MENOMONIE – Menomonie High School honored seven new members of its Athletic Hall of Fame during homecoming weekend, with introductions at the football game Sept. 26, and formal induction ceremonies Sept. 27 at the high school.
The 2025 class features Ben Walter, Angie (White) Wilson, Ben Dahlke, Joe LaBuda, Nicole Schmidt, the 1993 State Championship Football team and Steve Schrantz.
Ben Walter – Golf, Hockey
Ben Walter, a 1989 graduate, was a four-year letter winner in both golf and hockey at Menomonie. On the golf course, he established himself among the state’s top prep golfers, earning All-Big Rivers Conference recognition all four years and qualifying twice for the WIAA state tournament. In 1988, he reached the national stage as a qualifier for the USGA Junior Amateur.
That foundation led him to the University of Wisconsin, where he became one of the Badgers’ most decorated golfers. Walter was a two-time All-Big Ten Conference selection in 1993 and 1994 while helping Wisconsin to consecutive Big Ten team titles. His crowning achievement came in 1994, when he won the Big Ten individual championship in record-setting fashion, becoming the school’s first individual conference champion since 1963. He also qualified for the 1994 NCAA Championship.
Walter’s success extended well beyond college. He captured three Wisconsin State Open titles, winning in 1994, 1997 and 2005. In 1993, he was named the Wisconsin Amateur Player of the Year, cementing his reputation as one of the state’s premier competitors. His accomplishments earned him induction into both the Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame and the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
Professionally, Walter competed on multiple tours, including the Canadian Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour. Most recently, he qualified for and competed in the 2024 U.S. Senior Open, continuing his connection to the highest levels of the game more than three decades after his high school graduation.
Angie (White) Wilson – Track & Field, Cross Country, Coach
Angie (White) Wilson, a 1983 Menomonie High School graduate, enters the Menomonie Athletic Hall of Fame for her accomplishments as both an athlete and coach.
Wilson was a standout in both track and cross country during her prep career. She earned four varsity letters in track and three in cross country while qualifying for state in multiple events between 1980 and 1982. A versatile runner, she competed in the 400 meters, the 4×100 relay and the 4×400 relay, while helping the Indians to numerous Big Rivers Conference and sectional championships.
Upon graduation, Wilson held several school records, including the outdoor 400-meter dash, a mark that lasted 42 years. She also set indoor standards in the 400, 300 and 4×400 relay. Her senior year, she was named Western Wisconsin Prep Athlete of the Spring, and she collected numerous team MVP and captain honors during her career.
At UW-La Crosse, Wilson majored in physical education and math while continuing her track career. She qualified for the NCAA indoor nationals in 1984 and 1985 and for outdoor nationals in 1985 and 1987. In 1987, she earned All-America honors as part of the 4×400 relay team and was selected team MVP and co-captain.
Wilson transitioned into coaching following college, returning to Menomonie in 1989 as the girls head track coach and leading the team to a regional championship. She later guided both cross country and track teams at Bloomer High School, where her squads won multiple Heart of the North Conference titles in the 1990s. Her athletes included several state qualifiers and one state champion.
Since 2004, Wilson has served as an assistant track and field coach at Menomonie, specializing in the horizontal jumps. Under her guidance, the Mustangs have produced 54 All-Big Rivers Conference athletes, 26 conference champions, 11 BRC Athletes of the Year, four conference record-holders, eight school record-holders, four All-State performers and a state champion.
Ben Dahlke – Track & Field, Football, Basketball
Ben Dahlke, a 1995 graduate, joins the Menomonie High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2025 after excelling in track & field, as well as football and basketball.
A four-time track and field letter winner and three-time state qualifier, Dahlke collected multiple conference championships between 1993 and 1995, including titles in the 110-meter high hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, triple jump and the 4×400 relay. He was named All-State in both hurdles and relays and capped his senior year as team MVP. Dahlke also held several school records, including in the hurdles, indoor sprints and relays.
Dahlke became a key figure on the football field, joining the varsity program as a junior. Dahlke helped Menomonie capture the 1993 WIAA Division 2 state championship and the team followed with a runner-up finish in 1994. A two-time letter winner, he earned First Team All-Big Rivers Conference and All-Northwest Region honors as a wide receiver his senior year, and was also named Second Team All-State.
