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Jack Van Dyke of Neenah selected to receive Kevin Stemke Award

11/20/2019, 3:00pm CST
By Travis Wilson

Wisconsin Sports Network and WisSports.net are proud to announce Neenah’s Jack Van Dyke as the 2019 recipient of the Kevin Stemke Award as the most outstanding senior kicker or punter in Wisconsin, part of the WSN Senior Football Awards.

Committed to Wisconsin as a preferred walk-on, Van Dyke was a First Team All-Conference selection as a punter and kicker and ranked as the state's top specialist by WSN coming into the season.

He's made all eight field goals this year along with 28-of-29 extra points. Van Dyke averages 36.3 yards per punt.

Van Dyke was recently named a First Team All-State choice by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association as a kicker and an Honorable Mention selection at punter.

Finalists for the award were Van Dyke, Dragan Kesich of Oak Creek, Joey Prondzinski of Brookfield East, and Jake Wuebben of Middleton.

Past winners of the award include Menomonee Falls' Kyle French (2009), Arrowhead's Drew Meyer (2010), Sun Prairie's Lucas Otto (2011), Lodi's Donnie Manke (2012), both Casey Bednarski of Oconomowoc & Colin Downing of Whitefish Bay (2013), Saint Mary's Springs' Zach Hintze (2014), Lodi's Garrett Wegner (2015), Monona Grove's Collin Larsh (2016), Sun Prairie's Alex Oakley (2017), and Kettle Moraine's Blake Wilcox (2018).

The award is named after Kevin Stemke, a Green Bay Preble graduate who would go on to play for the Wisconsin Badgers. At UW, Stemke quickly made an impression, setting the record for punting average as just a freshman. After a senior season that saw him average 44.5 yards per punt, Stemke was presented with the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter. Kevin also holds UW records for highest punting average in a career (43.5) and total punting yards (10,660).

The voting panel for the WSN Senior Football Awards consisted of:  Travis Wilson, WSN General Manager and Head Football Writer;  Norbert Durst, WSN Content Manager; Dennis Semrau, ESPN Madison; B.J. DeGroot, WSCO The Score 95.3 in Appleton; Curt Hogg, NOW Newspapers; Dan Barwick, WSN Contributor; Colton Wilson, WSN Content Producer; Fan Vote

About the Author

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

For the latest and most up to date football news and recruiting information, follow Travis on Twitter @travisWSN. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Travis at travis(at)wissports.net.

Tag(s): News Archive  News  Travis Wilson  Senior FB Awards