Sports

MADISON – Jackson Guerrero has earned a reputation as a lock down defender.

But that doesn’t mean Middleton’s senior guard is lacking any offensive skills.

Far from it.

Guerrero recorded a rare four-point play in the second half that helped Middleton storm back from a 14-point deficit en route to a convincing 74-61 victory over the host Madison La Follette Lancers in a Big Eight Conference boys basketball game on Dec. 17.

Middleton improved to 5-0 overall and in the Big Eight, while La Follette fell to 4-3, including 2-2 in conference play.

“Jackson was the (co)-Defensive Player of the Year in the conference last year,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said of Guerrero, who led the Big Eight in steals a year ago and has the Cardinals’ career school record for steals in his sights. “But he really showed the all-around game he really has. He can shoot deep. He’s uncanny.”

Middleton’s wrestling team won a triple dual against Sun Prairie East and Madison West on Dec. 18.

Middleton defeated East, 65-6, and toppled the Regents, 66-12.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ two wins.

• Middleton 65, Sun Prairie East 6 — Middleton got pins from Grady Hargrove at 138, Aiden Bell (150), Cougar Harkins (157), Sam Zanton (165), Finn Grauwels (175) and Reed Falk (285) and rolled past Sun Prairie East.

Middleton’s Matthew Francois (113), Adler Plamann (132), Tavish Frank (144), Pavil Jones (190) and Mason Martin (215) all received forfeits.

• Middleton 66, Madison West 12 — The Cardinals’ Maximus Schultz (126), Adler Plamann (132), Grady Hargrove (138), Aiden Bell (150), Sam Zanton (165) and Pavil Jones (175) all posted pins.

Middleton’s Matthew Francois (113), Cougar Harkins (157), Finn Grauwels (190), Reed Falk (215) and Mason Martin (285) all received forfeits.

Middleton’s girls basketball team split a pair of games last week.

The Cardinals defeated Janesville Craig, 77-72, on Dec. 16. Middleton then fell to Sun Prairie East, 57-55, on Dec. 19.

Middleton is now 6-3 overall and 5-3 in the Big Eight Conference.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Middleton 77, Janesville Craig 72 — Freshman Anna Reinhard poured in a game-high 23 points as the Cardinals defeated the host Cougars on Dec. 16. Reinhard added three steals and three rebounds.

Craig led, 42-37, at halftime before the Cardinals rallied in the second half.

Junior Teagan Kadow added 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, while senior Brooke Michelotti had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Senior Hailey Streode had a terrific all-around game with nine points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals, while senior Rowan Borne added eight points.

Middleton’s boys swimming team downed Madison Memorial, 135-35, on Dec. 19.

“The meet went really well,” Middleton coach Wes Lagerhausen said. “It was a nice way to start our winter break training.”

Middleton won every race for both varsity and JV and was second in 10 of 11 varsity events.

“It was a great team effort overall,” Lagerhausen said. “It shows our depth as well as the talent we have on the team this season. I am looking forward to winter break training and the second half of the season.”

Middleton’s top two finishes included:

FIRST PLACE

• The quartet of Max Carter, Sam Wolf, Caden Van Buren and Ben Cutler won the 200-yard medley relay.

• Espen Morner won the 200-yard freestyle.

• Henry Zanton won the 200-yard IM.

• Wolf won the 50-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle.

• Van Buren won the 100-yard butterfly.

Middleton’s boys swimming team downed Madison Memorial, 135-35, on Dec. 19.

“The meet went really well,” Middleton coach Wes Lagerhausen said. “It was a nice way to start our winter break training.”

Middleton won every race for both varsity and JV and was second in 10 of 11 varsity events.

“It was a great team effort overall,” Lagerhausen said. “It shows our depth as well as the talent we have on the team this season. I am looking forward to winter break training and the second half of the season.”

Middleton’s top two finishes included:

FIRST PLACE

• The quartet of Max Carter, Sam Wolf, Caden Van Buren and Ben Cutler won the 200-yard medley relay.

• Espen Morner won the 200-yard freestyle.

• Henry Zanton won the 200-yard IM.

• Wolf won the 50-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle.

• Van Buren won the 100-yard butterfly.

