May 2019

Thu
23
May
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MHS golfers advance through regionals

Survive and advance.

Really, that’s all that matters at this time of the year. Just ask Middleton’s boys golf team.

The Cardinals shot a 319 at the WIAA Division 1 Waunakee Regional held at Cherokee Country Club on Tuesday — a number that’s much higher than Middleton’s season average.

Still, that was good enough to tie for the team title with Verona. The Wildcats later captured first place by defeating the Cardinals on the first playoff hole.

Badger Conference champion Waunakee was third at 326 and Mount Horeb earned the final spot at sectionals with a 336.

The top four teams at regionals advanced to the Wisconsin Rapids Sectional, which will be held May 28 at The Ridges Golf Course beginning at 9 a.m.

Madison Memorial was fifth at 338, while Baraboo (349), Madison West (361) and Sauk Prairie (383) rounded out the eight-team regional.

Thu
23
May
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Golfers win Big 8 title

Middleton’s terrific boys golf team understands history.

The current Cardinals grew up watching players like Mitch Johnson, Eric Hagstrom, Emmet Herb, Joey Levin and Brady Thomas lead Middleton to great heights. Now, this group is trying to do the same.

The Cardinals took one more step towards greatness last Thursday, winning the Big Eight Conference Tournament held at the Evansville Golf Club. Middleton shot a 307 to easily outdistance runner-up Verona (323) and third place Sun Prairie (325).

Middleton, which also went 9-0 in the conference dual meet season, wrapped up an undefeated run through the league by rolling to the conference crown.

“It means everything for the team to win down in Evansville,” said Middleton sophomore standout Jacob Beckman. “We went there with one goal — to win conference — and we accomplished that goal.”

Cardinals coach Tom Cabalka was just as thrilled with Middleton’s performance.

Thu
23
May
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Soccer Cards earn No. 2 seed

The postseason seeding meeting went just as Middleton girls’ soccer coach Mary Duffy had hoped.

Now, Duffy and her Cardinals hope things go just as swimmingly over the next few weeks.

Middleton received the No. 2 seed in its sectional and begins the playoffs on May 28 when they host 15th-seeded Beloit Memorial/Turner in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal. If the Cardinals win there, they would host either seventh-seeded Janesville Craig or 10th-seeded Madison West in a regional final on June 1.

The sectional semifinals are June 6 and the sectional finals are June 8.

Waunakee received the No. 1 seed in the sectional, followed by Middleton, Sun Prairie, Mukwonago, Kettle Moraine, Oconomowoc, Janesville Craig, Watertown, Madison Memorial, Madison West, Verona, Madison East, Badger, Madison La Follette, Beloit and Janesville Parker.

Thu
23
May
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Girls softball team rolls in playoff opener

Middleton senior Ashley Bindl had herself a day at the plate.

In fact, the entire Middleton softball team had themselves quite an afternoon in their WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal game on Tuesday.

Bindl hit a grand slam and had five RBI, Ellie Buza pitched a complete game, and sixth-seeded Middleton breezed past 14th-seeded Monona Grove, 14-3, at Firefighters Memorial Park in Middleton. The game was stopped after five innings due to the mercy rule.

Middleton improved to 13-11 on the season and will travel to Onalaska Thursday at 5 p.m. for a regional final. Monona Grove finished the year 4-13.

“We knew we could hit Monona, but you still have to attack good pitches, and we did that from the start,” said Middleton manager Perry Hibner. “We have not hit the ball well the last couple of weeks, so it was really nice for us to hit the ball well tonight.”

Thu
23
May
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Middleton upends Sun Prairie

SUN PRAIRIE – Senior left-hander Matt Ballweg was feeling a little under the weather last Thursday, but he wouldn’t let that stop him from making a start on the mound for the visiting Middleton Cardinals.

Ballweg had the honor of pitching in the ‘Sixth Annual Cardinals Strike Out Cancer’ game against the Sun Prairie Cardinals, one that he didn’t take lightly.

“I played in this game last year, too,” Ballweg said with pride. “It’s about more than baseball. It puts into perspective that you never know when your last play is going to be.”

Ballweg gave it his all for five innings, allowing one earned run on three hits and three walks with two strikeouts, and junior Brooks Kalscheur singled to drive in the game-winning run to lead Middleton to a 3-2 victory in a Big Eight Conference game.

