Sports

Middleton’s girls tennis team competed at the Nicolet Sweet 16 on Sept. 18-19.

Here’s how the Cardinals fared in each flight.

SINGLES

No. 1 — Middleton’s Sophia Pientka defeated Cedarburg’s Caitlyn Dunn, 6-3, 6-2, in the first round. Pientka then lost to Homestead’s Brhianna Curro, 6-1, 6-1, in the second round.

No. 2 — The Cardinals’ Mira Russo downed West Bend West’s Maddie Franz, 6-0, 6-2, in the first round. Russo then fell to Neenah’s Rachel Thomas, 6-3, 7-5.

No. 3 — Middleton’s Nithya Uppal won the championship in her flight.

Uppala opened with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Homestead’s Rafi Miller, then defeated Nicolet’s Elena Johansen, 6-1, 6-2. Uppala then edged Eau Claire Memorial’s, 6-7, 6-2, 10-8, in the semifinals and bested Whitefish Bay’s Mackenzie Good, 6-3, 6-3, in the championship match.

No. 4 — Middleton’s Elodie Sabat won the championship in her flight.

Brian Finnel wasn’t sure what to expect.

Finnel, Middleton’s boys cross country coach, sent his team to the 25-team Smiley Invite — hosted by Wausau East — on Sept. 19.

It was the Cardinals’ first time at the event, and Middleton more than held its own with a third place overall finish.

Stevens Point won the boys title with 59 points, while Holmen was second at 131. Middleton (142), Madison Memorial (148) and Marshfield (170) rounded out the top five.

“I was pretty happy with our meet,” Finnel said. “It was our first time racing there, so we weren't exactly sure what to expect. The course had a few short, challenging hills, but overall it was much flatter and faster than we anticipated.

“Most of the team was either just a little bit off their PR, or ran a PR by a small amount, which I was pleased with because we went in without any real time expectations. We were focused more on racing well and competing for position.”

The Wauwatosa East Invitational is always one of the top boys volleyball tournaments of the season.

Star players. Elite teams.

They all make their way to the Red Raiders’ gym.

So after Middleton went 4-0 on the day, and won this star-studded tournament on Sept. 12, the Cardinals were naturally thrilled.

"This tournament was a great reset for the team,” Middleton coach Dylan Griffith said. “We've been working hard on staying mentally strong from start to finish in matches and I felt like we did that for the most part.”

Middleton, the No. 1 ranked team in the state and winners of state titles in both 2023 and 2025, improved to 17-1 on the season.

The Cardinals opened the tournament with a 25-19, 25-18 win over Oconomowoc. Middleton then bested Cedarburg, 25-19, 25-19.

The Cardinals advanced to the championship match with a 26-24, 25-22 win over Waukesha West. Then in the title match, Middleton bested Germantown, 25-23, 25-22.

Middleton’s boys soccer team is ranked No. 5 in the latest Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association poll.

And the Cardinals showed why last week.

Middleton rolled past Madison Memorial, 4-0, on Sept. 8, then cruised by Sun Prairie East, 8-0, on Sept. 10. The Cardinals then tied Rockford Guilford, 2-2, on Sept. 12.

Here’s a recap of Middleton’s week.

• Middleton 4, Madison Memorial 0 — Cormac Carlson had a pair of goals as the Cardinals rolled past the Spartans. Sully Davis and Noah Belot also added goals.

“We played well enough to win, but as a team we know we've got more,” MHS coach Kevin Pauls said.

In the 17^th minute, Alejandro Ledesma fed Carlson for a goal to give Middleton a 1-0 lead. Then in the 20^th minute, Davis scored on a feed from Will Mottram to make it 2-0.

“It took us a little bit to get going, but then we got two quick ones,” Pauls said.

Middleton’s girls swimming team rolled past Madison La Follette, 140-14, on Sept. 10.

The Cardinals had the top three finishers in every event.

Middleton’s foursome of Brynn Sundell, Abigail Frommelt, Norah Ebert and Poppy Sickler won the 200-yard medley relay. The quartet of Rian Jost, Addy Hynes, Helen Machleidt and Ellie Wolf were second, while the team of Addi Haack, Jane Garlock, Tae Martin and Olivia Rashid were third.

