Sports

Tue
18
Feb
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MHS swimmers take aim at 3-peat

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.

Mon
17
Feb
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MHS at a crossroads after loss to MG

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.

Fri
14
Feb
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WIAA adopts new football playoff system

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.

Fri
14
Feb
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Wrestlers fourth at Big 8 meet

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)

Fri
14
Feb
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Qastin comes up big for Cards

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.

Fri
14
Feb
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Swimmers cruise to Big 8 crown

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.

Fri
14
Feb
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MHS girls split a pair

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 13th-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.

Thu
13
Feb
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Hockey Cards share Big 8 title

Back to back.

Middleton’s hockey team had not won consecutive Big Eight Conference championships in 14 years.

But the Cardinals ended that drought when they defeated Sun Prairie, 7-1, on Feb. 4 and captured a share of the Big Eight title.

Middleton and Verona both finished the regular season 11-1 in the Big Eight and shared the title for a second straight year.

“Overall, I am very happy with how our young men have been playing,” Middleton coach Jochen Hylbert said. “What I am most proud of is that we are a team of leaders in the classroom as well as on the ice. We have done lots of mixing this season and I think we have found some good chemistry with line combinations. We are trying our best to be a well-balanced and disciplined team.”

Middleton was all those things — and then some — against Sun Prairie.

Middleton trailed, 1-0, heading to the third period, then erupted for a remarkable seven goals in the final stanza.

Thu
13
Feb
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MHS gymnasts second at Cardinal Invite

Middleton’s girls gymnastics team threw a party last Saturday.

Then, the Cardinals did a lot of the celebrating.

Middleton finished second at its own nine-team invitational.

Waunakee/DeForest finished first with 133.375 points, narrowly edging the second place Cardinals (133.20). Verona/Edgewood (130.375), Oconomowoc (126.250) and Wisconsin Rapids (125.650) rounded out the top five.

“Hosting the Cardinal Invite is always one of the girls' favorite parts of the season,” Middleton coach Alexis Cairo said. “Truly, the girls just went out there and had fun. I've found that when the girls focus on having fun, they have some of their best performances.”

That was certainly the case last Saturday.

Middleton’s Aspen Goth was second in the all-around competition with a 36.0750, while Abby Arnold was fourth (33.9750) and Aubrey Halverson was 14th (30.80).

Tue
11
Feb
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Schmitt gets call from the Hall

The phone rang, and when Tom Schmitt didn’t recognize the number, he ignored the call.

It was Thanksgiving morning after all, and there were a million things to do before settling in for turkey and football.

The caller was persistent, though, and when Schmitt’s phone rang a third time, he picked up.

Boy, was he glad that he did.

On the other end was Mark Fuller, an Executive Board member with the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association. And Fuller gave Schmitt one more reason to be thankful on that memorable Thursday, telling Middleton’s former baseball manager he had been elected to the WBCA Hall of Fame.

Schmitt will be inducted at the Madison Marriott West in Middleton on Saturday at noon.

“Well it means a lot and it means that we’ve done the right things and had a successful program,” said Schmitt, who was Middleton’s manager from 2003-2018 before retiring. “Statewide people recognize Middleton’s achievements on and off the field.

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