Sports

The lead — once as high as 12 points — was gone now.

Janesville Parker was smelling an upset. Heavily favored Middleton was trying to regroup.

So the Cardinals turned to their gifted veterans, who delivered in a big way.

Middleton defeated Janesville Parker, 92-74, in a WIAA Division 1 regional final Saturday night at Middleton High School. And the Cardinals’ most experienced players keyed the win.

Parker opened the second half on a 6-0 run to tie the game, 40-40. But over the final 16 minutes, juniors Bria Lemirande, Alexis Thomas and Alyssa Lemirande combined for 39 points to lead the Cardinals to an impressive win.

“In these games, especially playoffs … I think it’s important for the people that are returners to just kind of step up,” Bria Lemirande said. “We need to be leaders, in this kind of game especially.”

They were.

Bria Lemirande had a huge game with 29 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and three assists.

Welcome to the Big Eight Sectional.

Middleton’s girls basketball team, which shared the conference’s regular season title, now aims for a sectional title and a trip to the WIAA Division 1 state tournament this weekend.

The second-seeded Cardinals meet third-seeded Janesville Craig Thursday at 7 p.m. in a sectional semifinal at Madison La Follette. Top-seeded Verona and fifth-seeded Sun Prairie meet in the other sectional semifinal.

The winners square off Saturday at 1 p.m. in a sectional final at Janesville Craig. That location could move, though, depending on who emerges from the sectional semifinals.

“It’s a tough sectional,” said Janesville Parker coach Jennah Hartwig, whose team lost to Middleton in the regional finals last Saturday. “It’s tough when only one team from the Big Eight is going to be able to make it to state.

Everything was in place for a party that was long overdue.

But someone forgot to tell Janesville Craig that Thursday was supposed to be a night of celebration for Middleton’s boys basketball team. Instead, the Cougars decided to crash the Cardinals’ bash.

Middleton had a chance to secure the outright Big Eight Conference title with a win over the upstart Cougars. Instead, Craig toppled the Cardinals, 59-54, and Middleton was forced to share.

Middleton, Sun Prairie and Madison Memorial all tied for the league’s top spot with 14-4 conference records. On a happy note, it did mark the first time Middleton has won a share of the league title since 2001 — when many of the current Cardinals were 2- and 3-years old.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Middleton junior forward Tyree Eady, who led all scorers with 20 points. “We should have won tonight and we wouldn’t have had to share conference.

One step from state.

That’s where Middleton’s hockey team finds itself after defeating Verona, 3-2, in double overtime in a sectional semifinal Tuesday night. Troy Reifsteck had the game-winning goal in the second overtime on assists from Preston Lewis and Garrett Graf.

The top-seeded Cardinals now face second-seeded Madison Edgewood in a sectional final Saturday at 7 p.m. at Sun Prairie Ice Arena.

The state tournament is March 3-5 at the Alliant Energy Center. Middleton will be trying to reach the state tournament for the fourth time in school history and the first time since 2011.

Middleton’s win over fourth-seeded Verona marked the third time this season the Cardinals slayed the Wildcats. Middleton also toppled the Wildcats, 3-1, on Jan. 9, and 4-1 on Feb. 11.

This has always been the plan for Kevin Meicher.

When Meicher began wrestling as a kindergartner, there were flashes of greatness. When he began competing in national tournaments as a sixth grader, his vast potential was evident.

Now, Meicher gets a chance to display his immense skill set on the state’s grandest stage.

Meicher, a freshman at Middleton High School, won the championship at 126 pounds at the WIAA Division 1 Waunakee Sectional last Saturday and qualified for the state tournament. Meicher (39-3) will meet Union Grove’s Brett Kieslich (40-9) in a first round match Thursday at 3 p.m. at the UW Kohl Center.

“With Kevin, this has always been the expectation,” Middleton coach Kent Weiler said. “Coming in, we knew he was good. But he’s trained hard and had a great year.”

