Centerville’s Nico Wankerl
Centerville senior football player Nico Wankerl was recognized by the Indiana Football Coaches Association on Thursday as a member of the Academic All-State Team.
“It is a tremendous honor to be counted among so many young men that have displayed the dedication and hard work required for such a prestigious reward,” Wankerl said.
Still undecided about his college options, Wankerl is the son of Judy and Christopher Neher.
“I’m extremely happy for and proud of Nico for this great acknowledgement,” Centerville Head Coach Kyle Padgett said. “He has worked his tail off for four years as a student-athlete to succeed not only on the field of play but also in classroom. It is a definite rarity to say the state leader in sacks is also the valedictorian of his class.”
Wankerl had 95 tackles this season with 13 sacks and two fumble recoveries for the Bulldogs as they finished 7-3. Offensively, the All-Tri-Eastern Conference selection had three receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown.
“Nico has been the consummate leader for our program as a captain the past two years and put up some astounding numbers along the way,” Padgett said. “He led us in sacks and tackles for a loss this year as he was an absolute force coming off the edge.”
“He will be greatly missed on the field next year, but his leadership is what our program will miss the most,” Padgett continued. “I consider myself fortunate to have been able to be his coach the past two years. I can not wait to see what the future holds for Nico.”
The honorees will be recognized at Lucas Oil Stadium during the Indianapolis Colts game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Nov. 26.
2017 IFCA Academic All-State Team
Offense
OL- Whitaker Lyons (Tell City)
OL- Payton Bear (Northwood)
OL- August Schott (West Lafayette)
OL- Triton Martin (Perry Central)
OL- Parker Dierks (Evansville Reitz)
TE- Drew Thieme (Guerin Catholic)
WR- Tanner Packwood (West Washington)
WR- Drew Moseley (Tri-County)
RB- Dylan Stefanich (Gibson Southern)
RB- Justin Wickersham (Milan)
QB- Tanner Brammeier (Tecumseh)
QB- Trey Filbrun (Carroll)
Defense
DL- Nico Wankerl (Centerville)
DL- Sam Rust (Southport)
DL- Jimmy Craven (Portage)
DL- Noah Hummel (Jay County)
DL- Hayden Greene (Garrett)
LB- Grant Seaburg (LaPorte)
LB- Matthew Fritzin (North Montgomery)
DB- Remington Trick (Manchester)
DB- Joseph Clate Winters (Madison)
DB- Dietrich Sears (Paoli)
DB- Drew Thomas (Lapel)
DB- Luke Uribe (Fishers)
Special Teams
P- Trevor Weiss (John Glenn)