Sports

When the 2015 girls softball season ended, Middleton was in the ‘Others Receiving Votes’ category in the final state poll. That’s the last time the Cardinals came close to cracking the top-10.

Until now.

The Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association/WisSports Coaches Poll was recently released and the Cardinals checked in at No. 6.

It’s easy to see why, too.

The Cardinals are 12-1 overall and lead the Big Eight Conference with a 6-0 mark. Middleton pushed its winning streak to six games last week with a pair of victories over Madison Memorial, and wins over both Madison West and Mount Horeb.

Jay Schweitzer waited for this moment for what felt like a lifetime.

Schweitzer was hired as Middleton’s girls track and field coach before the 2020 season. Of course, COVID-19 led to the cancellation of spring sports, so it was two years before Schweitzer led his team into battle.

“I missed being with the team very much,” Schweitzer said. “I felt so terrible for those seniors last year who lost their last season. This past year has been difficult for so many and I am just happy we are able to do something this year.

“A lot of effort has been put in by so many just to make this possible — from our athletics office to the parents working with their kids, and the kids themselves — staying motivated and coming prepared for a season after a year off. I feel extremely lucky to be able to help these great kids enjoy their high school time and I always leave track practice happier than when I arrived.”

Joe Line met the current sophomore class for what felt like five minutes.

He had no experience with the current freshman.

So as Middleton’s boys track and field coach got ready for the 2021 season, he knew there would be a lot of unanswered questions. That’s OK, though.

After losing the 2020 campaign due to COVID-19, Line was just glad to get a chance to find some answers this year.

“It has been great for everyone,” Line said of the new season. “We are getting to know a lot of new faces as we only had a week with the freshmen last year. We just feel good that we have a track season again and really focused on making it a fun season.”

Line does have a handful of veterans he’ll build around.

Senior Quinn Calvin went to state as a sophomore in the long jump. Calvin will compete in the long jump again, as well as the sprints.

Max Foland went to state as a sophomore in the 4x400 and hopes to return on his own in the open 400.

Middleton’s baseball team has dug a giant hole for itself.

The Cardinals see progress, though. And with half of a season left, time is still on their side.

Middleton went 2-3 last week and is now 6-6 overall. The problem for the Cardinals is they lost all three of their Big Eight Conference games last week, fell to 4-3 in the league and tumbled to fifth place in the conference.

“Overall we learned a lot about our team and we've made a few philosophy changes that we think will benefit our team moving forward,” Middleton manager Brent Jorgensen said. “As a team, we are starting to make improvements in all areas of our game and we can see our guys getting better each game. It is fun to be part of and I'm excited to see how we do this week.”

Here’s a recap of Middleton’s games last week:

• Madison Memorial 8, Middleton 2; Madison Memorial 12, Middleton 6 — The Cardinals dropped consecutive games to the Spartans on May 10-11.

KOHLER — On random trips to the putting green, Glenna Sanderson livens things up by telling herself, “This putt is for the state championship.”

So, imagine Sanderson’s surprise Tuesday afternoon when her 8-foot putt on the 18^th hole at Blackwolf Run actually was for the WIAA Division 1 alternate-fall state championship.

“Even though I practice that way sometimes, you never really think you’ll be in that position,” said Sanderson, a senior at Middleton High School. “It was pretty crazy.”

Crazy stressful. Crazy exciting. And turns out, crazy exhilarating.

Sanderson read the putt perfectly, never flinched and knocked it in the center of the cup. The walk-off, championship putt helped Middleton finish the two-day tournament with a 640-team score, one shot better than runner-up Bay Port.

JANESVILLE – There was plenty to celebrate for Middleton’s girls cross country team last Saturday at the Blackhawk Golf Course.

But no one had more to celebrate than junior Lauren Pansegrau.

Not only did Pansegrau become just the second Middleton runner in school history to win an individual state cross country championship, she also led the Cardinals to their fifth state team championship and first since 2006 at the WIAA alternate fall state cross country meet.

“I knew that was our goal going in to this,” Pansegrau said of the team title. “I thought everyone ran really well. They were putting a lot of effort into this race. So we did really well.”

Pansegrau cruised to the individual title, covering the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 7.3 seconds. She is the Cardinals’ first individual state cross country champion since Liz Reusser won back-to-back titles in 1997 and 1998.

JANESVILLE – Junior Griffin Ward and senior Ryan Schollmeyer have proven to be a solid one-two punch for the Middleton boys’ cross country team during this alternative fall season.

They displayed their talents one last time this spring when they capped their season with a stellar finish at the WIAA state meet at the Blackhawk Golf Course last Saturday morning.

“We’re running with one of the best coaches and best programs in Middleton,” Schollmeyer said. “We owed it to them to run our hearts out.”

Mission accomplished.

Stevens Point senior Jake Bourget, a University of Wisconsin recruit, won the individual title, covering the 5,000-meter course in 15 minutes, 38.6 seconds.

But Ward finished second in 15:43.2, while Schollmeyer capped his career with a third-place finish in 15:43.9 to lead the Cardinals to a fourth-place team finish.

It wasn’t their best round of the year.

And really, it didn't have to be.

Middleton’s girls golfers did what they needed to and won their own sectional held at Pleasant View Monday. The Cardinals shot a 320 to easily outdistance runner-up Janesville Craig (344) and win the eight-team sectional.

Middleton and Craig both advanced to the state tournament that will be held May 17-18 at Blackwolf Run in Kohler. The Cardinals — who won the 2019 state title, then chose to push their 2020 fall season to the spring — will technically be gunning for a repeat.

“State was a team goal at the beginning of the season and I'm proud of the girls for accomplishing this goal,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “As a team, our number one goal was to advance to state.”

Normalcy.

It’s a word that’s been thrown out of the dictionary in the past year. But as Middleton’s boys tennis team gathered for the first time last week, Cardinals head coach Tony Mirasola and his group suddenly felt normal once again.

“It's certainly been a breath of fresh air to have the season this spring,” Mirasola said. “I know the guys are all really excited to be back out on the court and competing after missing last year. Everyone really missed being able to compete in that team environment and being able to play again brings some sense of normalcy for these guys.”

After the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, Middleton is enjoying — and appreciating — the chance to compete more than ever.

What could make things even more exciting is the Cardinals appear to have the makings of one of the top teams in Wisconsin. Middleton began its season by going 4-0 at the Coaches Classic at Brookfield Central High School last weekend.

Middleton’s boys tennis team is off to a sensational start.

The Cardinals competed at the Coaches Classic at Brookfield Central High School last weekend and went a perfect 4-0. Here’s a recap of Middleton’s big weekend:

• Middleton 7, Nicolet 0 — The Cardinals rolled past the Knights last Friday.

Ian Connell, Koji Heineman, Aarush Gupta and Jacob Mandelbrot all notched singles wins.

In doubles play, Middleton got wins from the teams of Gene Kim and Jonathan Kim, Anders Clark and Kieran Gopal, and Neel Mukherjee and Ilya Rice.

• Middleton 7, Verona 0 — Jonathan Kim, Koji Heineman, Aarush Gupta and Kieran Gopa all notched straight set wins for Middleton last Friday.

And in doubles play, Gene Kim and Ian Connell won at No. 1, Anders Clark and Jacob Mandelbrot rolled at No. 2, and Franklin Hu and Saketh Peddireddy cruised at No. 3.