Sports

Loren Skibba has spent her life going low.

That’s what happens when you’re one of the state’s elite high school golfers.

But Monday was different for Middleton's standout junior. Historically different.

Skibba shot a 3-under par, 69 on the first day of the WIAA Division 1 state meet held at University Ridge. Skibba — who matched her career-low — leads Verona’s Jessica Reinecke and Homestead’s Anika Hitt by five shots heading into Tuesday’s final round.

Skibba’s 69 was also just one shot off the Division 1 record set by Milton’s Ashton Stair in 2010.

“Loren's round was stellar,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “She stayed focused and confident and showed everyone her ability. I would say this is a career round for her.”

Skibba’s big day has the Cardinals knocking on the door of a state team championship, as well.

It wasn’t the bracket they wanted to wind up in.

But Middleton’s boys volleyball team made the most of it.

The Cardinals couldn’t escape pool play and wound up in the consolation bracket at the power packed Whitefish Bay Invite last Saturday. But Middleton made the most of its lot in life and won the consolation bracket.

“A very good way for us to end the day,” Middleton coach Ben White said.

Middleton was placed in an extremely difficult pool, but opened with an 18-21, 23-22, 18-16 win over Burlington. Cardinals senior Andrew Gardner had a huge kill late in the deciding game to propel Middleton.

“The great thing about Andrew is that pressure doesn’t really bother him,” White said. “He delivered a huge kill and that was a big win for us – our first win this year in a deciding set. And honestly, it was only our second match that went to a deciding set.”

Nicolet then toppled Middleton, 21-19, 15-21, 15-9.

It took a while for their partnership to find a groove.

Middleton senior tennis standout Allison Ragsdale had spent two years with Darcy Hogendorn, and the two had a special bond.

Cardinals junior Abbey Webber had been paired with Baylie Gold, and the two had great chemistry.

But after working out the kinks and establishing their own harmony, the Ragsdale-Webber duo has reached great heights this fall. And even loftier altitudes could be coming.

Ragsdale and Webber received the No. 2 seed at the WIAA Division 1 girls state tennis tournament, which opens Thursday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. Webber and Ragsdale, who have a 28-1 record, have an opening round bye and won’t play their first match until Friday at 10:15 a.m.

If the Middleton duo plays to their seed, they would play in the finals Saturday afternoon.

Becky Halverson had every intention of aging gracefully.

Tuesday may have changed that plan for Middleton’s girls golf coach.

“I think that took 12 years off of my life,” Halverson joked.

She most certainly had company.

The WIAA Division 1 Middleton Sectional produced more drama than ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’ — combined.

Middleton, Madison Memorial and Stoughton all tied for the second and final state qualifying spot. Those three teams then went to a playoff, and after Middleton and Memorial advanced on the first hole, the Cardinals finally vanquished the Spartans on the second hole.

After a nearly nine-hour day at Pleasant View, the Cardinals were headed back to state.

“It was exciting, but mostly stressful,” said Middleton junior standout Loren Skibba. “I was stressed the whole time.”

It will take their best performances of the season.

It will take better showings than they’ve had the past few weeks.

But Middleton’s boys soccer team is still heading to the postseason optimistic about their chances.

The Cardinals received the No. 3 seed in their sectional and open the playoffs Tuesday by hosting 14^th-seeded West Allis Hale in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. If the Cardinals win their opener, they would host either No. 6 Beloit Memorial or No. 11 Janesville Craig in a regional final Oct. 16.

The sectional semifinal is Oct. 23 and the sectional final is Oct. 25. Middleton will most likely have to knock off top-seeded Madison West and No. 2 Madison Memorial to reach state.

“West and Memorial are definitely seen around the sectional as the teams to beat,” Middleton coach Ben Kollasch said. “We may need to beat both along the way to get to state.”

Ben White wasn’t messing around.

Middleton’s boys volleyball coach hosted one of the state’s elite tournaments last Saturday. And White wasn’t giving his team any breaks at the Cardinal Invite.

“I told the guys I was going to put us in the toughest pool to give us more competition and see how we stack up against the best,” White said.

The results were mixed.

Middleton won three of its five matches on the day and escaped pool play. But the Cardinals’ day ended in the quarterfinals when they fell to Kaukauna.

“I wish we had more fight and spunk in us and fought back a little harder,” White said. “When we are on, we are on and tough to beat. We just need that switch to be flipped more often.”

The Cardinal Invite featured seven of the top 10 teams in state and 12 of the top 20.

Middleton opened with a 21-16, 21-11 win over Greenfield. The Cardinals then toppled Franklin, 21-10, 21-11.

The Cardinal Invite is always one of the more enjoyable girls swimming meets of the year.

It comes during the middle of the season, when fatigue has crept in. And the meet is sprinkled with a bevy of fun relays, which adds to overall excitement.

For Middleton, winning the event is even more fun — and the Cardinals did exactly that last Saturday.

Middleton won the thrilling meet with 390 points, while Verona-Mount Horeb was second at 386. Madison Memorial (358), Sun Prairie (316) and McFarland rounded out the top five.

“We have always been known as a team with incredible depth, but people have not been talking about it as much with this year’s team,” Middleton coach Lauren Cabalka said. “I think this meet proved that we still have that incredible depth. We did just enough to come away with a win and to end the weekend on a high note.” 

There were no surprises.

Nothing shocking or astonishing.

Middleton’s girls tennis team simply did what it's done all season long — and that’s dominate the Big Eight Conference.

The Cardinals went to the two-day conference tournament inside Nielsen Tennis Stadium last Tuesday and Wednesday and rolled to an easy win. Middleton finished with 50 points to easily outdistance runner-up Madison West (32).

The Cardinals also won the conference’s dual meet title with a perfect 9-0 mark.

Middleton head coach Deke Bradley declined when asked to comment. The victorious Cardinals, though, were understandbly giddy.

“Winning conference was awesome,” Middleton junior Abbey Webber said. “I was really proud of every girl on the team. We all worked really hard this season and it really paid off.”

That’s for sure.

Middleton’s doubles teams stole the show, winning championships at all three flights.

A couple of early turnovers and a quick deficit might have rattled a lesser team.

But as it has throughout the season, Middleton’s football team showed its resilience. The Cardinals overcame those foibles and bounced back for an impressive 28-7 Big Eight Conference victory over Madison West at Mansfield Stadium Thursday night.

“We knew that it was going to be a heck of a game, but we were a little sluggish to start,” Middleton coach Tim Simon said.  “We had a couple turnovers in the first quarter, but then we got things clicking a little bit. The defense held and gave us good field position and the offense was able to move the chains and got us a few scores.”

Middleton improved to 6-1 in the league and is now tied with Janesville Craig atop the conference standings. West dropped to 4-3.

The bad news for Middleton’s girls golf team is they allowed a six-shot lead dissipate over the final six holes.

The good news for the Cardinals is it happened Wednesday, and not later this month.

Middleton finished second at the WIAA Division 1 Madison West Regional Wednesday. Verona won the meet with a 331-team score, while the Cardinals were second at 332.

Both teams advanced to Tuesday’s Middleton Sectional at Pleasant View Golf Course beginning at 9 a.m. Madison Memorial (342) and Waunakee (365) also advanced to sectionals.

“It was a good day for us,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “It just wasn’t a great day.”

Middleton appeared headed toward greatness much of the day.

The Cardinals shot 161 on the front nine to Verona’s 162. And Middleton’s lead grew to six shots after 12 holes.

But the Cardinals struggled on holes 14, 15 and 16 and Verona took the lead. Middleton never could get it back.