Sports

It’s a year of great expectations.

A season of tremendous hope.
And Middleton’s boys golf team showed last Saturday it’s ready to live up to the hype.

The Cardinals opened their season with an impressive performance at the 17-team Wisconsin Dells Invitational last Saturday.

Middleton finished in second place at 308, two shots behind White Bear Lake (Minn.). Madison Memorial (311), Forest Lake, Mn. (312) and Waunakee (315) rounded out the top five. The first day of the tournament was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Middleton — like every other team during this brutal spring — had struggled to get in practice rounds. But the Cardinals gave a solid performance on a sunny, 40-degree day that felt almost balmy.

“That was the first time we played 18 (holes) all year,” Middleton coach Tom Cabalka said. “The kids haven’t walked 18 and they haven’t had to concentrate for four-plus hours.

They received a one-hitter from their ace.

They had a terrific day at the plate, with 12 total hits, including three of the extra base variety.

And their defense was solid throughout.

Middleton’s baseball team kicked off its season in style last Wednesday, rolling past host Janesville Parker, 5-1.

“The guys played well, which was good to see,” Middleton manager Tom Schmitt said. “We were pretty good in all areas.”

The Cardinals had a rough 2015, in which they went just 10-16. So Schmitt and his team wanted nothing more than to start fast in 2016.
Middleton did that by excelling in every area.

Senior Alec Morrison was sensational on the mound, allowing just one run and one hit in six innings. Morrison struck out nine, walked two and faced just 19 batters — one over the minimum.

Last Wednesday, Big Eight Conference athletic directors voted that outdoor events wouldn’t be played if the wind chill is 35 degrees, or colder, two hours before the game or up to two hours after the start time.

That rule came 24 hours too late for Middleton’s girls softball team.

The Cardinals dropped their season-opener, 12-1, at Madison East last Tuesday in a game played with wind chills hovering around 25 degrees and with periodic rain and sleet. The game was stopped after five innings due to the 10-run rule.

“No excuses,” said Middleton first-year manager Perry Hibner, who dropped his first game. “East performed well and we didn’t.

“We struggled in every area. We didn't throw many strikes, we weren't clean in the field and we didn't hit the ball well. About the only highlight was no one was injured getting on or off the bus.”

Middleton actually took a 1-0 lead after ½-inning.

There’s a long-standing saying that deadlines spur action.

For Brady Thomas, Emmet Herb and Joey Levin, their deadline has arrived. Now, Middleton’s senior golfers are expecting their finest action yet.

The Cardinals’ terrific trio has been part of the varsity lineup since their freshman seasons. In that time, they’ve helped Middleton finish fourth at state in 2014 and fifth in 2015.

Now, with the end in sight, Herb, Levin and Thomas all want to leave on a high note.

“This is our last go at that state championship,” said Thomas, whose team begins its season Friday at the Wisconsin Dells Invite. “We have had our chances the last two years at winning and failed.

“I think this year it’s our turn to really take over because it’s our last year and we all have worked really hard to come out on top in the end. I'm extremely excited to work our way to (University) Ridge and then get the job done there.”

Levin agreed.

Rankings?

What rankings?

That was Mary Duffy’s reaction when told her Middleton girls soccer team began the year ranked No. 4 in the first Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association poll of the season.

“I had no idea,” Duffy said of the preseason rankings. “That is very nice that people voted for us. I think our strong runs in the postseason contribute to this ranking, and while I think Middleton will be good and we have the squad to make a strong run during postseason, this is still a new year with different kinks to work out. I do not put much stock in pre-season rankings, nor do I during the season.”

That seems wise, as the rankings themselves — especially in April — are worth less than the paper they’re printed on.

But people clearly think highly of Middleton once again this season, and it’s easy to see why.

Perry Hibner understands he’s not re-inventing the wheel.

Things have been awfully good inside Middleton’s girls softball program for more than three decades now. From the late, great Russ Shaub to Cherie Hellenbrand — and after a few hiccups, back to Hellenbrand again — the Cardinals have been a force.

So Hibner — set to begin his first season as Middleton’s head coach — won’t tinker and toy a whole lot. In fact, when the Cardinals begin their 2016 season on Tuesday at Madison East, it will be business as usual.

“We’ve made some slight tweaks, but I’ve never understood why a coach would come into a successful program and start changing everything,” said Hibner, who was an assistant coach under Hellenbrand last year. “Cherie and her staff, which I was fortunate to be a part of last year, did a great job of teaching, pushing and challenging the girls to get better every day.”

And Middleton most certainly did that under Hellenbrand.

Surprised. Startled. Stunned.

But far from staggered.

Middleton’s baseball team was admittedly shocked a year ago when it went just 10-16 overall and plummeted to eighth place in the Big Eight Conference at 7-11.

But the Cardinals are optimistic that 2016 will be different. Much different.

Middleton returns the overwhelming majority of its team from a year ago. And Cardinals veteran manager Tom Schmitt believes his group is ready for a bounce back season.

“Our kids have gotten stronger and have become a closer group,” said Schmitt, whose team begins its season Thursday by hosting Monona Grove at 4:30 p.m. “They bring a determined attitude to get back on top. They have accepted the challenge and have set goals and a vision of how to get there. 

When it comes to filling shoes, Cory Christnovich understands he’s jumping into a pair of size 15’s. And that’s just the way he prefers it.

Christnovich is the new head coach of Middleton’s girls track and field program. Christnovich takes over for Tara Franklin, who had sensational 20-year run as the Cardinals’ boss.

But Christnovich would much rather run a program with a history of tradition and success instead of one that possesses none of those traits.

“I am very excited to take over as the girls head coach,” Christnovich said. “The program has a culture of success and it is fun to be around athletes that want to work hard in practice day in and day out to keep up that success. 

The leadership at the top has changed.

But the goals, expectations and talent base remain the same.

Middleton’s boys track and field team has a new head coach, with former assistant Joe Line taking over the program. But a Cardinals’ outfit that has been trending upwards for years figures to be terrific again in 2016.

“I am excited about taking over such an accomplished program,” said Line, whose team began its season last Saturday at the UW-Whitewater Invite. “The program was left to me with great traditions and goals, and I plan on continuing and adding to the successes of the boys track and field program.”

Line, a 1999 graduate of Monroe High School, was a standout with the Cheesemakers where he competed in jumping events and also ran the 4x100 and the 4x400. Line competed at UW-Whitewater for one year, but stepped away following a leg injury.

Unfinished business.

If Middleton’s boys basketball team is looking for a theme for the 2016-’17 season, that would seem appropriate.

The Cardinals enjoyed one of their best seasons in years. Middleton went 19-5 overall, won a share of its first Big Eight Conference title in 15 years, and climbed as high as No. 2 in the state polls.

But after a 14-0 start, Middleton lost five of its final 10 games. The Cardinals had a chance to win the Big Eight’s outright title, but lost a home game to Janesville Craig on the final night of the regular season.

Then Middleton, a No. 2 seed, lost a home game to seventh-seeded Madison West in the regional finals.

Yes, the Cardinals accomplished many great things in 2015-’16. But there’s also a lot they left on the table.

“What might have been kept it from being fulfilling,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said of the season. “It will undoubtedly fuel our preparation for 2016-17.”