Sports

Every game for playoff-minded teams during a nine-week high school football regular season is important, but some have just a little more urgency to them than others.

For Middleton, saddled with a 1-3 record and coming off a heartbreaking loss to Verona a week earlier, last Friday’s Big Eight Conference contest against unbeaten Madison Memorial was one of them.

The Cardinals came through in a big way.

Quarterback Gabe Passini flashed his big arm, showcased his running ability and finished with four touchdowns in all, leading Middleton to a 45-21 victory that breathed life back into not just the Cardinals’ playoff hopes — but their conference title hopes as well.

“They were a little frustrated,” Middleton coach Jason Pertzborn said of his team’s season being on the brink following a 13-7 loss to Verona in which the Wildcats were able to win thanks to a pair of field goals in the final 6 minutes, 16 seconds that broke a 7-7 tie.

The WIAA boys and girls state hockey tournaments are moving to Middleton.

The WIAA Board of Control approved an Executive Staff recommendation on Sept. 16 to move the tournaments to Bob Suter’s Capitol Ice Arena effective in March, 2023.          

The WIAA and Bob Suter’s Capitol Ice Arena agreed to a two-year term.

“There is tremendous history with the state tournament in Madison, so I’m glad that it’s staying in the area,” Middleton High School coach Dan Truehl said. “We have aspirations of being one of the final four teams left standing in March and the thought of having two more ‘home games’ is something that our boys are very excited about.”

Built in 1999, the venue received a multi-million dollar renovation in 2018 that added significant amenities and upgrades. The facility is equipped with two full sheets of ice with seating for 2,611 spectators, a state-of-the-art sound system, scoreboard and a high-definition video board.

Middleton’s girls tennis team captured the Big Eight Conference championship with a pair of wins last week.

The Cardinals defeated Janesville Craig, 6-1, on Sept. 13. And Middleton rolled past Madison East, 7-0, on Sept. 15.

The Cardinals finished 9-0 in Big Eight play.

In Middleton’s win over Craig, Sonya Agapov posted a 6-2, 7-5 win over Rya Arreazola at No. 2 singles. Lydia Sabat downed Eni Agollari, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 3 singles and Sophie Shi bested Lucy Rhoades, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 4 singles.

In doubles play, Middleton’s No. 1 duo of Ashley Andler and Amy Li toppled Karyssa Norland and Hattie Plenty, 6-0, 7-5. The Cardinals’ No. 2 team of Keena Cheng and Sarah Li upended Charlotte Mark and Sophie Schultz, 6-0, 6-0.

And Middleton’s No. 3 team of Caroline Sax and Hannah Lister defeated Bailey Valet and Victoria Barajas, 6-2, 6-0.

The Janesville Parker Invite is always one of the state’s elite girls golf events.

And this year was no different.

The top three teams and four of the top seven in Division 1 were on hand. And the No. 2 team in Division 2 was also present.

That’s why Middleton’s championship on Saturday was so impressive.

The third-ranked Cardinals fired a 308 and edged runner-up and No. 7 Waunakee (311) for the title at the 20-team invite. No. 2 Union Grove was third with a 313, while No. 1 Westosha Central was fourth (323) and Brookfield Central was fifth (331).

We really enjoyed watching the girls play at Janesville Riverside,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “They just keep building on the past and they performed well against some strong teams.”

They are nine games into their season.

They haven’t lost yet. And they’re still in contention for a Big Eight Conference title.

Yes, things are going just fine for Middleton’s boys soccer team.

The Cardinals and Madison West played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 13. Middleton then defeated Sun Prairie West, 4-1, on Sept. 15 in the first-ever meeting between those schools.

The Cardinals are now 5-0-4 overall and 2-0-2 in the Big Eight.

“Another decent week,” Middleton coach Kevin Pauls said.

That’s for sure.

The Cardinals and Regents played a tremendous match that ended in a draw.

Middleton got the better of play in the first half, but couldn't convert. The Cardinals’ best chance came when Riley Kann won a ball in the middle of the box and was able to get a shot off that beat the keeper, but hit the post and bounced out.

“An inch to the right and the ball bounces in,” Pauls said.

