Sports

Middleton’s boys tennis team finished in a tie for third place at the star-studded, Nicolet Sweet 16 Tournament last Friday and Saturday.

No. 1 ranked Brookfield Central won the team title with 95 points, while Brookfield East was second with 86. Middleton and Madison West tied for third with 82 points, while Nicolet was fifth with 78 points.

Here’s how the Cardinals fared at each flight.

SINGLES

No. 1 — Alexander Bo finished third in an elite field.

Bo opened with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Will Nordstrom of Eau Claire Memorial, then defeated Homestead’s Graham Benish, 4-6, 7-5, 10-8. Eventual champion Alex Thomas of Notre Dame defeated Bo in the semifinals 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Bo then won the third place match when Brookfield Central’s Andrey Semin defaulted.

Middleton’s boys lacrosse team split a pair of games last week.

The Cardinals dropped a 15-9 decision to Waunakee last Saturday at the 16-team Badger Spring Invite held in Wisconsin Dells. Middleton rebounded with an 18-6 win over Superior later that same day.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ games.

• Waunakee 15, Middleton 9 — The Cardinals suffered their first loss this season to a team from Wisconsin.

The Warriors jumped to a 12-5 halftime lead, then withstood a second half charge from the Cardinals.

Middleton sophomore goalie Jake Brooks, who entered the game in the second quarter, notched a 57% save rate.

Troy Teff led Middleton with four goals, while Arjay Johnson added three. Patrick Passini, Evan Mazur and Espen Achenbach all had goals, as well.

• Middleton 18, Superior 6 — Eleven different Cardinals scored in a rout of Superior — one of the state’s newer schools to field a lacrosse team.

The 11th annual Cardinals ‘Strike Out Cancer’ baseball game will be played May 15 at Middleton High School's Breitenbach Stadium.

Big Eight Conference rivals Middleton and Sun Prairie dedicate an annual matchup to raising awareness and funds for pediatric cancer research.  

The game was started in 2014 by former Middleton manager Tom Schmitt and Sun Prairie coach Rob Hamilton. The tradition has carried on under current MHS skipper Brent Jorgensen and Sun Prairie East coach Jack Marchese.

Over the past 10 years, these programs have raised more than $213,000 for American Family Children's Hospital Kids Cancer Research.

“Childhood Cancer Research brings out people who really want to make a difference in a child’s life,” UW Health American Family Children’s Hospital Development Outreach Specialist Lori Schultz said. “This event does just that.

STEVENS POINT — Wisconsin’s high school athletes will now be allowed to profit off their name, image and likeness by entering into advertising and brand deals, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association decided on Friday.

In a 293-108 vote, members of WIAA member schools approved an NIL provision at the organization’s annual meeting in Stevens Point. The provision allows high school athletes to enter into NIL deals, so long as they don’t wear their team uniform or use school or WIAA logos in an advertisement.

WIAA athletes will also not be allowed to enter into NIL deals promoting alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, or weapons. The NIL changes are expected to take effect in May.

It’s not every day Middleton’s girls softball team shows up in the state rankings.

The Cardinals spent a few weeks there in 2021. Prior to that, though, it was more than a decade since Middleton had been ranked.

Don’t look now, but the red-hot Cardinals are back in the polls.

The latest Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association poll was released Tuesday and Middleton was ranked ninth in Division 1.

It’s easy to see why, too, after the Cardinals went 4-0 last week and pushed their winning streak to 10 games.

Middleton is now 12-1 overall and leads the Big Eight Conference with an 8-0 mark.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Middleton 14, Sun Prairie West 1 (5) — Megan Button had a day for the ages.

Button threw a one-hitter and earned the win. She also belted two home runs, went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and scored a pair of runs as the Cardinals routed the host Wolves on April 22.

Middleton’s baseball team had another tough week, dropping two of three games.

But the Cardinals exited in style, with a 1-0 win over Janesville Craig on April 24.

Middleton is now 6-6 overall and 5-3 in the Big Eight Conference.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Watertown 9, Middleton 1 — The host Goslings used a three-run third and a five-run fifth to pull away from the Cardinals on April 21.

Junior Blake Flynn took the loss after allowing seven runs (five earned) in 4 1/3 innings.

Middleton managed just six hits, including two from second baseman Will Gilliland.

As Mary Duffy watched Evanston’s girls soccer team warm up last Friday night, Middleton’s coach had one overriding though.

“Watching their warm ups, we knew they were well disciplined, skilled, and a cohesive opponent,” Duffy said. “This was one of the best teams we have seen this year.”

The same can be said for Middleton, though. And the Cardinals proved exactly that over the next two hours.

Middleton played arguably its finest game of the season and defeated the visiting Wildkits, 3-1. Evanston, a school of nearly 3,600 students in a Northern Chicago suburb, had defeated the Cardinals, 2-0, last year.

Middleton, which also tied Madison Memorial, 0-0, on April 23, improved to 2-0-3 overall and is 0-0-1 in the Big Eight Conference.

“The whole team was fired up to play,” Duffy said of facing the Wildkits. “I will say that most of us, if not all, were disappointed by the tie with Memorial. We dominated the play for the vast majority of the game.

Middleton’s boys golf team continues to face many of the top programs in the state. And the Cardinals continue to show they can compete with anyone.

Middleton had another busy week, playing in three events. Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

MADISON EDGEWOOD INVITE

The Cardinals finished in second place at the 21-team invite held at Blackhawk Country Club on April 21.

DeForest won the team title with a 295, while Middleton fired a 302. Edgewood (312), Fort Atkinson (317) and Waunakee (320) rounded out the top five.

Reis von Ruden led Middleton with a 1-over-par, 73, and finished fourth individually. Von Ruden had five birdies in his round, including three on the front nine.

Sammy Forslund shot a 74 and finished sixth individually. Forslund also made three birdies on the front nine.

Luke Weiss finished ninth with a 76 and Berrin Reiter added a 79.

Middleton’s track and field teams shined at the Watertown Invite last Friday.

Middleton’s boys finished first at the none-team event with 126.50 points, while Janesville Craig (125) and Neenah (94) were second and third.

Middleton’s girls were second with 119 points, behind only champion Neenah (184).

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals that had top-five finishes.

BOYS

• Tyler Montag won the 400-meter dash (55.05) and Alex Sonetti was fourth (55.72).

• Samuel Bauch won the 110-meter hurdles (15.36) and River Moll was fourth (16.06).

• Matthew Arnold won the 300-meter hurdles (40.74) and Maxwell Hunter was third (42.24).

• Middleton’s 3,200-meter relay team was first.

• Middleton’s 1,600-meter relay team was second.

• Nathan Kaluarachchi was second in the 3,200-meter run (10:24.14).

• Zachary Tang was second in the 800-meter run (2:05.03) and Owen Winkelmann was third (2:05.36).

Middleton’s boys lacrosse team keeps on rolling.

The defending state champion Cardinals won all three of their games last week and improved to 7-1 on the season.

Here’s a recap of Middleton’s week.

• Middleton 11, Appleton 4 — Troy Teff scored five goals and Roan Johnson added four as the host Cardinals rolled to a win on April 21.

Patrick Passini added two goals, while freshman Evan Mazur had four assists and freshman Aksel Chelesvig won nine of 14 faceoffs.

Goalie Kyle Ballweg and the Cardinals’ defense were terrific, holding Appleton scoreless in the third quarter and successfully clearing the ball to the Cardinal offense on 12 of 14 second-half plays.

• Middleton 13, Verona 6 — Three Cardinals scored three goals each as Middleton cruised past the visiting Wildcats on April  23.