Sports

Wed
16
Jan
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La Follette tops MHS girls

There’s a general belief that two months into a basketball season, you simply are who you are.

Middleton’s girls basketball coach Jeff Kind disagrees.

“I don’t think that’s always true,” Kind said. “There’s still time to get things fixed.”

Kind and his Cardinals certainly hope so.

Middleton had another frustrating outing last Friday, falling to visiting Madison La Follette, 51-46.

The Cardinals dropped to 6-5 overall, 4-3 in the Big Eight Conference and now sit three games behind league-leading Janesville Parker (10-1, 8-0) in the loss column. Middleton slipped to fifth place overall in the conference, and its run of six straight league titles is almost certainly over.

“We can’t worry about that right now,” Kind said. “We just have to worry about getting better and make sure we’re playing our best basketball at the end of the year.”

Two consistent problems reared their ugly head against the Lancers (8-3, 7-1).

Wed
16
Jan
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Depth powers Middleton gymnasts

 

Middleton’s girls gymnastics team didn’t field a full team at last Saturday’s Madison East Invitational.

But the Cardinals still had enough talent and depth to place second overall.

Verona/Madison Edgewood won the event with a 132.55 team score and Middleton was second at 131.675.

Cardinals standout Aryn Skibba only competed on the bars, yet Middleton was nearly able to win the title.

“I think it really speaks to the depth on our team when we can come in second out of eight teams in our conference and sectional without our highest individual scorer on three events,” Middleton coach Kari Steck said. “I'm not sure many teams in the area could do that. It shows how hard each one of the girls on the team works on a daily basis, and how strong of a team we are.”

Wed
16
Jan
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MHS swimmers second at own invite

Middleton’s boys swimming and diving team took second place at the 11-team Middleton Invitational last Saturday.

Madison Memorial won the title with 448 points, while Middleton was second at 384. Verona/Mount Horeb (362), Madison West (356) and McFarland (316) rounded out the top five.
“A lot of great swims for all the guys, a lot of great times from our relays overall,” Middleton coach Luke Lengfeld said. “Our depth really helped us with our second place victory.” 

Middleton’s quartet of Zack Parkin, Jack McGovern, Nick Lund and Jackson Uselman won the 800 yard freestyle. The Cardinals’ foursome of Lars Haskins, McGovern, Lex Peterson and Uselman was also first in the 500 yard free relay.

Middleton’s quartet of Cooper Green, Matthew Kim, Jacob Aegerter and Haskins was third in the 200 yard medley. The Cardinals’ foursome of Aegerter, Peterson, James Mai and Nick Lund was also third in the 300 yard fly.

Fri
11
Jan
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Memorial stuns Middleton

The Streak was over. Finally. Or so it seemed.

Middleton’s student body stormed the floor at Madison Memorial. The Cardinals’ boys basketball team celebrated. The coaching staff was giddy.

Then, in a flash, it all went poof.

Middleton led Madison Memorial, 60-59, as the clock expired Thursday night. But referees ruled that Spartans coach Steve Collins called timeout with 2 seconds left.

Memorial’s Jester Weah inbounded from three-quarters court and hit Shareef Smith racing down the right sideline. Smith took one dribble, pulled up from 22-feet and drained a three-pointer as the horn sounded.

Madison Memorial 62, Middleton 60.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Cardinals junior guard Derek Rongstad, who led all scorers with 18 points. “We thought it was done. I still can’t believe it.”

Wed
09
Jan
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Girls basketball team looks to heat up

There’s a lot of time before the Big Eight Conference girls basketball race will be decided.

But Middleton knows it’s probably out of mulligans. If the Cardinals hope to win a seventh straight league title, it’s time to get rolling.

“We definitely need to get on a roll,” senior guard Natalie Staples said. “We need to keep working hard and get a little more consistent.”

The Cardinals took a big step in that direction last Thursday.

Middleton used a 13-0 run early, never trailed again, and toppled visiting Sun Prairie, 48-39.

Middleton improved to 6-4 overall and is tied for third place in the Big Eight at 4-2. Sun Prairie is 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the conference.

