When it comes to Ashwaubenon High School and the Athletics Hall of Fame it started in 2024, the selection committee has not shown much interest in moderation with its inductees.
Go big or go home.
The inaugural class was loaded with some of the most influential players, coaches and administrators in school history, a list of 15 men and women highlighted by legends such as former football coach Ken Golomski and running back Aaron Stecker.
The 2025 class is another who’s who of all-time greats.
They will be recognized at halftime of Ashwaubenon’s home football game against Oshkosh North on Aug. 22 and honored during a luncheon celebration Aug. 23.
The class includes some of the best multiport athletes of the 21st century with Mike Taylor, Jody VanLaanen Jr. and Kati Coleman (Harty) along with former basketball standout Adam Koch, track and field star Liza Holden (Lewis) and softball standout Kayla Lalande (Kastenmeier).
That’s not all.
Longtime wrestling coach and former wrestler Jody VanLaanen Sr. is being inducted along with another longtime wrestling coach in Carl Schwendler and two track and field stars from the 1970s with Mark Bork and Charlie Brown.
Candidates are discussed among seven committee members — Ashwaubenon athletic director Nick Senger is the chair of the committee but doesn’t vote — and the majority must vote in favor of a candidate for that individual to be inducted.
“Man, there are a ton of really awesome historical student-athletes that have some crazy stats and skills,” Senger said. “Going into our second year, the committee didn’t really just want to limit it to three or four people. There are some studs, and they deserve to be recognized. Really, the committee has had a hard time narrowing down the focus to say, ‘Hey, two or three people, or four people, is plenty.’
“Looking at this group, there were still some really good athletes from the ’70s and ’80s and then moving into, man, there are some really good athletes post-2000 that deserve to be in this athletics hall of fame as well.”
The good news for Ashwaubenon is that there still will be plenty of people to honor in future years, even if the classes are not quite as large moving forward.
At some point, names such as James Morgan, Kyle Monroe and Maddie Koch will be called.
“Our school is young compared to some of the surrounding schools around us,” Senger said. “But we’ve had a pretty good string of student-athletes since the mid-1960s on, and it’s one of those things where as an activities-athletic director, what do we do to honor and recognize the success we’ve had in the past?
“We have a first-team all-state wall and banners up for our state championship teams, but this was a way to recognize student-athletes who had really good high school careers and some of them had really good college and professional careers.”
Here’s a quick look at this year’s induction class.
Mark Bork (Class of 1975)
Bork was a big part of the boys track and field team that won a Class B state title in 1974 while coached by the great Al Vandenberg.
Bork captured the Class B title in the 440 dash that year with a time of 49.9 seconds, one of three Jaguars to earn points at the state meet.
The Jaguars have won 10 state championships in boys track and field. Bork was the first to accomplish the feat.
Charlie Brown (Class of 1974)
Bork wasn’t the only star of that 1974 track team. Brown was another standout and leader on a squad that remains the only one in program history to win a team state title.
Kati Coleman (Harty) (Class of 2005)
She made her name as both a star point guard in basketball and standout infielder in softball before playing basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Coleman was a two-time Bay Conference player of the year in basketball. She averaged 14.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.1 steals as a senior, was a first-team all-state pick by The Associated Press and graduated as the program’s all-time leading scorer.
She still holds the WIAA state record with 12 steals in a game, which was accomplished against Janesville Parker in 2004. It was part of a triple-double that included 18 points and 11 assists.
Coleman was a first-team all-state pick in softball as a senior at shortstop and a three-time all-conference selection. The Jaguars won a conference championship her final season after she hit .472 with 17 runs scored and 16 stolen bases in league play.
Liza Holden (Lewis) (Class of 2003)
Before Thea Kral came along the past few years, Holden was the undisputed queen of girls track and field at Ashwaubenon.
She won three straight state championships in the pole vault from 2001 to 2003, graduating with the most titles in program history before being passed in the spring when Kral earned her fourth and fifth.
Adam Koch (Class of 2006)
Being inducted into a hall of fame is nothing new for Koch. He already received the honor at the University of Northern Iowa in 2018 after a noteworthy collegiate basketball career.
But before his time at UNI, Koch was the best player in the area at Ashwaubenon.
He led the Jaguars to a 24-1 record and their first state tournament as a senior in 2006.
Koch averaged 18.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game that season and was a second-team all-state selection by The Associated Press.
Kayla Lalande (Kastenmeier) (Class of 2006)
One of the best softball pitchers for a program that has produced a lot of them.
Lalande was at her best during her senior season, earning first-team all-state honors while striking out 132 batters in 106 innings.
She also was instrumental that year in leading the Jaguars to the D1 state championship.
Ashwaubenon beat Chippewa Falls 1-0 in eight innings in the title game, with Lalande allowing just two hits and striking out 13 in a complete-game gem.
Carl Schwendler (wrestling coach)
Schwendler was an excellent athlete at both Appleton West and Lawrence University and did a tour in Vietnam as an officer in the Marines.
He is remembered at Ashwaubenon for his time as the wrestling coach from 1967 to 1993 and his work as a math teacher.
Schwendler died in 2018, but family members will be in attendance to help honor him.
Mike Taylor (Class of 2008)
Taylor must be in the conversation for the best boys athlete in school history since Ashwaubenon was founded in 1965.
He was a star linebacker who received almost 20 scholarship offers by his junior year, eventually picking Wisconsin.
Taylor had 103 tackles, two sacks and four interceptions as a senior and was an all-state pick by the AP for the second straight year.
It came after he helped lead the Jaguars to a state championship as a sophomore in 2006.
He might have been just as good in wrestling. Taylor lettered in the sport all four years and won the D1 215-pound state title as a senior after placing third as a junior.
Although he didn’t play varsity baseball at Ashwaubenon, any mention of Taylor must include the time he had a pitch clocked at 90 mph.
When he was 14.
Jody VanLaanen Jr. (Class of 2008)
A three-sport athlete in football, wrestling and baseball. Like Taylor, he’s up there in the discussion for the best boys athlete in school history. VanLaanen earned a scholarship to Northern Illinois in football.
He was one of the best safeties in the area while helping the Jaguars win a state championship during his sophomore season in 2006. He also saw time at running back before finally getting an opportunity to be the starting quarterback as a senior in 2007.
VanLaanen threw for more than 1,500 yards and rushed for more than 800 while earning offensive player of the year honors in the Fox River Classic Conference that season.
He won the D1 171-pound state wrestling title as a junior and finished runner-up as a senior and was an all-conference outfielder in baseball.
Jody VanLaanen Sr. (Class of 1976)
VanLaanen did far more for Ashwaubenon than send his son to the school.
Before he had a long and successful tenure as the Jaguars’ wrestling coach from 1992 to 2021 — it included six conference championships and four individual state titles — he was a three-sport athlete in football, wrestling and track at Ashwaubenon.
VanLaanen was an all-state talent as a running back and linebacker and was a four-year starter on the mat while qualifying for the state meet in each of his final two years.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Ashwaubenon High School to induct legendary athletes, coaches into its hall of fame
Reporting by Scott Venci, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