On the hardwood, Dahlke served as co-captain during the 1994-95 season and helped Menomonie to a Big Rivers Conference runner-up finish.
His success continued at the United States Air Force Academy, where he became a three-time letter winner in Division I track and field. Dahlke served as team captain in 1999, consistently placed at Western Athletic Conference meets and ran on the program’s fourth-fastest 4×100 relay team in school history. He also played football during his freshman year.
Following graduation, Dahlke embarked on a 20-year active-duty career with the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2019. He returned to the track as a coach, first with two stints at the Air Force Academy, where he helped develop NCAA qualifiers and school record holders. He also coached at the high school level in Nebraska and Montana, producing state champions and Division I athletes while helping launch the track and field program at Gallatin High School in Bozeman, Mont.
Joe LaBuda – Coach: Football, Baseball, Softball
For more than three decades, Joe LaBuda was the face of Menomonie High School football, building the Indians into one of Wisconsin’s most consistent and decorated programs.
LaBuda began his coaching career in Florida at North Marion High School before moving to Menomonie in 1989, where he not only found a new job but also met his wife, Colette. From there, he took over the Menomonie football program and led it through an unprecedented run of success.
Over 32 seasons, LaBuda’s teams averaged fewer than two losses a year, a mark of both dominance and stability. In 1997, undefeated Menomonie earned national recognition by finishing the season ranked No. 10 in the USA Today national poll. His squads also built remarkable streaks, including a 49-game Big Rivers Conference winning streak, a 61-game regular-season win streak, and 27 consecutive victories between 2002 and 2003.
When he retired in 2020, LaBuda held a career record of 321-60. His .842 winning percentage ranked 18th all-time nationally among coaches with more than 300 victories. Under his guidance, Menomonie captured 22 Big Rivers Conference titles, reached the WIAA state semifinals 16 times, finished as state runner-up twice, and claimed five state championships.
LaBuda also spent time coaching baseball and softball at Menomonie, leading baseball to three conference championships and two regional titles, and guiding softball to a regional championship.
Beyond the numbers, LaBuda credited much of the program’s success to his assistant coaches and the commitment of his players. “I was blessed to work with incredible coaches and to have the opportunity to coach so many great young men and women,” LaBuda has often said, noting that the experience of leading Menomonie teams was “a rare privilege.”
His coaching career earned him numerous honors. He has been inducted into the Berlin High School Hall of Fame, the Concordia (St. Paul, Minn) University Golden Bears Hall of Fame, the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the National High School Coaches Hall of Fame. He was named Nike Midwest Coach of the Year in 1997 and received the WFCA’s State Coach of the Year award in 1993 and 2002, along with its Positive Influence in Coaching Award.
Nicole Schmidt – Track & Field, Cross Country, Basketball
Nicole Schmidt, a 2013 graduate and a three-sport athlete, left her mark early in cross country, where she was a four-time varsity letter winner. She earned Big Rivers Conference recognition each year, capped with two first-team selections. Her efforts also secured the school’s 4-kilometer record.
On the basketball court, Schmidt was a four-year letter winner and a key contributor to the 2009-10 Big Rivers Conference championship team. Known for her perimeter shooting, she graduated as the school’s record holder in three-point field goals.
Track and field became the stage where Schmidt made her greatest impact. A four-time letter winner, she claimed three conference titles in the 800 meters and two in the 400 meters. In 2010, she was honored as the Big Rivers Conference Athlete of the Year. She qualified for the WIAA Division 1 state meet four times in the 800, earning a fifth-place finish in 2013. By graduation, she held multiple school records in the 400 and 800, both indoors and outdoors, along with the 4×800 relay.
At the University of South Dakota, Schmidt continued her dual-sport success. She was a four-year letter winner in both cross country and track and field while competing in the Summit League. She twice earned second-team all-conference honors in cross country and helped lead the Coyotes to four league championships. On the track, she was part of indoor and outdoor squads that consistently finished as conference runner-up.
Schmidt left USD with school records in the 4xMile and Distance Medley Relay and ranked among the program’s top 10 all-time in seven different events, including the 800, 1500, 4×800, and sprint medley. She also was recognized four times as a Summit League Distinguished Scholar, underscoring her balance of athletics and academics.
After her collegiate career, Schmidt pursued a passion for health and medicine. She graduated in 2023 as a Naturopathic Medical Doctor from Sonoran University of Health Sciences.
