Appleton North’s Wenzel named Defensive Player of the Year on 2025 Fox Valley Association All-Conference Football Team

By Paul Lecker
AppletonSportsPage.com

Appleton North senior inside linebacker Ben Wenzel was named the Defensive Player of the Year and Linebacker of the Year and was one of six first-team selections for the Lightning on the 2025 Fox Valley Association All-Conference Football Team.

Wenzel, a University of Wisconsin commit, finished the season with 99 tackles, including five for loss, as North went 5-5 overall and 4-3 in the FVA.

Also named to the first team for Appleton North were junior offensive lineman Curtis Leopold, senior wide receiver Keegan Muchow, senior defensive lineman Trey Fox, junior outside linebacker Cole Hank and sophomore return specialist Alijah Valeri.

Appleton East had four first-team honorees in senior offensive lineman Todd Marx, senior defensive lineman Randy Mercedes, junior outside linebacker Apolo Massingue and senior cornerback Adrian Scaife.

Muchow topped North in receiving with 29 catches for 441 yards and three touchdowns; Fox had 71 tackles with 16 for loss and 5½ quarterback sacks; Hank had 34 tackles and six interceptions; and Valeri averaged 22.3 yards per kick return and 13.78 yards per punt return, with two touchdowns for the Lightning.

Mercedes had 65 total tackles, including 18 for loss and 3½ sacks; Massingue had 40 tackles; and Scaife had 25 tackles and a fumble recovery for Appleton East.

Neenah quarterback Ashton Van Beek was picked as the FVA Offensive Player of the Year.

Van Beek had 1,416 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns, and threw for 828 yards and nine scores for the Rockets.

2025 Fox Valley Association All-Conference Football Team
(*denotes unanimous selection)
First Team
Offense
Line: *Sam Vokes, sr., Fond du Lac; *Yusif Fofanah, sr., Kimberly; *Cooper Landrath, so., Neenah; Todd Marx, sr., Appleton East; Curtis Leopold, jr., Appleton North.
Tight end/fullback/H-back: *Adrian Johnson, sr., Fond du Lac; Ryan Buchanan, sr., Kimberly.
Wide receiver: Keegan Muchow, sr., Appleton North; Isaac Behnke, sr., Hortonville; Kavanaugh Weyenberg, sr., Kaukauna.
Running back: Mason Henschel, sr., Fond du Lac; Kegan Pleau, sr., Kimberly.
Quarterback: *Ashton Van Beek, jr., Neenah.
Defense
Line: *Trey Fox, sr., Appleton North; *Elias Janssen, sr., Kimberly; Randy Mercedes, sr., Appleton East; Hunter Meyers, sr., Kaukauna; Tyler Hinn, sr., Kimberly; Nate Kramp, sr., Neenah.
Inside linebacker: *Ben Wenzel, sr., Appleton North; Connor Stuckel, jr., Neenah; Wyatt Romenesko, sr., Kaukauna.
Outside linebacker: *Trent Dunk, sr., Kimberly; Apolo Massingue, jr., Appleton East; Cole Hank, jr., Appleton North.
Cornerback: Adrian Scaife, sr., Appleton East; Peyton Umentum, sr., Fond du Lac; Spencer Pendleton, sr., Kimberly; Owen Fox, so., Neenah.
Safety: *Brennen Resch, sr., Kimberly; Luke Tetzlaff, sr., Kaukauna.
Special Teams
Punter: *Maddux Hermis, jr., Kimberly.
Kicker: Maddux Hermus, jr., Kimberly; Elliot Reed, sr., Oshkosh West.
Return specialist: Alijah Valeri, so., Appleton North; Cooper Sieck, jr., Neenah.
Second Team
Offense
Line: Luke Jahnke, sr., Appleton North; Michael Schopf, sr., Appleton North; Caleb Lisowe, sr., Kaukauna; Jack De Leeuw, sr., Kimberly.
Tight end/fullback/H-back: Cole Schaefer, sr., Neenah.
Wide receiver: Alex Lom, sr., Kimberly.
Running back: Ayden Kruse, jr., Appleton East; Aiden Reardon, sr., Kaukauna.
Quarterback: Grant Hardy, sr., Appleton North; Eli Michalkiewicz, so., Fond du Lac; Cam Wong, sr., Kimberly.
Defense
Line: Gavin Frega, jr., Appleton North; Ty Pate, jr., Fond du Lac; Brayden Milbrodt, sr., Neenah; Joey Ware, sr., Oshkosh West.
Inside linebacker: Logan Clavijo, sr., Kimberly.
Outside linebacker: Jackson Lawson, sr., Kimberly.
Cornerback: Chris Thao, jr., Kimberly; Billy Berg, so., Oshkosh West.
Safety: Birk Kozlowicz, sr., Appleton East; Dane Smith, jr., Appleton North.
Special Teams
Punter: Hunter Weinke, sr., Neenah.
Kicker: Kavanaugh Weyenberg, sr., Kaukauna.
Return specialist: Adrian Scaife, sr., Appleton East; Owen Heim, jr., Oshkosh West.
Honorable Mention
Offense
Line: Jack Chevalier, sr., Appleton East; Adam Greenslade, jr., Appleton North; Eli Schmidt, sr., Fond du Lac; Quinn Hoffmann, sr., Kimberly; Bryce Leneau, sr., Neenah; Max Mueller, so., Neenah; Camden Martin, sr., Oshkosh West.
Tight end/fullback/H-back: Jon Englebert, jr., Hortonville; Bennett Geitner, jr., Kaukauna; Jameson Oldenburg, sr., Neenah.
Wide receiver: Alijah Valeri, so., Appleton North; Anthony Reischl, so., Appleton North; Caden Umentum, sr., Fond du Lac; Pierson Bauer, sr., Kaukauna; Tyler Schwalbach, so., Kaukauna; Maddux Hermus, jr., Kimberly; Matthias Charles, jr., Neenah; Owen Heim, jr., Oshkosh West.
Running back: Jack Holdren, jr., Hortonville; Brady Bell, sr., Kimberly.
Quarterback: AJ Pheifer, jr., Hortonville.
Defense
Line: Eli Schinschke, sr., Appleton East; Mike Hill, sr., Kaukauna.
Inside linebacker: Maks Chevalier, jr., Appleton East; JJ Paustian, jr., Appleton East; Brady Schmidt, so., Fond du Lac; Alex Boettcher, jr., Fond du Lac; Owen Niebauer, sr., Hortonville; Reid Lidenberg, jr., Kimberly; Melvin Byes, jr., Oshkosh West.
Outside linebacker: Carson Tegelman, so., Appleton North.
Cornerback: Gordy Cole, sr., Appleton North; Will Clark, sr., Kaukauna.
Safety: Austin Jones, jr., Appleton East; Caleb Parish, sr., Fond du Lac; Jack Tennie, sr., Hortonville; Ryan Halfmann, sr., Kimberly; Joey Herrin, so., Neenah; Cade Heiman, jr., Oshkosh West; Ethan Bowman, jr., Oshkosh West.
Individual Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: Ashton Van Beek, jr., QB, Neenah.
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Sam Vokes, Fond du Lac.
Receiver of the Year: Kavanaugh Weyenberg, Kaukauna.
Offensive Back of the Year: Ashton Van Beek, Neenah.
Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Wenzel, sr., LB, Appleton North.
Defensive Lineman of the Year: Elias Janssen, Kimberly.
Linebacker of the Year: Ben Wenzel, Appleton North>
Defensive Back of the Year: Brennen Resch, Kimberly.
Co-Coaches of the Year: Chad Michalkiewicz, Kimberly, and Steve Jung, Neenah.