Sports

There was a time Middleton’s girls gymnastics program was one of the state’s elite outfits.

From 1995-2019, the Cardinals reached the WIAA Division 1 state tournament 22 times. Middleton posted four second place finishes in that stretch and had 14 top-five finishes.

The Cardinals appear awfully close to returning to past glory.

Middleton finished in third place at the WIAA Division 1 Sun Prairie West Sectional on Feb. 26, narrowly missing out on a trip to team state.

But Cardinals standouts Aspen Goth and Abby Arnold both qualified for individual state. Goth qualified as an all-arounder and also earned a state berth on the vault, uneven bars and floor exercise, while Arnold qualified on the floor.

Middleton’s girls basketball team played Verona tougher than it has in several years during its WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal last Friday. The fifth-seeded Wildcats pulled away late, though, and toppled the 12^th-seeded Cardinals, 66-56.

Middleton finished the year 14-11 overall. Verona, which lost the following night to Mukwonago in a regional final, finished the year 20-6.

Freshman Anna Reinhard led Middleton with 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Senior Rowan Borne added 12 points and four rebounds, while senior Brooke Michelotti had 11 points, three assists and three rebounds.

Senior Hailey Roepsch had nine points and five rebounds, while senior Hailey Stroede had seven points and 12 rebounds.

The Cardinals trailed, 31-24, at halftime and 38-33 early in the second half. But Middleton battled back, getting a 3-pointer from Stroede and a driving lay-up from Borne to tie the game, 38-38.

Glass half empty or glass half full?

The results for Middleton’s boys basketball team in last Saturday night’s non-conference clash with De Pere offered a little bit of both perspectives.

On one hand, the Cardinals erased a double-digit deficit and were in position to win in the final minutes.

On the other hand, things slipped away at the end.

Middleton suffered an 80-71 loss to the Redbirds, leaving the Cardinals with mixed emotions in the wake of their second defeat in three games after beginning the year 18-2.

“Today and Tuesday (a loss to Verona) we got out to a bad start, and we came all the way back and tied it up,” senior guard Jackson Guerrero said. “That just shows how much fight and grit we have, and how much we want to win. We won’t give up.”

Middleton, which fell to 19-4, certainly didn’t quit.

But the game ended the same way it started.

Middleton’s hockey team was young and inexperienced this season, with just three seniors on the roster.

The Cardinals made strides, though, before their season ended with a 5-1 loss to Sun Prairie in a WIAA Division 1 regional final on Feb. 19.

Middleton actually took a 1-0 lead just 3 minutes, 41 seconds into the game. Patrick Passini scored for MHS on assists from Thomas Kydd and Everett Lamp.

Sun Prairie scored the next five goals, though, including three in the third period to pull away. Middleton goalie Caiden Fletcher had 29 saves.

Sun Prairie finished with a 33-25 advantage in shots on goal.

Middleton ended the season 8-16-2.

Middleton also defeated Reedsburg/Wisconsin Dells/Mauston, 6-4, in a regional semifinal on Feb. 17.

Everett Lamp and Patrick Passini both scored goals in the final 3 ½ minutes as the Cardinals rallied past the Miners.

Middleton’s wrestlers finished in third place at the WIAA Division 1 Verona Sectional last Saturday and fell short of the state team meet, which will be held in La Crosse March 6-7.

The Cardinals opened with a 43-34 win over Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights.

Oregon then edged the Cardinals, 38-37, in the semifinals. Middleton defeated Verona, 44-33, in the third place match.

Waunakee defeated Oregon, 44-33, for the team championship and qualified for team state.

“Overall, I’m proud of how the team handled the environment and competed for each other,” MHS coach Kevin Meicher said. “It was a good step for a lot of our younger guys and something we can build on moving forward.”

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ matches.

• Middleton 43, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights 34 — Six Cardinals notched pins and MHS toppled the Eagles in the quarterfinals.

"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days, before you've actually left them.”

WAUKESHA — In the final episode of the hit TV show “The Office”, Andy Bernard delivered that memorable line.

Bernard’s point was that he wished he had cherished the present during his years at Dunder Mifflin instead of waiting until he was gone.

Middleton’s boys swimming team didn’t have that problem.

As the Cardinals and their sensational senior class took aim at their fourth straight WIAA Division 1 state championship this season, they soaked in every moment possible.

The daily practices. The meets. The camaraderie. And the success.

Shock.

Amazement.

Disbelief.

This was the reaction from Middleton’s boys basketball program after it received the No. 5 seed in its WIAA Division 1 sectional Sunday.

The Cardinals are 19-4 this season, with their only losses coming against teams currently ranked in the top-10. Middleton also remains in contention for a Big Eight Conference title.

Just two weeks ago, the WIAA did a mid-season seeding report and Middleton was a No. 2 seed in its sectional. In the time since, the sixth-ranked Cardinals lost at the buzzer to No. 10 Verona and fell to No. 8 DePere.

Somehow, though, Middleton plummeted to a No. 5 seed, leaving the Cardinals dazed and confused.

“Gotta be a misprint, right?” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery deadpanned. “We were surprised about the No. 5 seed, thinking No. 3 would be the lowest. But in the end it's not about the seed. If you're going to win your sectional you have to be better than everyone at any time.”

Middleton’s girls gymnastics team finished in third place at the Big Eight Conference meet last Saturday.

Verona/Madison Edgewood won the team title with 141.825 points, while Janesville Craig was a distant second at 134.875. Middleton (134.30), Madison Memorial (132.175) and Sun Prairie’s co-op (130.30) rounded out the top five at the nine-team meet.

“We had a few hiccups on our first event (floor), but were able to recover and still have a good performance in the other three events,” Middleton coach Desiree Peterson said. “Beam was our best event, which is really exciting as we have been working a lot on our connections and not falling. It's always great to see that hard work pay off.”

Middleton’s Aspen Goth was fourth in the all-around competition with a 34.775.

Goth won the uneven bars with an 8.70, while Lauren Devine was 19^th (7.50), and Abby Arnold and Katya Razenkova tied for 20^th (7.475).

The stars shined brightly with bragging rights and revenge on the line when Middleton hosted Verona in a key Big Eight Conference boys basketball matchup on Feb. 17.

Middleton’s potent backcourt of seniors John Grimes and Jackson Guerrero combined for 36 points, while Verona rising junior Will Stremlow powered his way to a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds.

The host Cardinals, tied for the Big Eight Conference lead, were looking for a series sweep.

Instead, Wildcats’ reserve guard Deonte Phillips dashed those hopes.

Phillips drained a 3-pointer from the left wing with 5 seconds to play as Verona defeated Middleton, 60-57.

Middleton fell to 18-3 overall and 13-2 in the Big Eight Conference, while Verona improved to 15-4, 12-3.

VERONA — Better safe than sorry.

That’s how the Middleton boys swimming team approached last Saturday’s WIAA Division 1 Verona Sectional and it paid off in a big way.

Not only did the Cardinals easily win the meet, but they also avoided any mishaps along the way that might derail their hopes of claiming a fourth consecutive state title.

“I think for sectionals we’re just thinking about getting through,” Middleton senior Caden Van Buren said. “It was a tough meet. We just want to get through to the next meet, get a lane, and then we can put it all on the line there.”

MHS won eight of the meet’s 12 events and finished with 402.5 points, easily outdistancing second-place Madison West (323). Verona (303), Madison Memorial (261) and Oregon (177) rounded out the top five.