May 2018

It’s the most stressful day of the golf season.

Sure, the two-day state tournament can be a nerve-wracking affair.

But sectionals — where every drive, chip and putt can determine if you live to play another round — is a far more taxing endeavor.

Middleton’s young guns — a group that included four players competing at sectionals for the first time — handled the pressure like seasoned veterans Tuesday afternoon.

The Cardinals shot a terrific 306, finished second at the Verona Sectional played at Edelweiss Country Club and earned a trip to the WIAA Division 1 state tournament. Verona won the sectional with a sizzling 296, while Waunakee was a distant third at 313.

The state tournament is Monday and Tuesday at University Ridge Golf Course. And after a one-year absence, Middleton returns to state for the fourth time in five years.

In 2016, Middleton’s boys’ track and field team was a sectional champion. The Cardinals then went and finished second at the WIAA Division 1 state meet.

Middleton coach Joe Line is hoping for similar results in 2018.

Middleton won its own sectional last Thursday, finishing with 107 points to outdistance runner-up La Crosse Central (82). The Cardinals

qualified 10 individuals in seven events and one relay team for the state meet, which will be held Friday and Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium in La Crosse.

“Those guys who made it (to state) could all score,” Middleton coach Joe Line said. “That’s really big. Not only score, but be top three in some events.

“The sky’s the limit. If we have our perfect meet, we could do some damage.”

The discussion wasn’t easy.

The hard truth never is.

Middleton’s girls soccer program is one of the deepest and most talented in the state year-in and year-out. This year’s Cardinals might have their best roster in many moons, as well.

So before the season began, Middleton head coach Mary Duffy had an honest conversation with her players and their parents. The Cardinals’ remarkably positive reaction to that talk is a major reason they’re in the middle of a memorable season.

“We had a very open discussion at the beginning of the year with players and parents about the struggles of being on a varsity team, and the difficulties of being at the top level, but not playing or not playing a lot,” Duffy said. “Every single girl has embraced their role with great character, strength, determination to improve themselves and the team. They’ve done it with a fantastically positive attitude to produce this amazing team that we have.”

SUN PRAIRIE — There are still far bigger fish to fry.

There are much larger goals waiting to be attained.

But for a few minutes Tuesday night, Middleton’s girls’ soccer team stopped, smiled, and reflected on what it had just achieved.

Middleton dominated host Sun Prairie from start to finish and rolled to a 2-0 Big Eight Conference win. The victory gave Middleton the undisputed Big Eight Conference title for a second straight year.

Middleton finished the regular season 8-0-1 in the league and tallied 25 points. Sun Prairie could have earned a share of the conference title with a win, but fell to 6-2-1 and settled for second place with 19 points.