Sports

For a moment, it looked bleak.

Then again, things are never really gloomy for Middleton’s No. 1 ranked boys volleyball team.

The Cardinals trailed Germantown, 7-2, in the third and final set of the championship match at the Middleton Invitational last Saturday. But Middleton on a 13-5 run and captured the championship of this star-studded invite for the first time in school history.

Middleton also improved to 26-0 during what’s quickly becoming an unforgettable season.

“The Cardinal Invite started in 2004,” Middleton coach Dylan Griffith said. “Since then, we had never won our own invite. This year the guys wanted to change that, they wanted to be the first to put our name on the list. This weekend they did exactly that.”

There certainly was some pressure as most of the state’s heavy hitters were at the tournament.

Both sides generated five shots on goal. Neither dominated possession. Chances were few and far between.

Middleton took advantage of theirs. Verona didn’t.

That was pretty much the only difference in a Big Eight Conference boys soccer match between the rivals on Sept. 25, won by the Cardinals, 2-1, at Burghy Soccer Stadium.

Otherwise it was two teams looking in the mirror.

“That’s two good teams,” Middleton coach Kevin Pauls said. “When we watched the film on these guys, they reminded us of us.

“It’s a lot of the same style of play, so when you get that, it’s kind of just a (stalemate). It was a lot of (locking horns) in the middle third of the field. Back and forth, a lot of hard tackles.”

As a result, it wasn’t a contest anyone would classify as a thriller.

What was thrilling was the result, as Middleton improved to 10-0 overall and took over first place in the Big Eight Conference at 6-0.

The Midwest Invitational is the state’s premier cross country meet most seasons.

The best of the best are on hand — from both Wisconsin and Illinois.

So when Middleton’s rising boys team finished in ninth place out of 54 teams at Blackhawk Golf Course in Janesville last Saturday, Cardinals coach Brian Finnel was elated.

“The team had one of its best finishes in recent memory at this meet,” said Finnel, who led Middleton to 11 straight state tournament appearances between 2013-‘23. “It was a strong showing, highlighted by several breakthrough performances.”

Naperville Central (Ill.) won the team title with 115 points, while Marquette (178), Verona (198), Homestead (203) and DePere (254) rounded out the top five.

The Cardinals finished with 385 points.

Another year.

Another title.

Make no mistake about it, though. Nothing about this gets old.

Middleton’s girls golf team won its 10th consecutive Big Eight Conference title on Sept. 25, posting a 323 team score at Evansville Golf Course. Verona was a distant second at 371, while Madison West was third at 394.

“We’re really proud of what the girls accomplished at the Big Eight meet,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “Winning the conference for the 10th year in a row is a special accomplishment for our program.

“It speaks to the commitment of our players over the years and the culture that has been built. Each team has its own identity, but the tradition of competing at a high level continues to carry on.”

Middleton senior Sydney Weiss capped off her conference career in grand fashion, firing a 77 and earning medalist honors. Weiss made a pair of birdies and nine pars on her way to a first place finish.

Middleton’s girls tennis team went 1-3 at the Madison West Invite last weekend.

Here’s how the Cardinals fared.

• Madison West 4, Middleton 3 — The Regents won two singles and two doubles flights to edge the Cardinals.

Middleton’s Mira Russo notched a hard fought, 6-4, 6-4 win over West’s Kaylee Li at No. 1 singles, while MHS freshman Nithya Uppala edged West’s Isabel Roang at No. 3 singles, 4-6, 6-1, 10-6.

Middleton’s No. 3 doubles team of freshmen Grace Mayer and Zoe Baumgard also had a thrilling, three-set win, 7-6 (8), 2-6, 10-5.

• Middleton 4, Elkhorn 3 — The Cardinals posted three singles wins and edged the Elks.

Middleton’s Avery West had a 6-0, 6-1 win over Elkhorn’s Audrey Jens at No. 2 singles, while Uppala defeated Alexis Colosimo, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 3.

Middleton’s girls swimming team rolled past Janesville Parker, 129-39, on Sept. 26.

