Sports

Unanticipated.

Surprising.

Unexpected.

No matter which term you pick to describe the start of Middleton’s boys basketball season, you’ll be right.

The Cardinals improved to 8-1 overall last week and a perfect 6-0 in the Big Eight Conference with wins over Madison East and Sussex Hamilton.

Middleton defeated the visiting Purgolders, 107-93, on Jan. 9. The Cardinals then traveled to Sussex Hamilton and rallied past the Chargers, 76-71, last Saturday.

Middleton put itself in terrific shape heading into its showdown at Verona (6-0, 8-1), which was played Tuesday night.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Middleton 107, Madison East 93 — The Cardinals set a school record for points, eclipsing the previous mark of 96 set in the 2016-’17 season.

Senior guard John Grimes had a career-high 32 points to power Middleton. Grimes went 8-of-8 from the free throw line, had six assists and two steals.

Middleton’s wrestling team won a triple dual over Janesville Parker and Madison Memorial on Jan. 8.

The Cardinals defeated Parker, 41-27, and downed Memorial, 65-16.

Here’s how the Cardinals fared in each dual meet.

Middleton 41, Janesville Parker 27

113: Logan Zimmerman, JP, pinned Matthew Francois, Midd (1:23)

 120: Jonathan Dillivan, JP, pinned Maximus Schultz, Midd, (2:14)

 126: Ayden Godwin, JP, def. Lucian Borseth, Midd, 7-0

 132: Dominic McGuire, pinned Adler Plamann, Midd, (3:13)

 138: Grady Hargrove, Midd, def. Brayden Garey, JP, 11-5

 144: Tavish Frank, Midd, def. Cayson Vobian, JP, 13-6

 150: Aiden Bell, Midd, pinned Brennen Braunreiter, JP, 3:10

 157: Sebastian Leon, Midd, pinned Marcus Fischer, JP, 5:02

 165: Sam Zanton, Midd, pinned Brandon Saltz, JP, 1:12

 175: Finn Grauwels, Midd, pinned Maxwell Warren, JP, 2:58

Middleton’s boys swimming team had its first home meet of the season on Jan. 9.

And the Cardinals made it a terrific one, posting a 133-35 win over an undermanned team from Sun Prairie East.

“As always I thank all of my parents for helping run an efficient meet,” Middleton coach Wes Lagerhausen said. “With only a month or so left in the season I talked to our team about taking advantage of race opportunities and setting themselves up for success.

“Sun Prairie East is a smaller team so we had a full heat of Middleton run as “JV.” This was great to see teammates race each other and guide some of my decisions coming up here soon.”

Here’s how Middleton’s swimmers performed.

• Espen Morner won the 200-yard freestyle, while Evan Myers was second and Morgan Dorsey was third.

• Henry Zanton won the 200-yard IM, while Caden Van Buren was second and Fredrick Cupelli was third.

Middleton’s hockey team is slumping badly.

And the Cardinals’ skid continued last week.

Middleton dropped all four of its games and its losing streak reached seven games. The Cardinals are now 3-10-1 overall and 3-2 in the Big Eight Conference.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Sun Prairie 4, Middleton 2 — Tyce Mikla and Evan Mazur had goals for Middleton in a loss on Jan. 6.

Caiden Fletcher had 23 saves for MHS.

• Waunakee 6, Middleton 1 — The host Warriors rolled past the Cardinals on Jan. 8.

Middleton’s Christian Schuster had the first goal of the game, but Waunakee scored the final six — including five in the third period.

• Wausau West 8, Middleton 0 — The host Warriors routed the Cardinals on Jan. 9.

West scored two goals in the first period, and three in both the second and third periods.

Middleton’s girls basketball team dropped an 84-78 decision to visiting Madison La Follette on Jan. 10.

The Cardinals fell to 7-5 overall and 5-4 in the Big Eight Conference, while the Lancers improved to 10-2, 7-2.

Middleton freshman Anna Reinhard had a terrific game with 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Reinhard made 3-of-4 3-pointers, grabbed four rebounds and had two assists.