Thu
23
May
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Baseball Cardinals earn No. 4 seed

Middleton’s baseball team has a chance to reach the state tournament without ever leaving its homefield.

The Cardinals earned the No. 4 seed in their WIAA Division 1 regional and received a first round bye. Middleton will host either fifth-seeded Madison Memorial or 12th-seeded Madison La Follette in a regional final on May 30.

Middleton is also the host school for sectionals, which will be held on June 4. If the Cardinals advance that far, they could secure the school’s 14th trip to the state tournament by winning a sectional semifinal and final at home.

“The interesting thing about our sectional this year is that I could see multiple teams winning it,” Middleton first-year coach Brent Jorgensen said. “Many teams have similar records and there are several teams of similar quality. As always, the end of year tournament comes down to who executes the best and who is playing their best baseball at the end of the season.”

Fri
17
May
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Golfers win Big Eight title

One goal is in the rearview mirror.

The others seem more and more possible by the round.

Middleton’s boys golfers won the Beloit Memorial Quadrangular last Wednesday and in the process, captured the Big Eight Conference’s dual meet championship. The Cardinals finished league play a perfect 9-0.

“Our first season goal was to win conference and it was done convincingly,” Middleton coach Tom Cabalka said. 

Middleton shot a stellar 306 at Krueger Haskell Golf Course, followed by Janesville Craig (365), Madison West (381) and Beloit Memorial (403).

Kip Sullivan led the Cardinals with a 74 and Carson Frisch carded a 75. Tommy Kriewaldt fired a 77 and Alex Sosnowski shot an 80.

The highlight of the day came when Sosnowski made a hole-in-one at the 170-yard, 11th hole. Sosnowski also shot a sensational 35 on the back nine and his score counted from the No. 5 spot in the lineup.

Fri
17
May
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Girls softball team earns No. 6 seed

Middleton’s girls’ softball team received the No. 6 seed in its sectional.

The Cardinals will host 11th seeded Monona Grove in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal Tuesday at 5 p.m. Middleton is currently 12-10 overall, while the Silver Eagles are 4-12.

“We've had a nice season, but we want to take it up a notch in the playoffs,” Middleton manager Perry Hibner said. “We have played the top teams such as Verona and Sun Prairie very tough, but just haven't gotten over the hump.”

Verona is the No. 1 seed, followed by Sun Prairie, Onalaska, DeForest, Holmen, Middleton, Waunakee, Baraboo, Madison Memorial, Tomah, Monona Grove, La Crosse Central, Madison East and Madison West.

If Middleton defeats Monona Grove, it would face the winner of third-seeded Onalaska and 14th seeded Madison West in a regional final on May 23. The higher seed in that game would be the host school.

Fri
17
May
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Seventh heaven for boys track team

Middleton junior Marquez Winters didn’t begin to take competing in track and field seriously until this spring, when he focused on sharpening his skill in the long jump.

Suffice to say that after his winning performance at the Big Eight Conference track and field championships at Lussier Stadium last Friday, he has ample motivation to see how far he can go.

Winters won his first long jump title with a leap of 20 feet, 10 inches to help lead Middleton to its seventh consecutive boys track and field conference title. The Cardinals finished with 152 points to hold off runner-up Verona, which finished with 124.

Winters recorded his winning mark on his second attempt in the finals, narrowly edging Madison La Follette’s Ladell Cannon (20-9.75) and Madison East’s Jalonzo Jackson (20-7).

Fri
17
May
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Girls track team third at Big 8 meet

Quinn Harris entered her final Big Eight Conference track and field meet with a few emotional and physical scars, but was determined to make a stellar showing for her Middleton Cardinals’ teammates.

Less than 24 hours earlier, Harris had taken a nasty spill during a practice run at her specialty, the 300-meter low hurdles.

Junior Gabbi Butler also faced a mental hurdle, albeit a different one, in fighting off any doubts that she belonged with the best of the best at Lussier Stadium last Friday evening.

The Middleton duo proved to be two of the main reasons that Cardinals’ coach Cory Christovich, led a spirited post-meet celebration following the team’s uplifting performance.  

Sun Prairie won its third consecutive title and ninth in the past 11 seasons, finishing first with 152 points. Madison Memorial was second (144) and Middleton took third (135), repeating its performance of a year ago.

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