Sports

One was second.

The other was third.

Eventually, both believe they can be No. 1.

Middleton’s cross country teams gave impressive performances at last Saturday’s River Valley Invite. The girls finished second among 19 teams in the Large Schools division, while the boys were third out of 20 teams.

It was an imposing performance by two teams that are undoubtedly trending upward.

“Our girls have a lot to celebrate and should take pride in their performances,” Middleton co-coach Cindy Bremser said.

Isaac Mezera, Middleton’s second co-coach, agreed.

“We just need to keep everyone focused and working hard, and those times will drop,” Mezera said.

Mighty Sun Prairie won the girls race with just 48 points, while the Cardinals were second at 65. Freedom (114), Holmen (156) and McFarland (159) rounded out the top five.

Middleton senior Sam Valentine was third overall, finishing in 18 minutes, 50 seconds.

Middleton’s girls tennis team improved to 7-0 and remained atop the Big Eight Conference after a pair of wins last week.

The Cardinals defeated Madison West, 5-2, last Thursday. Middleton also upended Madison Memorial, 5-2, last Tuesday.

In Middleton’s win over West, all three of its doubles teams won their matches.

“Our doubles teams all played well,” Cardinals senior Kaisey Skibba said.

Skibba teamed with fellow senior Abbey Webber for a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 1 doubles. Middleton senior Lauren Coons and freshman Maddie Clark notched a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles. And at No. 3 doubles, junior Jessica Wang and senior Amanda Huff posted a 6-3, 6-1 win.

Middleton’s Kai Heineman earned a hard fought 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles. And Ally Hujanen rallied for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles.

Middleton also notched wins at all three doubles flights against Madison Memorial.

Middleton’s girls volleyball team split a pair of matches last week.

The Cardinals fell to visiting Verona, 3-1, last Tuesday. Middleton then rebounded with a 3-0 win over Madison East last Thursday.

Verona, one of the favorites in the Big Eight Conference, notched an impressive 25-18, 24-26, 25-18, 25-18 win over the host Cardinals.

“The atmosphere in the gym was like a playoff match,” Middleton coach Franco Marcos said. “Both crowds were energetic and both teams put on a show.”

Logan Welti finished with 21 kills and 17 digs for Middleton and had a .348 hitting percentage. Lily Welti had 11 kills and  digs, while Mimi McMurray had 25 assists. 

“Verona has an awesome setter in Victoria Brisack, who is able to confuse the defense and put the ball where she wants it,” Marcos said. “Our blocking definitely needs to improve in order to beat the great teams.  

A normal coach might have worried.

An ordinary coach would have lost hour after hour of sleep.

But there isn’t a whole lot that’s commonplace about Middleton defensive coordinator Tom Cabalka. And there’s very little that’s routine about the defenses he fields.

In a Big Eight Conference showdown Friday night, Cabalka and Middleton’s defense came up huge again. The Cardinals sacked Madison La Follette quarterbacks Julian Patton and Frankie Arriola 10 times, held the Lancers to 193 total yards and rolled to a 24-13 win.

Middleton improved to 4-0 and now has sole possession of first place in the Big Eight Conference, while the Lancers fell to 3-1.

“We’ve played three really good games in a row defensively,” Cabalka said. “The kids were very prepared. They were very focused all week long.

“They’re still young and they’re still green. But I’m very happy. Very happy. Very excited about the fact they’re coming together.”

Efficient. Systematic. Methodical.

And in the end, remarkably successful.

This was the story of Middleton’s offense during an extremely impressive 42-21 victory over host Madison East Friday night. The Cardinals’ No. 1 offense scored touchdowns on all six of their drives in a workmanlike manner.

Middleton had just three plays of more than 20 yards all night. Instead, the Cardinals were meticulous in both the details and in their execution and slowly dismantled an overmatched East squad.

Middleton improved to 3-0 overall and in the Big Eight Conference, while East fell to 2-1. The Cardinals now travel to Madison La Follette (3-0) Friday at 7 p.m. in a matchup of the last two undefeated teams in the Big Eight.