Few — if any — programs in the state have the depth that Middleton’s girls swimming and diving team does.

So last Saturday, Cardinals head coach R.J. Leiferman tried to divide and conquer.

Leiferman sent half of his team to the star-studded Waukesha South Invite. He also sent half of his girls to a terrific meet in Sun Prairie.

The results were awfully impressive, too, as Middleton finished third at both of the power-packed invitationals.

“Our girls at the Sun Prairie meet did very well, staying very competitive, even though half the team was in Waukesha,” Leiferman said. “Our invite in Waukesha also went very well. We finished third in a meet with many of the top teams in the state, and were really close to winning.”

Middleton also notched an impressive 119-67 Big Eight Conference win over Madison West last Friday.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week with their top performances:

Waukesha South Invite

Coaches across the Big Eight Conference treat the Grade Level Challenge differently.

Some run all of their top performers.

At Middleton, the Cardinals tend to rest many of their top runners and give others a chance to shine.

Middleton took that approach last week and its girls finished first, while the boys were third.

In the girls’ race, Middleton sat the majority of its varsity lineup, but still finished with just 31 points. Madison West was second with 45, while Madison East (49), Madison Memorial (58) and Janesville Craig (60) rounded out the top five.
“The girls ran great despite muddy conditions,” Middleton coach Alexa Richardson said. “The junior/senior race went especially great, with a first pledge finish! We have a huge group of girls upper JV/lower varsity runners who are all hungry for a Varsity spot. The level of commitment on the team is wonderful.”

It’s been 13 years since Middleton’s girls volleyball team captured back-to-back Big Eight Conference championships.

Members of today’s Cardinals team were in 4K — or younger — at the time.

But Middleton stayed on track to win a second straight Big Eight title last week, with three-set wins over both Madison West and Sun Prairie West.

The Cardinals rolled past the Regents, 25-14, 25-16, 25-21 on Sept. 13. And Middleton cruised past Sun Prairie West, 25-10, 25-9, 25-13 on Sept. 15.

The Cardinals improved to 14-2 overall and 4-0 in the Big Eight.

“I was very happy with both of our games this week,” Middleton coach Maddie Vogel said. “Winning conference is definitely on our minds, but more so because of how it will set us up for success come postseason.

“I think as of right now we’re on track to be in good standing for conference, but we’re not taking any games for granted. We’ve got a full speed ahead mentality this year.” 

It’s been 13 years since Middleton’s girls volleyball team captured back-to-back Big Eight Conference championships.

Members of today’s Cardinals team were in 4K — or younger — at the time.

But Middleton stayed on track to win a second straight Big Eight title last week, with three-set wins over both Madison West and Sun Prairie West.

The Cardinals rolled past the Regents, 25-14, 25-16, 25-21 on Sept. 13. And Middleton cruised past Sun Prairie West, 25-10, 25-9, 25-13 on Sept. 15.

The Cardinals improved to 14-2 overall and 4-0 in the Big Eight.

“I was very happy with both of our games this week,” Middleton coach Maddie Vogel said. “Winning conference is definitely on our minds, but more so because of how it will set us up for success come postseason.

“I think as of right now we’re on track to be in good standing for conference, but we’re not taking any games for granted. We’ve got a full speed ahead mentality this year.” 

On Sept. 29, 2011, Middleton’s boys volleyball team went to Beloit Memorial and lost a five-set thriller.

Amazingly, the Cardinals haven't lost another Big Eight match since then.

Middleton went back to Beloit on Sept. 12 and made sure the Purple Knights weren’t going to halt their current streak.

The Cardinals rolled to a 25-10, 25-11, 25-20 win and pushed their remarkable conference winning streak to 84.

“We had a full-team effort in our win over Beloit,” Middleton coach Rob Kleinschmidt said. “Our serving game was strong and we put a lot of pressure on them with that, leading to some easier balls over the net for us to set up our offense.”

Ben Heise led the Cardinals with nine kills, while Kaden Fosdick, Hudson Sweitzer and Teddy Young all had four kills. Brody Stuttgen had 18 assists, while Sam Jolin added nine assists.

Ambrose Engling had three aces, Sweitzer had three blocks and both Henry Gassen and Lucas Rosa had four digs.