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Prep Chatter: Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association will induct five with local ties into Hall of Fame

Former Appleton West standout Brian Butch was a two-time Associated Press all-state player of the year and a 2003 McDonald's All-American. He will be inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Sunday.
Former Appleton West standout Brian Butch was a two-time Associated Press all-state player of the year and a 2003 McDonald's All-American. He will be inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Sunday.

The Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association will be inducting four coaches and a player with ties from the Fox Valley at its annual Hall of Fame Induction on Sunday.

Kimberly's Troy Cullen, Appleton East's John Mielke, Neenah's Scott Anderson, Fox Valley Lutheran's Dave Wenzel and Appleton West's Brian Butch are part of the 2023 induction class. The event will be held at the Glacier Canyon Lodge at Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells.

Here's a brief look at the local inductees:

Scott Anderson, Neenah/SPASH/Green Bay West: Anderson coached Neenah for six seasons from 1999 to 2005. The Rockets qualified for sectionals three times and also had a WIAA berth. He also earned an FVA coach of the year award. Anderson moved on to coach collegiately at UW-Stevens Point for four seasons before accepting the boys basketball position at Stevens Point Area Senior High in 2009. In nine seasons, Anderson guided the Panthers to six conference titles, six regional championships and three WIAA state titles. He finished with a record of 310-183 for his career and was named the WBCA and AP state coach of the year in 2015.

Brian Butch, Appleton West: Butch was a two-time Associated Press state player of the year. The 2003 Mr. Basketball averaged 22.8 points and 10.1 rebounds as a senior. That season he led Appleton West to a 23-3 record and a runner-up finish in the D1 state championship game. He scored 45 points in the state quarterfinals that season, breaking a 35-year-old Wisconsin state tournament record. He is Appleton West's all-time leading scorer with 1,431 points and was a 2003 McDonald's All-American.

Kimberly's Troy Cullen coached 22 years for the Papermakers and won eight Fox Valley Association championships. He will be inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Sunday.
Kimberly's Troy Cullen coached 22 years for the Papermakers and won eight Fox Valley Association championships. He will be inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Troy Cullen, Kimberly: Cullen coached 22 years at Kimberly and compiled a 414-118 record (77.8 winning percentage). He led the Papermakers to eight Fox Valley Association championships, 13 regional championships, six sectional finals and two state appearances. He was also an eight-time FVA coach of the year.

John Mielke, Appleton East and Antigo: Mielke coached 18 seasons at East and compiled a 207-197 mark with the Patriots. He was 353-273 overall in his coaching career. East had its finest season under Mielke in 2010-2011, finishing 26-1 overall and 18-0 in the Fox Valley Association. The Patriots reached the WIAA Division 1 state semifinals that season.

Dave Wenzel, Fox Valley Lutheran: Wenzel has coached the Foxes for 30 seasons and has compiled a 510-209 record, which includes 11 conference championships, five WISAA regional championships, a WISAA state runner-up, 10 WIAA regional championships, a WIAA sectional championship and a WIAA state runner-up finish.

Xavier, Appleton North girls volleyball to battle at Sprawl

If you've been wondering which girls volleyball team is the best in the area, we may get an answer Friday at the Lynn LaPorte Sprawl tournament held at West Bend East/West.

Xavier, the top-ranked team in Division 2 and defending D2 state champ, will take on Appleton North, a D1 state semifinalist last year and ranked No. 3 in D1, in a pool play match at the Sprawl at 7:30 p.m.

Vote for athlete of the week: Four standout football players and a top volleyball setter: Vote for Cellcom Post-Crescent high school athlete of the week

The Sprawl will also feature Division 1 powerhouses Divine Savior Holy Angels and Oconomowoc. DSHA won the D1 title last year with Oconomowoc was the D1 runner-up. Kimberly is also competing at the Sprawl.

Papermakers lead area football teams in AP rankings

Kimberly continues its status as the top-ranked team in the state in the latest Associated Poll state football rankings. The Papermakers (4-0) received eight first-place votes and have 94 votes overall.

Xavier broke into the top 10 in the Medium Division at No. 10.

Here are the rankings with the team, first-place votes in parenthesis, record and total votes.

