Sports

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.

Tara Franklin tried putting off the decision as long as possible.

She tried throwing it on the back burner this summer. She did whatever possible not to think about it this fall.

Finally, Middleton’s long-time and extremely successful girls track and field coach had to face facts. Her 19-year tenure as the Cardinals’ boss had to end.

Franklin became a mother for the first time — to twins Paxton and Keska — in January. And with her children now dominating her world, Franklin knew there simply wasn’t enough room in her life to coach track and field.

“I poured my heart and soul into it,” Franklin said. “I absolutely loved being with the kids.

The conditions bordered on miserable. Rainy, slippery, soggy, muddy.

But the day itself was a historic one for Middleton’s boys cross country team.

The Cardinals finished fourth at last Saturday’s WIAA Division 1 state meet held at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids. That was the highest finish in school history.

“The boys had a very successful cross country season,” Middleton coach Cindy Bremser said. “It took them the first month to have all the players run on the same team and then they improved each competition.”

Cardinals junior Gus Newcomb, who led Middleton with a fifth place individual finish, thought the Cardinals could crack the top-three. But Newcomb was still happy where Middleton finished.

The result isn’t what they wanted.

The effort, the intensity, truthfully really the entire season was something everyone was awfully proud of.

Middleton’s boys soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to Madison West in the WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinals last Thursday.

The Cardinals finished the year 16-4-1, while the Regents defeated Sun Prairie in the sectional finals two days later.

“This game was a game the players can be proud of,” Middleton coach Ben Kollasch said. “This was a game that players left all their effort on the field. There were no other options, no unused tactics, just an opponent that would not fall.

The goal was outlined after their first practice of the season.

They spent the next 10 weeks bettering themselves, and destroying almost everyone that crossed their path.

Then last Saturday, Middleton’s dynamic girls swimming and diving team made their primary objective a reality.

The Cardinals won the Big Eight Conference meet held at Beloit Memorial in remarkably impressive fashion. Middleton posted a whopping 563.5 points and easily outdistanced runner-up Verona/Mount Horeb (466.5). Madison Memorial (441), Madison West (345) and Sun Prairie (246) rounded out the top five.

It came out of nowhere.

It was fast and ferocious, like a summer thunderstorm or a blitzing linebacker.

Middleton’s football team was leading Sun Prairie, 9-0, early in the second quarter of a WIAA Division 1 first round playoff game last Friday. Then, in a matter of just 3 minutes, 40 seconds, Sun Prairie scored a stunning 21 points.

Middleton never fully recovered and suffered a 30-23 defeat, ending what had been a sensational season much earlier than it ever envisioned.

“You’re never really ready for this moment,” Middleton senior linebacker Garrett Graf said. “Sun Prairie played a (heck) of a game. But this was a terrific group of seniors and we worked our tails off week after week. It’s just disappointing to have it end this quick.”

Middleton, the Big Eight Conference champions and the No. 2 seed in its bracket, ended the year 8-2. Middleton also fell to 8-12 in the postseason under 12^th-year coach Tim Simon.

Gus Newcomb is thinking big.

Dreaming bigger.

And maybe, those visions will become a reality on Saturday.

Middleton’s boys cross country team won the WIAA Division 1 Waunakee Sectional last Saturday. Now, the Cardinals are aiming for the sky at Saturday’s state meet at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.

Madison La Follette is the state favorite. But after the Cardinals lost to the Lancers by just one point at the conference meet, they realize anything is possible.

“As a team, we want a state title,” Newcomb said. “After being beat by La Follette at conference by only one point we realized is possible.”

Anything seems possible right now for Newcomb and the Cardinals.

Newcomb ran a brilliant race and won the Waunakee Sectional. Newcomb finished the 5,000-meter course in 16 minutes, 34.8 seconds.

That helped Middleton win the sectional with just 42 points, easily outdistancing runner-up Madison Memorial (74).