Janesville Parker (9-1, 7-0) continues to lead the league.

Wed
09
Jan
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La Follette tops Middleton

A little time off to work on his shot might have been just what Derek Rongstad needed.

The 6-foot-5 junior point guard made a triumphant return to the Middleton lineup last Friday night with a game-high 26 points. Unfortunately, Rongstad’s performance wasn’t enough as the Middleton boys basketball team dropped a hard-fought, 73-69, Big Eight Conference decision to Madison La Follette.

Rongstad was originally expected to be out at least four to six weeks after breaking a bone in his left hand in a game against Verona on Dec. 13. However, doctors told Rongstad there was little risk of re-injuring the hand if he returned early. Rongstad responded by making 7 of his 12 three-point attempts against the Lancers.

Since Rongstad injured his left hand, and not his shooting hand, he was still able to practice shooting one-handed while he was out.

Wed
09
Jan
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Boys basketball team tops Appleton East

Guile, resiliency, strength.

Middleton showed all of the above last Saturday afternoon during an impressive 45-34 win over Appleton East.

Less than 24 hours earlier, the Cardinals had dropped a disappointing game to visiting Madison La Follette. But Middleton rebounded in impressive fashion.

The Cardinals improved to 5-6 on the year and snapped a four-game losing streak.

“After a tough close loss to a quality La Follette team, to come back and beat a solid squad in Appleton East was very impressive,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said. “I'm really proud of how our guys responded, especially less than 24 hours later.”

Middleton, which made a school-record 13 three-point shots against La Follette, stayed red-hot and drained seven against East.

Wed
09
Jan
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Hockey Cards rediscover winning ways

As Middleton’s hockey team skidded last month, Cardinals co-coach Steve Libert felt chemistry and camaraderie were bigger issues than talent.

So Libert was giddy his team hit the road last weekend.

“Playing back to back games on the road may have helped build some trust amongst the players,” Libert said. “We have lacked the ability to trust each other to do their job, and as a result, we often have players trying to do too much.

“But you fail at your own responsibilities as soon as you try to do someone else's job. Everybody got to spend more time with each other on the bus and story time seemed to go well.”

That it did.

First, the Cardinals toppled Onalaska, 3-2, in overtime Friday. Middleton senior Jake Bunz got the game-winner 1:12 into the extra session.

The Cardinals then routed Beloit Memorial, 8-3, last Saturday. Bunz stayed red hot with the first four-goal night of his Middleton career.

Wed
09
Jan
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Gymnasts capture Mount Horeb Invite

Kari Steck sets the bar awfully high for Middleton’s girls gymnastics team.

So when the Cardinals exceeded Steck’s expectations last Saturday, you know good things happened.

Middleton went to the Mount Horeb Invite and put on a show. The Cardinals posted a 138.250 team score to easily outdistance runner-up Madison Edgewood (133.50) at the 13-team event.

Middleton junior Aryn Skibba captured the individual title with a remarkable performance. Skibba notched a 137.325 score to edge Madison Memorial’s Caroline Smith (36.925) for the all-around crown.

“The girls performed far beyond my expectations,” Steck said. “This was our first invitational of the year, and they really made a statement and set the bar for the conference.”

Skibba gave a memorable performance in winning the all-around title.

Wed
09
Jan
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Wrestlers win Baraboo Invite

Middleton’s wrestling team has been looking for a signature win all season.

Last Saturday, the Cardinals got exactly that.

Middleton went to the Baraboo Thunderbird Classic and won the seven-team tournament.

The Cardinals finished with 208.0 points and edged runner-up Baraboo (194.5). Tomah (181.0), Grafton (115.0) and Adams-Friendship (106.5) rounded out the top five.

Middleton had four first place finishers. Those came from Jake Cain at 138 pounds, Shay Haase (160), Taggart Haase (170) and Sean Benedict (285).

Cain notched four pins, won one match by forfeit and improved to 29-1 on the year. Cain’s toughest match came against Baraboo’s William Pierce, but he pinned the Thunderbirds wrestler in 5:27.

Shay Haase went 5-0 on the day, including two pins.

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