Sports

Middleton’s girls cross country team finished third at the 30-team Midwest Invitational in Janesville last Saturday.

Hartland Arrowhead was first with 85 points, while Kimberly was second at 89. Middleton was third with 152 points, while Madison West (192) and Wisconsin Lutheran (214) rounded out the top five.

Sam Valentine was second individually, completing the 5,000-meter race in 18 minutes, 35 seconds.

“Sam Valentine continues to burn the courses,” Middleton co-coach Cindy Bremser said. “She ran another personal best and closed a 20-second gap on the top runner.”

Charlotte Sue was 21^st (20:01), Erika Rader was 27^th (20:20), Autumn Grim was 49^th (20:57) and Iris Ohlrogge was 53^rd (21:05).

“Going under 20 (minutes) is a big goal for Charlotte and it will happen soon,” Bremser said. “Erika Rader continues to improve and gain confidence and is a strong No. 3 runner on the team. 

Middleton’s girls volleyball team tied for fifth at the 16-team UW-Oshkosh tournament last Saturday.

Meghan Bayer had a terrific performance and was named to the all-tournament team.

Middleton opened with a 25-8, 25-14 win over Ripon. Bayer led the Cardinals with eight kills, while Elizabeth Keller had four aces and 13 assists and Morgan Roberts had five aces and six digs. 

Pewaukee then edged Middleton, 25-17, 23-25, 15-12.

Bayer had seven kills and two blocks, Logan Welti had eight kills and 11 digs and Mimi McMurray had 17 assists.

“It was a close match,” Middleton coach Franco Marcos said.

Middleton then defeated Lakeshore Christian, 25-11, 25-13.

Elizabeth Keller had two aces and 11 assists, while Logan Welti had 11 kills and nine digs. 

In the quarterfinals, Marshfield toppled the Cardinals, 25-14, 25-18.

It’s not always sexy.

But more often than not, it’s extremely successful.

Defense, defense and more defense is what Middleton boys volleyball coach Ben White stresses. And it’s usually key for the Cardinals.

That was certainly the case last Thursday, when Middleton rolled past Madison West, 25-9, 25-19, 25-12.

“Easily our best defensive match of the season,” White said. “Madison West has a couple of outside (hitters) that can hit pretty hard and they swing for the fences every time. That leads to more blocks, more digs and more errors by your opponent.”

Senior outside hitter Kevin McMahon led the Cardinals with 18 kills and two aces, while senior middle blocker Blake Sprecher had seven kills. Senior setter Matthew Caamal had 20 assists and sophomore setter Andrew Lepage had seven assists.

One by one, they trudged off Memorial Field with the same look on their faces.

Shock. Anger. Disbelief. Frustration.

Middleton’s football team seemed well on its way to keeping its unbeaten season alive Friday night. But visiting Madison Memorial scored the final 17 points and rallied for a stunning 31-28 win.

The Spartans prevailed when junior kicker Karl Hummel drilled a 20-yard field goal with 3 seconds left.

Middleton dropped to 5-1 overall and in the Big Eight Conference and is now tied for first place in the league with Madison La Follette. Madison Memorial won its fourth straight game and improved to 4-2.

“I don’t know what happened. I’m just shocked,” said Cardinals senior running back Cam Maly. “We do expect to win. We work hard every day and we get better every day. We don’t expect to just fall apart.”

This was simply the first major success in their two-month journey.

There are several more challenges to come.

But Middleton’s girls golfers will happily tell you this was an extremely enjoyable achievement.

The Cardinals captured the Big Eight Conference regular season title last Wednesday. Middleton shot a 323 at Pleasant View Golf Course and toppled Verona by 11 strokes. Madison Memorial didn’t field a full team and finished third.

The Cardinals finished 9-0 in Big Eight dual meets, while Verona ended the year 8-1.

“I’m really proud of the girls,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “This was just one step in our road to our main goal. We have several more steps to go in the coming weeks, but I know they can do it if they keep focused and relaxed.”

A year ago, Middleton and Verona tied for the conference regular season crown. This time through, the Cardinals were in no mood to share.

They wanted to make a statement.

They wanted to let the rest of the state’s elite swimming programs know that they were legitimate.

And that’s exactly what Middleton did Saturday.

The Cardinals went to the star-studded Waukesha South Invite and won the 14-team event. Middleton finished with 333 points and edged state super-power Hartland Arrowhead (325). Verona-Mount Horeb (240), Madison West (230) and Cedarburg (213) rounded out the top five.

Middleton coach Lauren Cabalka noted that Arrowhead was without two of its top swimmers, who were both away on college recruiting trips. Still, that didn’t take anything away from the Cardinals’ magical day.

“The girls continued to make a statement about who we are as a team this season,” Cabalka said. “The state's best swimmers were at this invite and the girls wanted to compete at the same level as they do. 

All season long, Middleton boys volleyball coach Ben White has talked about climbing rungs of a ladder.

White knows it won’t be easy. And the Cardinals will most likely take small steps rather than gigantic leaps.

But Middleton certainly made a move up the ladder last Saturday, when it finished second at the Wauwatosa East Invite.

“We are nowhere near the top, but we are still remembering to climb one step at a time,” White said. “We aren’t even worried about how tall the ladder is, we just know that at some point we have to reach the top and when we get there we can look down and reflect on our accomplishments. But not yet.”

Middleton’s performance at Wauwatosa East was certainly a terrific accomplishment.

There were signs of progress.

There were periods of growth.

And that has Middleton girls volleyball coach Franco Marcos extremely excited.

The Cardinals reached the semifinals of the 14-team Middleton Invite before losing to Platteville last Saturday. For a Cardinals squad searching for a branch of consistency to grab ahold of, it was an exciting day at the office.

“Overall it was a good performance by the team,” Middleton coach Franco Marcos said. “Everyone is back and we are working towards solidifying our starting lineup. 

“We expected a better performance in the win-loss column. However, we were still able to claw our way to the semifinals and faced a solid Platteville team.”

All season long, players and coaches talk about getting better every day, every week, every game.

Well, Middleton’s football team has been putting that talk into action after perhaps its best all-around performance of the season.

Middleton excelled in all phases of the game in an impressive 45-13 rout over rival Sun Prairie in a Big Eight Conference game last Friday. 

“It’s a great team effort,” Middleton coach Tim Simon said. “Offense, defense, and special teams all did great tonight and I think there were a couple times where things could have gone south for us. We gave them the ball back in good field position and our defense stepped up huge and held ground. The offense did a good job of moving the ball, moving the chains, and, obviously, getting some good scores in.”

Senior defensive back Griffin Gussel agreed.

“We had a lot of fire, a lot of aggressiveness, we were flying around,” Gussel said. “It was a great game.”