Sports

Twelve months ago, Will Garlock was like a baby fawn.

Nothing came easy. With each step forward, he’d stumble and fall. And Garlock’s impact on Middleton’s boys basketball team was minimal, at best.

Today, Garlock is well on his way to becoming one of the top players in Wisconsin and someone coveted by colleges near and far.

During Middleton’s game against Benilde-St. Margaret’s at the Wisconsin-Minnesota Border Battle last Saturday, Garlock was the best player on the floor. The 6-foot-10 Garlock poured in a game-high 21 points, grabbed eight rebounds and led the Cardinals past the Red Knights, 51-47, in a game held at Prescott High School.

Middleton, ranked second in the latest WIAA Division 1 Associated Press poll, improved to 14-0. That matches the Cardinals’ best start in at least 30 years.

Will Garlock wasn’t quiet in the first half last Thursday night against Madison Memorial. But the big man on the Middleton boys basketball team wasn’t loud, either, mustering five points on a free throw and a pair of field goals.

He left a much bigger imprint on the game in the second half.

The 6-foot-10 sophomore scored on the very first possession after halftime to stretch the Cardinals’ lead to seven points, and he would add a dozen more points over the final 17 minutes, 50 seconds to finish with 19 on the night and leading Middleton to a 60-51, Big Eight Conference victory over the rival Spartans.

“Coming out of the break they drew up a little ‘shake’ action for me and I got that lay-up, and then from there it built momentum for the whole team and for me to get stops and score on the other end,” Garlock said of the play that gave MHS a 32-25 lead.

Janesville Craig shoots 3-pointers as well — if not better — than any team in the Big Eight Conference.

The Cougars have hit as many as 18 triples in a game this year. And almost everyone Craig puts on the floor has the shooting range to make the 3-point shot a big part of their game.

So after visiting Middleton held the Cougars to seven 3-pointers — including just one in the second half — and toppled Craig, 61-48, on Jan. 17, the Cardinals left Janesville an extremely happy bunch.

Middleton got 12 points each from Gavyn Hurley, Owen Cooney and Will Garlock, and Kaden Fosdick added 10 as the Cardinals rolled past the Cougars. The Cardinals — who played primarily man-to-man defense against the Cougars — improved to 12-0 overall and 10-0 in the Big Eight Conference.

Gavyn Hurley pays virtually no attention to the state rankings every week.

Seriously.

“I don’t even know where we’re at,” said Hurley, a standout guard on Middleton’s boys basketball team. “I know we’re pretty high up and that’s cool. But really, it doesn’t mean anything yet.”

Hurley is right on all counts.

What it does mean, though, is that Middleton is playing sensational basketball. And it’s why the Cardinals have jumped to No. 2 in the latest Wissports.net poll.

Middleton routed Verona, 71-53, last Saturday during the Martin Luther King Big Eight Conference Showcase held at MHS. The Cardinals improved to 11-0 overall and are 9-0 in the Big Eight Conference, which gives them a three-game lead in the league over four different teams.

It’s a given that the Middleton’s boys basketball team is going to get its opponents’ ‘A’ game night in and night out.

Case in point: the Sun Prairie West Wolves might be in their first year as a program, but they put a scare into the highly ranked and unbeaten Middleton last Thursday night.

The Wolves jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first half and provided the Cardinals with one of their toughest tests of the season.

But Middleton tightened up its defense and used a double-double from senior guard Gavyn Hurley to eventually tame the Wolves, rallying for a 70-64 victory in a Big Eight Conference thriller.

Hurley finished with a team-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, while senior wing Kaden Fosdick chipped in 10 points and a game-high eight assists to help the Cardinals — ranked third in both the wissports.net and Associated Press Division 1 polls — improve to 10-0 overall, including a league-leading 8-0 mark in conference play.

VERONA — Senior co-captain Audrey Deptula is a proven scorer for Middleton’s girls basketball team.

But last Saturday night, Deptula took her game to a whole new level.

Deptula, a University of Loyola Chicago recruit, scored a career-high 39 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to help Middleton overpower Madison Memorial, 78-47, in a Big Eight Conference matchup and the final game of the 2023 MLK Showcase hosted by Verona High School.

The scoring explosion didn’t surprise Deptula’s teammates.

“She is very much a leader,” said senior Addy Gmur, who is a team co-captain along with Deptula and junior Kenzie Zimmerman. “When Audrey’s scoring and is on, it pushes everyone else to go for it and succeed. She’s an inspiration. She’s an all-around player. She’s a defender, rebounds, and gets assists, too.”

Added Zimmerman: “When she gets hot, you can’t stop her. Anywhere on the court, she can score. It’s awesome to see.”

Middleton High School was a circus Saturday afternoon.

On one side of the building, fans poured in to watch a bevy of boys basketball games as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Showcase.

On the other end, Middleton’s boys swimming team was putting on a show of its own.

Middleton hosted the 10-team Cardinal Relays and left everyone several laps behind.

Middleton won seven of 11 events and finished with 241 points, while Madison West was a distant second (194). Madison Memorial (158), Sun Prairie East (105) and Verona (101) rounded out the top five.

“I was happy to see high energy both in and out of the pool,” Middleton first-year coach Wes Lagerhausen said. “It created some exciting comebacks and hold-off victories for the team.”

Middleton’s 800-yard freestyle relay team of Jackson Esteves, Noah Dorn, Espen Morner and Nick Chirafisi finished first, while the foursome of Kyler Mahoney, Miles Wagener, Ben Freiberg and Jesse Mai was ninth.

Middleton’s wrestling team crowned four champions and finished third overall at the Ithaca-Weston Invitational last Saturday.

Middleton’s champions were Reese Miller at 126 pounds, Sam Zanton at 138, Finn Grauwels at 145 and Bryce Falk at 170.

Parkview won the title with 199.0 points, while Wisconsin Dells (194.5), Middleton (182), Ithaca/Weston (169) and Blair-Taylor (158) rounded out the top five.

Here’s how the Cardinals fared:

106 — Tavish Frank (6-14) placed 7th and scored 6.0 team points.

Amazingly, the postseason is only a month away for Middleton’s girls gymnastics team.

And Cardinals’ first-year coach Alexis Lindahl loves how her team is shaping up.

Middleton rolled past Madison West, 126.475-111.70 on Jan. 12.

Middleton’s Ana Bollig won the all-around competition with a 30.750 score, while Abby Arnold was second (29.975).

“This is the best my girls have done so far this season and I am so proud of them,” Lindahl said. “We've been working incredibly hard on cleaning up our routines and adding in a few new skills and it seems to have definitely paid off. Even so, I know the best is yet to come.”

The Cardinals dominated on every event.

Aubrey Anderson won the vault with an 8.650, while Bollig was second (8.40), Jaelynn Kemp was third (8.150) and Anja Schmidt-Voils was sixth (7.70).

Middleton’s hockey team had another grueling week.

And while the Cardinals dropped two of three games, they once again discovered they can play with anyone in the state.

Middleton traveled to Janesville and notched an impressive 4-3 win overtime on Jan. 12. The Cardinals then traveled to Wausau for a weekend tournament where they battled with some of the state’s elite programs.

Middleton dropped a 6-5 thriller to No. 1 ranked Green Bay Notre Dame last Friday. The Cardinals then fell to Wausau West, 5-4, last Saturday.

“Tournaments like Green Bay and this past weekend are so pivotal for our program to test ourselves against the best in the state,” Middleton coach Dan Truehl said. “Last year we felt like we weren’t battle tested heading into playoffs.

“I can’t predict the future but there is no doubt that we are much more equipped for a deep run this year based on our strength of schedule.”