference and 5-3 overall. The Cardinals remained a game behind league-leading Verona (6-0, 7-1) in the conference title race with one game to go.

It’s been six years since Middleton’s boys soccer team reached the WIAA Division 1 state tournament.

But the Cardinals are perfectly positioned to return to the state tournament later this month.

Middleton received the No. 1 seed in its sectional and will now try making a run at state.

“In the playoffs anything can happen and it's especially hard to beat rivals twice in the same year,” Middleton coach Kevin Pauls said. “So our path is not easy, but we're ready for the challenge.”

Middleton opens the postseason by hosting 16^th-seeded Janesville Parker in a regional semifinal game on Oct. 18. If the Cardinals win there, they’ll host either eighth-seeded Badger or ninth-seeded Kettle Moraine in a regional final on Oct. 22.

The sectional semifinals are Oct. 27 and the sectional finals are Oct. 29.

Madison Memorial is the No. 2 seed in the sectional, while Verona, Madison West and Waunakee round out the rest of the top five seeds.

This sectional championship didn’t come because of one or two flights.

It didn’t happen thanks to one or two memorable performances.

No, this was a total team effort.

Middleton’s girls tennis team rolled to a championship at the La Crosse Central Sectional on Oct. 5. The Cardinals finished with 48 points and easily outdistanced runner-up Madison West (36) and the rest of the 17-team field.

Middleton earned a trip to the WIAA Division 1 state team tournament on Oct. 21-22. The Cardinals also sent singles players Netra Somasundaram, Sonya Agapov and Lydia Sabat, and their top two doubles team of Ashley Andler/Amy Li and Keena Cheng/Sarah Li to the individual state tournament, which will be held Thursday through Saturday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.