Sports

Twelve months ago, they were the surprise of the Big Eight Conference. This year, Middleton’s girls softball team won’t be sneaking up on anybody.

The Cardinals finished third in the ultra-competitive Big Eight last season, won a regional title and went 17-8 overall. Now, with several key cogs back, Middleton should be in contention for a league title this spring.

“One of our strengths is we have a solid group of players coming back,” Middleton manager Cherie Hellenbrand said. “They understand the work ethic of what it takes to become champions.”

The Cardinals certainly have a terrific returning core to build around.

Sophomore outfielder Rachel Everson was a first-team all-Big Eight player last year. Senior infielders Katie Fermanich and Bianca Bockwinkel, and senior catcher Amber Karn were all named second-team all-league. Senior outfielder Abby Henke was also named honorable-mention all-conference.

The tradition of excellence extends back several decades.

State tournament berths. Conference titles. And winning at a high percentage each spring.

Yes, Middleton’s baseball team has been a dominant force for quite some time.

But the Cardinals will be extremely challenged to maintain their lofty position this season.

Middleton returns just two regulars from last year’s team that reached the WIAA Division 1 state quarterfinals. The Cardinals also have just one senior on the roster.

The 2015 Cardinals will be both young and inexperienced. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be successful, either.

“In a conference with a lot of experienced pitchers and players coming back, you can think we’ll be a little questionable,” said Middleton manager Tom Schmitt, whose team began its season with three games in Vero Beach, Fla., this week. “But these guys have competed enough in other sports and summer ball. So they’re not going to flinch too much.

Unfinished business.

Middleton’s 2015-’16 girls basketball team probably doesn’t have a slogan yet for a season that is still eight months away.

But that could very well be the Cardinals’ mantra next winter.

Middleton reached the WIAA Division 1 state semifinals this year, but lost in overtime when DSHA’s Arike Ogunbowale erupted for a state record 55 points. One night later, the Dashers routed D.C. Everest, 64-29, in the state title game.

Middleton will return a terrific nucleus next year. And the Cardinals — who came so close to a state championship this year — figure to be driven by that loss to DSHA and Ogunbowale.

“I expect that the trip to state will keep the returners hungry, knowing how close they were this year,” Middleton coach Jeff Kind said. “It took a fantastic, record-setting individual performance and overtime to keep us out of the state championship game.”  

Middleton’s girls basketball team enjoyed a magical season, reaching the state semifinals.

And the Cardinals were justly rewarded when it came to all-Big Eight Conference voting.

Middleton senior guard Elizabeth Norregaard was a first-team all-conference selection. Sophomore guard Bria Lemirande was named third-team all-league, while senior center Cole Jordee and sophomore guard Alyssa Lemirande were named honorable mention all-conference.

Norregaard was one of the top shooters in school history and led Middleton in scoring with 14.7 points per game. Norregaard made 64 three-point shots and shot 89.1% from the free throw line. Norregaard had a season-high 32 points at Verona, had a 26-point night against Beloit Memorial and was in double figures in 22 of 27 games.

In addition to being named first-team all-conference, Norregaard was named honorable mention all-state by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association.

They spent their winter overlooked, disregarded and discounted.

In the process, they proved all the naysayers wrong.

Next season, Middleton’s boys basketball team won’t be sneaking up on anybody.

The Cardinals returned the most inexperienced team in the Big Eight Conference this year. But Middleton surprised everyone and went 17-7 overall and finished third in the conference at 13-5.

Next year, the Cardinals will bring back one of the most experienced teams in the league. And Middleton most likely be tabbed to finish second in the conference, behind WIAA Division 1 state qualifier Madison East.

“The biggest mistake anyone can make is to get complacent and to assume we will be better just because we’re a year older,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said. “Individual players making improvements is what will make our team better.

Pat Riley, the Miami Heat general manager, trademarked the term “three-peat” in the late-1980s. Back then, Riley was the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, and his team was trying to win a third straight NBA championship.

Riley may own the rights to the term. But Middleton’s boys track and field team is anxious to make a run at a three-peat.

The Cardinals have won back-to-back Big Eight Conference titles. And with several key cogs back from a year ago, Middleton hopes to capture a third straight league crown this spring.

“They have the right mindset, they've worked hard in the off season, and we have great depth,” Middleton ninth-year coach Isaac Mezera said. “A three-peat is our No. 1 goal. If that is accomplished, I'm sure we'll have a strong postseason, too.”

Middleton enjoyed one its best season in recent memory in 2014. Not only did the Cardinals win the Big Eight again, they won the Madison Memorial Sectional and finished fifth at state.

La Crosse.

In the track and field world, this one word says it all.

And it’s both a word — and a place — that Middleton’s girls track and field team is quite familiar with.

The state track and field meet is held annually in La Crosse, and Middleton typically sends a bevy of gifted athletes to the northwest.

Tara Franklin, the Cardinals’ veteran head coach, expects more of the same this spring.

“I think that all of these girls have the main goal for the season as La Crosse,” Franklin said. “Those that have made it there and want to return.

“They have sparked the fire in others on the team and it is definitely something that we are striving for. We have a pretty good history of taking quite a few kids and they see no reason why this would be any different this season.”

ASHWAUBENON — It’s simple Math, really.

The kind that Middleton’s girls basketball team has been taught since the first grade.

5>1

Or so we thought.

But Friday night, DSHA senior guard Arike Ogunbowale ripped up that formula. And for a brief stretch of time, one became greater than five.

Middleton had no answers for Ogunbowale, who erupted for a state record 55 points in a WIAA Division 1 state semifinal at the Resch Center. Because the Cardinals couldn’t stop Ogunbowale, she stopped their season, as DSHA dealt Middleton an 86-76 overtime loss.

“I still almost can’t believe it,” Middleton senior center Cole Jordee said. “I mean, 55 points? That’s crazy.”

Crazy is right.

ASHWAUBENON — Leaving is never easy.

Especially when you’ve poured your heart and soul into something tour entire high school life.

For Cole Jordee, though, at least she could take solace in the fact she left everything she had on the Resch Center floor.

Jordee, a senior center for Middleton’s girls basketball team, was certainly broken hearted that her Cardinals dropped an 86-76 decision to DSHA in a WIAA Division 1 state semifinal Friday.

But Jordee made her final game in a Middleton uniform arguably the finest of her four-year career. Jordee had a team-high 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in defeat.

“At least I know I left it all out there,” Jordee said afterwards. “Of course, everyone is disappointed that we lost. But we gave it our best.”

Jordee certainly saved her best for last.

Jordee shot 6-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-9 from the free throw line. And of her 10 rebounds, five came on the offensive end.

They charged hard, like bulls being released in the streets of Spain.

Senior center Ian Hokanson played arguably the most inspired basketball of his Middleton career. Sophomore guard Storm Murphy dazzled for stretches. The rest of the Cardinals played with passion, heart and desire.

Unfortunately for Middleton’s boys basketball team, it came too late.

The Cardinals battled back from a 15-point point deficit and pulled within one on a pair of occasions late Tuesday night. But host Madison East held on and toppled Middleton, 56-53, in a WIAA Division 1 regional final played in front of a sellout crowd.

The Purgolders defeated the Cardinals for a third time this season and improved to 18-6. Middleton finished the year 17-7.

The game was supposed to be played last Saturday night. But following the fatal shooting of Tony Robinson in a nearby neighborhood Friday night, the game was moved to Tuesday.