Sports

Kelly Julian views Middleton’s girls cross country team like a puzzle.

Julian, the Cardinals’ co-head coach, believes she has all the right pieces. Her job is to get them into the right place.

Julian believes that’s beginning to happen as she watched Middleton perform well at the Verona Invite last Saturday. The Cardinals finished fifth out of 10 Division 1 teams and ninth overall in the 30-team field.

“Early races in the season are all about putting pieces of a puzzle together that we believe will help us achieve our future goals,” Julian said. “With such a young squad, it is an especially fun process this year. We know how much potential this team has, and each performance gives us a glimmer of what our future holds.”

Madison West won the Division 1 team title with 38 points, while Sun Prairie West was second with 72 points. New Lenox, Ill. (80), Verona (103) and Middleton (118) rounded out the top five.

Be a goldfish.

In the hit television show ‘Ted Lasso’, that’s what the fictional soccer coach tells his team.

“You know what the happiest animal on Earth is?” Lasso asks. “It's a goldfish. It has a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish.”

Middleton girls golf coach Becky Halverson wanted her team to adopt that mindset last week. And that’s just what they did.

Middleton had a rough outing and finished 10^th at the 18-team Brookfield Central Invite held at University Ridge Golf Course on Sept. 3.

But the Cardinals responded with a season-low 310 to win the Janesville Craig Triangular on Sept. 5. Middleton then finished third at the 20-team Cardinal Invite held at Pleasant View last Saturday.

“The girls learned some lessons about mindset,” Halverson said. “The girls are going to continue to work hard to get to where they want to be for the postseason.”

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week:

The Brookfield East boys volleyball tournament is always one of the state’s elite events.

The top teams, players and coaches are almost all in attendance.

So after second-ranked Middleton went 4-1 at that tournament last Saturday and left with a fifth place finfish, the Cardinals felt awfully good about where their season was headed.

“It's usually a good litmus test to see where we are early in the season,” Middleton coach Dylan Griffith said. “We had a really good showing.”

They sure did.

Middleton opened with a 25-19, 25-16 win over Brookfield Central, then downed Franklin, 25-18, 25-22, to finish pool play, 2-0.

The Cardinals then had a crossover game with third-ranked Marquette and the Hilltoppers prevailed in a thriller, 25-13, 25-27, 18-16. Middleton and Marquette have met twice now, and the Hilltoppers have edged the Cardinals in two spandex-tight matches.

The first Wisconsin Boys Soccer Coaches Poll of the Year was released last week, and defending state champion Middleton was ranked No. 1.

The Cardinals then went out and showed why.

Middleton defeated Madison Memorial, 2-1, on Sept. 4. The Cardinals then downed DePere, 4-1, last Saturday.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week:

• Middleton 2, Madison Memorial 1 — Sophomore standout Luke Weber scored the game-winning goal in the 74^th minute as the Cardinals notched a huge win over the Spartans.

“Memorial was a great team and gave us one heck of a battle,” Middleton coach Kevin Pauls said.

The Spartans came out with great energy, but Middleton weathered the early storm. Keeper Liev Schiffman had a huge save to keep the game scoreless.

Middleton’s girls tennis team won all four its matches last week.

Here’s a recap:

• Middleton 7, Madison La Follette 0 — The Cardinals notched seven straight set wins and downed the Lancers on Sept. 5.

Singles players Sophia Pientka, Sofia Altuzar, Mira Russo and Shreya Ramesh all notched straight set wins. In doubles play, the teams of Hannah Lister/Elina Koenst, Haley Klatt/Sam Pomroy and Domenica Conrad/Avery West all won in straight sets.

• Middleton 6, Oregon 1 — The Cardinals rolled past the Panthers last Friday.

Pinetka, Altuzar and Russo all had straight set singles wins. In doubles play, the team of Sophie Shi/Sarah Li, Lister/Koenst and Klatt/Pomroy all posted straight set wins.

