Sports

Three first place finishers.

And 11 of 13 wrestlers advancing to sectionals.

It was a tremendous Saturday for Middleton’s boys wrestlers, as they finished in third place at the WIAA Division 1 Verona Regional. The Cardinals also advanced 85% of their team to the Waunakee Sectional which will be held Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

The top four finishers in each weight class advanced through regionals, and Middleton will now be well-represented at sectionals.

The Cardinals crowned three champions at Verona — Aiden Bell at 138 pounds, San Zanton at 157 and Reed Falk at 190. Middleton got third place finishes from Grady Hargrove (126), Alborz Dehnavi (144), Pavil Jones (150), Finn Grauwels (165) and Reese Miller (175), as well as fourth place showings from Maximus Schultz (106), Kyle Mock (113) and Tavish Frank (120).

John C. Maxwell, an American best-selling author, once said: “Adversity is a crossroads that makes a person choose one of two paths: character or compromise.”

That’s the exact position Middleton’s boys basketball team finds itself in today.

The Cardinals, who had played mostly terrific basketball for two months, had their poorest game of the season last Saturday and fell to visiting Monona Grove, 65-63. Silver Eagles senior forward A.J. Nelson attacked Middleton 7-foot center Will Garlock and hit a 7-footer as time expired to lift MG to a stunning win.

Afterwards, Middleton coach Kevin Bavery questioned the effort and attitude of his team, and agreed the Cardinals were undoubtedly at a crossroads.

Middleton’s girls gymnastics team finished its dual meet season in style, rolling past host Janesville Parker, 130.75-118.65, on Feb. 13.

“It's hard to believe this was our last dual of the season,” Middleton coach Alexis Cairo said. “I am so proud of my girls.”

Middleton’s Abby Arnold won the all-around competition with a 34.4750, while Anja Schmidt-Voils was second (32.9750).

Arnold and teammate Aubrey Anderson tied for first place on the vault with 8.60s. Middleton also counted scores from Schmidt-Voils (8.20) and Ashley Heuer (7.875).

Arnold was first on the uneven bars with an 8.250, while Schmidt-Voils was second (8.0), Aubrey Halverson was third (7.925) and Ana Bollig was fifth (7.150).

The Cardinals swept the top-four spots on the beam. Arnold was first (8.850), followed by Schmidt-Voils (8.30), Halverson (8.250) and Bollig (7.975).

There are many mornings when the alarm goes off way too early and swimming is the last thing Ben Cutler Heiderscheit wants to do. Instead of hitting the snooze button, though, the Middleton junior races to the pool and gives it his all.

There are several afternoons where Caden Van Buren is tired from another long school day. The Cardinals’ junior heads to swim practice, though, and makes sure he gives 100%.

Why?

“I think we do it for each other as much as we do for ourselves,” Cutler Heiderscheit said. “Swimming is hard. I’m not going to lie. It’s a grind.

“But I definitely do it for my teammates. Even if I don’t want to do it, I feel like I should do it for them. And it’s all good in the end.”

The end is almost here — and Middleton’s extremely tight and unselfish group is one step closer to writing the next chapter in their remarkable journey.

John C. Maxwell, an American best-selling author, once said: “Adversity is a crossroads that makes a person choose one of two paths: character or compromise.”

That’s the exact position Middleton’s boys basketball team finds itself in today.

The Cardinals, who had played mostly terrific basketball for two months, had their poorest game of the season last Saturday and fell to visiting Monona Grove, 65-63. Silver Eagles senior forward A.J. Nelson attacked Middleton 7-foot center Will Garlock and hit a 5-foot bank shot as time expired to lift MG to a stunning win.

Afterwards, Middleton coach Kevin Bavery questioned the effort and attitude of his team, and agreed the Cardinals were undoubtedly at a crossroads.

Changes are coming to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association football playoffs this fall.

The WIAA’s Board of Control approved recommendations by the fall coaches’ advisory committees, including a plan that replaces the 11-player and 8-player football playoff qualifying and seeding system.

The Board voted to support the plan created by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association at the recommendation of the Football Coaches Advisory Committee.

The changes came two months after the WIAA errored and left Madison West and Greenfield out of the playoffs. There were also several questions regarding inconsistent or incorrect seeds for several teams.

Middleton’s wrestling team finished in fourth place at the Big Eight Conference meet on Feb. 8.

Janesville Parker won the team title with 237.5 points, while Verona was second with 230.5. Janesville Craig (205.0), Middleton (199.0) and Madison East (190.0) rounded out the top five.

Middleton got first place finishes from Sam Zanton at 157 pounds, Finn Grauwels at 165 and Reed Falk at 190. The Cardinals also got second place finishes from Grady Hargrove (126) and Aiden Bell (138).

Here’s a recap of how the Cardinals performed at each weight class.

106 — Maximus Schultz (12-5) placed third and scored 14.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Schultz received a bye

Quarterfinal - Schultz received a bye

Semifinal - Mitchell Springer (Madison Memorial) 18-10 won by fall over Schultz Fall 3:55)

Cons. Round 2 - Schultz won by fall over Alina Malina (Verona Area) 3-3 (Fall 0:53)

Middleton boys basketball coach Kevin Bavery was thrilled.

Janesville Craig coach Jack Hoag was surprised.

That’s what a foul call with less than one second left will do.

The host Cardinals trailed Craig, 58-57 in the final moments on Feb. 4. After a missed shot, Middleton junior guard Andrew Qastin raced to a loose ball 30-feet from the rim and was fouled with 0.6 seconds remaining.

Qastin went to the free throw line and drilled a pair of foul shots, lifting Middleton to a thrilling and critical 59-58 win.

“Give the officials credit,” Bavery said. “Not every official makes that call in the final seconds, but (Qastin) was clearly hit and took a hard fall to the floor.”

Hoag didn't bemoan the call, but he was a bit stunned.

“I think a lot of officials would not have called that,” Hoag said. “But they did.”

That win kicked off a week that saw the Cardinals capture all three of their games.

Domination.

That’s what Middleton’s boys swimming team achieved at the Big Eight Conference meet held at Sun Prairie West High School last Saturday.

The Cardinals rolled to the conference title by posting 608.50 points. Verona was a distant second with 395.50 points, while Madison Memorial (351.0), Madison West (329.50) and Sun Prairie West (288.50) rounded out the top five.

Middleton, which has won the last two WIAA Division 1 state championships, appears well on its way to a third straight championship.

“The weekend went about as well as it could have,” Middleton coach Wes Lagerhausen said. “The end of the season is always exciting to see all of their hard work pay off.”

The Cardinals set six meet records on their way to the title. Those meet records included:

• Middleton’s 200-yard medley relay team of Max Carter, Henry Zanton, Caden Van Buren and Colin Gabert. That foursome completed the relay in 1:33.79.

Middleton’s girls basketball team is suddenly red hot.

And out of the blue, it appears the Cardinals could be an extremely dangerous team this postseason, despite their 10-13 overall record.

Middleton, which has won five of its last six games, received the No. 12 seed in its sectional and will travel to fifth-seeded Madison Memorial for a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal on Feb. 28.

If the Cardinals win there, they’d face either fourth-seeded Verona or 13^th-seeded Watertown in a regional final on March 1.

The sectional semifinals are March 6 and the sectional finals are March 8.

Defending state champion Hartland Arrowhead is the No. 1 seed in the sectional, followed by Waunakee, Oregon, Verona, Madison Memorial, Kettle Moraine, Oconomowoc, Mukwonago, Madison La Follette, Beloit Memorial, Sun Prairie West, Middleton, Watertown, Sun Prairie East, Madison East, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker and Madison West.