Tenacity, relentlessness, desire.

Middleton’s boys basketball team showed off all of those characteristics as it overwhelmed Sun Prairie East from start to finish and rolled to a 90-51 win in a Big Eight Conference game last Friday night.

Middleton also downed Janesville Craig, 83-62, on Dec. 9 and are off to a surprising 4-0 start. Sun Prairie East fell to 0-5.

“The nice thing about this group is we don’t kid about anything,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said. “We know their record, we know our record, we know what the expectations are, but this is your choice to decide … they really understand.

“We tell them over and over again, they don’t know how good they can be and it all starts with how hard are you going to run and how relentless can we be. I keep saying that the next step is to get to a point where they’re running so hard offensively that we’re going to run for more easy baskets and we got some tonight.”

Middleton’s girls basketball team continued its strong start last week.

The Cardinals rolled past Janesville Parker, 78-53, on Dec. 8. Middleton also downed Sun Prairie West, 68-57, on Dec. 10.

The Cardinals are now 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big Eight Conference.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Middleton 78, Janesville Parker 53 — Rowan Borne had 20 points and led three Cardinals in double figures as Middleton rolled past the Vikings. Borne also had a team-high 11 rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Junior Lucy Drye had 15 points, six steals and five assists. Drye made 4-of-5 field goals, 2-of-3 3-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws.

Freshman Anna Reinhard added 14 points and three rebounds, while sophomore Molly Schulz had six points and six rebounds.

Senior Hailey Stroede added seven rebounds and junior Teagan Kadow had four steals. Middleton finished with 24 steals as a team.

Middleton’s wrestling team won a triple dual against Janesville Craig and Madison East on Dec. 11.

The Cardinals defeated the Cougars, 45-27. Middleton also rolled past Madison East, 56-15.

Here’s a recap of those two meets.

• Middleton 45, Janesville Craig 27 — The Cardinals got pins from Matthew Francois at 113, Grady Hargrove (144), Sam Zanton (165), Pavil Jones (175) and Finn Grauwels (190). Mason Martin (215) and Reed Falk (285) both won by forfeit and Adler Palman notched a 14-4 win at 132.

• Middleton 56, Madison East 15 — The Cardinals rolled past the Purgolders, getting pins from Adler Palman at 132, Luke Antony (138), Grady Hargrove (144), Aiden Bell (150), Sebastian Leon (157), Sam Zanton (165), Finn Grauwels (175), Pavil Jones (190), Reed Falk (285) and Matthew Francois (113).

Middleton 45, Janesville Craig 27

Divide and conquer.

Middleton’s boys swimming team — which has a large number of athletes this season — split the team in half last weekend and still won a pair of events.

The Cardinals rolled past Janesville Parker, 125.5-42.5, on Dec. 12.

Middleton then won the 10-team Brookfield Central Invitational on Dec. 13. The Cardinals finished with 635.5 points, well ahead of runner-up Brookfield Central (388).

“It was a lot of fun to see everyone step up, contribute to the team score and show the depth our team has this season,” Middleton coach Wes Lagerhausen said. “We were able to come away with wins for both meets and everyone made smart improvements from their races the previous week. Doing this for the next eight weeks is exactly what we need to accomplish what our goals are for the season.”

Here's a recap of the Cardinals’ two wins:

MIDDLETON 125.5, JANESVILLE PARKER 42.5

It was a magical year for Middleton’s football team.

The Cardinals won the Big Eight Conference for the first time since 2015 with a perfect 7-0 league mark. Middleton went 9-2 overall and reached the second round of the WIAA Division 1 playoffs.

So it was no surprise that Middleton dominated the all-Big Eight Conference team, with 25 players earning all-league honors.

The Cardinals had 11 players named first-team all-conference, led by Offensive Player of the Year Joey Passaglia and Defensive Player of the Year Tyler Vogt. Middleton had nine players named second-team all-league and five more named honorable-mention all-conference.

In addition, Middleton co-coaches Tim Simon and Joe Poehls were named co-coaches of the Year.

“Joe and I don't nominate people unless they put in the work in the classroom and they’re high character kids,” Simon said. “So we couldn't be prouder of this group.”