December 2022

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Dec
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Jeff Kind's retirement is Middleton's top sports story of 2022

Conference championships.

State tournament appearances — and championships.

And memories to last the rest of their lives.

Middleton athletics had it all in the past year. And that meant one highlight after another.

Here's a look at Middleton's top-12 sports stories of 2022 — one for each month of the year.

 

1. Jeff Kind retires

As Jeff Kind mowed his lawn in past summers, he would think about the upcoming basketball season the entire time. 

Who would his starters be? Could the newcomers help? How did the Big Eight Conference look? 

Middleton’s veteran girls basketball coach pondered all scenarios.

As Kind mowed his lawn, though, in early August, basketball never crossed his mind. That’s because earlier that day, the 68-year-old Kind submitted his resignation.

After 44 years of coaching, including the last 30 at Middleton, Kind decided it was the right time to step away.

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Dec
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Middleton's boys basketball team routs West

The weather has made it tough for boys basketball teams around the area to get into any type of rhythm.

You'd think it would be similar for Middleton, which played just four games in the first five weeks of the season due to weather related cancellations.

But the scoreboard continues to tell a different story.

The latest example came on Dec. 20, when the Cardinals routed visiting Madison West, 77-34. Middleton senior guard Gavyn Hurley had an enormous game with 30 points and seven steals, just one steal off the school record held by Tyree Eady.

The Cardinals improved to 5-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Eight Conference.

Predictably, Middleton’s scheduled game with Madison La Follette two days later was postponed due to inclement weather.

“They just want to play,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said. “It's a long stretch from our first day together on November 14th to December 20th with only four games in.

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Dec
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Swimmers win Beloit Memorial Triangular

Middleton’s boys swimming and diving team cruised to a first place finish at the Beloit Memorial Triangular on Dec. 20.

The Cardinals downed Sun Prairie West, 128-42. And Middleton bested the host Purple Knights, 135-30.

“The meet was a fun one,” Middleton coach Wes Lagerhausen said. “We mixed up our events and relays to try some new things and they raced hard. We had close races in the 200 medley relay, 100 freestyle, and 400 freestyle relay. Many achieved best times for the season and is a great trend going into winter break.”

Middleton’s 200-yard medley relay team of Theo Wolf, Nick Chirafisi, Jack Madoch and Jack Madigan finished first. The Cardinals also got a second place finish from the quartet of Max Carter, Sam Wolf, Caden Van Buren and Ben Cutler Heiderscheit.

Middleton’s foursome of Cowan Vitense, Luke Lamers, Jackson Esteves and Van Buren won the 200-yard freestyle relay.

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29
Dec
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MHS gymnasts win opener

Middleton’s girls gymnastics team kicked off its season in style, edging Madison Memorial, 125.650-125.5250 on Dec. 20.

“I am very pleased with how my girls performed, especially considering it was their first competition of the season,” Middleton coach Alexis Lindahl said. “The girls were nervous, of course, and there were a few errors made on each event, but ultimately we came out on top.”

Middleton’s Abby Arnold won the all-around competition, with a score of 31.450. Ana Bollig was second (31.40) and Eva Szczepanski was third (30.650).

Aubrey Anderson and Bollig tied for second on the vault (8.50), while Bollig was Abby Arnold  was fifth and Szczepanski was eighth (8.0).

Kenavan Lindner won the uneven bars (8.00), while Arnold was sixth (6.950), Bollig was seventh (6.90) and Szczepanski was 10th (6.350).

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29
Dec
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Hockey Cards top Madison West

Middleton’s hockey team entered the Christmas break on a high, rolling to a 4-1 win over Madison West on Dec. 20.

Four different Cardinals scored goals and Cam Haynes made 22 saves to pick up the win in net.

Middleton improved to 7-2 overall and is 4-1 in the Big Eight Conference.

Cam Semrad struck first for the Cardinals, scoring midway through the first period on an assist from Avery Passini to give Middleton a 1-0 lead. Then with just 22 seconds left in the period, Brady Engelkes scored on assists from Wyatt Ehrhardt and Semrad to make it 2-0.

