Sports

Back and forth they went, in a postseason thriller Saturday night.

Middleton’s girls volleyball team seemingly seized control of its WIAA Division 1 regional final at Monona Grove. But back stormed the Silver Eagles.

Eventually, fourth-seeded Monona Grove edged fifth-seeded Middleton, 25-17, 19-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-12 and captured the regional title.

Middleton’s season ended sooner than it had hoped, while the Silver Eagles now meet top-seeded Verona in a sectional semifinal Thursday.

“We would have like to go further into the sectional, but there was a reason that they were seeded fourth and we were fifth seeded,” Middleton coach Franco Marcos said. “We were trying to pull and upset and came up short.”

The Cardinals had a rough start, hit -0.171 in the first set, and fell into a 1-0 hole. Middleton played better in the second set, breaking away from a 14-all tie and tying the match up.

Middleton’s boys volleyball team enjoyed a terrific week.

The Cardinals rolled to the title at the Big Eight Conference tournament. Middleton also received the No. 1 seed in its sectional when the postseason begins Nov. 3.

“It was a fun day for us as we pushed each other,” Middleton coach Ben White said of the conference tournament. “People got to play some positions they normally don’t play and the lineups were pretty even.”

Middleton went 3-0 in pool play, then rolled past Madison La Follette, 25-19, 25-20, in the semifinals.

In the title match, Middleton upended Madison Memorial, 25-15, 25-20.

“This was the first conference tournament in over 20 years that we have held,” White said. “It was a good opportunity to give a lot of people playing time and opportunities to get on the court. I thought we did a nice job all day as a team. 

Their timing was impeccable.

Kaisey Skibba, a singles player most of her life, blossomed into a doubles standout at the perfect time.

Abbey Webber, always a sensational doubles player, took her game to a new level when the stakes were the highest.

When the two combined forces, the rest of the state paid the price.

Webber and Skibba combined to win the WIAA Division 1 girls state doubles championship last weekend at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The Cardinals’ dynamic duo became the first Middleton doubles team to win a state title since Jill Karofsky and Kristin Moe in 1982.

“This weekend was amazing,” Webber said afterwards. “Kaisey and I had a lot of fun. We both played our best tennis this weekend, which is great to do when it really matters. I will definitely remember this weekend, even though it seemed to go by quickly.”

Skibba agreed with her teammate.

They gathered in early August and quickly outlined a handful of goals.

This is commonplace inside high school football programs throughout the state. In most places, though, those objectives are never realized.

Middleton’s program isn’t like most places, though. And when the Cardinals’ draw up a list of goals, most of them typically come to fruition.

Middleton checked off its first goal last Friday by routing Janesville Craig, 52-6, and winning the outright Big Eight Conference championship. The Cardinals finished 8-1 in the league, one game better than Madison La Follette and Madison Memorial.

“It was a really special feeling for everyone getting the win to seal the conference,” Cardinals junior defensive back C.J. Fermanich said. “All the hard work that we put in every day in the summer and during the season paid off a little bit.

Middleton football coach Tim Simon thought his team might wind up a No. 2 seed in the postseason.

And that’s exactly where the Cardinals landed last Saturday morning.

What Simon and most others didn't see coming was who the No. 3 seed would be.

Middleton received the No. 2 seed and will host seventh-seeded Sun Prairie in a WIAA Division 1 Level 1 playoff game Friday at 7 p.m. Middleton defeated Sun Prairie, 45-13, on Sept. 18.

The winner of Middleton-Sun Prairie II could very well meet state super-power Hartland Arrowhead in Level 2. The Warhawks are the No. 3 seed in the eight-team grouping and host sixth-seeded Verona in the first round.

“We’re not afraid of anybody,” Simon said. “We wound up in the toughest bracket again, but we’ll play anybody any time.”

Simon and the Cardinals certainly face a daunting postseason path.

Middleton’s boys soccer team is headed to the postseason on a high.