The Cardinals got first place finishes from the following:

• The 200-yard medley relay team of Dani Stanic, Kendall Simon, Lily Adams and Sally Dubis.

• The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Zoey Kulis, Amy Ma, Sabrina Bartlett and Marie Schnurr.

• The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Kulis, Emma Lushaj, Talyn Boxwell and Schnurr.

• Quinn Dawson in the 200-yard freestyle.

• Nora Kilgore in the 200-yard IM.

• Adams in the 100-yard butterfly.

• Schnurr in the 100-yard freestyle.

• Madeline Schecher in the 500-yard freestyle.

• Ellie Harvey in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Middleton also had second place showings from the following individuals:

• Kulis in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly.

• Leona Fredrickson in the 200-yard IM.

• Bartlett in the 50-yard freestyle.

It’s no secret that the Big Eight Conference — once one of the elite leagues in Wisconsin — has fallen on remarkably hard times.

The conference lost its most successful program when Sun Prairie divided into two schools and moved to the Badger Large after the 2021 campaign.

Football in the city of Madison is at its lowest point in recent memory. And the city of Janesville — as well as the football programs at Parker and Craig — hasn’t recovered from the General Motors plant closing in 2008.

The results have been evident, as the Big Eight went 4-12 in non-conference games this season (.250).

Verona is the closest thing the Big Eight has had to a state power this decade, winning three straight conference titles.

Middleton will try stealing the crown from Verona, when it hosts the Wildcats Saturday at 7 p.m. That’s right, Saturday!

Due to a shortage of officials, the game will be Saturday evening.

Joey Passaglia to Jackson Guerrero for 15 yards.

Passaglia to Guerrero for 21 more yards. Then a 13-yard scamper by Passaglia.

Three plays, three first downs.

And on the seventh play of the drive, Derion Hawkins raced 12 yards to paydirt, a fast start for Middleton’s football team in last Friday’s Big Eight Conference game vs. Janesville Parker.

That was easy.

A little too easy, as it turns out. The Cardinals offense sputtered after that.

But the defense came to the rescue, holding Parker to 142 yards en route to a 13-0 victory at Otto Breitenbach Stadium.

“We just kept thinking, ‘Don’t get complacent,’ ” said senior linebacker Tyler Vogt, who had 11.5 tackles and two tackles for loss. “I always yell, ‘Let’s play together, man. Let’s get the ‘O’ the ball.’ If we play together, we’re going to win games.”

Middleton’s boys soccer team hasn't lost a game since Sept. 28, 2024.

That remarkable streak now spans 21 games and nearly 52 weeks.

The Cardinals added three more wins to that streak last week, defeating Big Eight Conference foes Janesville Craig and Madison La Follette, as well as Evanston (Ill.).

Middleton is now 9-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Eight Conference.

“Yes, another good week for us,” Middleton coach Kevin Pauls said. “Three nice wins during what can be a distracting week since it was Homecoming. Also a great week for the program as coach (Ken) Burghy was officially inducted into the Middleton Athletics Hall of Fame (on Sept. 19).”

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Middleton 4, Janesville Craig 0 — The Cardinals got two goals from sophomore Cormac Carlson and toppled the Cougars on Sept. 16.

Brennan Mauer added a goal and two assists, while Yijoon Kang had a goal and Sammy Forslund added an assist.

The Waukesha South girls swimming invite is always one of the elite events of the season.

The top teams and swimmers in the state are present.

And with the state meet held at South in mid-November, many view this as a preview of what’s to come.

What everyone across Wisconsin learned on Sept. 20 is that Middleton will be awfully tough to dethrone as the two-time, WIAA Division 1 defending state champion.

Middleton finished with 377 points and ran away with the championship at the 18-team field. Muskego (201), Arrowhead (193), Oregon (189) and Menomonee Falls (164) rounded out the top five.

One night earlier, Middleton rolled past Janesville Craig, 134-31.

“We had a great weekend,” Middleton coach Andrew Cotton said. “We performed well and I was most impressed by our sportsmanship that we showed towards the other teams. We are really coming together as a team and I am looking forward to the rest of the season.”