Coach: Boys & Girls Swimming (1985-2015)

Dwight Davis came to Nicolet in 1985 from Canton McKinley High School in Ohio and soon established himself as a lifelong Nicolet Knight by transforming the Nicolet Boys and Girls Swim program into one of the top high school programs in the State of Wisconsin.  Coach Davis was a Physical Education teacher and the Head Swim Coach at Nicolet for 30 years.  During his time at Nicolet, Dwight helped write aquatic curriculum and taught the largest American Red Cross Lifeguarding/Water Safety Instructor and CPR/Automatic External Defibrillator programs in Southeast Wisconsin.  In addition, he helped rally community support for a new pool and new weight room facility at Nicolet.  He worked with local organizations raising more than $60,000 for weight training equipment and helped develop weight training programs for all sports.  Through his annual Garage Sale and other fundraisers, Dwight helped raise another $60,000 for a new timing system and an additional $20,000 for a new PA system for the Nicolet Pool. In 1998, Dwight was a Herb Kohl Fellowship recipient and in 2003 was nominated to Aquatic International Magazine “Best of Aquatics”.  He was named Who’s Who in American Education 2003-2009, was nominated by the American Red Cross to the National Aquatics Board and started the “Bananas” youth swim program in 2010.

Coach Davis had a combined Varsity and JV record of 672-257.  He won 2 Conference Championships, 16 Sectional Championships and his teams finished in the Top 10 at D1 State 10 times.  He coached 29 Sectional Swim Champions, 152 Individual and 47 Relay D1 State Qualifiers, 42 All-Americans and 1 National Champion.  He coached 8 swimmers who went on to compete in the US Olympic Trials including a double Gold medalist.  More than 90 of his swimmers went on to swim in College and he’s most proud that he coached 110 Academic All-Americans.

Coach Davis accomplishments in the Swim community are vast and many but his greatest accomplishment might be the respect he gained from those he coached.  He always stressed the importance of teamwork and hard work in and out of the pool.  Positive energy was used to achieve team and individual goals.  The respect he has earned is evident in the large attendance at the team’s annual Thanksgiving Weekend Alumni swim meet.  Seniors get one last email before they graduate from Coach Davis: “Remember that you never get a second chance for a first impression, but your last impression is the lasting one. Finish well.” 

Class of 2011 - Basketball, Track, Cross Country

Ashley Green is unquestionably one of the greatest female athletes ever to attend Nicolet High School. A first-ballot Hall of Famer, Ashley earned 11 varsity letters (four in basketball and track, and 3 in cross country), and was the leading scorer on the 2011 Division 1 Girls Basketball State Championship team. Although Ashley worked tirelessly to develop her basketball skills and improve as a sprinter, it was her humility and unselfish nature that made her such a special athlete.

In track, Ashley qualified for State four times in the 4x200 relay, three times in the 4x100, and once in the 4x400. Her 2010 4x200 relay team also set the school record of 1:43:00. Ashley was named MVP on the Lady Knights basketball team an amazing four times. She earned 2nd Team All-Conference as a freshman and sophomore, and as a team captain during her junior and senior seasons won both the North Shore Conference and the NOW All-Suburban “Player of the Year” awards. As a senior in 2011, she was named 1st Team All-State by both the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association and the Associated Press. At the time of her graduation, Ashley was the school’s leading scorer in total points (1,244) and per game average (13.7), had the best field goal percentage (53%), and grabbed the most offensive rebounds in school history (277) while finishing second in total rebounds (601). To top it off, she ended up 4th all- time in both steals (168) and assists (203), demonstrating her incredible versatility.

Team success, however, was always far more important to Ashley than individual accomplishments, and the Lady Knights enjoyed unprecedented prosperity during her tenure. The team went 40-2 in conference from 2009-2011and won three straight NSC championships, including perfect 14-0 conference records in 2010 and 2011. As a senior, Ashley led the team to a 26-2 overall record and the only State Basketball Championship in school history. To cap off her amazing high school career, Ashley was a recipient of the prestigious WIAA Scholar Athlete award in 2011. Ashley went on to attend UW Milwaukee on a Division 1 basketball scholarship, helping to revitalize their women’s program while finishing her Panthers career 4th all-time in both scoring and rebounding, and being named the school’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2015. Through all her athletic success, Ashley Green has demonstrated the type of character and commitment that the Nicolet Community can be most proud of. 

