Sports

VERONA — Oh, so close.

One stroke was all that separated Middleton’s girls golf team from adding to the program’s trophy case Tuesday at the WIAA Division 1 state tournament. The Cardinals settled for third place, just behind runner-up Prescott.

But despite not getting their first trophy since taking second in 2022 — and what would have been their 12th gold or silver trophy overall — the Cardinals left University Ridge pleased with what they accomplished.

“Going into (this tournament) not a lot of people thought we’d finish where we finished,” said senior Maddy Wilcox, the Cardinals’ No. 2 golfer who finished tied for 28th individually with a 26-over-par, 170. “We had our sights set high and we believed in ourselves. We knew what we were capable of, and it was really great to go out there and show everybody.”

Guess who’s back?

Back again.

Middleton’s girls tennis team, which improved steadily throughout the season, won the WIAA Division 1 Middleton Sectional on Oct. 9 and secured a fifth straight trip to the team state tournament.

The Cardinals, who were the state runners-up the last two years, are the No. 3 seed at team state, which takes place Oct. 25-26 at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

Middleton also advanced No. 1 singles player Lydia Sabat and top doubles team Sophie Shi and Sarah Li to the individual state tournament, which takes place Thursday through Saturday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

Middleton, which finished second to Verona in the Big Eight Conference this fall, flipped the script and defeated the Wildcats for the sectional title. The Cardinals finished with 41 points, while the Wildcats had 36. Onalaska (27), Madison West (23) and Baraboo (15) rounded out the top five at the 17-team sectional.

When Middleton’s girls volleyball team first gathered back in August, the No. 1 goal they identified was winning the Big Eight Conference.

After the Cardinals finished fifth in the league in 2023, such lofty aspirations might have seemed far-fetched to some. Not to these Cardinals, though.

Middleton hit its first target when it defeated powerful Sun Prairie West, 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 25-21, on Oct. 8 and captured at least a share of the Big Eight title. The Cardinals, who improved to 8-0 in the league, had a chance to win the outright conference title by defeating host Janesville Parker Tuesday.

“The girls set big goals this year and the biggest to the team was winning conference,” Middleton coach Ben White said. “They focused on every match and never looked past anyone.

Middleton’s boys volleyball coach Dylan Griffith heads to the postseason meeting Thursday.

And barring anything crazy, the fourth-ranked Cardinals should receive a No. 1 seed and be poised to try defending their WIAA state championship.

Middleton rolled to three more wins last week, improved to 26-4 overall, and seems to be peaking as the postseason arrives.

Middleton opened the week with a 25-12, 25-20, 25-14 win over Fort Atkinson. Seniors Andrew Chen, Nathan Pinske and Callum Charnholm were honored in the Cardinals’ final home conference match of the year.

“This was another one of those team wins, where no matter who was on the floor we kept the level of play high,” Griffith said.

Caden Van Buren led the Cardinals with 11 kills, while Charnholm and Jonah Johnson both had five kills.

Middleton’s girls swimming team rolled past Sun Prairie West, 126-43, on Oct. 10.

The Cardinals won 10 of 11 events and had the top three finishers in five of the 11 events.

Middleton’s 400-yard freestyle relay team of Brynn Sundell, Ellie Sundell, Abigail Frommelt and Isabell Frommelt was first. The Cardinals’ foursome of Jane Garlock, Addie Dorn, Lydia Keebler and Aoife Ryan-Kaiser were second, while the quartet of Sulia Miller, Dina Abdel-Megid, Clara Kiehl and Chloe Wedding was third.

In the 200-yard medley relay, Tabitha Kuhl, Rian Jost, Miller and Olivia Rashid finished first, while the foursome of Ellie Wolf, Abdel-Megid, Audrey Alexander and Tae Martin was third.

And in the 200-yard freestyle relay, the foursome of Anna Dart, Addison Haack, Garlock and Miller finished first, while the quartet of Izzy Ensenberger, Kayley Burt, Ryan-Kaiser and Keebler was second.

Let the title defense begin.

Middleton’s boys soccer team, the reigning WIAA Division 1 state champions, received the No. 1 seed in their sectional. The Cardinals open postseason play by hosting 16^th-seeded Janesville Parker in a regional semifinal Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The regional finals would be Oct. 26, where the Cardinals would host either No. 8 seed Sun Prairie West or ninth-seeded Mukwonago.

The sectional semifinals are Oct. 31 and the sectional finals are Nov. 2.

Madison West, which defeated Middleton, 2-0 during the regular season, is the No. 2 seed in the sectional. Madison East, Madison Memorial and Oregon round out the top five seeds.

“Our goal was the No. 1 seed and I thought our résumé was pretty strong which other coaches saw and voted us No. 1,” said Middleton coach Kevin Pauls, whose team is 15-3 this season. “The section, as always, is very strong.

Troy Teff led a contingent of his Middleton classmates — who were being honored on Senior Night — when the Cardinals hosted Madison La Follette in a Big Eight Conference prep football game on Oct. 10.

Oh, what a night it was for the Cardinals, who showed no mercy on the visiting Lancers.

Junior quarterback Joey Passaglia and Teff connected on three first-quarter touchdown passes as Middleton dominated La Follette, 49-0, to secure a berth in the upcoming WIAA Division 1 playoffs.

The Cardinals are Hartland Arrowhead share the state’s longest string of playoff appearances in Division 1, qualifying every season since 1996.

Middleton improved to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Eight Conference, while La Follette fell to 1-7, 1-5.

The beat goes on.

And boy, what a rhythm it’s been.

Middleton’s girls golf team finished second at the Oregon Sectional on Tuesday and clinched a spot at the WIAA Division 1 state tournament for the 13^th straight year.

DeForest won the sectional title held at Edelweiss Chalet Country Club in New Glarus with a 321 team score. Middleton was second with a 329, while Oregon (341), Verona (353) and Waunakee (353) rounded out the top five at the eight-team regional.

Only the top two teams qualified for state, which will be held Monday and Tuesday at University Ridge.

“We’re incredibly proud of the team for securing a spot at state,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson. “The girls have shown remarkable dedication and teamwork throughout the season, and this is a testament to all of their hard work.”

Middleton High School offers a plethora of sports and activities for its students.

Beginning this fall, though, school district officials have found another way to reach out to a segment of its population that was unable to participate in traditional sporting activities.

Welcome to the Adaptive Sports League, a high school sports program designed for students with disabilities to experience the benefits of a quality competitive sports program.

Head boys basketball coach Kevin Bavery and assistant girls basketball coach Jessica McIntosh, who are also physical education teachers at the school, said they are excited to be part of the new program.

“The Sun Prairie schools actually started it last year,” McIntosh said of Sun Prairie East and Sun Prairie West. “Our special education department was super interested because it was something that fills their cup.

The Evan Kratochwill Memorial cross country invitational isn’t about where you finish. It’s about so much more than that.

Still, it is nice to perform well — something both of Middleton’s teams did last Saturday.

The event which honors Kratochwill — a former MHS runner who passed away from a double vehicle crash in the Town of Middleton on Oct. 2, 2021 — was a huge hit again. This was the largest event yet, with just shy of 1,000 runners and walkers between the memorial community run, and the middle school and high school invites.

And Middleton’s runners certainly excelled.

The boys finished fourth at the eight-team event held at Glacier Creek Middle School in Cross Plains. The girls were third among six teams.

“Saturday's meet was a showcase of competition, sportsmanship, and fun — the very qualities that define cross country and reflect who Evan was,” said MHS girls co-coach Kelly Julian.