“We’ll take that,” Middleton coach Tim Simon said when told his No. 1 offense was 6-for-6 finding the endzone. “It was out best effort of the year.”

Indeed.

There will be no rebuilding.

Without question, this will be a year of reloading for Middleton’s girls cross country team.

The Cardinals proved that at last Saturday’s Verona Invitational, finishing second among 26 teams.

Sun Prairie won the meet with 93 points, while Middleton was second (111). Madison Memorial (122), Madison West (123) and La Crosse Aquinas (240) rounded out the top five.

Middleton’s boys finished fourth among 25 teams.

“Finishing second at Verona sets a positive tone for the season,” Middleton co-coach Isaac Mezera said. “With the depth and work ethic this team has, we'll shoot to move the whole pack forward week by week. If that happens, we could be looking at turning some heads come conference and sectional time.”

Cardinals senior Sam Valentine was second overall, finishing the 4,000-meter race in 19 minutes, 19 seconds.

It wasn’t the start they hoped for.

But there were several things for Middleton’s boys soccer team to build upon.

The Cardinals dropped two of their first three games last week.

Middleton defeated Mount Horeb, 2-0, in its season opener last Thursday. But the Cardinals then fell to Neenah, 5-3, and to Hartland Arrowhead, 4-1, at the Arrowhead Quad last weekend.

“I don't like Middleton teams to give up nine goals in two games,” Middleton coach Ben Kollasch said. “We played well at times and showed how quickly we can score. It was really hot for these days and we can’t use that as an excuse for giving up that many goals. Some very good things came out of this weekend.”

Plenty of good came out of Middleton’s win over Mount Horeb.

Sophomore forward Drake Vandermause scored a pair of second half goals and the Cardinals pulled away from the gritty, gutty Vikings.

Middleton’s girls swimming team improved to 2-0 in the Big Eight Conference with a 137-31 rout of Madison East last Friday.

“This was our first away meet of the season, which can always be difficult to prepare for,” Cardinals coach Lauren Cabalka said. “Swimming at a pool that is not familiar can bring additional challenges — different blocks, different walls and a crowd that isn’t your own. I thought the girls set some good goals for this meet and remained focused all week leading up to the meet.”

Middleton’s quartet of sophomore Caroline Hippen, freshman Emily Keebler, junior Tryn Peterson and freshman Cora Mack won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:55.65.

The foursome of Mack, sophomore Chiara Pierobon-Mays, Peterson and freshman Hannah Aegerter won the 200-yard freestyle (1:42.38). And the quartet of senior Samantha Roll, Pierobon-Mays, Hippen and Aegerter won the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:43.09).

There is work to be done.

Lots of it.

But Middleton’s girls volleyball team has also shown many signs of promise to begin its season.

The Cardinals won their Big Eight Conference opener over Janesville Parker last Tuesday. Middleton then finished third at the Mukwonago Invite last Saturday.

“We are still trying to get our offense on track,” Middleton coach Franco Marcos said. “The start of the season is going the way I envisioned it. The timing between our hitters and setters is not quite there yet.”

The Cardinals had an impressive showing against Parker, rolling to a 25-20, 25-10, 25-13 win. 

Lily Welti had seven kills, five digs and two aces, while Mimi McMurray had 11 assists and two aces. Logan Welti added 10 kills, five digs and two aces, Elizabeth Keller had 19 assists and Meghan Bayer had eight kills and three blocks.

Middleton’s girls tennis team sits atop the Big Eight Conference following two more wins last week.

The Cardinals rolled past Madison La Follette, 7-0, last Tuesday. Middleton also defeated Sun Prairie, 4-3, last Thursday.

Cardinals freshman Michelle Chi rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles against the Lancers, while sophomore Kai Heineman notched a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 2. Junior Elizabeth Boettinger rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles, while junior Ally Hujanen posted a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 4.

In doubles play, seniors Kaisey Skibba and Abbey Webber rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 1, while freshman Maddie Clark and senior Lauren Coons posted a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 2. Senior Amanda Huff and junior Jessica Wang also notched a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3 doubles.

In Middleton’s win over Sun Prairie, it notched wins at all three doubles flights and Hujanen posted a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 4 singles.