June 2018

Middleton’s boys’ golf team had a memorable season.

The Cardinals won the Big Eight Conference dual meet title and tied for sixth at the WIAA Division 1 state tournament.

As a result, all five Cardinals earned all-conference honors.

Sophomore Kip Sullivan and senior Andy Zucker were named first-team all-Big Eight. Freshman Jacob Beckman, sophomore Carson Frisch and sophomore Tommy Kriewaldt were all named second-team all-league.

To figure a golfers’ score, the Big Eight Conference calculated:

• Three conference match scores vs. course rating.

• Three at large, non-conference invites vs. course rating.

• The Big Eight Conference Tournament (mandatory) vs. course rating.

For example, if a golfer shot a 75 and the course rating was 71.1, the number for that match would be 3.9.

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

That sentiment by the great Dr. Seuss makes plenty of sense in theory. And down the road, Middleton’s brilliant 2018 girls’ soccer team may be able to look back and smile.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, though, last Wednesday was more about tears.

Middleton suffered a painful 1-0 loss to visiting Janesville Craig in a WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal. The top-seeded Cardinals lost for the first time in 2018 to a team from Wisconsin and finished their year 13-2-3, while the fourth-seeded Cougars improved to 12-3-4.

Afterwards, Middleton’s players were both stunned and saddened that the end had arrived for this remarkably special group.

“It’s hard to lose and you just don’t expect it,” said Middleton senior forward Lexi Schultz, a tireless performer who gave a memorable effort in defeat. “That’s kind of what sucks about it, is that you’re just not mentally prepared for it.

MIDDLETON–Scott Kirkpatrick remembers getting in his car on the morning of July 1, 2017 to go to Weight Watchers. That would be the last thing the Middleton man would remember of the month of July.

Scott had a massive heart attack while driving and was doing 80 mph down Gammon Road near West Towne. Video cameras showed the car speeding down the busy street and turning sharply to avoid a head-on collision, instead, barely clipping another car before smashing into a tree.

“I have been a Christian my whole life, and I truly believe someone was in the car with me that day that turned the wheel,” he speculated.

When emergency personnel arrived on the scene, they had to extract Scott from the vehicle using the Jaws of Life. Scott appeared conscious and was talking to EMTs when they arrived. They rushed him to the hospital and had to revive him twice with a defibrillator.