The Cardinals notched a pair of wins and finished the regular season 14-3-1. Middleton also finished second in the Big Eight Conference and received the No. 3 seed in the postseason.

The Cardinals host 14^th-seeded Waukesha South Thursday at 7 p.m. in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal. The winner meets either sixth-seeded Madison Memorial or 11^th-seeded Janesville Craig in a regional final Saturday.

The sectional semifinals are Oct. 29 and the sectional finals are Oct. 31. Mukwonago is the No. 1 seed in the regional and Big Eight champion Madison West is the No. 2 seed.

“We will likely need to beat Madison Memorial and Madison West before we would get a chance to play for a state tournament berth,” Middleton coach Ben Kollasch said.

The Cardinals notched an impressive 7-1 win over Janesville Craig last Tuesday.

There are still bigger fish to fry.

Sectional championships to be won. State tournament victories to achieve.

But with Middleton’s boys volleyball team, it always starts with Big Eight Conference titles. And the Cardinals continued their remarkable run of dominance in the league last week.

Middleton rolled past Madison East, 25-11, 25-11, 25-17, last Thursday. And the win allowed the Cardinals to clinch their ninth Big Eight title in 10 years.

Middleton also notched its 40^th straight conference win, a streak that dates back to the end of the 2011 season. 

“We are proud that we are able to be so consistent through all these years and that’s really a tribute to the players and the alumni who take such pride in the program,” Middleton coach Ben White said. “Expectations are passed down from class to class and that sets the tone.”

Gus Newcomb and Middleton’s boys cross country team had a memorable day at the Big Eight cross country meet last Saturday.

Newcomb finished in second place individually and led the Cardinals to a second place finish in the team standings.

Madison La Follette, the top-ranked team in the state, won the team title with 59 points. Middleton finished a close second with 60 points.

Sun Prairie (87), Madison Memorial (89) and Verona (139) rounded out the top five.

“This was an amazing accomplishment for the boys team to run that close to the No. 1 ranked team in the state and beat other conference rivals that had surpassed us in previous meets,” Middleton coach Cindy Bremser said. “The entire team showed up for this competition and ran like champions.”

La Follette junior Finn Gessner won the individual title, completing the 5,000-meter course in 15 minutes, 15 seconds. Newcomb was second in 15:38 and Cardinals senior Perrin Hagge was fifth (15:59).

The second season is here.

And Middleton’s girls volleyball team hopes to be a team that surprises.

The Cardinals earned the No. 5 seed in their sectional and host 12th-seeded Baraboo Thursday at 7 p.m. in a regional semifinal.

If Middleton defeats the Thunderbirds, it meets either fourth-seeded Monona Grove or 13th-seeded La Crosse Central Saturday in a regional final.

The sectional semifinals are Oct. 29 and the sectional finals are Oct. 31.

“We are refining our game and believe that cutting down on our unforced errors will help us advance to the next round,” Middleton coach Franco Marcos said. “We are not going to take Baraboo lightly. 

“I have seen them play and they take advantage of any opportunity they get. We need to bring our ‘A’ game the rest of the way. Everyone needs to contribute in order for us to continue this journey.”

VERONA — Loren Skibba had just made the biggest one foot putt of her young life.

And as Middleton’s standout senior golfer was trying to exit the 18^th green at University Ridge, she was met by a mob of giddy Cardinals.

“They were crying, then I started crying,” Skibba said. “It was incredible.”

Incredible is the perfect word for what transpired here late Tuesday afternoon.

Middleton and Hartland Arrowhead engaged in an epic battle for the WIAA Division 1 state title. But for most of the day, the Warhawks kept the Cardinals at arms length.

Arrowhead still led by four shots with three holes to play. But over that stretch, Middleton made up a remarkable five strokes and won the title by one shot.

Middleton shot a season-low 310 on Tuesday’s final day and a 641 over the two-day tournament. That helped the Cardinals edge the Warhawks (642) and capture the second state title in school history.