Sports

It was a tough week for Middleton’s boys lacrosse team.

The Cardinals who entered the week a perfect 7-0, dropped their first two games of the season.

Middleton fell to host Waunakee, 7-5, on April 27. The Cardinals then lost to Oregon, 8-7, on April 30.

Here’s a recap of Middleton’s week.

• Waunakee 7, Middleton 5 — The host and No. 1 ranked Warriors scored four straight goals to take a 6-3 lead and held on for the win.

Roan Johnson led Middleton with two goals and an assist, while both Evan Mazur and Sam Everson had goals. Patrick Passini added a goal for MHS, while Jake Brooks had 13 saves and Aksel Chelesvig won 11 of 13 faceoffs.

The game was stopped midway through the third quarter due to lightning and rain.

• Oregon 8, Middleton 7 — The Cardinals rallied from a 7-3 deficit, but fell short against the Panthers on April 30.

Middleton’s girls lacrosse team is off to a solid start this season.

The Cardinals are 3-3 overall, and won three straight matches before suffering a 13-1 loss to Verona on May 1.

“This season has had its highs and lows,” Middleton coach Brianna Kuehn said. “But through dedicated practices, team bonding and with the talent on this team I’m excited to see how the rest of the season unfolds.”

Middleton’s participation numbers are also higher than they’ve ever been.

“We had a record number of girls that tried out this season, which is exciting to watch the sport grow,” Kuehn said. “This season has been more competitive and aggressive than previous seasons so the girls are having to adapt quickly to stay in competition.”

Here’s a recap to the start of Middleton’s season.

• Waunakee 10, Middleton 8 — Sophia Eisele had four goals and an assist for the Cardinals, but it wasn’t enough as they fell to the Warriors on April 6.

Middleton’s track and field teams both finished first at the Janesville Craig Triangular on April 28.

MHS’ girls totaled 140.5 points to outdistance runner-up Madison Memorial (89.5) and Janesville Craig (83).

Middleton’s boys finished with 143.5 points, while Janesville Craig (133.5) and Madison Memorial (41) rounded out the field.

Here are the Cardinals that had top three finishes.

GIRLS

100-meter dash: 2. Abby Arnold, 13.18; 3. Haley Jadlowski, 13.84.

100-meter hurdles: 2. Deotsiam Wodzro, 18.70.

200-meter run: 2. Eire Riley, 28.54.

200-meter hurdles: 2. Masaki Turner, 56.07; 3. Lucy Drye, 56.30.

800-meter run: 1. Sarah Blust, 2:39.00.

3,200-meter run: 1. Julia Anderson, 13:04.45; 2. Riley Redepenning, 13:05.75.

High jump: 1. Ruby Clooten, 4-8.

Long jump: 2. Haley Jodlowski, 14-5 ¼; 3. Madison Clooten, 13-11.

Pole vault: 3. Avery Lickel, 7-6.

It was a rough week for Middleton’s softball team.

The Cardinals dropped a 10-9 decision to Sun Prairie West on April 28. Middleton was then blanked by Big Eight Conference-leading Sun Prairie East, 4-0, on April 30.

Middleton, which has lost four straight games, fell to 8-7 overall and slipped into a third place tie in the Big Eight at 6-3. Sun Prairie East leads the conference with a perfect 10-0 mark, while Verona is second at 6-2.

Middleton and Janesville Craig are both 6-3 in the league.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Sun Prairie West 10, Middleton 9 — The visiting Wolves scored two seventh inning runs and rallied past the Cardinals on April 28.

West built leads of 3-0 and 7-3 before Middleton rallied back with two fifth inning runs to take a 9-8 lead.

It was an early wakeup call for senior attacker Patrick Passini and Middleton’s  boys lacrosse team last Saturday morning,

What was supposed to be an 11:30 a.m. starting time against visiting Milwaukee Marquette was moved to a 9 a.m. start due to a lack of officials, which has plagued the sport this spring.

That didn’t matter, though, to the third-ranked and host Cardinals who got three goals from both Passini and senior midfielder Espen Achenbach and cruised to an 8-4 victory over the 12^th-ranked Hilltoppers.

