Sports

TOWN OF MERTON — The season is young.

The postseason remains six weeks away.

So Middleton boys cross country coach Brian Finnel didn’t get too excited when he learned his Cardinals had jumped to No. 1 in the latest Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association poll.

What did excite Finnel, though, is how Middleton backed up that lofty ranking at the Arrowhead Invitational on Sept. 8.

The Cardinals ran a tremendous race and finished first with just 63 points as a team. No. 2 Mukwonago was second with 76. Brookfield East (161), Pewaukee (167) and host Arrowhead (183) — who are all ranked in the top-20 — rounded out the top five at the 18-team event.

“We came out ready to race, both mentally and physically,” Finnel said. “This was a great team accomplishment and edging out No. 2 Mukwonago is a good confidence builder, too.”

Middleton’s girls, who are also ranked No. 1, finished third at this star-studded event.

BROOKFIELD — Brookfield East’s girls swimming and diving team has been the gold standard in Wisconsin the last few years.

The Spartans have won three straight WIAA Division 1 state championships, most coming in convincing fashion.

Perhaps a changing of the guard is ready to take place.

Middleton went to the Brookfield East Invite last Saturday and won the 13-team event. The Cardinals finished with 419 points, well ahead of runner-up Verona (365.5) and third place Brookfield East (333). Madison Edgewood (323) and Madison West (232.5) rounded out the top five.

“We started out a little slow, but got better as the meet went,” Middleton coach R.J. Leiferman said. “It was very encouraging to win the meet, and we managed to beat some of the best teams in the state.”

VERONA – It was a clash of the two teams expected to vie for the Big Eight Conference championship, and Middleton had host Verona right where it wanted.

But too many penalties, which led to missed opportunities, cost the Cardinals dearly.

Former soccer player Drew Chorlton booted two field goals in the fourth quarter to lift Verona to a hard-fought 13-7 victory over Middleton in a prep football battle last Friday evening.

“We left a lot of plays on the field,” Middleton head coach Jason Pertzborn said after the Cardinals were penalized 13 times for 105 yards. “That game should not have been the way it was. That’s for sure.”

Chorlton kicked a 37-yard field goal with 6 minutes, 16 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, then drilled a 31-yard field goal with 2:12 to play to help extend Verona’s winning streak to three games.

MEQUON — They called it the ‘Sweet 16’ girls tennis tournament.

It could just have easily been called a state tournament preview.

The finest teams in Wisconsin descended on Cedarburg High School last Friday and Homestead High School last Saturday in the premier tournament of the season.

And what Middleton learned is it can play with anyone and everyone in the state.

Cedarburg won the star-studded tournament with 91 points, while the Cardinals were second with 90. Divine Savior Holy Angels was third (89), while Madison West (84) and Homestead (80) rounded out the top five.

Making the Cardinals’ finish even more impressive is they did it without No. 2 singles player Sonya Agapov, who missed the tournament.

“This was a stacked field this year with basically every top-10 school in the state,” Middleton coach Matt Given said. “Our girls played and competed extremely well this weekend.

There’s nothing quite like winning your own tournament.

And that’s just what Middleton’s girls golfers did last Saturday.

The Cardinals won the 19-team Middleton Invite held at Pleasant View Golf Course.

Middleton shot a 326-team score and edged runner-up Waunakee (333). Oregon (347), Green Bay Notre Dame (350) and The Prairie School (354) rounded out the top five.

“It's always a little extra fun when you can put together some great scores and win your own invite,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said.

Middleton junior Vivian Cressman finished third overall with a 77. Cressman made birdies at No. 5 and 16, notched 10 pars and was solid from start to finish.

Middleton senior Amanda Beckman was seventh individually with a 79. Beckman was extremely solid throughout with 11 pars and no score worse than a bogey.

They wanted to win a championship.

They were hoping to exit on a high.

Instead, Middleton’s girls volleyball team settled for second place at its own invitational last Saturday.

The Cardinals reached the championship match, but fell to La Crosse Aquinas, 25-22, 23-25, 15-7.

“Our match against Aquinas in the championship was a tough one,” Middleton coach Maddie Vogel said. “They were a solid opponent and ran a fast tempo on offense. At the end of the day, serving and serve receive is what it came down to, as well as executing on third contact. In a close match, a couple missed serves here and there can really make or break the outcome.”

Here's a recap of the Middleton Invite and the rest of the Cardinals’ week.

MIDDLETON INVITE

• Middleton 2, Platteville 1 — The Cardinals toppled the Hillmen, 25-8, 24-26, 15-7.

They say ties are like kissing your sister.

Middleton’s boys soccer team — which had tied three consecutive games — grew tired of that outcome last week. So the Cardinals did something about it.

Middleton defeated Madison La Follette, 3-0, on Sept. 8. The Cardinals then toppled Badger, 3-0, last Saturday.

Middleton improved to 4-0-3 on the young season.

“No ties,” Middleton coach Kevin Pauls joked. “Good results for the week. We were happy with both games and were able to show our depth as all our field players saw time and made solid contributions.”

In the Cardinals’ win against the Lancers, Ari van Mol, Kai Muramoto and Finn Patenaude all had goals. It took a while for Middleton to get going, though, and the game was scoreless at halftime.

“La Follette played tough with a lot of grit all game,” Pauls said. “We dominated possession in the first half, but still couldn't find the net.”

Rob Kleinschmidt knows to be the best, you need to beat the best.

That’s why Middleton’s boys volleyball coach loads up the Cardinals’ schedule every season.

On Saturday, Middleton faced one of its toughest tests of the year when it traveled to the star-studded Wauwatosa East Invite. And while the Cardinals were disappointed with their fifth place finish at the eight-team invite, they all know events like this will pay dividends down the road.

“Our intent is to play all the best teams, have them show us what areas we need the most work in, and then build those better and stronger for the postseason,” Kleinschmidt said. “Hoping it works.”

Middleton went 2-2 overall at the ‘Tosa East Invite.

No. 11 Cedarburg opened with a 22-25, 25-23, 15-12 win over sixth-ranked Middleton. The Cardinals rebounded to topple Shorewood, 25-19, 25-22.

Both teams have the same goals.

Neither squad cares for the other.

And they’ll be in each other’s way come Friday night at 7.

Middleton’s football team — which broke into the win column on Sept. 2 with a 55-14 rout of visiting Madison La Follette — heads to Verona this week. And the two Big Eight Conference favorites know if they hope to win a league title, they can’t stumble this week.

“We have a goal and it’s to win the conference,” Middleton coach Jason Pertzborn said. “Verona also has a goal of winning the conference, so we’ve got to bring it this week. Motivation won’t be a problem.”

Few teams have had a greater dislike for each other in recent years than Middleton and Verona.

There have been heated moments in their games that led to several unsportsmanlike penalties. There have been social media feuds.

STOUGHTON — It was with a heavy heart, but a tremendous amount of pride that Middleton manager Brandon Hellenbrand delivered his final postgame message of the 2022 season to the 29ers late Sunday afternoon.

“The end of the road hits at some point,” said Hellenbrand, who announced at the beginning of the season that this would be the final year of his 22-year stint as a player and manager in the Home Talent League. “I was hoping we would be hoisting up a trophy, but all good things come to an end at some point and this just had to end.

“I told the guys afterward, this is it for me. Hopefully, one day if my son is out here and he wants to continue playing baseball I would love to be out here coaching him, and I told them I hope some of you guys are still out here playing this game.”

Middleton grabbed an early lead, but the host Stoughton Merchants rallied for a 4-1 victory in a Final Four second-round game at Norse Field.