Sports

Middleton’s boys tennis team started the year with a bang, finishing in third place at the star-studded 30-team Brookfield Central Invite held April 10-11.

The Cardinals rolled into the semifinals, where they fell to defending state champion Brookfield Central, 5-2. Middleton rebounded, though, with a 4-3 win over Lake Geneva Badger in the third place match.

The Cardinals also defeated Verona, 7-0, in a Big Eight Conference match on April 9.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

BROOKFIELD CENTRAL INVITE

• Middleton 7, Union Grove 0 — The fourth-seeded Cardinals rolled to straight set wins at every flight over 29^th-seeded Union Grove in their first match at the BC Invite.

Middleton’s track and field teams hosted a triangular with Madison La Follette and Janesville Parker on April 8.

Here were the Cardinals that notched top-three finishes:

GIRLS

FIRST

• Senior Noel Neuser won the 200-meter dash (28.55).

• Senior Olivia Chellevold won the 400-meter dash (1:07.77).

• Freshman Huiyao Wang won the 800-meter run (2:33.53).

• Freshman Cameron Wambold won the 1,600-meter run (5:54.47).

• Sophomore Sofia Dergacheva won the 100-meter hurdles (19.24).

• Middleton won the 800-meter relay (1:48.60) and the 1,600-meter relay (4:29.36).

SECOND

• Senior Abby Arnold was second in the 100-meter dash (13.84).

• Junior Anabelle Keen was second in the 400-meter dash (1:07.84).

• Sophomore Marina Malloy Salgado was second in the 800-meter run (2:39.88).

Middleton’s softball team won two of three games last week.

The Cardinals defeated Sun Prairie West, 16-8, on April 8, then were routed by Sussex Hamilton, 13-0, on April 10 in a game stopped after five innings due to the mercy rule. Middleton did bounce back with a 13-3 win over Janesville Craig on April 11.

The Cardinals are now 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big Eight Conference.

Here’s a recap of Middleton’s week.

• Middleton 16, Sun Prairie West 8 — Sophomore shortstop McKenna Utter belted two home runs and the Cardinals pounded out 17 hits in a win at West.

Utter finished her day 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Senior right fielder Lily Kulow went 3-for-5 with two doubles and senior third baseman Annika Jafferis went 3-for-3 with three runs scored.

Middleton’s boys lacrosse team toppled Neenah, 10-4, last Saturday.

Junior goalie Jake Brooks had nine saves and reached 100 career saves overall. Brooks finished with an impressive save percentage of .692 against the Rockets.

Patrick Passini led the Cardinals with three goals, while Evan Mazur, Griffin See and Roan Johnson all added two goals. Vincent Juru also had a goal and Aksel Chelesvig was dominant on face-offs, winning 16 of 18.

The game was tied, 1-1, after the first quarter, but Middleton struck for six goals in the second quarter and surged to a 7-2 halftime lead.

The defense overcame a handful of penalties and was led by the physicality of Salisbury University (Md.) commit Oliver Wenning. Defenders Jonathon Schwartz and Everett Lamp also helped hold Neenah to just four goals.

• On deck: Middleton hosted Sun Prairie Wednesday, then is at Hudson Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Middleton’s girls soccer team kicked off its new season with a pair of solid performances.

The Cardinals and traditional state power played to a 3-3 draw at the UW-Whitewater Tournament last Saturday. Middleton then rolled past Bay Port, 3-0, at that same tournament.

“As a varsity team, we have had two full practices on the turf and a long week of organization, yearbook photos and varsity reveal activity,” Middleton coach Mary Duffy said. “We finally got to play a game. The week seemed to move quickly and slowly at the same time. 

“As any player and coach can attest to — for spring sports especially — there is a lot going on and it is a whirlwind. But when we finally get to play a game, it starts to all come together and that is how Saturday felt. Shake off the Middleton soccer rust and play some ball.”

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

The 2025 WIAA Division 1 boys state golf tournament had just ended.

Middleton enjoyed a terrific two days, finishing third overall with a score of 609, which was the third-best total in school history.

As champion Marquette and runner-up Hudson received their first- and second place trophies, the Cardinals looked around knowing even better days might be coming.

Middleton didn't have a single senior in its 2025 lineup. Meanwhile, five of Marquette’s top six players were seniors, Hudson had three seniors among its top five and fourth place Oconomowoc had five seniors in its lineup.

“We don’t lose a single person,” MHS standout Reis Von Ruden said last June. “This year was fun. But I think it could be even more fun next year.”

Sammy Forslund agreed with his MHS teammate.

“The team’s going to improve,” Forslund said that day. “I think we’ll be back here next year even better and hoping to contend even more.

They won the Big Eight Conference — one of the state’s elite leagues — in 2025.

They’ve won regional titles each of the last two seasons, highlighted by a trip to the sectional finals in 2024.

Yes, Middleton’s girls soccer team continues to knock on the door of its first state tournament appearance since 2013.

This year, the Cardinals believe they can bust that door down.

Middleton returns six players that received all-Big Eight Conference honors last season. And when the Cardinals open their new season Saturday against traditional state power Whitefish Bay, they’ll do so with extremely high hopes and great expectations.

“Our goals are always the same — state,” Middleton coach Mary Duffy said. “Winning the Big Eight is always on the list, but I can tell they are hungry for a state.” 

Welcome back
Your dreams were your ticket out
Welcome back
To that same old place that you laughed about

Well, the names have all changed
Since you hung around
But those dreams have remained
And they've turned around

Who'd have thought they'd lead you
Back here where we need you?

... Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

This theme song from the 1970s classic “Welcome Back Kotter” remains one of the signature tunes in television history. (If you’ve never heard it, it’s worth Googling).

In many ways, those lyrics perfectly describe how McKenzie Johns feels today.

Johns, a 2021 Middleton High School graduate, never saw herself returning to coach volleyball at her alma mater. But when the job opened up earlier this year, there Johns was filling out an application.

Not everyone enjoys puzzles.

They can be tedious, frustrating and often difficult.

Middleton baseball manager Brent Jorgensen is currently constructing a puzzle, though, that he believes could be blast — and an absolute gem when it’s finished.

“This will be a fun puzzle to put together,” Jorgensen said of his baseball team. “Once we find the right pieces, I think we are going to be a very solid team.”

Middleton might be much more than that.

The Cardinals return three all-conference players from a team that finished second in the Big Eight Conference last year and reached the sectional semifinals. Middleton also brings back several other gifted individuals, and welcomes a group that seems poised to contribute immediately.

Add it up and the Cardinals could make a run at their first state tournament appearance since 2023.

The late, great Lou Holtz was legendary for downplaying just how good his Notre Dame football teams were.

Holtz would complain about the Fighting Irish’s shortcoming. He’d tell you Notre Dame’s next opponent — no matter how big or small — seemed invincible.

Then his Fighting Irish would win the overwhelming majority of their games and challenge for a national championship every few years.

Ted Severson is the exact opposite of Holtz.

Severson, Wisconsin Heights’ baseball manager, has no problem sharing his true feelings and raising expectations along the way. That’s just what Severson did recently when talking about his 2026 Vanguards.

“This will be the best Vanguard baseball team in years and it will be a pleasure to coach such a group of great young men with exceptional work ethic and top notch positive attitudes,” said Severson, whose team began its new season Tuesday against Fennimore. “Energy is real and this team has it.”