Sports

Middleton’s boys lacrosse team exited on a high in 2024 — winning the first-ever WIAA state championship.

Now, the Cardinals are hoping 2025 brings more of the same.

Middleton opened its new season by splitting a pair of games last week.

Middleton defeated Sun Prairie, 14-9, in its season-opener on April 3. The Cardinals then fell to New Trier (Ill.), 8-4, last Saturday.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Middleton 8, Sun Prairie 4 — Attackman Evan Mazur scored three goals to power Middleton past Sun Prairie.

Freshmen Aksel Chelesvig also had a memorable debut, with a near-perfect performance at faceoff.

Middleton built an 8-0 lead in the first half, then went deep into its bench in the second half.

Middleton’s JV team also won, 10-0.

• New Trier (Ill.) 8, Middleton 4 — New Trier scored four unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to break a 2-2 tie and pull away.

Editor’s Note: This story ran in the Toronto Star on March 28. The Times-Tribune was given permission to run the story.

On the morning of the biggest game of his life, Alan Roden was at a Toronto diner with his parents and sister, who had flown in from Wisconsin the night before to watch his major-league debut with the Blue Jays on March 27.

Roden has always been poised, whether it was on the baseball field or in the classroom, where he graduated from Creighton University with a physics degree. But his family would have understood if he was a bundle of nerves hours before taking the field for the first time at the Rogers Centre.

That wasn’t the case.

“He asked us if we were ready,” dad Eric Roden said with a smile. “He was calm and — this is a tribute to his character — confident, but not cocky. And that character trait has served him well.”

Wisconsin Heights’ baseball team might be too young to remember the 1980s television show ‘The Jeffersons.’

But Vanguards’ manager Ted Severson knows it well.

And much like dry-cleaning extraordinaire George Jefferson, Severson believes his Vanguards will be “moving on up” this spring.

Heights went 2-19 overall last year and was 0-10 in the Capitol South Conference.

The Vanguards didn’t have a senior on the roster, though, and welcomes back that entire group. Heights now hopes that having an experienced, veteran-laden team will lead to a dramatic improvement on the diamond.

“We are excited for the season, as we are in a unique position,” said Severson, whose team began its new season Tuesday by facing Sauk Prairie. “We had zero seniors last year, so we return all 15 players from last year’s roster, as well as six newcomers.”

Perhaps the most exciting thing to happen to the Vanguards’ program in several years is the rise in numbers.

The season had been over five, maybe 10 minutes.

Middleton’s boys golf team had just finished a largely stellar 2024 season that ended with a somewhat disappointing seventh place finish at the WIAA Division 1 state meet.

And moments after putting out at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Middleton standout Sammy Forslund was already thinking about 2025.

“It’s exciting,” Forslund said when looking ahead to this spring. “We had a good team this year (2024), and we might have a better one next year.”

Next year is here, and the Cardinals can't wait to strut their stuff.

Middleton returns a terrific junior class led by Forslund, Reis Von Ruden and Luke Weiss — who all had outstanding sophomore seasons. Fellow junior Berrin Reiter was Middleton’s state alternate and could be ready for a huge spring, as well.

That group of juniors — along with the usual talent and depth inside the program — could make this a special year at MHS.

Brent Jorgensen is beginning his seventh season as Middleton’s baseball manager.

He’s led the Cardinals to a state tournament appearance in 2023, top half finishes in the Big Eight Conference every year, and never had a losing season.

So when Jorgensen says the following, your ears naturally stand up.

“I absolutely believe in this group, perhaps more so than any other year that I've had as head coach,” Jorgenson said.

That’s saying a lot when you consider the success Middleton has had under Jorgensen. Then again, it’s easy to see why Middleton has every reason to be fired up about what lies ahead this spring.

The Cardinals return six all-conference players from last year’s team that went 16-10 overall, bring back several other key contributors and will add a group of newcomers with exciting potential.