Miri Spahn won the 200-yard freestyle, while Maddie Schecher was second and Alyssa Smith was third. Rae Colgan won the 200-yard IM, while Talyn Boxwell was second and Sabrina Bartlett was third.

Sally Dubis won the 50-yard freestyle, while Amy Ma was second and Martina Vargas was third. Grace Hoernke won the 100-yard butterfly, while Tatum Hinson was second and Greta Maulbetsch was third.

Madison East’s football team is mired in a 25-game losing streak.

The Purgolders are just 1-45 in also their last 46 contests.

So the fact Middleton defeated East on Sept. 10 certainly came as no surprise.

The fact the Cardinals posted a 77-0 victory, though, certainly turned a few heads.

East’s 77-point loss was its worst of the century. Middleton also posted its largest win of the century.

Middleton improved to 2-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big Eight Conference, while East fell to 0-4, 0-2.

MHS quarterbacks Eli Breunig and Ben Lashuk both had two touchdown passes and a TD run. Tight end Carter Parks had two TD receptions, while Eli Anderson and Brett Henrickson also had touchdown catches.

Regin Kalscheur had two touchdown runs, while Reed Falk — who had been sidelined from a broken ankle suffered in the spring — made his 2026 debut and had a rushing touchdown.

Middleton’s girls tennis team went 5-0 at the DeForest Invite on Sept. 12.

The Cardinals defeated DeForest, 7-0, and downed Kettle Moraine, 6-1. Middleton also toppled Badger, 6-1, bested Waunakee, 5-2, and upended Eau Claire Memorial 5-2.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ day.

• Middleton 7, DeForest 0 — The Cardinals earned straight set wins at all seven flights.

Middleton’s Sophia Pientka, Mira Russo, Nithya Uppala and Rebecca Zhang all cruised to straight set singles wins. In doubles play, MHS’ tandems of Avery West and Elina Koenst, Grace Mayer and Elodie Sabat, and Ava Giles and Elsa Heshelman rolled to wins.

• Middleton 6, Kettle Moraine 1 — The Cardinals won all four singles matches and toppled the Lasers.

Pientka, Russo, Uppala and Sabat all earned singles wins. In doubles action, Mayer and Zoe Baumgard teamed up for a win at No. 2, while Giles and Heshelman won at No. 3.

Middleton’s boys cross country team won the Brookfield East Invitational on Sept. 10.

The Cardinals finished with 52 points, while West Bend West was second with 66. Brookfield East (73), Homestead (79) and Janesville Craig rounded out the top five at the six-team tournament.

“We had a really strong showing,” Middleton coach Brian Finnel said “I was excited that we were able to win the invite.

“I thought we were patient, but we also got out quicker than we did last weekend at Verona. We found a good balance between being aggressive and not putting ourselves in trouble early.”

Zach Tang led the Cardinals with a fourth place finish, completing the 5,000-meter course in 16 minutes, 17.0 seconds. Junior Nethan Kaluarachchi was fifth in 16:22.8 and senior Fin Brintlinger was 10^th in 16:45.8, senior Owen Strupp was 15^th in 17:07.0 and senior Quinn Emerick was 19^th in 17:16.5.

Middleton High School’s annual alumni soccer game on Aug. 22 included a pre-game ceremony honoring Jack Miller, an MHS student who died in 2021, with the dedication of a scoreboard in his name.

The Jack Miller Memorial Scoreboard at Burghy Soccer Stadium is a permanent reminder of Miller’s legacy for current Cardinals and generations to come. His family, including dad, John Miller; mom, Lori Reesor; and sister, Sarah Miller, shared a tribute to Jack during the dedication ceremony.

Reesor said that Jack had a variety of interests as a high school student and that soccer was a key part of his senior year. That’s how the family decided that giving back to MHS soccer was the best way to pay tribute to Jack.

St. Francis Xavier Youth Football players in grades 4–6 experienced a memorable moment on Aug. 28, when they were invited to scrimmage at legendary Lambeau Field during the Green Bay Packers’ preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Packers provided coach buses to transport the players and coaches from Cross Plains to Green Bay, where the young athletes had the opportunity to experience game day from the inside. Players and coaches lined up in the tunnel as the Packers and Cardinals took the field, joined the teams on the field for the national anthem, and received high fives from Cardinals backup quarterback Gardner Minshew during warm-ups.