Sports

Tue
07
Oct
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Middleton golfers survive at sectionals

Becky Halverson had every intention of aging gracefully.

Tuesday may have changed that plan for Middleton’s girls golf coach.

“I think that took 12 years off of my life,” Halverson joked.

She most certainly had company.

The WIAA Division 1 Middleton Sectional produced more drama than ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’ — combined.

Middleton, Madison Memorial and Stoughton all tied for the second and final state qualifying spot. Those three teams then went to a playoff, and after Middleton and Memorial advanced on the first hole, the Cardinals finally vanquished the Spartans on the second hole.

After a nearly nine-hour day at Pleasant View, the Cardinals were headed back to state.

“It was exciting, but mostly stressful,” said Middleton junior standout Loren Skibba. “I was stressed the whole time.”

Tue
07
Oct
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Soccer Cards earn No. 3 seed

It will take their best performances of the season.

It will take better showings than they’ve had the past few weeks.

But Middleton’s boys soccer team is still heading to the postseason optimistic about their chances.

The Cardinals received the No. 3 seed in their sectional and open the playoffs Tuesday by hosting 14th-seeded West Allis Hale in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. If the Cardinals win their opener, they would host either No. 6 Beloit Memorial or No. 11 Janesville Craig in a regional final Oct. 16.

The sectional semifinal is Oct. 23 and the sectional final is Oct. 25. Middleton will most likely have to knock off top-seeded Madison West and No. 2 Madison Memorial to reach state.

“West and Memorial are definitely seen around the sectional as the teams to beat,” Middleton coach Ben Kollasch said. “We may need to beat both along the way to get to state.”

Tue
07
Oct
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Boys spikers reach quarterfinals of Middleton Invite

Ben White wasn’t messing around.

Middleton’s boys volleyball coach hosted one of the state’s elite tournaments last Saturday. And White wasn’t giving his team any breaks at the Cardinal Invite.

“I told the guys I was going to put us in the toughest pool to give us more competition and see how we stack up against the best,” White said.

The results were mixed.

Middleton won three of its five matches on the day and escaped pool play. But the Cardinals’ day ended in the quarterfinals when they fell to Kaukauna.

“I wish we had more fight and spunk in us and fought back a little harder,” White said. “When we are on, we are on and tough to beat. We just need that switch to be flipped more often.”

The Cardinal Invite featured seven of the top 10 teams in state and 12 of the top 20.

Middleton opened with a 21-16, 21-11 win over Greenfield. The Cardinals then toppled Franklin, 21-10, 21-11.

Mon
06
Oct
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Swimmers win Middleton Invite

 

The Cardinal Invite is always one of the more enjoyable girls swimming meets of the year.

It comes during the middle of the season, when fatigue has crept in. And the meet is sprinkled with a bevy of fun relays, which adds to overall excitement.

For Middleton, winning the event is even more fun — and the Cardinals did exactly that last Saturday.

Middleton won the thrilling meet with 390 points, while Verona-Mount Horeb was second at 386. Madison Memorial (358), Sun Prairie (316) and McFarland rounded out the top five.

“We have always been known as a team with incredible depth, but people have not been talking about it as much with this year’s team,” Middleton coach Lauren Cabalka said. “I think this meet proved that we still have that incredible depth. We did just enough to come away with a win and to end the weekend on a high note.” 

Mon
06
Oct
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Girls tennis team wins Big 8 tournament

There were no surprises.

Nothing shocking or astonishing.

Middleton’s girls tennis team simply did what it's done all season long — and that’s dominate the Big Eight Conference.

The Cardinals went to the two-day conference tournament inside Nielsen Tennis Stadium last Tuesday and Wednesday and rolled to an easy win. Middleton finished with 50 points to easily outdistance runner-up Madison West (32).

The Cardinals also won the conference’s dual meet title with a perfect 9-0 mark.

Middleton head coach Deke Bradley declined when asked to comment. The victorious Cardinals, though, were understandbly giddy.

“Winning conference was awesome,” Middleton junior Abbey Webber said. “I was really proud of every girl on the team. We all worked really hard this season and it really paid off.”

That’s for sure.

