2025 All-Big Rivers Conference Football Team
MENOMONIE – With injuries piling up on a seemingly weekly basis, the Menomonie High School football team fought through adversity throughout the 2025 campaign. But the Mustangs still qualified to the WIAA playoffs for the a state-best 36th consecutive year and were only 11 seconds short of advancing to the second round of the playoffs.
The Mustangs landed eight players – one first team pick, three second team picks and four honorable mention selections – on the 2025 All-Big Rivers Conference Football Team.
Senior offensive lineman Bryce Shepard was a first team selection and was a pivotal part in the Mustangs’ running attack. The Mustangs gained 2589 yards on the ground, averaging 5.5 yards per carry, and scored 32 touchdowns.
Junior running back DJ Butler was a second team pick and led the Mustangs in rushing with 1081 yards on 147 carries and scored 13 touchdowns, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. Butler recorded four 100-plus rushing games and three times (Superior, Eau Claire Memorial, Onalaska) scored three TDs in a single game. Butler had a monster game in the first round of the WIAA playoffs, carrying the ball 30 times for a whopping 285 yards, along with three scores.
Seniors Max Erickson and Luke Pember were second team defensive picks, Erickson at defensive end and Pember at outside linebacker. In conference games statistics only, Erickson finished with 22 total tackles, six solo, with six tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Pember finished the BRC season with 52 tackles, 17 solo, five tackles for loss and was credited with 0.5 sacks. Offensively as a running back, Pember finished with
Senior fullback/tight end Luke Bystol, senior offensive lineman Max Branch, senior defensive back Bailey Casey and senior Charlie Mikesell were honorable mention picks. On a team that primarily ran the ball, Bystol finished with four catches for 53 yards. Casey led the team with 54 tackles, 24 solo, and one tackle for loss.
Running back Austin Wittek of New Richmond was the offensive player of the year; defensive back Ben Englund of Hudson the defensive player of the year; and Rice Lake’s Dan Hill and River Falls’ Ryan Scherz were selected as co-coach of the year.
First Team Offense — OL: Bryce Shepard, Sr.
Second Team Offense — RB: DJ Butler, Jr.
Second Team Defense — DE: Max Erickson, Sr. OLB: Luke Pember, Sr.
Honorable Mention — FB/TE: Luke Bystol, Sr. OL: Max Branch, Sr. DB: Bailey Casey, Sr. Spec: Charlie Mikesell, Sr.
2025 All-BRC Boys Soccer Team
Three Menomonie seniors were named to the 2025 All-BRC Boys Soccer Team. Miles Ogden was a second team selection, while Keebtxuj Xiong and Ryan Xu were honorable mention selections.
Second Team — Miles Ogden, Sr
Honorable Mention — Keebtxuj Xiong, Sr; Ryan Xu, Sr
Sorensen Named to 2025 All-BRC Girls Tennis Team
Senior Isabel Sorensen was a first team selection to the 2025 All-BRC Girls Tennis Team. Sorensen finished second in the first flight at the Big Rivers Conference Championship, then went on to advance to the WIAA Girls State Tennis Individual Championship.
2025 All-BRC Boys Soccer Team | 2025 All-BRC Girls Tennis Team
2025 All-BRC Volleyball Team | 2025 All-BRC Girls Swimming and Diving Team | 2025 All-BRC Boys Cross Country Team | 2025 All-BRC Girls Cross Country Team
Two Mustangs Off to State Diving Meet
Two Menomonie High School divers have qualfied to the WIAA Division 2 State Swimming and Diving Championship Friday, Nov. 14 in Waukesha. Senior Sofia Reinhart and sophomore Ofelia Prechel advanced to the state tournament after competing in a WIAA Division 2 Sectional Nov. 8 in Rice Lake. Prechel finished third at the sectional competiton and Reinhart was fourth. The Mustang duo are both making their first trip to the state meet and will be competing with 14 other Division 2 divers. As a team, the Mustangs placed ninth at the sectional meet.
WIAA Division 2 Sectional Complete Results | WIAA Division 2 State Qualifiers
Winter Sports to Begin Soon
The winter sports season is underway for the Menomonie Mustangs, with all varsity teams preparing for busy slates leading up to the WIAA postseason.
Chad Zutter, Menomonie Mustangs livestream coordinator, announced the winter broadcast and livestream schedule for MHS athletics. All home varsity wrestling, boys basketball and girls basketball games will be broadcasted this season with full production, including commentary and sponsor messages. Meanwhile, livestreams featuring automated Hudl camera feeds — without commentary or commercials — will be available for all JV boys and girls basketball games and both JV and varsity hockey contests. All broadcasts and livestreams are scheduled and can be previewed on the Mustangs TV YouTube channel at youtube.com/@MenomonieMustangsTV.
Layne Pitt followed Menomonie High School sports during his more than a decade at the Dunn County News.
Eight Mustangs Earn All-BRC Football Honors by Layne Pitt is licensed under a CC BY SA 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Menomonie Mustangs Athletics and Activities | UW-Stout Blue Devil Athletics
