Sports

Their season hung in the balance. And the way Middleton’s year had gone, it would have been very easy to count the Cardinals out.

Visiting Madison La Follette opened the fourth quarter of last Friday’s WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal on a 7-0 burst. That gave the Lancers their first lead of the second half at 38-36.

“We had adversity all year,” Middleton senior forward Demond Hill said. “This was just the latest.”

On this night, though, Middleton navigated through the difficulty with aplomb. The Cardinals smacked the Lancers with a 14-4 run, reclaimed a 50-42 lead, and went on to an impressive 57-49 win.

Middleton fell the next night in a regional final at Sun Prairie. But in a year laced with inconsistency, the Cardinals came up big in their final home game of the season.

MADISON — It may have been the longest 10 weeks of Aryn Skibba’s young life.

The devoted, passionate, remarkably gifted Middleton gymnast went from standout to spectator.

And watching her teammates compete hurt immensely. Perhaps even more than the back injury that had sidelined Skibba.

“It was awful,” Skibba said. “Just awful.”

Today, Skibba is making up for lost time.

Skibba set a school record in the all-around competition with her score of 38.10 at last Saturday’s Madison Memorial Sectional. Not only did Skibba win the all-around title, she posted the second-highest all-around score from any sectional in the state.

Now, Skibba and the Cardinals head to the WIAA Division 1 state meet at Wisconsin Rapids High School full of confidence. The team competition begins Friday at 2 p.m. and the individual competition starts Saturday at 11 a.m.

MADISON — The numbers had been tabulated.

The results had been conveyed to Middleton girls gymnastics coach Kari Steck.

Steck paused momentarily, then let loose an extremely enthusiastic “Woo Hoo.”

“Woo Hoo” was right.

In a memorable performance, the Cardinals rolled to the championship at last Saturday’s Madison Memorial Sectional.

Middleton posted a team score of 143.5250 and toppled runner-up Madison Memorial (142.750) for the title. That’s believed to be the second-best postseason score in school history. Middleton’s 2001 team scored a 144.2167 at the state meet.

“I’m really happy,” said Cardinals senior Aryn Skibba, who won the all-around championship. “I think we just came in today and needed to be a team and have fun. And I think that really showed.”

Shay Haase finished on the podium at the WIAA Division 1 individual state wrestling tournament at the Kohl Center last Saturday night.

That accomplished one of the goals for Middleton’s 152-pound junior this season.

However, Haase was dealt a bitter reminder that there is still a lot of work remaining to accomplish his goal of becoming the Cardinals’ next state champion after he got off to a stellar start in his second straight state tournament appearance.

“It felt good to be on the podium, but at the same time I was disappointed because I knew I could have done better and placed higher in the tournament,” said Haase, who placed sixth this season after losing his only match a year ago. “Next year I’m planning all offseason to be on top of the stage.”

Ryan Groy always thought this was possible.

From the days he was the biggest kid at Sunset Ridge to his time dominating defensive linemen while at Middleton High School. Groy always believed his eventual landing spot would be in the National Football League.

Now, that day is getting closer.

Groy, who recently completed his senior season at the University of Wisconsin, took his show to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis last week. There, he did all he could to show scouts he could be the latest in a long line of great UW linemen.

“I've loved (football) since I was in fourth grade,” said Groy, a 2009 graduate of MHS. “It's been my life since then and it's everything it is now. You go to bed and wake up thinking about football and it's never really changed.”

A year after coming within a split-second of qualifying for state, Hans Kunsch had a state meet to remember.

The Middleton senior not only qualified for state, but made the podium to propel Middleton’s boys swimming team to a ninth-place tie at the WIAA Division 1 state boys’ swim meet held at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium last Saturday.

“Last year I missed the cut by 1/100^th of a second, so pretty much as close as you can get to going to state,” Kunsch said. “This year, I couldn’t let that happen again so I trained as hard as I can, went to every practice, didn’t miss one this year actually, and was really happy.”

Kunsch placed fifth in the 100-yard backstroke in 53.20 seconds and was also part of the near record-setting 200 medley relay team, which included senior Lars Haskins and juniors Rory Slattery and Lex Peterson. The foursome placed third in the event in 1:36.08, just .02 off the Middleton school record.

Shay Haase’s goal hasn't changed.

What is different is that’s Middleton’s standout junior wrestler is far closer to achieving his ultimate objective.

Haase finished in first place at 152 pounds during last Saturday’s WIAA Division 1 WIAA Division 1 Waunakee Sectional. Haase now advances to the state meet, which runs Thursday through Saturday at the UW Kohl Center.

“My goal has been the same since the start of the season,” Haase said. “And that's been to be standing on the podium on Saturday.”

Middleton senior Nathan Dresen finished second at sectionals and also qualified for state. The Cardinals’ other 10 sectional qualifiers failed to earn a trip to state.

“The one thing about sectionals is it’s the will and the want,” Weiler said. “It’s a lot of emotions. Emotions are running so high all day long, and at the end of it all, you just hope to have a couple of kids still standing.”

Their two-year run as Big Eight Conference champions ended last Saturday. But the last thing Middleton’s gymnasts felt was disappointment.

That’s because the Cardinals posted a season-best score of 141.60 and finished second overall. The fact Madison Memorial scored a 142.65 and won the league simply showed how strong the Big Eight is in 2014.

“I was thrilled with the team score, especially considering we counted three beam falls which totaled 1.5 points,” said Middleton coach Kari Steck, who will now take her team to the Madison Memorial Sectional Saturday. “I don't think the girls were really focused on scores, which makes a huge difference in performance. They seemed calm and ready to have fun.

“I think Saturday was a great ‘trial round’ for sectionals, where we hope to beat Madison Memorial. Memorial is strong this year, but the girls know that they are stronger, and more consistent.”

There’s nothing quite like ‘Senior Night.’

It’s the end of an era. Emotions are high.

And victory is imperative.

Middleton’s boys basketball team made their ‘Senior Night’ a memorable one last Tuesday with a 61-43 non-conference win over Waunakee. The Cardinals improved to 12-9 overall, while the Warriors fell to 3-17.

With eight seniors on the team — and an entire starting lineup consisting of seniors — the night was unforgettable for Middleton.

“ ‘Senior Night’ is always special and this is as talented and dedicated group as I've had, as well as one of the most enjoyable to be around day in and day out,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said. “I'm happy for them to be able to get the ‘W’ on Senior Night, but more importantly we'd like to have them keep their final season of Cardinal Basketball alive for the next few weeks as we enter tournament play.”

There were many signs to suggest that’s possible.

Middleton and Madison La Follette’s boys basketball teams played a pair of nailbiters this season.

The third meeting promises to be much of the same — only the stakes are much higher.

The Cardinals and Lancers — who split their two regular season meetings — meet in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal Friday at 7 p.m. in Middleton. The Cardinals are seeded third in the regional, while the Lancers are the No. 6 seed.

The winner will advance to a regional final Saturday at 7 p.m., which most likely will be against second-seeded Sun Prairie.

La Follette came to Middleton and won the first meeting, 71-64, in the season opener for both teams. The Lancers outscored the Cardinals, 28-18, in the third quarter that night.

But Middleton rebounded to win at La Follette, 57-55, on Jan. 14. Cardinals senior Max Oelerich had 15 points and eight rebounds in the second game, and Middleton made nine of 10 free throws down the stretch to prevail.