Sports

Middleton’s cross country teams fared well at the season-opening Hartland Arrowhead Invite on Aug. 28.

The Cardinals’ boys finished fourth out of 17 teams, while Middleton’s girls were sixth.

Marquette won the boys’ race with 63 points, while Homestead was second (81). Wisconsin Lutheran (129), Middleton (163) and Oak Creek (193) rounded out the top five.

“I thought it was a solid opening meet for us,” Middleton coach Brian Finnel said. “The boys ran with control and showed a lot of promise for what’s ahead this season. 

“Unfortunately, Zach Tang went down while running in the top-10, which affected our team score. We’re hopeful he’ll be back soon.”

Last year is irrelevant.

Past successes guarantees nothing in the future.

These are some of the messages Middleton’s boys volleyball coach Dylan Griffith is stressing to his remarkably gifted team. And if the Cardinals heed that advice, don't be surprised to see them hoist a state championship trophy in early November.

Middleton reached the state title match last season, falling in a thrilling five-set battle to Sussex Hamilton. The Cardinals return all seven players who competed that night in Green Bay and will be the frontrunners to win their second state title in three years.

Griffith, a former MHS standout and the Cardinals’ head coach the last two years, knows he has a special group on his hands. He also wants to make sure, though, that Middleton doesn’t rest on its laurels as it chases a championship.

Take care of the tradition.

That’s a mantra that Middleton’s boys soccer program has preached for decades now.

That won’t change in 2025. But the task certainly won’t be easy.

Middleton, which has won back-to-back WIAA Division 1 state titles, suffered enormous losses from that group — including state Player of the Year Jimmy Murphy.

The Cardinals return just one starter from last year’s state title team, but coach Kevin Pauls insists the standard is the standard. So when it comes to taking care of the tradition, Pauls believes Middleton will do exactly that.

“I will still reference former player and assistant coach Dave Borslien every time I'm asked this question,” Pauls said. “We've got guys that have been patiently waiting and now it's their turn to shine! We'll reload.”

Pauls knows that will be an immense challenge.

Madison Memorial and Madison West were the state’s dominant girls swimming and diving programs between 1970-2000.

Hartland Arrowhead became the gold standard the first 15 years of this century.

Since 2016, though, Middleton has been the state’s elite outfit.

The Cardinals won three straight state titles between 2016-’18 under then-coach Lauren Cabalka. Middleton has also won the last two state championships under coach R.J. Leiferman.

Leiferman stepped down this offseason, though, and former assistant Andrew Cotton takes over a program that seems poised to capture a ‘Three-peat’ this fall.

“We try to focus on our team and what we can control,” said Cotton, trying to downplay expectations. “We work on taking the season day by day and looking for ways to build our team and help it grow and improve.”

GREEN BAY — Joey Passaglia knew what could happen next. And he knew that the Middleton football team’s 157-mile, 2 1/2-hour bus ride home would feel excruciatingly longer if this kept up.

There were 7 minutes, 12 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Cardinals’ season opener at Bay Port on Aug. 21, and things were, as the Middleton senior quarterback admitted afterward, spiraling.

The Cardinals had just been stopped on a fourth-down play inside the Bay Port 5-yard line — a call that had Middleton co-head coaches Joe Poehls and Tim Simon co-blowing a gasket when the officiating crew didn’t even initially bother to call for a measurement — and the reigning WIAA defending Division 1-champion Pirates had turned that debatable call into an 80-yard Matt Stevens-to-Ethan Orlando touchdown on the next play from scrimmage.

Their theme is empowerment.

And Middleton’s girls cross country team believes the message behind that premise can lead to big things on the trails this fall.

“We want the team to trust each other, the training process and themselves,” MHS co-coach Kelly Julian said. “Our competitive goals won’t develop into fruition if they lack confidence.

“We want them to have ownership in their decisions and believe they are capable of something special this season — because they are.”

It certainly appears that way.

The Cardinals struggled through a 2024 season where injuries hit hard and they settled for a seventh place finish at sectionals. This year, Middleton is healthier, appears to have a deeper roster and will be gunning for its first trip to state since 2022.

For the first time in more than a decade, Brian Finnel’s schedule was open on the final weekend of the cross country season.

Finnel, Middleton’s boys coach, led his Cardinals to the state tournament 11 straight years between 2013-2023. Middleton fell short of that goal last year, though, finishing third at a star-studded sectional

The Cardinals — who begin their new season Thursday at the Hartland Arrowhead Invitational — hope to start a new streak this fall.

“Missing out on state last year was definitely tough, and it’s been a motivator for both the athletes and coaches,” Finnel said. “This group is probably a little stronger than last year’s team.

“A season ago, we leaned heavily on our depth, but we didn’t quite have that front-runner presence. This fall, we should be stronger up front, which changes the dynamic in a good way. The key question will be how our depth develops behind those top few runners?”

It wasn’t easy.

Nothing is at this time of the year.

But Middleton’s Home Talent League team found a way to add another chapter to their remarkably successful 2025 story.

The 29ers scored three runs in the top of the 10^th inning and defeated host Fort Atkinson, 5-3, in the first round of the Final 4 round robin tournament. Verona defeated Monona, 6-4, in the other Final 4 game.

Middleton, which improved to 15-0 this season, hosts Monona Sunday at 1 p.m., then hosts Verona on Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. in the second and third round of the Final 4.

The 29ers survived a thriller with Fort Atkinson thanks to a big 10^th inning.

Drew Farrell opened the inning with a walk, then Nolan Smith sacrificed courtesy runner Easton Harris to second. Alden Cleary followed with a double to right that scored Harris to give Middleton a 3-2 lead.

Middleton’s girls swimming and diving team rolled past Sun Prairie West, 135-28, in their first meet of the year on Aug. 22

The quartet of Tae Martin, Rian Jost, Brynn Sundell and Sulia Miller were first in the 200-meter medley relay. The foursome of Miller, Clara Kiehl, Addi Haack and Jane Garlock won the 200-meter freestyle, and the team of Abigail Frommelt, Martin, Sundell and Garlock won the 400-meter freestyle relay.

Frommelt won the 200-meter freestyle and the 400-meter freestyle, while Sundell captured the 200-meter IM and the 100-meter butterfly. Garlock was first in the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter freestyle, while Martin won the 100-meter backstroke and Jost was first in the 100-meter breaststroke.

Joe Poehls — a self-described “man of few words” — won’t say I told you so.

But deep down, Poehls knew.

As many wondered if Middleton’s football team was making the right call naming Joey Passaglia its starting quarterback in 2024, Poehls sat back with a quiet confidence that was proven correct over the next 11 games.

“We had a lot of belief in Joey,” said Poehls, Middleton’s co-head coach. “I know he was unproven at this time last year, but we had a pretty good feeling.”

That feeling was certainly proven correct.

And today, Middleton heads into its new season — one that begins with a trip to defending WIAA Division 1 state champion Bay Port on Thursday — with one of the top quarterbacks in the state.

Passaglia had a magnificent junior season, throwing 32 touchdown passes, just nine interceptions and finishing with a quarterback rating of 102.2 for a team that went 7-4 overall.