Sports

Once again, they were the beasts of the Big Eight Conference and a force across the state.

So it was certainly no surprise that Middleton’s boys volleyball team was well represented on the all-conference team.

Senior outside hitter Kevin McMahon was named first-team all-conference, was the league’s Player of the Year and received honorable-mention all-state honors.

Senior middle blocker Blake Sprecher was a first-team all-conference selection, received high honorable-mention all-state honors and was voted Middleton’s MVP.

Sophomore libero Thomas Robson was named first-team all-conference. Senior middle hitter Pace Balster and sophomore setter Andrew Lepage were named second-team all-Big Eight, while junior middle blocker Cole Spitler was named honorable-mention all-conference.

Middleton’s Ben White was also named the Big Eight’s Coach of the Year.

Middleton’s girls volleyball team had five players named to the all-Big Eight Conference team.

Senior outside hitter Logan Welti and freshman outside hitter Lily Welti were named first-team all-conference. Senior middle blocker Meghan Bayer was named second-team all-league, while senior middle blocker Molly Zeinemann and senior setter/outside hitter Elizabeth Keller were named honorable-mention all-conference.

Logan Welti was a four-year varsity player and a tri-captain this season. She received honorable-mention all-state honors for a second straight year and was named Middleton’s Most Valuable Player.

Logan Welti led Middleton with 336 kills, an average of 3.1 per game. Logan Welti also led Middleton with 433 digs, was second in aces (53) and will now play collegiately at New Hampshire.

What they lack in stature they more than make up for with speed, skill and stamina.

Middleton’s girls basketball team might be one of the smallest around this season. The Cardinals could also be one of the best.

“We could play five guards at times,” said Middleton coach Jeff Kind, whose team opened the season Tuesday against Stoughton. “And that’s fine. The goals still won’t change.”

With good reason.

Kind has built one of the state’s top programs and has taken the Cardinals to state eight times since 2001 and nine times overall. Last year, Middleton reached the state semifinals before losing in overtime to eventual champion DSHA.

The Cardinals return several key cogs from last year’s team that went 22-5 overall and 15-3 in the Big Eight Conference. But most of Middleton’s returnees are guards, and the roster lacks great size, meaning Kind & Co. will play a lot of small ball.

An abundance of depth carried Middleton’s girls’ swimming and diving team to big things throughout 2015, including a perfect Big Eight Conference mark and a sectional title.

Last Saturday, the Cardinals rode their depth all the way to a second-place finish at the WIAA Division 1 state swimming and diving championships at the UW Natatorium.

Hartland Arrowhead won the meet with 301 points, while Middleton was a distant second at 211. Cedarburg (206), Verona/Mount Horeb (200) and Madison Memorial (165.50) rounded out the top five.

“All season long the team has consistently done everything they said they were going to do and they came in here with an agenda to get second,” Middleton coach Lauren Cabalka said. “We were seeded third coming in, and, from our diver down to that (last) relay, we did exactly what we needed to do.”

Freshman Hannah Aegerter agreed.

MILWAUKEE — Deep down, they knew the odds were long.

Then again, they weren’t exactly favorites most of the season.

Late Friday afternoon, though, the clock struck 12 for a Middleton boys volleyball team that had bucked the probabilities all year long.

New Berlin United and its heavy arsenal was on full display in a 25-22, 25-12, 25-12 win over Middleton in a WIAA state quarterfinal game held at Wisconsin Lutheran College.

United, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, lost the following day to Kettle Moraine in the state semifinals. Middleton finished the year 21-11 overall.

“One match doesn’t define a season,” Middleton coach Ben White said. “And that’s what I told the guys. We can’t let one match define us.

“Only eight teams made it here and no one can ever take that experience away from our guys. They definitely overachieved.”

No one would argue that.

Ben White isn’t always conventional.

Middleton’s boys volleyball coach has no problem trying new things — no matter what point of the season his team is at.

But even for White, last Thursday was unique.

With Middleton just minutes away from its WIAA sectional final against Waukesha South, White told his team he was making some changes to account for Blackshirts dynamic outside hitter Tristan Steckl. The move worked like a charm and the Cardinals rolled to a 25-16, 25-18, 25-12 win over South in a match held at Madison Memorial High School.

Middleton earned a third straight trip to state and its eighth since 2002. The Cardinals now face New Berlin United in a state quarterfinal game Friday at 3 p.m. at Wisconsin Lutheran College.

“Never gets old,” Middleton coach Ben White said of going to state. “I’m very proud of this team for how much they have grown this season.  

Middleton’s football team enjoyed a memorable year on the field.

And the Cardinals reaped the benefits off the field, as well, when it came time for postseason honors.

Middleton, the outright Big Eight Conference champion, had 17 players named all-league. That was more than any other school in the conference.

Middleton had 10 players named first-team all-conference, two were named second-team and five earned honorable-mention all-conference honors.

Junior safety Joe Ludwig led Middleton’s first-team honorees and was named the Big Eight’s Defensive Back of the Year. Senior Cody Markel was the only player in the league named first-team all-conference at two positions, earning honors at both tight end and defensive end.

Perry Hibner was sitting in a large conference room in Stevens Point Thursday morning when he got the call he had been hoping for.

Bob Joers was on the other line, and Middleton’s athletic director had some good news.

Hibner, an assistant coach inside Middleton’s girls softball program, was being bumped up to the head coaching position. And Hibner could hardly contain himself.

“I let out a huge scream,” Hibner said. “Not really, but I felt like doing it.”

It’s easy to see why.

Middleton was one of the state’s premier softball programs for years under the guidance of the late Russ Shaub. The Cardinals are trending upward again thanks to the recent leadership of Cherie Hellenbrand.

But Hellenbrand stepped down this fall when the task of balancing coaching and family became too great.

Jack Jesse began turning heads last spring, with a record-setting track and field season.

Jesse set a Middleton High School record with a leap of 23 feet, 2 ½ inches in the long jump. He finished fifth at state in that same event.

Jesse’s brilliant season drew the attention of coaches near and far. And after a hectic few months trying to determine his future, Jesse recently gave a verbal commitment to Notre Dame.

Jesse will sign his national letter of intent next Wednesday.

“I'm extremely excited to get down to Notre Dame next fall and begin training with the team,” Jesse said. “And although my attention is still focused on mine and my friends’ final year of high school track, this serves as just one more motivation to train hard until that time comes.”

Effort has never been an issue for Jesse.

The long and proud history of Middleton girls golf — started by the great Dewey Stendahl, then taken to even loftier heights by Jeff Kenas and now Becky Halverson — is one of the most storied in the state.

Names like Lindsey Solberg, Heidi Hinners, Jill Ries and Halverson’s will live in infamy.

But the magnificent career of Loren Skibba rivals any the school has ever seen.

Skibba guided Middleton to the second WIAA Division 1 state title in school history this fall. She also finished second at state individually, after winning the crown herself in 2014.

For her sensational season, Skibba was named the state Player of Year by the Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin. Ries, the state’s Co-Player of the Year in 2000, is the only other Middleton athlete to win that award.