3 things to know about the WIAA state lacrosse championships (2024)

The WIAA sanctioned lacrosse for the first time this spring and the inaugural season will culminate with the girls and boys state championship games Saturday in Sun Prairie.

The girls championship game between University School of Milwaukee and Wales Kettle Moraine/Lake Geneva Badger is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The boys title game will follow the girls awards ceremony at about 3:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field.

Here are three things to know:

Middleton boys ride hot streak into final

Middleton boys coach Nate Lutterman, after an early season 7-6 overtime loss at Waunakee, told his team in the postgame huddle that he believed the Cardinals and Warriors would meet again in postseason on that field.

And with hard work and improvement, he told the players he was confident the result would be different.

Third-seeded and second-ranked Middleton proved its coach correct, upending top-seeded, top-ranked and previously undefeated Waunakee 14-7 in a Sectional 2 final Wednesday night in Waunakee.

Middleton opened a 13-4 lead in the third quarter Tuesday when the game was halted by rain and lightning, forcing it to be completed Wednesday night.

The victory sent Middleton to the state title game and gave the Cardinals (18-3) their 17th consecutive victory after a 1-3 start. Middleton won four postseason games.

Middleton had advanced with an 11-10 victory over second-seeded and third-ranked Kettle Moraine/Delafield St. John’s Northwestern Academies in a sectional semifinal, while Waunakee had defeated the fifth-seeded and ninth-ranked Oregon co-op 13-5.

Middleton’s high-powered attack has a bevy of scoring threats, including senior midfielder Parker Leslie (U.S. Air Force Academy commit), junior attack player Arjay Johnson (Albany recruit), junior midfielder Troy Teff (Marquette University recruit), senior attacker James Grosspietsch (Cleveland State University commit), senior attacker Gabe Passini (Butler University football commit) and sophom*ore midfielder Roan Johnson.

Senior Will O’Brien is the Cardinals’ faceoff specialist. Junior Kyle Ballweg and senior Tony Peters have played goalie for Middleton this season.

Top-seeded and fifth-ranked Neenah (14-5) moved on to the state title game with an 11-6 victory over third-seeded and sixth-ranked Hudson in the Sectional 1 final.

Neenah topped the fourth-seeded and eighth-ranked Appleton East co-op 17-4 and Hudson edged second-seeded and fourth-ranked Mequon Homestead 8-7 in the Sectional 1 semifinals.

Neenah’s offense is led by junior attacker Jackson Brown, senior attacker Owen Grotenhuis and senior midfielder Evan Hans.

Sun Prairie hosts first title games

The WIAA announced Dec. 1 that Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field would be the site for the first championship games.

What went into that selection?

Kate Peterson Abiad, who was the WIAA assistant director overseeing lacrosse prior to leaving in late May to become a UW-Green Bay women’s basketball assistant, said the WIAA looked at several venues in the state and talked to convention bureaus in several cities (which she declined to name).

She said she watched a Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation tournament in Sun Prairie last year and was impressed by the venue and how the tournament was run.

She said working with Madison and Sun Prairie officials, including Destination Madison and the Madison Area Sports Commission, “made it easy for us to go there.”

She said the WIAA loved the venue and was impressed by the Sun Prairie school district’s athletic staff — led by district-wide athletic director Eric Nee (who’s the Sun Prairie West athletic director) and Sun Prairie East athletic director James Ertel (who’s the district’s assistant AD).

“I think it’s going to be really nice,” Peterson Abiad said in an interview just before she left the WIAA. “The people are really focused on making sure it’s a state tournament atmosphere. They are diligent crossing their T’s and dotting their I’s.”

WIAA assistant director Melissa Gehring, who joined the WIAA in 2022 after being AD in Beaver Dam, will oversee the tournament title games, replacing Peterson Abiad.

Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field, which opened in 2021, has a capacity of 4,100 with two concession stands, four ticket windows, three full-sized locker rooms, an officials’ locker room, an athletic training room and nine booths in its press box.

Top seeds square off in girls’ state title game

The top-seeded teams — Kettle Moraine/Badger (20-2) and University School of Milwaukee (18-4) — from the two sectionals advanced to the girls title game.

The top seeds held up in determining the final four teams in the girls tournament. Those semifinals were held Tuesday night at Brookfield East.

In Sectional 2, top-seeded Kettle Moraine/Badger defeated second-seeded Muskego 17-6 in the final.

Kettle Moraine/Badger’s offense is led by senior attacker Addyson Greenspan, who leads the Lasers in goals; junior midfielder Ella Mautz; and senior midfielder Josey Horter.

Kettle Moraine/Badger earned a 16-9 victory over fourth-seeded Milwaukee Divine Savior Holy Angels in a sectional semifinal. Muskego had advanced to the sectional final with a 12-9 victory over third-seeded Middleton, which had the best postseason run among area teams.

In Sectional 1, top-seeded University School of Milwaukee defeated second-seeded Hartland Arrowhead 15-10 in the sectional final.

University School recorded a convincing 23-8 victory over the fourth-seeded Green Bay Notre Dame co-op and Arrowhead edged third-seeded Hudson 13-11 in the sectional semifinals.

University School’s top point collectors are sophom*ore attackers Sofie Bucher and Darcy Doyle, who lead the Wildcats in goals, and junior midfielder Mia Darr, an outstanding goal scorer who tops the team in assists. Darr was named the state’s girls player of the year.