Brooke Michelotti added 18 points and four rebounds, while Hailey Stroede had 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Rowan Borne added 11 points, two assists and two steals, Lucy Drye had seven points, and Hailey Roepsch led the Cardinals with five rebounds and added two assists and two steals.

• On deck: Middleton hosted Stevens Point Tuesday, hosts Madison East Thursday at 7:15 p.m., and is at Madison West Saturday at 11 a.m.

MONONA — Some games mean more than others.

But it wasn’t the stakes — this was a non-conference affair in early January between two unranked teams — that made last Saturday afternoon’s contest between Middleton and Monona Grove special.

It was the emotions.

It was the fact Jackson Guerrero and the Middleton boys basketball family was still grieving the loss of Guerrero’s father, Jamie, to cancer on Dec. 23 and was one day removed from the memorial service.

For a couple hours, anyway, Jackson Guerrero and the Cardinals were able to get back to normal.

Guerrero turned in a memorable performance, pouring in a game-high 21 points to go along with four steals and a blocked shot defensively, leading the Cardinals to a 70-51 victory over the host Silver Eagles.

Middleton’s girls basketball team split a pair of games at the DeForest Holiday Classic.

Waukesha West defeated the Cardinals, 61-56, on Dec. 29. Middleton then rebounded and downed McFarland, 63-45, on Dec. 30.

Middleton is now 7-4 overall and 5-3 in the Big Eight Conference.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Waukesha West 61, Middleton 56 — The Wolverines rallied from a 31-24 halftime deficit and toppled the Cardinals.

Lucy Drye led Middleton with 16 points and added four rebounds and three steals. Anna Reinhard had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Brooke Michelotti had 11 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists.

Teagan Kadow led Middleton with six rebounds and had five points and three steals, while Hailey Stroede had four points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The Marquette Invite is one of the biggest boys swimming events of the season.

Twenty nine teams gather each year shortly after the Christmas break. And in many cases, it’s just as competitive as next month’s state meet.

That’s why Middleton had every reason to be on cloud nine after the event ended last Saturday.

The Cardinals — who have won three straight WIAA Division 1 state championships — showed they’re right on track for another title by cruising to a first place finish.

Middleton finished with 347.5 points and outdistanced runner-up Brookfield co-op (299). Madison West (226), the Badger co-op (186) and McFarland (157) rounded out the top five.

“The Marquette Invite is a meet we look forward to every year,” Middleton coach Wes Lagerhausen said. “We get the chance … to see what we need to continue to do or change in the final month or so of the season. 

State championships in boys volleyball, as well as boys and girls swimming.

Conference championships everywhere you turn.

And several individuals that earned trips to state tournaments.

All of those were achieved during another banner year for Middleton sports in 2025.

As the calendar turns, the Times-Tribune ranks the 12 most impressive achievements of the year (one for each month).

1. Boys spikers capture gold

Back on top again.

It’s where the Middleton boys volleyball team planned to finish at the start of the season. And the Cardinals did it in style, winning the WIAA state title by going undefeated.

Middleton fought off a pesky Germantown squad in the championship match to earn a 3-0 sweep — 26-24, 25-19, 25-21 — on Nov. 8 at the Resch Center in Green Bay.

Middleton baseball manager Brent Jorgensen called Jamie Guerrero an “icon.”

Cardinals basketball coach Kevin Bavery used the term ‘Team Dad.’

And former Middleton baseball skipper Tom Schmitt called Guerrero “one of a kind.”

Guerrero was all that and more, which is why his passing on Dec. 23 hit the Middleton community like a ton of bricks. Guerrero, a long time youth coach and assistant coach in the district, had a lengthy battle with cancer.

He was 53.

“Jamie vowed to be the same person and not let cancer or treatment take away his spirit,” Jorgensen said. “He lived up to his word. He brought energy, excitement, and always kept the focus on his family, his friends, and the kids he coached and mentored.

“The Jim Valvano words that ‘cancer cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul’ fit perfectly. Jamie stayed true to himself and left behind an incredible legacy.”

Schmitt agreed.