• Middleton 7, Waunakee 0 — The Cardinals rolled past the Warriors last Saturday.

Middleton boys basketball coach Kevin Bavery was nervous.

So was co-head football coach Tim Simon.

It was April and Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Greg Gard had opted not to renew the contract of assistant coach Dean Oliver.

Oliver’s son, Isaiah, just happened to be Bavery’s starting point guard and a star wide receiver for Simon’s football team.

Following months of uncertainty, it appeared the two-sport star would be back at Middleton for his junior year after Oliver played the first two football games of 2024. Just before school began, though, the Oliver family moved to Iowa, where Dean grew up and recently landed a new job.

Isaiah is now enrolled at Northwest High School in Waukee, Iowa, a school of 1,427 students. In his first game with his new school last week, Oliver hauled in touchdown receptions of 27 and 22 yards.

“It’s not okay to just be okay.”

That’s the mantra Middleton’s girls volleyball team will employ this fall.

The Cardinals went 18-14 last season in their first year under coach Ben White. Middleton also finished in fifth place in the Big Eight Conference and fell to Verona in a WIAA Division 1 regional final.

White, who led Middleton’s boys volleyball team to state 11 times during a 19-year run with that program, is hoping to build the Cardinals’ girls into a power, as well. And he’s optimistic Middleton will take steps in that direction during his second year at the helm.

“We are really excited about the team this year and to see what we can be as we move forward,” said White. “As we've told the girls, our level of play in August will not be the same level of play in October and hopefully November.

For degree of difficulty, Troy Teff got a 10. A perfect score.

It was a highlight reel catch.

All it counted for on the scoreboard, though, was six points. But on this night, points were not at a premium for Middleton, which cruised by Waterford, 49-10, on Aug. 29 at Otto Breitenbach Stadium in a Week 2 non-conference prep football game. 

Middleton improved to 1-1 heading into its Big Eight Conference opener Friday at 7 p.m. at home against Madison Memorial.

Teff’s reception in the back left corner of the end zone early in the second quarter made it 27-7 before Drew Cooney’s extra point split the uprights. That also capped an emphatic start for the Cardinals’ offense, which scored on their first four possessions of the game.

“That play was just an incredible play by him,” junior quarterback Joey Passaglia said. “I just tried to get it out there so he could make a play on it — and he did.”

If first impressions are indeed the most telling, it could be a terrific year for Middleton’s boys cross country team.

The Cardinals went to the star-studded Arrowhead Night Time race on Aug. 29 and finished second out of 15 teams.

Middleton’s girls were seventh out of 13 teams.

Homestead won the boys race with 72 points, while Middleton was a close second with 77. Sussex Hamilton (87), Marquette (99) and Pewaukee (167) rounded out the top five.

“I was pleased with the result,” Middleton coach Brian Finnel said. “This race is always a highlight for our team, it's such a fun and unique way to start the season. Racing under the lights. The team loves it.

“Our team goal was to get third and we placed second so the guys were pumped about that. I think we all were excited that Homestead was within reach as well, just five points out.”

The heat was overwhelming, almost crushing.

So Middleton girls golf coach Becky Halverson improvised — something she’s extremely good at.

And once again, the third annual ‘Coaches vs Cancer’  girls golf fundraiser — hosted by Middleton and Waunakee — was a smashing success.

The event, held at Maple Bluff Country Club on Aug. 26, was played on a day when the heat index reached 103 degrees. So Halverson and Waunakee coach Betsy Zadra made the decision to shorten the scramble from 18 to nine holes.

Needless to say, that move was a popular one.

“The decision to change it was a welcomed change,” Halverson said.

Even more exciting were the fundraising efforts.

All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society, and the 23 teams in the field raised $48,283, just shy of their goal of $50,000. Middleton itself raised $11,115.

“We were very happy overall with how the event went,” Halverson said.