Middleton’s doubles teams stole the show, winning championships at all three flights.

Sat
04
Oct
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Middleton rolls past Madison West

A couple of early turnovers and a quick deficit might have rattled a lesser team.

But as it has throughout the season, Middleton’s football team showed its resilience. The Cardinals overcame those foibles and bounced back for an impressive 28-7 Big Eight Conference victory over Madison West at Mansfield Stadium Thursday night.

“We knew that it was going to be a heck of a game, but we were a little sluggish to start,” Middleton coach Tim Simon said.  “We had a couple turnovers in the first quarter, but then we got things clicking a little bit. The defense held and gave us good field position and the offense was able to move the chains and got us a few scores.”

Middleton improved to 6-1 in the league and is now tied with Janesville Craig atop the conference standings. West dropped to 4-3.

Thu
02
Oct
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Golfers second at regionals

The bad news for Middleton’s girls golf team is they allowed a six-shot lead dissipate over the final six holes.

The good news for the Cardinals is it happened Wednesday, and not later this month.

Middleton finished second at the WIAA Division 1 Madison West Regional Wednesday. Verona won the meet with a 331-team score, while the Cardinals were second at 332.

Both teams advanced to Tuesday’s Middleton Sectional at Pleasant View Golf Course beginning at 9 a.m. Madison Memorial (342) and Waunakee (365) also advanced to sectionals.

“It was a good day for us,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “It just wasn’t a great day.”

Middleton appeared headed toward greatness much of the day.

The Cardinals shot 161 on the front nine to Verona’s 162. And Middleton’s lead grew to six shots after 12 holes.

But the Cardinals struggled on holes 14, 15 and 16 and Verona took the lead. Middleton never could get it back.

Mon
29
Sep
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Cross country teams shine at Midwest Invite

Middleton’s boys and girls cross country teams have been models of consistency for years now.

They’ve been dominant forces in the Big Eight Conference. They’ve shined in the postseason and been staples at the state meet.

But the 2014 Cardinals might be poised for their greatest levels of success in quite some time. Last Saturday’s star-studded Midwest Invitational seems to be proof of that.

In the premier cross country event of the year, both of Middleton’s teams put on a show.

The Cardinals’ girls were second out of 30 teams, while Middleton’s boys were third out 37 teams. As good as Middleton’s programs have been, neither gender had cracked the top-three at this event since at least 2008.

“Finishing second and third at this meet is a huge deal,” Middleton co-coach Isaac Mezera said.

That’s for sure.

Mon
29
Sep
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Middleton swimmers edge Menorial

Green and growing.

Young and improving.

That’s the story for Middleton’s girls swimming team this fall. And the talented Cardinals took a big step in the right direction last Tuesday.

Middleton overcame fatigue from a busy schedule and edged upstart Madison Memorial, 86-84.

“I'd say this was our best earned win of the season,” Middleton coach Lauren Cabalka said. “All factors considered, the girls fought hard for this win and I am extremely proud of the way they finished this five-day stretch. 

“I think this meet reaffirmed that we are not a team to be overlooked in the Big Eight Conference. This is proving to be one of the tightest races to the end and we are very excited to be a part of it.”

In a five day stretch, Middleton had a pair of conference dual meets and competed in the ultra-competitive Waukesha South Invite. But the Cardinals had just enough left in their collective tank to edge the Spartans.

Mon
29
Sep
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Soccer Cards looking to rebound

Ben Kollasch will head to the postseason soccer meeting on Monday.

And Middleton’s boys soccer coach will do so amid far more uncertainty than existed two short weeks ago.

Kollasch’s Cardinals fell to Madison West, 2-1, last Tuesday. The loss dropped the Cardinals into a third place tie in the Big Eight Conference.

Middleton, which had climbed as high as No. 2 in the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association poll, is now 0-3-1 in its last four games. And the Cardinals’ postseason seed is likely to be much lower than many predicted two weeks ago.

“We have had a slump here in the last two weeks or so, but the guys are refocusing and healing up nagging injuries,” said Kollasch, whose team is 9-3-2 overall. “We are a team that can play with any in the state, so no one should count us out of the postseason.”

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