Sports

WISCONSIN DELLS — Thirty-nine months ago, Jacob Beckman walked into Middleton’s boys golf program and wasn’t bashful.

The baby faced, yet ultra-gifted Beckman outlined his goals. And he wasn’t afraid to aim big.

“The goal that I set for myself the very first day of practice my freshman year was to win a state championship,” Beckman said.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Beckman capped his memorable Middleton career in style. Beckman sank a 3-foot par putt on the 18^th hole at Wild Rock Golf Club and became just the fifth golfer in school history to win a WIAA Division 1 state championship.

Beckman shot a 4-under-par, 140 over the two-day tournament and edged Hudson’s Bennett Swavely by one shot. Kettle Moraine’s Ben Pausha, who made a late charge with a 5-under-par on the back nine that included a hole-in-one, was third at 142.

Middleton junior Easton Zempel didn’t have to be perfect on Tuesday afternoon.

But the 6-foot-6 right-hander, who is an imposing figure on the mound, came close.

Zempel threw 5 1/3 innings of no-hit ball and allowed just four baserunners, including a sixth-inning bloop single, to help third-seeded Middleton blank sixth-seeded Madison East 7-0 in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal at Middleton High School.

Middleton (17-9) advanced to the regional championship game against host second-seeded DeForest (19-3), an 8-6 winner over seventh-seeded Madison West, on Thursday.

“My fastball was working really well,” said Zempel, who needed just 85 pitches to dispose of the Regents and allowed only four balls to be hit out of the infield. “My slider was working really well, too. I was hitting my spots.”

OCONOMOWOC — The heat was oppressive.

The competition was intense.

Still, nothing could slow down the juggernaut that is Middleton’s boys tennis team.

The Cardinals rolled through the Oconomowoc Sectional on June 9, winning all four singles flights and finishing second in all three doubles flights.

Middleton finished with 50 points to easily outdistance runner-up Arrowhead (36). The Cardinals earned a trip to the WIAA Division 1 state team tournament June 25-26 in Eau Claire and are the No. 2 seed.

Middleton also qualified three singles players and two doubles teams for the individual state tournament that will be held Thursday through Saturday in Eau Claire.

“It was a great day for us,” Middleton coach Tony Mirasola said afterwards. “The first goal is always the team and we accomplished that. And then we had enough players do well that we should be well-represented at individual state.”

They are.

Middleton senior Jackson Meyer qualified for the WIAA state track and field meet in the triple jump as a sophomore two years ago.

But after losing a year of competition to the COVID-19 pandemic, Meyer made a unique decision this spring.

“I always wanted to do the triple and high jump,” said Meyer, who broke a 38-year school record in the triple jump this spring. “But the long jump, I’ve thought about it, but the coaches wanted me to save my legs.

“But my senior year, I said I wanted to do all three. I like it. It keeps me going. I have a lot of adrenaline the whole time. I’m always ready to do another. It’s usually triple jump first and then long jump and high jump at the same time. It works out well.”

So far, so good.

Middleton’s girls softball team opened the postseason in style Monday.

The Cardinals defeated Madison East, 12-0, in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal stopped after five innings due to the 10-run mercy rule. The Cardinals were the No. 3 seed in their half of the Middleton Sectional, while the Purgolders were the No. 6 seed.

Middleton will now travel to second-seeded Verona for a regional final Wednesday at 5 p.m. The sectional semifinals are June 21 and the sectional finals are June 23.

Middleton improved to 21-5 overall. The last Cardinals’ team to post 20 wins in a season was the 2007 group that went 20-3.

In Middleton’s playoff win over East, Ellie Buza went the distance and allowed just four hits. Buza also struck out five, didn't walk a batter and threw strikes on 50 of her 73 pitches (68.5%).

Middleton pounded out 12 hits and scored in every inning it batted.

They played their best game of the season at the most opportune time.

They were prepared, focused and extremely driven.

In the end, though, it wasn’t quite enough.

Middleton’s girls soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to host Verona in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal on June 8. After more than 82 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Wildcats notched the game-winner in the 83^rd minute.

Middleton finished the season 7-6-2, while Verona (9-3-1) knocked off top-seeded Waunakee in a regional final last Thursday.

“I have never seen a group of girls more prepared,” Middleton coach Mary Duffy said. “We knew from how this half of the sectional was divided out that we had a difficult challenge even if we had gotten a home game. 

The road will be daunting, formidable.

Middleton’s baseball team certainly seems poised, though, to make a postseason run.

The Cardinals won four straight games last week and have now won 10 of 11 overall. And with the WIAA Division 1 playoffs set to begin Tuesday, Middleton (15-7 overall, 11-4 in the Big Eight) figures to be a remarkably tough out.

The Cardinals received the No. 3 seed in their half of the sectional and will host sixth-seeded Madison East in a regional semifinal June 15. The winner of that game will face either second-seeded DeForest or seventh-seeded Madison West in a regional final on June 17.

The regional includes top-seeded Madison Memorial, followed by DeForest, Middleton, Verona, Waunakee, Madison East and Madison West.

Sectionals are June 21 in Baraboo.

It was a rough week for the Middleton Cardinals softball team that still has aspirations of winning at least a share of their first Big Eight Conference title since 2015.

But the task became much tougher after Middleton lost two of three games last week.

Freshman pitcher Tayler Baker scattered seven hits and struck out seven and also had three hits, including a double, to power visiting Sun Prairie to an 11-3 victory over Middleton in a Big Eight Conference game last Friday at Firefighters’ Park.

“We made her look pretty good,” Middleton manager Brittany Karl said of Baker. “I think it was on us for not making adjustments. We knew what she was throwing right out of the gate, and we just didn’t adjust to it. We made some adjustments in the fifth inning, but you can’t wait so long.”

Earlier in the week, Middleton defeated Janesville Parker 7-3 on June 1 and suffered a heart-breaking 7-6 loss at home to Parker on June 3.

The first goal has been accomplished.

Now, Middleton’s boys tennis team will take at their other objectives.

The Cardinals clinched the Big Eight Conference last week with a perfect 9-0 record. Middleton defeated Sun Prairie, Madison La Follette and Janesville Parker by identical 7-0 scores.

“For the last few conference matches we played this week, we knew that we would be the favored team,” Middleton coach Tony Mirasola said. “But it was important that we came out and were focused and energized at every position.”

Middleton did exactly that, as it completed its romp through the league.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week:

• Middleton 7, Sun Prairie 0 — Koji Heineman, Jonathan Kim, Ian Connell and Aarush Gupta all rolled to singles wins for Middleton on June 1.

On the doubles side, Middleton’s top team of Gene Kim and Kieran Gopal posted a 3-6, 6-2, 10-6 win over Sun Prairie’s Erik Spence and Kyle Helmenstine.

Their regular season is now in the rearview mirror.

The postseason awaits, and both Middleton track and field teams are excited about what lies ahead.

Middleton’s girls finished second at the six-team Paul Frank Invite hosted by Sun Prairie last Friday. Sun Prairie won the event with 146 points, while Middleton was a close second at 140.

Sun Prairie also won the boys meet with 156 points, while Verona (141) and Middleton (135.5) rounded out the top three.

“Without a conference meet to cap the end of season before the tournament schedule, the last two invites have been great for the kids,” said Middleton girls coach Jay Schweitzer said. “I think our finishes in both meets show the girls would be very competitive in a conference meet and I would like their chances. I'm very proud of the team’s development and performances.”

On the girls’ side, Kobi Davis won the shot put and Maddilyn Vander Sanden was third. Davis also won the discus.