Sports

Caleb Easton crunched the numbers in his head.

As Middleton’s boys cross country standout totaled the results from last Saturday’s WIAA Division 1 state meet, Easton figured the Cardinals would be exiting Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids with a championship trophy.

It wasn’t until those results were officially posted, though, that Easton and his teammates could breath a giant sigh of relief.

“I think really the highlight was when we saw the scores and saw that we won,” Easton said. “It was just a great time.”

And a great performance.

Middleton finished with just 76 points to easily outdistance runner-up Stevens Point (177). South Milwaukee (191), Monona Grove (197) and Sun Prairie (203) rounded out the top-five.

Middleton won its first state title since 1992. And the Cardinals’ 101-point margin of victory was the largest in state history at any level.

Mattie Lepage doesn’t have a single kill or assist for Middleton’s boys volleyball team this season.

He hasn’t recorded an ace, block or a dig.

But Lepage has become a vital part of Middleton’s sensational squad, which clinched a fifth straight trip to state Thursday night. And the Cardinals’ junior manager is the energetic, vivacious and spirited leader Middleton simply can’t do without.

Lepage, the younger brother of Cardinals’ standout setter Andrew Lepage, was born with Down’s syndrome. While that has slowed Mattie in some areas, his love of volleyball isn’t one of them.

Mattie has an unparalleled zest and gusto for volleyball — as well his managerial duties. And his enthusiasm has been an important ingredient in Middleton’s outstanding season.

Middleton football coach Tim Simon insists the Madison West team he saw two months ago won’t be the same group that comes to Otto Breitenbach Stadium Friday night.

The thing is, the Cardinals are much different themselves.

Middleton routed the Regents, 36-0, back on Aug. 31. Now, the two Big Eight Conference rivals will meet again in a WIAA Division 1 Level 2 playoff game Friday at 7 p.m.

Middleton is 9-1 overall and riding an eight-game winning streak. West is 8-2 with its only losses coming to Big Eight powers Middleton and Sun Prairie.

“They’re better than they were back then,” Simon said of West. “That was a game we got out in front and they’re a lot better right now.”

Two down. Two to go.

That’s what Middleton’s girls volleyball team is hoping.

The Cardinals rolled to a WIAA Division 1 regional championship last week.

First, fourth-seeded Middleton defeated 13^th-seeded Tomah, 25-17, 25-17, 23-25, 25-12, in a regional semifinal last Thursday. The Cardinals then toppled fifth-seeded Monona Grove, 16-25, 28-26, 25-20, 25-21, in a regional final last Saturday.

Middleton now hosts top-seeded Sun Prairie in a sectional semifinal Thursday at 5 p.m. Sun Prairie defeated Middleton, 3-0, when the teams met back in September.

The winner will meet either second-seeded Verona or third-seeded Waunakee in a sectional final Saturday at 7 p.m. in Baraboo.

“We played Sun Prairie the first week of conference play,” Middleton coach Franco Marcos said. “Our line-up has undergone major adjustments since then.”

Middleton’s lineup performed awfully well at regionals.

Dominate.

Middleton’s boys cross country team didn’t just win the Big Eight Conference championship last Saturday. The Cardinals dominated a remarkably gifted field.

Middleton put four runners in the top five, led by champion Caleb Easton and runner-up Michael Madoch. The Cardinals had five of the top-10 runners and six individuals that earned all-conference honors.

And Middleton finished with just 22 points to easily outdistance two-time defending state champion Madison West (64).

“Overall, it was impressive how dominant we were today,” Middleton coach Brian Finnel said. “There are three other ranked programs in the conference who are all sensational, but to put four in the top five and all six finishers be all-conference is awesome.”

The top-ranked Cardinals, who were second at the Big Eight meet in 2015 and ’16, captured their first conference title in 16 years.

The sports programs at Middleton High School rival any in the state.

Week to week, month to month, it seems another conference, sectional or state champion is being crowned.

But even inside Middleton itself, a gold standard exists.

And that is the girls swimming program.

The Cardinals rolled past Madison East, 135-35, last Thursday and clinched at least a share of their eighth straight Big Eight Conference championship. Middleton can clinch the outright championship with a win over Madison Memorial this week.

“It is a huge accomplishment, especially for our senior class who has gone 35-1 in dual meets and been a part of the Big Eight championship each of their four years,” Middleton coach Lauren Cabalka said. “We are incredibly proud of the tradition we have built and value the commitment and leadership we get year after year from these girls. It has been quite a ride.”

The seed was a head scratcher.

And 24 hours later, Middleton boys soccer coach Ben Kollasch was still trying to figure it all out.

The Cardinals, a top-five team in the state polls all season long, received the No. 5 seed in their sectional.

Middleton opens the postseason Thursday by hosting 12^th-seeded Lake Geneva Badger at 7 p.m. in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal. If the Cardinals win there, they’ll likely travel to fourth-seeded Verona on Saturday for a regional final.

The sectional semifinals are Oct. 26 and the sectional finals are Oct. 28.

Kettle Moraine received the No. 1 seed in the sectional, followed by Madison East, Oconomowoc, Verona, Middleton, Madison West, Sun Prairie, Madison Memorial, Beloit Memorial, Mukwonago, Janesville Craig, Badger, Waukesha South, Watertown, Madison La Follette and Janesville Parker.

Been there, done that.

But that doesn’t make it any less special.

Middleton’s boys volleyball team, which has dominated the Big Eight Conference for years now, kept its reign of terror going last week.

Middleton rolled to a 25-13, 26-24, 25-20 win over Madison West and locked up its sixth straight conference crown. The Cardinals have also won 11 of the last 12 league championships.

Middleton’s last loss in conference came in 2011 and it’s 104-4 in conference duals dating back to 2006.

They would have liked to play better.

They would have loved to challenge for a top-five finish for a fifth straight year and end their memorable year on a high.

That didn't happen for Middleton’s girls golf team at the WIAA Division 1 state tournament held Monday and Tuesday at University Ridge. The Cardinals posted a two-day total of 700 and finished in eighth place, 70 shots behind Arrowhead, which repeated as champions.

But as Cardinals’ senior standout Payton Hodson reflected on the tournament just moments after it ended, her reaction might have surprised some.

“I’m so proud of my teammates, no matter what place we ended up in,” Hodson said. “We all just wanted to have fun and kill it in our last rounds together. No matter how it ended up, it’s a great finish to our season.”

Macro — not micro.

That’s how Hodson and many of the Cardinals chose to look at their season. While the ending wasn’t perfect, in many ways, the year was.

If it’s style points you were looking for, Otto Breitenbach Stadium was not where you wanted to be last Friday.

Middleton’s football game with Beloit Memorial was played in heavy rains. The wet and sloppy conditions made it virtually impossible for the Cardinals’ offense to get untracked and turnovers were Middleton’s kryptonite.

In the end, though, Middleton did enough to topple the Purple Knights, 21-7. The Cardinals improved to 7-1 overall and in the Big Eight Conference and won their sixth straight game, while Beloit fell to 2-6.

Middleton closes out the regular season Friday at Madison East (0-8) at Breese Stevens Field at 7 p.m.

The WIAA will determine its seven-division, 224-team playoff field late Friday night and early Saturday morning. Each 32-team division is then split into four, eight-team sections.