Ehrhardt struck for a goal less than two minutes into the second period to make it 3-0. Both Drew Sjowall and Engelkes assisted on the goal.

Then late in the second period, Eli Covey had a power play goal that both Engelkes and Ehrhardt assisted on to make it 4-0.

West had the lone goal in the third period to round out the scoring.

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Dec
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Dr. Stuart Wirth

CROSS PLAINS–Dr. Stuart Wirth was born on Dec. 21, 1929, in Milwaukee to Bernard and Madeline (Steil) Wirth, the eldest of their four children. After graduation from Wauwatosa High School in 1947, he attended Marquette University and then moved on to the Marquette School of Dentistry, graduating with the class of 1955.

During his college years he met Kathleen Church, a wonderful, wise and beautiful woman whom he loved dearly. Kathleen had recently graduated from the UW-Madison in Speech Pathology, and they married in 1953. She preceded himin death after 68 years of marriage in 2020, and he was looking forward to being reunited with her.

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Donald E. Lewis

MIDDLETON–Donald "Don" Edward Lewis, 88, passed away peacefully on Dec. 8, 2022. He was born in Madison on Feb. 16, 1934, the son of Dewey and Clara (Meier) Lewis.

Don graduated from Madison West High School in 1952 and later attended Madison Business College. He volunteered to join the United States Marine Corps from 1954-1957. After basic training in San Diego, CA. Don was stationed at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC and he also enjoyed his service time in Okinawa, Japan.

He married his High School sweetheart, Betty Jean Pyle on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 1957, at the Memorial Church of Christ in Madison. Don worked at Webcrafters Printing Company in Madison for 39 years as a production manager and volunteered his time to the Meals on Wheels program for many years.

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Bruce D. Laufenberg

CROSS PLAINS–Bruce David Laufenberg, age 54, of, Cross Plains, passed away peacefully on, Aug. 16, 2022 after two-year-long battle with cancer, with his niece/goddaughter, Caitlin Hellenbrand, by his side.

He was born on Jan. 28, 1968, in Madison, the son of Ralph J. Laufenberg and his wife, Carol M. (Uselman) Laufenberg. In 1986, he graduated from Middleton High School, where he took part in Future Farmers of America (FFA). Bruce married Lori Ann Schultz on Sept. 18, 1993, in Cross Plains.

Bruce worked as a small engine mechanic for Middleton Power Center for 30-plus years. He enjoyed tractor pulling and being outdoors, whether he was hunting, camping or snowmobiling. He had the know how to fix just about anything, he was a man of many talents.

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Dec
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Cécile

I used to often stop and chat with an elegant woman named Cécile, who worked in an office a few steps from mine in the City of Middleton. I edited the local newspaper (which was essentially just an ongoing saga about how much the community’s leaders at the time loved concrete and development of literally any kind) and she worked at the nearby Chamber of Commerce.

She had red hair and freckles and narrow-framed glasses that sat like windows through which you could catch her eyes’ glint. She was, apparently, middle-aged, but she had the demeanor of someone in the jaunty days of youth, as if she was in on some kind of cosmic joke and recognized how funny the world was, just beneath all the griping and despair. She did not solve all the problems of the world, but you always walked away from a conversation with her a little lighter, a little better and a little less burdened by all that falls upon your shoulders.

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Dec
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Village Says Goodbye to Two Long Term Employees

CROSS PLAINS–The village’s currently longest-serving police officer and the police department’s first point of contact for many are both retiring next month.

Officer Scott Kroetz has not only patrolled the village for the past 33 years; he has been involved in many community activities. He has presented programs on drug abuse, landlord-tenant relations and personal safety. He has also hosted bicycle rodeos, participated in scout organizations, partnered with Northwest Dane Senior Services and represented the department on the Northwest Dane Cares Coalition.

Kroetz joined the department in 1989 after working as an undercover officer for another department. He has an associate’s degree in police science and is a trained Emergency Medical Technician. 

Lisa Davis, an administrative assistant with the police department since 1994, is often the first face or voice to greet the public who have contacted the police.

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