LARGE DIVISION: 1, Kimberly (8) 4-0 94; 2, Kettle Moraine (1) 5-0 86; 3, Muskego (1) 5-0 80; 4, Waunakee 5-0 73; 5, Franklin 5-0 57; 6, Sussex Hamilton 5-0 54; 7 Mukwonago 4-1 34; 8, Appleton North 5-0 16; 9, Middleton 4-1 14; 10, Verona 4-1 12. Others receiving votes: Mount Horeb/Barneveld 8, New Richmond 4, Badger 4, Brookfield Central 3, Hartland Arrowhead 3, Kaukauna 3, Stevens Point 2, Oak Creek 1, Neenah 1, Racine Case 1.

MEDIUM DIVISION: 1, Columbus (8) 5-0 97; 2, Port Washington (2) 5-0 80; 3, Lodi 5-0 71; 4, Two Rivers 5-0 63; 5, Plymouth 5-0 61; 6, Catholic Memorial 3-2 39; 7, Notre Dame 4-1 29; 8, Baldwin-Woodville 4-1 20; 9, Kewaunee 5-0 16; 10, Xavier 4-1 14. Others receiving votes: Westby 9, Brodhead/Juda 6, Winnebago Lutheran 6, Ellsworth 5, Little Chute 4, Platteville 4, Campbellsport 4, Rice Lake 4, Southern Door 4, Wittenberg-Birnamwood 3, New Berlin West 3, Northwestern 3, Luxemburg-Casco 2, Racine St. Catherine's 2, Pewaukee 1.

SMALL DIVISION: 1, Kenosha St. Joseph's (5) 5-0 94; 2, St. Mary's Springs (4) 5-0 87; 3, Cashton 5-0 81; 4, Bangor 5-0 58; 5, Aquinas (1) 4-1 52; 6, Marshall 5-0 44; 7, Edgar 4-1 43; 8, Pepin/Alma 5-0 25; 9, Auburndale 5-0 15; 10, Lancaster 5-0 12. Others receiving votes: Boyceville 7, Weyauwega-Fremont 7, Mondovi 5, Spring Valley 4, Regis 4, Abbotsford 4, Darlington 4, Colby 2, Reedsville 2.

Lightning No. 3 in latest boys volleyball coaches rankings

Appleton North is third and Kimberly is fifth in the latest Wisconsin Boys High School Volleyball poll. The poll is compiled by Cedarburg head coach Damien Evans.

Here are the complete rankings: 1, Arrowhead; 2, Marquette; 3, Appleton North; 4, Sussex Hamilton; 5, Kimberly; 6, Middleton; 7, Catholic Memorial; 8, Waukesha Fusion (North/South); 9, Germantown; 10, Madison Memorial. Others receiving votes: Kettle Moraine 16, Nicolet 7, South Milwaukee 7, Franklin 3, Kaukauna 3, Wauwatosa East 3, Pewaukee 2, Kenosha Indian Trail 1.

Fall state tournament dates

Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 9-10: Girls golf, University Ridge, Madison.

Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 12-14: Girls individual tennis, Nielsen Stadium, Madison.

Friday-Saturday, Oct. 20-21: Girls team tennis, Nielsen Stadium, Madison.

Saturday, Oct. 28: Boys and girls cross-country, Ridges Golf Course, Wisconsin Rapids.

Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 2-4: Boys and girls volleyball, Resch Center, Ashwaubenon.

Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 2-4: Boys soccer, Uihlein Soccer Park, Milwaukee.

Friday-Saturday, Nov. 10-11: Girls swimming and diving, Waukesha South.

Thursday-Friday, Nov. 16-17: Football, Camp Randall Stadium, Madison.

Hortonville girls volleyball on Roundtable

The Hortonville girls volleyball team will be the featured guests on Varsity Roundtable on Wednesday. Roundtable is in its 15th season and is the only online high school sports talk show in the state. The Polar Bears' Marin Grossman, Molly Fischer and Paige Lillie will share their thoughts on the team's season. Hortonville is in a tie for second place in the Fox Valley Association. The show is at 7 p.m. and can be seen on postcrescent.com or on USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's YouTube channel.

FVA showdown highlights football livestream game of the week

Appleton North (5-0) travels to play Neenah (4-1) in a key Fox Valley Association game Friday on USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's high school football game of the week. You can watch the game live starting at 6:45 p.m. on postcrescent.com or on USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's YouTube channel.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Five from area headed to Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame