APPLETON, Wis. -- Local football players have a history of excellence at Lawrence University, and this season proved to be no different.
Following in the footsteps of players like Claude Radtke, Chuck McKee, and Scott Reppert, four local football standouts were among the eight Vikings named to the All-Midwest Conference team.
Senior wide receiver Zach Michael of Appleton, senior running back Justin Berrens of Waupaca, and senior offensive tackle Tony Bouressa of Kaukauna were chosen for the first team. Freshman cornerback Tyler Krzewina, also of Kaukauna, earned honorable mention on the team, which was announced Tuesday.
"When I took over the program, our goal was to really recruit, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota," said Lawrence head coach Dave Brown, who has 18 players from within a 50-mile radius of Appleton. "It's good to see the top payers on our team and in the conference are well represented by those areas."
Senior defensive end B.J. Berlowski (Sheboygan Falls) earned second-team honors, while senior safety Jacques Hacquebord (Waunakee), freshman quarterback Eric Aspenson (Rockford, Ill.), and senior punter Robert Campagna (Iowa City, Iowa) received honorable mention.
Michael, who earned first-team honors for the second straight season, caught 61 passes for 876 yards and 10 touchdowns. He holds Lawrence's career records for catches (248), yards (3,842), and touchdown catches (40).
Berrens led the conference in rushing at 147.7 yards per game and finished ninth in the nation. He ran 279 times for 1,477 yards, an average of 5.3 per carry, and eight touchdowns. Berrens finished his career third on Lawrence's career list with 3,659 yards and averaged 4.9 yards per carry.
Bouressa anchored an offensive line that powered the Viking run game to third in the league at 179.1 yards per game. Bouressa and his teammates were also second in the league with only 16 sacks allowed.
"They've helped us reestablish our program," Brown said of his first-team selections. "The one thing that sticks out is by the number of kids we have on the all-conference team. We're starting to get respect around the Midwest Conference. These kids have been a cornerstone of that."
Berlowski had 29 tackles, tied for the team lead with three sacks, and was second on the squad with eight tackles for loss. He also had his first career interception.
Krzewina was third in the league with five interceptions, and he had four passes defensed. He finished with 38 tackles, including two for loss. Hacquebord, who split his time between safety and outside linebacker, was third in the conference at 11.2 tackles per game. He had two interceptions and four passes defensed.
Aspenson became the starter in the fourth game of the season and immediately led Lawrence to a 19-14 win over Beloit College. He was 98 of 221 for 1,263 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He also ran the ball 52 times for 121 yards and three touchdowns.
Campagna was sixth in the league in punting at 32.9 yards per kick. His net was 28.6 yards per punt and he forced 14 fair catches in his 53 punts.
The eight selections is the most for Lawrence since 10 Vikings were named to the team in 1999, and the three first-team selections is the most since four were chosen in 1997.