Middleton improved to 7-0 and swept its three games last week, which included a pair of Badger Conference victories. The Cardinals defeated visiting and fourth-ranked Madison Edgewood, 11-7, on April 21 and ninth-ranked Verona, 13-5, on April 23.

“We’re off to a really, hot start,” said Passini, an all-conference player in both football and lacrosse, who will play football at UW-Eau Claire next year. “The team chemistry is amazing.

They’ve yet to put together a substantial winning streak.

And while they've played solid baseball, they’re still searching for a branch of consistency to grab ahold of.

If and when that happens, look out.

Middleton’s baseball team split four games last week and is now 6-4 overall. The Cardinals are also 3-2 in the Big Eight Conference, locked in a three way tie with Janesville Parker and Madison Memorial.

Middleton opened last week with a 2-0 loss to Madison Memorial on April 20. The Cardinals rebounded with a 7-0 win over Madison East on April 21 and a 9-1 victory over the Purgolders on April 23. Middleton then fell to Bay Port, 5-1, on April 25.

“We need to continue to focus on resiliency in the face of adversity,” Middleton coach Brent Jorgensen said. “We have the talent to walk away with wins against the better teams on our schedule, but we need to bounce back from mistakes more quickly.

Two more meets.

Two more wins.

Middleton’s boys golf team stayed undefeated this season by winning the Madison Edgewood Invitational on April 20 and the Sun Prairie West Triangular on April 23.

Here’s a recap of those two meets.

MADISON EDGEWOOD INVITATIONAL

Middleton fired a 301 and won the 21-team Edgewood Invite at Blackhawk Country Club.

The Cardinals edged runner-up and host Edgewood (303). Onalaska (304), Oregon (310) and Waunakee (311) rounded out the top five.

Middleton senior Reis Von Ruden was third individually with a 1-under par, 71 and fellow senior Luke Weiss tied for fourth with an even-par 72. MHS senior Berrin Reiter was 14^th with a 77 and Cardinals’ seniors Sam Wolf and Sammy Forslund tied for 34^th with 81s.

Middleton’s girls soccer team had a busy week that saw it lose to one conference foe, roll past another and tie an out-of-state power.

The Cardinals fell to Madison West, 2-0, on April 21, but rebounded to defeat Madison Memorial, 4-0, on April 23. Middleton and Evanston (Ill.) then played to a 4-4 tie last Saturday.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Madison West 2, Middleton 0 — The Regents reached the WIAA Division 1 state finals last year and showed they’re every bit as dangerous this season.

The Regents scored their first goal after Middleton shifted its team shape, then made it 2-0 when they converted a favorable bounce.

“In the second half we shifted to a different formation and I was pleased with the potential that formation gave us,” Middleton coach Mary Duffy said. “It was dynamic and poised.

Middleton’s boys and girls track and field teams both finished first at the Watertown Invitational on April 24.

Middleton’s boys finished with 122 points and edged Neenah (114) to win the  nine-team invite. Janesville Parker (112), Baraboo (86) and Brown Deer (69) rounded out the top five.

The Cardinals’ girls finished with 122 points, while Baraboo was second with 104. Madison West (101), Janesville Craig (90) and Brookfield Central (82) rounded out the top five.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ top three finishers.

BOYS

FIRST

• Kingston Penn in the 100-meter dash (10.84).

• Riley Kuehn in the 800-meter run (1:59.57).

• Zach Tang in the 1,600-meter run (4:36.58).

• Middleton’s 400- and 800-meter relay teams.

SECOND

• Samuel Bauch in the 110-meter hurdles (15.13).

Middleton’s softball team took care of business in the Big Eight Conference last week.

The Cardinals found the sledding much tougher, though, when they stepped outside of conference.

Middleton posted conference wins over Madison West, Madison Memorial and Madison la Follette. The Cardinals then lost twice at the Cedarburg Triangular last Saturday.

Middleton is now 8-5 overall and 6-1 in the Big Eight.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Middleton 5, Madison West 2 — Cece Smith struck out 11 and allowed just three hits and one earned run to lift the Cardinals past the Regents on April 21.

Annika Jafferis led Middleton’s offense going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, while Ellie Jafferis went 2-for-3 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored.

Middleton struck for two runs in the fourth and fifth innings to build a 5-0 lead. West rallied with two runs in the top of the seventh before Smith worked out of the jam.