So has teammate Chris Rogers, a junior who will be making his second straight appearance at state.

The odds were stacked against them from the start.

Few believed a Big Eight Conference championship was possible this winter for Middleton’s girls basketball team. Instead, Verona was a consensus favorite to win the league.

But history has shown that overlooking Jeff Kind’s Middleton program isn’t wise. And that was certainly the case in 2015-’16.

Middleton notched a pair of wins last week and captured a share of the conference title. The Cardinals and Verona finished the year 17-1 in the Big Eight, three games ahead of third place Janesville Craig.

Middleton clinched a share of this year’s title thanks to an 87-74 win over visiting Janesville Craig last Saturday. The Cardinals also rolled past Beloit Memorial, 76-37, last Thursday.

Led by sophomore Michael Draves and a podium-finishing 400-yard freestyle relay, Middleton finished a solid seventh at the WIAA Division 1 boys state swimming and diving meet Saturday at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium.

Middleton, which had been ranked in the top 10 of Division 1 programs most of the year, validated that ranking.

The Cardinals scored 123 points and were edged out of sixth place by the Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial co-op (125 points). Fifth-place Franklin beat had 132 points, just nine ahead of the Cardinals.

Madison Memorial won its sixth straight title with 314 points, while Madison West was second at 202.

“We had a very solid overall meet,” said Middleton head coach Sam Niesen, a former standout swimmer at MHS.

Middleton and Sun Prairie.

Sun Prairie and Middleton.

The two Big Eight Conference powers traded blows all season long — and they might not be done yet.

Sun Prairie landed the latest shot, edging Middleton for the Big Eight Conference title last Saturday. Sun Prairie won the meet with 139.0750 points and snuck past Middleton, which posted a 138.950.

Madison Memorial was a distant third at 134.050.

The two conference powers will go their separate ways at sectionals this weekend, but could meet again at the state meet March 4-5.

“We weren’t disappointed with second,” Middleton coach Kari Steck said. “We simply wanted the girls to go out and do their best and have fun. They did both.

“Sun Prairie and Middleton have been neck and neck all year, and losing by 0.15 is so close. We would rather have it be close than a five-point loss, so we considered it a very successful meet.”

Middleton boys basketball coach Kevin Bavery was on a local radio show last week when the host said he thought the Cardinals should be the No. 3 seed in the WIAA Division 1 Sun Prairie Sectional.

Bavery quickly quipped that he was glad the radio host wouldn’t be at Sunday’s seeding meeting.

Instead, Bavery brought enough firepower to the meeting and Middleton emerged as the sectional’s No. 2 seed. The Cardinals will open the postseason by hosting 15^th-seeded Kenosha Bradford in a regional semifinal March 4.

Sun Prairie earned the No. 1 seed, followed by Middleton, Madison Memorial, Muskego, Madison East, Oconomowoc, Madison West, Janesville Craig, Verona, Watertown, Badger, Kenosha Tremper, Beloit Memorial, Kenosha Indian Trail, Kenosha Bradford, Janesville Parker and Madison La Follette.

The long drought is almost over. And for Middleton’s boys basketball team, the end can’t come soon enough.

Middleton routed Beloit Memorial, 66-43, last Friday. The Cardinals are now just one win away from clinching at least a share of the Big Eight Conference title for the first time since the 2000-’01 season.

The Cardinals improved to 18-3 overall and 14-3 in the league. Middleton shares the top spot of the conference with Sun Prairie (17-4, 14-3). Beloit fell to 6-11, 8-13.

Junior forward Tyree Eady led the Cardinals with 15 points, while junior guard C.J. Fermanich recorded a ‘double-double’ with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore forward Brogan Brunker added eight points, seven rebounds and three steals, while senior guard Kevin Ripp and junior Jack Smith chipped in with six points each. Junior guard Storm Murphy added five assists and three steals.