Sports

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)

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.

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.

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 13^th-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.

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.

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 14^th (30.80).

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.

Stevenson High School  (Ill.) has one of the strongest boys swimming programs in the Midwest.

So Middleton’s WIAA Division 1 two-time defending state champion Cardinals love welcoming the Patriots to town for the Middleton Invite each year.

The way MHS views it is that Stevenson provides a terrific test before the state tournament later this month.

Consider this year’s exam aced.

Middleton won the 12-team star-studded Cardinal Invite last Saturday. Middleton finished with 422 points to outdistance Stevenson (380). Verona (311), Madison Memorial (196) and Neenah (164) rounded out the top five.

Stevenson won last year’s invite, so the Cardinals enjoyed returning the favor this time around.

The Spartan Invitational is always one of the top gymnastics tournaments of the season.

The invite features 20 total teams that are divided into two divisions. Many of the state’s best programs are in attendance. And it serves as a terrific appetizer for the state tournament in March.

Middleton showed that its ready for the postseason by posting a season-best 134.0 and winning the 10-team White Division last Saturday. Waunakee/DeForest was second with a 133.2750, while Waupun (131.050), Madison Memorial (127.3750) and Watertown (126.150) rounded out the top five.

"Wow is a great way to sum up my thoughts about this competition,” Cardinals coach Alexis Cairo said. “Historically, the Spartan Invite is always one of the most stressful competitions of the season. I am so proud of these girls.”

With good reason.

Middleton was shorthanded, missing two key varsity performers. In their stead, though, several others stepped up.

When game-planning for Middleton’s boys basketball team, containing senior reserve forward Owen Ostreng certainly hasn’t been on anyone’s ‘to do’ list.

Ostreng earned playing time early in the season when 7-foot senior forward Will Garlock was recovering from a foot injury.

With Garlock back in the lineup, though, Ostreng — who was averaging one point and one rebound per game — bided his time, picking up a few minutes of playing time here and there.

When starters Drew Cooney and John Grimes were unavailable on Saturday, though, Ostreng didn’t squander his opportunity to provide a spark against traditional powerhouse Arrowhead, which advanced to the WIAA Division 1 state championship game each of the past two seasons.

 Ostreng proved to be the X-factor off the bench, scoring all seven of his points in the first half and finishing with four rebounds to help Middleton hold off Arrowhead 63-57 in a non-conference game.