The 2025-26 high school sports season was filled with state team champions, individual titles and plenty of standout athletes in the Appleton area. Here’s an A-to-Z look back at some of the most notable performances.
A is for Appleton North boys basketball, which qualified for the state basketball tournament for the first time in program history. The Lightning gave eventual Division 1 state champion Wisconsin Lutheran all it could handle in a 68-61 loss to the Vikings in a state semifinal. North featured three 1,000-point career scorers in Nathan Ramus, Grant Hardy and Will Sweeney.
B is for Bron Schaefer and Bennett Geitner, two key figures in Kaukauna’s road to the Division 1 state championship in baseball. It was the Ghosts’ first baseball title since 1953 with Geitner getting the win in the championship game, an 11-5 victory over Madison Memorial. Schaefer got the win in a 7-1 victory over Nicolet in the semifinals.
C is for Neenah’s Celia Gentile, the three-sport standout for the Rockets. Gentile was a No. 1 singles player in the fall, reaching the state tennis tournament. She also played basketball in the winter and was a standout in the spring as a track and field athlete, finishing second in the D1 long jump and triple jump. She was named the Northeast Wisconsin High School Sports Awards girls athlete of the year in June.
D is for Declan Koch, the Neenah wrestler who finished 57-0 on the mat, culminating with a 4-0 decision over Middleton’s Sam Zanton in the D1 state title match at 157 pounds.
E is for Emma Severson, the Neenah girls track team’s ace thrower. Severson, a sophomore, won the D1 shot put and discus events at the state track and field meet with throws of 47 feet, 11.5 inches and 156-6, respectively, in helping the Rockets earn their second consecutive D1 state girls runner-up team trophy. She was named the Northeast Wisconsin High School girls track and field athlete of the year as well as the Post-Crescent’s girls track and field athlete of the year.
F is for Fox Valley Lutheran softball, which crushed opponents on its way to its first WIAA state softball title. The Foxes beat Pewaukee 9-1 in the D2 championship game. FVL outscored its playoff opponents 66-9 in the run, including 17-1 in the state tournament. Ace pitcher Madison Babcock led the way, finishing 23-3 with 267 strikeouts in 140⅓ innings pitched and a 0.54 ERA. She also batted .513 with six home runs and 42 RBIs.
G is for top golfer and that’s Seymour’s Vince Sigl, who captured his second consecutive D2 individual boys state title this spring. Sigl finished with a two-day total of 139 (71-68) to hold off Elliot Skinner of Altoona. He was named the Northeast Wisconsin High School boys golfer of the year.
H is height, as in unusual height for Seymour wrestler Cael Leisgang. The 6-foot-9 senior finished with a 41-0 record en route to the D2 285-pound state title. He beat Stoughton’s Gatlin Empey 4-1 in the final.
I is for shot clock implementation, which the WIAA’s Board of Control approved June 23. The Board approved two measures: a 35-second shot clock for nonconference boys and girls varsity games for the upcoming season, and possible full implementation by the 2028-29 season.
J is for Kaukauna’s Andrew Jensen, the 6-foot-10 standout who averaged 17.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. He was the Post-Crescent’s boys basketball player of the year and was also named the Northeast Wisconsin High School boys basketball player of the year. He’s heading to play college ball at DePaul.
K is for Kaukauna wrestling senior Liam Crook, who became a three-time individual state champion and the school’s all-time leader in wins. He was the Northeast Wisconsin High School wrestler of the year and the Post-Crescent’s wrestler of the year. He was 52-1 this season and had a 197-8 career record. The University of Virginia commit also helped the Ghosts win four consecutive D1 state team titles during his career.
L is for standout linebacker Ben Wenzel of Appleton North. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Wenzel is a Wisconsin commit and a first-team Wisconsin Football Coaches Association all-state pick at inside linebacker. He finished with 99 total tackles, including five for loss, with a sack and a fumble recovery. He was named the Northeast Wisconsin High School defensive player of the year.
M is for Menasha’s Lillie Banks, a three-time girls state wrestling champion. The senior won the 132-pound state title this past winter with a pin of Fort Atkinson’s Hayli Fletcher in 3:26 to finish 51-1 on the season. She’s a Delaware State commit.
N is for Neenah girls cross-country, which won its second consecutive state title in the fall. The Rockets held off a strong challenge from Slinger to win the D1 state title. The Rockets placed three runners among the top-20 finishers: Sam Zilm (fourth, 18:08.9), Elsa Gruber (11th, 18:34.8) and Elsa Weiland (19th, 18:52.6).
