Sports

Middleton’s girls soccer team is entering the postseason on a high.

Zoe Sharaf scored late in the game off an assist from Annu Mundas and the Cardinals won at Germantown, 3-2, on May 29.

Middleton improved to 12-4-4.

“The girls looked fierce and fired up, focused and determined,” Middleton coach Mary Duffy said. “We are ready to go and ready to play.”

Middleton now heads to the postseason where it’s the No. 6 seed in its sectional. The Cardinals opened the playoffs by hosting 11^th-seeded Sun Prairie West in a regional semifinal Tuesday.

If Middleton won there, it would travel to third-seeded Verona or host 14^th-seeded Janesville Craig in a regional final on Saturday.

The sectional semifinals are June 11 and the sectional finals are June 13. Madison West is the No. 1 seed in the sectional and Oregon is the No. 2 seed.

Middleton’s girls softball team dominated their two regular season meetings with Verona, winning both games and outscoring the Wildcats by a combined score of 17-0.

The postseason proved to be a different animal, though.

Verona’s Addison Quackenboss struck out 12 and allowed just three hits as the visiting Wildcats downed the Cardinals, 4-1, in a WIAA Division 1 regional final on May 28.

Middleton, seeded fourth in the sectional, ended the year 17-11. Verona, the No. 5 seed, improved to 18-7 and advanced to face top-seeded Sun Prairie East (19-5) in a sectional semifinal on June 2.

Verona scored three first inning runs and never trailed in its win over the Cardinals.

Middleton starting pitcher Lily Kulow encountered early trouble as the Wildcats’ first five batters all reached base. Verona opened the game with three hits and two walks leading to its big first inning.

The three-peat is complete.

From here, anything and everything is possible.

Middleton’s ultimate team continued one of the most successful runs in Wisconsin high school history by defeating Madison West, 13-6, on May 24 at University Bay Fields to capture their third consecutive state championship.

Middleton has qualified for the High School National Invite (HSNI), scheduled for June 12-13 in Salem, Oregon. The event features the top 16 high school teams in the nation competing for a national championship.

The appearance will be the first in program history and the first by a Wisconsin boys team since Madison West competed at the event in 2019, finishing fifth nationally.

“HSNI has been a goal for this program for several years,” said Middleton coach Ryan Natzke. “This group has talked about it, worked toward it and believed it was possible.

One down.

Four to go.

Middleton’s boys lacrosse team, which won the 2024 WIAA state championship, has title dreams once again this spring.

And the second-seeded Cardinals started their postseason in style with a 17-3 win over 18^th-seeded Superior in a regional semifinal on May 28. Middleton advanced to the regional finals, where it hosted seventh-seeded Neenah on June 2.

If the Cardinals won there, they’d face either third-seeded Edgewood/Monona Grove or sixth-seeded Oregon co-op in a sectional semifinal Thursday. The location and time of that game weren’t known at press time.

The sectional finals are June 6, where top-seeded Waunakee could await. The state finals are then June 13 at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field.

In Middleton’s win over Superior, the Cardinals built a 9-2 halftime lead, extended that to 16-3 after three quarters and cruised home.

One down.

Two to go.

Middleton’s boys golf team had three goals this postseason: win regionals, win sectionals and capture the program’s first WIAA Division 1 state championship since 2011.

The No. 1 ranked Cardinals checked the first box on their goal sheet Tuesday, firing a team score of 4-over-par, 292 and winning the DeForest Regional held at Lake Windsor Country Club.

Middleton edged runner-up Madison West (298) for the title, while Waunakee (299) was third and Mount Horeb (314) was fourth.

The top four teams and top four individuals from non-qualifying teams advanced to the Reedsburg Sectional on June 2 beginning at 9:15 a.m. The state tournament is June 8-9 at University Ridge in Verona. 

Middleton’s boys tennis team finished in second place at the Big Eight Conference meet held at Nielsen Tennis Stadium on May 20-21.