Add it up and this could be one of Middleton’s better teams in years.

There’s power.

There’s speed.

There are contact hitters and a group that fully understands the strike zone.

That’s why Middleton softball coach Brittany Carl is so excited about the Cardinals’ offense this spring.

“We've talked a lot about our offense and how we want to show up and produce this season,” Carl said.

So far, so good.

Middleton erupted for 10 first inning runs in its season-opener and drilled Madison Memorial, 13-2, on March 27. The game was stopped after five innings due to the mercy rule.

“It was a great way to start the season,” Carl said. “I expect us to score more runs this year. We have power and great depth.”

Those were on full display against the Spartans.

Catcher Hailey Stroede had a terrific day, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI.

Middleton senior center Will Garlock was named honorable mention all-state in Division 1 by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association.

The first-team consisted of Sun Prairie East senior Chris Davis Jr., West Allis Central junior Yusef Gray, Beloit Memorial junior Amare Hereford, Marshfield senior Brooks Hinson, Eau Claire Memorial senior Cooper Jesperson, Oregon junior Vaughn Karvala, DePere senior Zach Kinziger, Oshkosh North senior Xzavion Mitchell, Verona senior Drew Murphy, Kettle Moraine senior Roman Thompson, Kaukauna senior Keegan Van Kauwenberg, and Wisconsin Lutheran junior Zavier Zens.

The 7-foot Garlock, a University of Wisconsin recruit, missed the first seven games of the season while recovering from offseason ankle surgery. Middleton  went 2-5 without Garlock and 13-6 after  his return.

Garlock led Middleton in rebounds (6.8) and assists (2.9) and was third on the team in scoring (12.7).

Before Alan Roden, there was Connie Grob.

Roden, a Middleton High School graduate, made his major league debut last week with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Many believed Roden was the first-ever player from Middleton to reach the major leagues.

Instead, that honor goes to Connie Grob, who was born in Cross Plains in 1932 and was a 1950 graduate of Middleton High School.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Grob was a right handed pitcher who spent the 1956 season with the Washington Senators. He hit from the left side of the plate.

Grob originally signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers before the 1952 season and went 24-5 that year pitching in the Class D Wisconsin State League.

After two years of military service, the Dodgers moved Grob up to the Double-A Southern Assoiciation and he posted a winning record with the 1955 Mobile Bears.

Washington then selected Grob in the Rule 5 draft in Nov., 1955.

Middleton hockey standouts Wyatt Ehrhardt and Eli Covey were named to the

Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association all-state teams.

Ehrhardt, a senior forward, was named first-team all-state. Covey, a senior defender, was named second-team all-state.

Ehrhardt was one of the top scorers in the state, leading the Cardinals in goals (41), assists (32) and points (73). Ehrhardt finished eighth in the state in goals, 15th in assists and ninth in total points.

In addition, Ehrhardt was named the eighth recipient of the Jeff Sauer Humanitarian Award

“Wyatt was a dynamic playmaker and scorer who made everyone better when he was on the ice,” Middleton coach Jochen Hylbert said.

Covey was a terrific defenseman with plenty of offense in his game. Covey finished second on the team in goals (11), assists (24) and total points (35).

“Eli was a relentless defensemen who played tough in all three zones,” Hylbert said.

The expectations are sky high.

And Middleton’s softball team is fully embracing them.

The Cardinals reached the sectional finals in 2024, where they lost to Sun Prairie East. With several key cogs back — and some gifted newcomers — Middleton could be poised to make its first state tournament appearance since 2008.

“We return a great deal of talent from 2024 and I think everyone — in the program and the Middleton community — is buzzing about what’s possible for us this season,” said Middleton coach Brittany Carl, whose team opens its season Thursday by hosting Madison Memorial at 5 p.m. “The veteran group has fantastic chemistry and knows the expectations are high. Our goal is to prove everyone right — that we belong in the spotlight, playing on the biggest stage.”