1993 State Championship Football Team
More than three decades later, the 1993 Menomonie High School football team still stands as one of the most legendary squads in Wisconsin history, remembered for its improbable playoff run, knocking off highly-tauted teams along the way, and the program’s first state championship.
The Indians, as the team was known at the time, stormed through the Big Rivers Conference that fall, but it was in the postseason where the team carved its place in history.
In the WIAA Division 2 quarterfinals, Menomonie traveled to face No. 3-ranked Sun Prairie, a powerhouse that had dropped down from Division 1. Few gave the Indians a chance, but Menomonie rolled to a 34-0 victory, earning headlines statewide.
That victory set up a showdown with Monroe, the defending champion and owner of the nation’s longest winning streak at the time. Both teams had averaged more than 40 points a game, but instead of an offensive showcase, fans witnessed one of the greatest defensive duels in playoff history.
The game ended regulation in a 3-3 tie, forcing overtime. Menomonie’s defense would produce a goal-line stand for the ages, stopping Monroe twice within inches of the end zone. The Indians then won the game on what players and fans still recall as the “ugliest yet most beautiful” field goal in school history.
As Menomonie fans stormed the field, newspapers across Wisconsin — and even USA Today — ran stories on the upset that ended Monroe’s streak. The headline read: The Streak Ends on Upset Kick.
With that momentum, Menomonie advanced to the state championship game against Ashwaubenon, led by star running back Aaron Stecker, who later played 11 seasons in the NFL. The game lived up to its billing, as both teams lit up the scoreboard in what became the highest-scoring state final in WIAA history. The 80 combined points remain a record. Menomonie prevailed 49-31, securing its first-ever football state championship.
The 1993 squad finished the season ranked No. 1 in the Milwaukee Journal’s Large School State Poll, a fitting capstone to its storybook run.
For Menomonie, the championship was more than just a trophy. It was the foundation for a program that would go on to become one of the state’s most consistent powers under longtime coach Joe LaBuda. But for those who lived it, the 1993 season will always be remembered for shocking the state, toppling giants, and delivering a moment that defined a community.
Steve Schrantz – Distinguished Service Award
Steve Schrantz’s voice, presence and dedication have been woven into the fabric of Menomonie athletics for more than five decades. The longtime teacher, coach, official and broadcaster enters the Menomonie High School Athletic Hall of Fame with the Distinguished Service Award
Schrantz began teaching at Menomonie in 1969 after graduating from Elk Mound High School, UW–Eau Claire and UW–Stout. His classroom assignments ranged from English composition to physical education, driver’s education and senior life saving, but his influence stretched far beyond the school day.
He entered the coaching ranks in boys basketball in 1970, working at every level from eighth grade through junior varsity before taking over as head coach in 1986. His varsity teams compiled a 65-45 record, the highest winning percentage for the program since 1950. That 1986 squad captured Big Rivers Conference co-champion honors, won regional and sectional titles, and advanced to the WIAA state tournament.
Schrantz left a mark on the softball diamond, serving as junior varsity and assistant varsity coach from 1979 to 1989. During that span, Menomonie teams posted a remarkable 181-37 record, reaching state five times. They finished as runners-up in 1982 and 1987 and won the program’s first state championship in 1983.
Schrantz also coached track and field and cross country in his early years with the school district and officiated basketball, softball and baseball.
Beyond coaching, Schrantz became a fixture in western Wisconsin sports media. From 1987 to 2003, he co-hosted the Saturday morning Coaches Corner/Western Wisconsin Sports Saturday radio show. He also served as the radio “Voice of Menomonie,” providing color commentary for MHS football and basketball, and expanded his reach to UW–Stout, where he called men’s and women’s basketball and football. In 2011, he received the UW-Stout Distinguished Service Athletic Award.
An avid runner later in life, Schrantz completed 28 marathons after the age of 40, including the Boston Marathon twice. He and his wife, Kathy, have three children — Chris, Amy and Sara — and now enjoy following the athletic pursuits of their seven grandchildren.
From the classroom and courtside to the radio booth, Schrantz’s dedication helped shape generations of Menomonie athletes and fans.
Layne Pitt retired as the longest serving sports information director at UW-Stout and also worked more than a decade at the Dunn County News.
Menomonie Inducts Seven into Hall of Fame by Layne Pitt is licensed under a CC BY SA 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
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