Madison Memorial was first with 47 points, while Middleton was second with 44. Madison Memorial (35), Verona (28) and Sun Prairie United (20) rounded out the top five.

Middleton’s Alexander Bo won the conference title at No. 1 singles, while Tianmu Pei finished first at No. 4 singles. In doubles action, the Cardinals’ No. 3 team of Benjamin Myers and Sullivan Watson was also first.

Here’s how the Cardinals fared at each flight.

SINGLES

• No. 1 — Alexander Bo, the No. 1 seed, lived up to his lofty billing and won the title. Bo defeated Madison Memorial’s David Klaas in the finals, 6-3, 6-4.

Bo opened with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Janesville Parker’s Cooper Buehl, then defeated Verona’s Ty Tennison, 6-2, 6-3, in the semifinals.

Onward and upward.

At least that’s what Middleton’s softball team is hoping.

The Cardinals began the postseason with an 8-5 win over Baraboo in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal Tuesday.

Fourth-seeded Middleton built an 8-1 lead after three innings, then held on down the stretch to toppled the 13^th-seeded Thunderbirds.

Middleton improved to 17-10 overall and advanced to the regional finals where it will host fifth-seeded Verona Thursday at 5 p.m.

The sectional semifinals are June 2, and if seeds hold, the Cardinals would travel to top-seeded Sun Prairie East. The sectional finals are June 4 in Middleton.

MHS catcher Hailey Stroede went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and scored two runs, while first baseman Ellie Jafferis had two RBIs and scored a run. Pitcher Lily Kulow went 2-for-4 with a double and second baseman Kylie Klock added a double and an RBI.

Middleton’s boys lacrosse team earned the No. 2 seed in its sectional and will begin the postseason by hosting either the 15^th-seeded Madison La Follette co-op or 18^th-seeded Superior in a regional semifinal Friday at 7 p.m. at MHS.

If Middleton wins there, it would host either seventh-seeded Neenah or 10^th-seeded DePere/West DePere in a regional final on June 2.

The sectional semifinals are June 4 and the sectional finals are June 6.

No. 1 ranked Waunakee is the top seed in the 21-team sectional, while fifth-ranked Middleton is the No. 2 seed. Edgewood/Monona Grove, Hudson and Verona/Mount Horeb round out the top five seeds.

Middleton finished the regular season last week with a 14-13 loss to Kettle Moraine on May 19 and 12-7 win over DeForest on May 22.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

Surprised. Startled. Stunned.

That’s how Middleton girls soccer coach Mary Duffy felt after her team received the No. 6 seed in its WIAA Division 1 sectional.

The Cardinals (11-4-4) begin the postseason by hosting 11^th-seeded Sun Prairie West (4-8-1) in a regional semifinal on June 2. If Middleton wins there, it would travel to third-seeded Verona (12-2-2) for a regional final on June 6.

The sectional semifinals are June 11 and the sectional finals are June 13.

Middleton had just three losses when the seeding meeting took place, and Duffy was expecting better.

“I thought we would be a solid No. 5 (seed), no question,” Duffy said. “However, my fellow coaches did not see it that way.

“For all that my team has gone through this year, we have battled and I do not think other teams and coaches acknowledged these accomplishments in our regular season games.”

Middleton’s boys golf team had just won the 2011 WIAA Division 1 state championship.

Shortly thereafter, Cardinals’ head coach Tom Cabalka was asked to join the Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin’s Board of Directors.

Cabalka, who had just retired from a lengthy teaching career, politely declined.

“I told them it probably didn't make sense because I didn't think I would be coaching much longer,” Cabalka said. “I had just finished teaching and I figured I’d stop coaching, too.”

That was 15 summers ago — about 14 more than Cabalka anticipated coaching.

“I just couldn't say goodbye,” the 75-year-old Cabalka said.

Everyone reaches the 18^th hole at some point, though, and Cabalka will be tapping in for double eagle in the days ahead.

After 36 years in the program, including the last 22 as Middleton’s head coach, Cabalka is retiring after the season. He’ll leave behind a legacy of excellence — both on and off the course.