O is for Winneconne’s outstanding senior class of male athletes. The Wolves captured the Division 4 state football championship in the fall, and the D2 boys track and field and the D2 boys golf state titles in the spring. Brody Schaffer and Hudson Samolinski were key figures on the football team’s title run and with Grant Wenzelow and Trey Zemke on the track team. Austin Dobbe and Parker Groff were the Wolves’ top-two finishers at the state golf meet in securing the team title.
P is for Waupaca’s Peyton Carlson, the 5-11 volleyball standout who was named both the Northeast Wisconsin High School and Post-Crescent girls volleyball player of the year. The Creighton commit finished with 699 kills – the second-best total in the state – along with 288 digs and 76 aces.
Q is for the questionable results of the WIAA’s tournament performance factor as it completed its second season of implementation. The points-driven formula moves a school up a division if it accumulates six points at any point over a three-year span. That includes one point for reaching a state quarterfinal, two points for state semifinal appearances, three points for a state title appearance and four points for winning a state championship.
R is for Rowan Klesmit, the Neenah girls basketball standout who was named the Post-Crescent’s player of the year. Klesmit averaged 21.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.4 steals. She will play collegiately at Wright State.
S is for six consecutive state titles for the Kaukauna wrestling team. The Ghosts slipped past Holmen 31-26 to win the D1 title with heavyweight Nehemiah Lendobeja getting the key decision to secure the victory. It was the 10th overall title for Kaukauna, which made its WIAA-leading 24th appearance at the state tournament.
T is for three-sport star Brody Schaffer, the Winneconne senior who was named the Northeast Wisconsin boys athlete of the year. Schaffer, who was the Post-Crescent’s football player of the year, starred in football, basketball, and track and field. He threw for 1,833 yards and 20 touchdowns and also had 1,198 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns in leading Winneconne to the D4 football state title. He had 40 tackles and six interceptions, including two he returned for touchdowns. He averaged 20.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, five assists and 3.1 steals per game in basketball and totaled 1,308 points for his career. He was also a key contributor to the Wolves’ D2 championship track and field team.
U is for Kimberly senior soccer player Emily Urban, who helped guide the Papermakers to the WIAA state girls soccer tournament for the third consecutive season and was the Fox Valley Association’s player of the year. She was also named the Northeast Wisconsin High School girls soccer player of the year.
V is for Reshawn Vaughn of Neenah boys lacrosse, who was named the Northeast Wisconsin High School boys lacrosse player of the year. The senior defender was also a USA Lacrosse All-American and was the Bay Valley player of the year.
W is for Wyatt Rouamba, Xavier’s senior triple jumper who set a D2 state record at the state track meet with a leap of 47-11.5, bettering the previous record of 47-9.5 by Lodi’s Gavin Sargeant.
X is for the Xavier girls soccer team, which advanced to the Division 4 state championship for the second consecutive season. The Hawks dropped a 5-0 decision to The Prairie School after winning the title in 2025. They finished with a 22-2 record.
Y is for youth phenoms on the basketball court. In girls basketball, Fox Valley Lutheran freshman Kinley Peterson (15.6 points, 4.1 rebounds) and Little Chute’s Lauren Vosters (15.3, 7.1) grabbed most of the headlines, with Little Chute freshman Hattie Grishaber, Appleton East sophomores Emilia MontMarquette and Ambria Fischer and Brillion freshman Kaitlyn Schuman also having successful seasons. For the boys, Appleton North’s Matthew Rosplochowski (16.6 points, 3.1 rebounds) and Kaukauna’s Tyler Schwalbach (15.2 points, 4.7 assists) helped lead their respective teams to the Division 1 state semifinals and a sectional final, respectively. Seymour’s Jordan Krause (sophomore), Kimberly’s Jaxson Wyngaard (sophomore) along with freshmen Drew Lenz of Winneconne and Drew Bowers of Kaukauna also had breakout seasons.
Z is for St. Mary Catholic Zephyrs tennis duo Adel Schneider and Vivie Auth, who captured a second consecutive Division 2 state title in girls tennis. Schneider and Auth defeated Kenosha St. Joseph’s Ava Miller and Parker Van Dusen 6-2, 6-1 to win the doubles championship and finish 30-0 on the season. It was the second consecutive undefeated season for the girls, who finished 61-0 over the past two seasons. They were also named the Northeast Wisconsin High School girls tennis players of the year.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: A look back at the 2025-26 high school sports year from A to Z
Reporting by Ricardo Arguello, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ricardo Arguello, Appleton Post-Crescent | USA TODAY Network
