April 2016

Twelve months ago, an effort like this would have never been good enough.

But this isn’t your 2015 Middleton baseball team.

Not even close.

The Cardinals toppled Madison West, 5-3, last Thursday in an effort they all agreed was far from their best. But that’s the difference between Middleton today and last spring.

A year ago, the young and inexperienced Cardinals had to be at their best each time out. That didn’t happen enough as Middleton went 10-16 overall.

Today, Middleton has been sharp almost every time out, as its 8-1 record will attest. But even on a day like last Thursday, when the Cardinals were just mediocre, they still knocked off the Regents.

“Last year we would have gotten creamed in a game like this,” said Middleton ace Alec Morrison. “Now, we’re pulling off wins.”

They sure are.

The Watertown Invite has always been a special place for Middleton’s boys track and field team.

And this year was no different.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Cardinals won the highly-competitive, nine-team invite. Middleton finished with 142 points to easily outdistance runner-up Baraboo (120) and the other seven teams.

“Watertown was a great night because of the competition and the way our guys performed,” Middleton coach Joe Line said.

Middleton’s girls finished in second place among 10 teams. Lakeside Lutheran won the girls’ meet with 119 points, while the Cardinals (103.5) and Hartford (97.5) rounded out the top three.

On the boys’ side, Middleton junior Gus Newcomb won the 1,600-meter run in 4:21.39 seconds and the 3,200 (9:45.81). Senior Jack Jesse also won the long jump with a mark of 20 feet, 10 inches.

Conference championships can’t be won in the first half of a season.

They can be lost, though, and Middleton’s girls softball team was in danger of experiencing that fate last Saturday.

The Cardinals traveled to Big Eight Conference leading Janesville Craig and dropped the first game of a doubleheader, 7-3. But Middleton responded with an impressive 9-8 win in the nightcap and stayed within striking distance of the conference-leading Cougars.

Craig is 8-1 in the league, while Middleton sits in second place at 7-2. The Cardinals, who are also 7-3 overall, travel to third-place Verona (6-2, 8-2) Thursday at 5 p.m. in a critical conference game.

“We wanted to win both games, but we needed to win at least one,” Middleton coach Perry Hibner said. “We didn't play our best and I'm sure Janesville Craig had something to do with that. But I was happy with how we battled, overcame some adversity and found a way to win the second game.”

The first Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin poll of the season is out.

And Middleton’s boys golfers are ranked No. 2 in the state.

The way the Cardinals have started the season, they just might be ranked too low.

Middleton shot a blistering 7-over-par, 295 team score and rolled to an easy win at the Madison West Triangular held at Odana Hills last Tuesday.

The Cardinals followed that by winning the 21-team Wisconsin PGA High School Invitational held at Maple Bluff Country Club Monday.

“Everyone contributed, whether it was that birdie putt or the bogey putt that avoided the double,” Middleton coach Tom Cabalka said of his team’s two wins. “It goes to show that every stroke is important to us as a team.”

The Cardinals played sizzling golf and rolled at the Madison West Triangular. Middleton’s 295 gave it a comfortable victory over Madison West (326) and Janesville Craig (384).