Class of 1994 - Basketball, Baseball, Football

A lot of high school athletes dream about being an All-State performer in a sport.  Not only did Robert Jenkins dream about it, he became one – in two different sports.   Teamed with his twin brother, William, Robert would help establish Nicolet as a premiere athletic power in the early 1990s.  In basketball, Jenkins would help lead the Knights to 3 consecutive North Shore Conference championships as he would be named to the All-Conference, CNI Newspapers All-Area, & All-State teams during his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.  A 3-time team captain, he would lead the team in scoring as a junior and in rebounding his senior year leading the Knights to the WIAA State Tournament.  Not only did his skill set apply to the basketball court, but to the baseball field as well.  A 2-time All-State outfielder and a 2-time team captain, Jenkins would help the Knights baseball team to conference titles in 1992, 1993, & 1994.  After an impressive high school career as such, Jenkins would then play basketball for Valparaiso University where the Crusaders appeared in 3 consecutive NCAA Tournaments including a Sweet 16 run in 1998.  Not done playing ball yet, Jenkins was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds and played for a brief stint in the Reds farm system.  With both team and individual success as such, few in Nicolet sports history can match the achievements of Robert Jenkins.

Class of 1994 - Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball

By claiming 7 conference championships and All-Conference status in 3 sports to go along with state tournament appearances and All-State status in 2 of them, William Jenkins is a true rarity of athletic excellence.  Pairing up with his twin brother, Robert, William would help Nicolet become a powerhouse in volleyball, basketball, and baseball during the early 1990s.  A 3-time all-state performer in volleyball, Jenkins was ranked as the #1 player in Wisconsin during his senior season.  All-Conference from his sophomore through senior years, Jenkins led the Knights to a conference title and a state runner-up finish in 1991.  As a 2-time All-State performer in hoops, Jenkins would lead his squad to 3 North Shore Conference titles and a state appearance in 1994.  And as a first basemen, Jenkins would help the Knights to 3 consecutive conference titles culminating in his All-Conference selection and being named a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel All-Star his senior year.  After his stellar high school career, Jenkins would go on to play collegiate hoops at Valparaiso University.  His legacy here would include an ESPY winning “last second play” as Jenkins was the assist man on the famous buzzer beater that would lead to a Sweet 16 run in the 1998 NCAA Tournament.  William Jenkins will be remembered for both his individual and team accolades as one of Nicolet’s best all-around athletes.

Recreation Director, Youth Coach, Administrator (1956-1990)

Mel Wade built Nicolet recreation and sports programs from scratch after becoming Nicolet’s first Director of Recreation and Adult Education in 1956.  He worked tirelessly on the administrative side of sports to develop youth programs that fueled Nicolet athletics and he was the driving force behind the early sports and sports facility development at Nicolet High School.  In addition, many of his programs allowed former Nicolet athletes to have post high school opportunities to play adult sports and coach youth sports.  His administrative scope and influence on athletics at Nicolet High School is forever solidified.  Mr. Wade was named Director of Recreation at Nicolet in 1956, one year after the school opened.  His wife Bette Wade was Nicolet’s first English teacher in 1955, the year the school opened.  Because of this, Mel and Bette were often referred to as “Mr. & Mrs. Nicolet”.  Wade was a community leader in sports programming development representing Nicolet at both the city and state level.  He was president of the Greater Milwaukee Park and Recreation Association, board member for the Senior Olympics and a board member of the Wisconsin Tennis Association.  He was a 13-time State Senior Olympics Champion in tennis and a Hall of Fame inductee for Senior Olympics representing Nicolet Tennis Club.  He was awarded the WTA Award for tennis leadership, the Bill Letwin Award for tennis achievement and the Wisconsin Park and Recreation Professional Award of Merit.  Mr. Wade developed the Nicolet Tennis Club which helped produce numerous Nicolet state champion tennis players and teams.  He worked with legendary Nicolet Tennis Coach Cary Bachman to develop Nicolet’s youth boys and girls tennis players.  Many Nicolet state champions later played or coached in the Nicolet Tennis Club. He similarly developed the Nicolet Swim Club.  He also created ground breaking activities in the 1960’s and 1970’s such as the over 30 basketball league, girls softball league (before Title IX and girls sports were prevalent) and the Community All-Star Baseball League.  He helped design and build the Nicolet Knightskeller that opened in 1969, which acted as a gathering place, community center and dance hall.  A graduate of Madison West High School, Wade was a sprinter, football player and tennis player with the nickname “Mercury Mel”.  His son David was a 6-time varsity letter winner at Nicolet and winner of the James Lubotsky and Glen Kukula Awards for athletics (1976).  His son Dan also earned the James Lubotsky Award and earned three varsity letters at Nicolet (1980).