Sports

The weather has left a lot to be desired for Middleton’s boys golf team.

But the Cardinals — the No. 2 ranked team in the state — continue to overcome the less than ideal conditions.

Middleton began last week by winning the Madison East Triangular on Tuesday.

The Cardinals shot a sensational 306 on a 40-degree day with heavy winds. Sun Prairie was second at 340 and Madison East shot 449.

Junior Nils Arneson led the Cardinals with a 75, while junior Brady Thomas carded a 76. Junior Emmet Herb shot a 77 and junior Joey Levin shot a 78.

“If the kids could play well in that weather — which they did — they can play in anything,” Cabalka said. “Great scores under miserable conditions.”

Middleton then finished second at the 24-team Sheboygan North Invite held at The Irish Course at Whistling Straits.

It’s called the Watertown Invitational.

But they might as well change the name of it to the Middleton Invite.

For the fourth straight year, the Cardinals cruised to the championship of the Watertown Invite last Friday. Middleton finished with 156 points and easily outdistanced runner-up Baraboo (125) to win the nine-team invitational.
“Baraboo gave us a good run for our money,” Middleton coach Isaac Mezera said. “But in the end we were just too deep for them.”

Middleton dominated up and down the lineup.

Nnamdi Okoli won the 100-meter dash in 11.1 seconds, while teammate Noah Meeteer was second (11.3). Okoli also won the 200-meter dash (22.9), while teammate Griffin Gussel was third (23.3).

Jack Radar won the 3,200-meter run (9:59.7) and Jack Jesse won the long jump (21-6 ½). Meeteer also won the pole vault (13-0).

When it comes to weather, it’s been another lousy spring.

And last Friday certainly was no exception.

But Middleton’s girls track and field team overcame some miserable conditions and won the 11-team Watertown Invitational.

The Cardinals finished with 134 points and outdistanced runner-up Lakeside Lutheran (109). Madison Memorial (96), Hartford (93) and Neenah (91) rounded out the top five.

“The weather for this meet has a history of being less than desirable,” Middleton coach Tara Franklin said. “This one was stormy, wet and cold, as well as delayed for nearly 90 minutes.

“Some of the field events were also held indoors. The results for the meet definitely were something to leave us all smiling about.”

That’s for sure.

Middleton had several first place finishes.

Middleton’s girls softball team has designs on winning a Big Eight Conference championship this spring.

But if that’s going to happen, the Cardinals can’t stumble against mid-level teams inside the league.

The Cardinals did exactly what they were supposed to and rolled past Madison West, 8-2, last Tuesday. But Middleton stubbed its toe and dropped a 4-3 decision to Beloit Memorial last Thursday.

The Cardinals fell to 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the Big Eight. Middleton is now fourth in the conference standings, but just one game behind league-leading Janesville Craig (6-1, 7-2).

“The loss to Beloit was extremely disappointing,” Middleton manager Cherie Hellenbrand said. “The hits just didn't fall in the gaps. We will move forward as a team, learn and grow from it.”

Middleton played extremely well in its win over Madison West.

Middleton’s girls soccer team had a wild week.

When the Cardinals’ string of five games had ended, they had gone 2-1-2 and were tied for first place in the Big Eight Conference. Middleton is now 5-2-3 overall and 3-0 in the league.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ busy week:

• Middleton 2, Verona 0 — Megan Sullivan scored in the 55^th minute and Grace Douglas added an insurance goal in the 83^rd minute as the Cardinals rolled past the host Wildcats last Tuesday.

“It took us a little while to figure out the speed because of the turf and because the field is so much bigger,” Middleton coach Mary Duffy said. “We moved Douglas into the center mid so that she could cover more ground offensively and defensively, which allowed us to squash any of Verona’s offensive movement.”

• Middleton 6, Madison East 0 — Macey Kalscheur scored two goals to power the Cardinals past the Purgolders last Thursday.

Remarkably, their season is quickly nearing the midway point.

There has been improvement. There have been positive signs.

But there is one thing Middleton’s baseball team is in desperate search of: consistency. And Thursday was a perfect example of that.

The Cardinals, who had won two straight games and three of four, dropped a 2-1 decision to Madison West at Mansfield. Middleton, which defeated three-time defending state champion Sun Prairie just five days earlier, fell to 3-4 in the Big Eight Conference and 4-6 overall.

“For whatever reason, we just weren’t mentally focused,” Middleton manager Tom Schmitt said. “Guys just weren’t ready to go.

“I don’t understand why that is. But we definitely weren’t ready to go. Shame on us.”

Middleton’s boys golf team had an awfully exciting 24-hour stretch this week.

First, the Cardinals were ranked No. 1 in the first Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin (GCAW) poll of the season.

Middleton then played to that lofty standard and won the 22-team WPGA Invitational Monday afternoon at Maple Bluff Country Club.

On a cold, wet and rainy day, the Cardinals shot 325 as a team and edged Madison Edgewood (326) by one shot. Monroe was third at 327, while Stoughton (339) and Waukesha Catholic Memorial (340) rounded out the top five.

“Very good event for us at the WPGA,” Middleton coach Tom Cabalka said. “It was extremely windy and very cold conditions, and along with a challenging course it made for a difficult day. I thought our 325 was a solid day.”

Junior Emmet Herb led Middleton with an 8-over-par 79. That was good was a fourth place finish individually.

It took a tad longer than they would have liked.

But Middleton’s baseball team seems to be finding its groove.

After a rough start to the season, the Cardinals won two of three games last week — including an impressive 14-5 rout of three-time defending state champion Sun Prairie last Saturday.

Middleton is now 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the Big Eight Conference.

“We had a good week of baseball,” Middleton manager Tom Schmitt said. “That’s the first time we’ve won in Sun Prairie since they built their new stadium (in 2011).”

Middleton’s win over Sun Prairie was arguably its best victory in several seasons. Sun Prairie, ranked No. 4 in the state, was 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Eight.

Middleton used a six-run third inning, though, to grab a big early lead and never looked back.

VERONA — There were countless opportunities.

One chance after another to change the one-sided nature of this rivalry.

So when it was over, and host Verona had toppled Middleton, 5-1, in a girls softball game last Friday, Cardinals head coach Cherie Hellenbrand was understandably frustrated.

“They have a reputation as the team to beat and they’ve earned that,” Hellenbrand said of the Wildcats. “But we had chances to win this game. We just need more confidence.”

By winning this early Big Eight Conference showdown, the Wildcats improved to 5-0 in the league, 6-0 overall and moved into sole possession of first place in the league. Middleton fell to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the league.

Mary Duffy is no different than the rest of the soccer world.

She’s a competitor, a fighter. And settling for a tie isn’t something Duffy is typically thrilled with.

But Duffy — Middleton’s girls soccer coach — was all right with a tie last Friday night.

Middleton traveled to Kettle Moraine, the No. 3 team in the state, and battled the Lasers to a 1-1 tie. Considering the Cardinals are a relatively inexperienced team working in several new pieces, Duffy left highly encouraged by the result.

“Of course, like every competitive player, I want to win,” Duffy said. “However, the results we wanted to see weren't just the ‘W.’ I wanted to see how the girls would stand up against a tough opponent.”

Middleton, which is now 3-0-1 on the young season, stood up extremely well.