APPLETON (NBC 26) — For the first time in program history, Appleton North is heading to the state tournament.
The Lightning’s breakthrough season continues this week at the Kohl Center, where they will face top-seeded Wisconsin Lutheran in a Division 1 semifinal on Friday night.
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After years of building toward this moment, the opportunity hasn’t quite sunk in.
“It’s kind of surreal,” senior forward Ben Zdzieblowski said. “If you talked to someone 10 years ago, they’d be like, ‘What?’ So it’s crazy to think that we’re making history and doing this.”
Appleton North punched its ticket to Madison with a thrilling sectional championship win over Kaukauna — a moment senior guard Will Sweeney called a “dream come true.”
“You work your tail off each and every day, and for it to actually happen in real life, it’s something special,” Sweeney said. “It was truly a dream come true.”
Now back in school after the win, the team has felt the excitement ripple throughout the building.
“Everyone’s excited, not just the players and coaches, but the whole school,” Sweeney said. “It’s exciting to go to class — everyone’s in high spirits. This team gave the school something to look forward to.”
Zdzieblowski added that the attention has been impossible to miss.
“It’s a lot of fist bumps, a lot of congratulations,” he said. “It’s a lot of attention, so you just soak it all in. It’s awesome.”
The run marks a dramatic turnaround for a program that, by its own players’ admission, wasn’t always competitive.
“We used to not win many games,” Sweeney said. “Now we’re here.”
Head coach Chris Kellett said the foundation for this group was laid years ago, starting with a talented senior class that had success early on.
“We knew this group was special coming up — they were undefeated in eighth grade,” Kellett said. “There was a lot of pressure on us as coaches to continue to develop them and help them grow.”
Now seniors, that group brings both experience and leadership into the state tournament.
“We’ve got four seniors who have played a lot of basketball — three have been four-year starters,” Kellett said. “They’ve seen a lot of different situations and big moments.”
That chemistry has translated into confidence — and belief — as the Lightning prepare for their biggest test yet.
Waiting for them is an undefeated Wisconsin Lutheran team that features the well-known Knueppel brothers, a recognizable name across the state’s basketball scene.
“It’s tough to prepare for them because you can’t simulate their length and size in practice,” Kellett said. “They shoot it well, they play the right way. You’ve got to play almost a perfect game.”
Still, Appleton North isn’t shying away from the challenge.
“Anything can happen in March,” Sweeney said. “We’re coming in with a nothing-to-lose mentality and ready to put on a show.”
Zdzieblowski echoed that confidence.
“If we take our shots and play defense how we usually do, I think we’ve got as good a chance as anybody,” he said. “So why not us?”
Even with the magnitude of the moment — and the nerves that come with stepping onto the Kohl Center floor — the Lightning say they’re ready.
“You’re definitely going to be nervous,” Zdzieblowski said. “But after a couple minutes, it’ll settle in, and it’s just going to be basketball.”
For a program that has waited decades for this opportunity, the message is simple: embrace it.
“We made history,” Zdzieblowski said. “And it’s always going to be there.”
