(Fox Lake) Two local high school athletes are being recognized for their leadership, character, and community impact. Beck’s and Brownfield Ag News launched the Players with Heart program in 2020 to honor student-athletes across the Midwest.
In 2025, Beck’s added a scholarship component to the program and awarded 12 students with $1,000. This year’s winners include Wyatt Stowell of Fox Lake and Ashton Brusveen of Cambria.
Wyatt Stowell – Fox Lake, WI
Wyatt Stowell was nominated as a Beck’s Player with Heart for his commitment and passion on and off the field and mat. What he loves most about high school sports is the life lessons and comradery involved in competition that will last his entire life. Through soccer and wrestling, he has learned so much about teamwork, hard work, and how to solve problems under extreme stress. Throughout high school, Wyatt has been a member of the varsity boys soccer team and varsity wrestler. He is also an active member of the Waupun FFA serving as the reporter his sophomore year, parliamentarian his junior year, and secretary this year. Wyatt has raised market and show pigs for the past 8 years as part of his FFA and 4-H projects. This year, he was given the opportunity to teach others about pigs by taking one of his piglets to his high school’s animal lab. Wyatt has been very involved in his community. He is a member of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church where he serves as an usher. In FFA and 4-H, he has participated in many events that helped support his community. Agriculture to Wyatt is not just an industry or job, but a community that supports each other. It is filled with amazing people that have a passion for growing and raising quality products to supply food to their communities, country, and world. Wyatt plans to continue his education into college where he wants to pursue a degree in animal science or dairy science at either UW-River Falls or Iowa State University. He hopes to become a veterinarian, nutritionist, or another job related to the agriculture industry.
Ashton Brusveen – Cambria, WI
Ashton Brusveen was nominated as a Beck’s Player with Heart for his commitment and passion on and off the field and court. What he loves most about high school sports is how it is a great way to challenge himself, stay active, and bond with teammates. He loves the thrill of competition whether win or lose. Extracurricular activities have been a major part of his high school experience. Through the many different meetings, contests, and games, he has developed strong leadership, communication, and teamwork skills that will serve him well in the future. Ashton competes in basketball, football, and track and field. He is involved with the National Honor Society as the vice president, Cambria-Friesland Forensics, Student Council as the president, and Future Business Leaders of America. Ashton is also heavily involved in his community. He has volunteered at many activities including the Wisconsin Agricultural Youth Council, Youth Leadership Board Adams Columbia Electric Cooperative, NHS Red Cross blood drives, FFA & Hilltopper Football Corn Carnival. He also participated in the Student Council highway cleanup, Brie Shed Educational Day, spring cleanup for local communities, Columbia County FFA breakfast, 4H June Dairy Days breakfast, and set up the Dump Run. Growing up on a farm, Ashton has gained hands-on experience in grain handling, crop marketing, and customer relations by working alongside his grandfather and father. As a third-generation farmer, his passion for grain farming stems from the opportunities and work ethic his grandparents instilled in him. These experiences have shown him the importance of hard work, problem-solving, and building relationships in agriculture. His community service experience has made a big impact on life skills, but it has also shown him the importance of being a role model for younger members. Over the past four years, Ashton has built and grown his business, Seed Clean, where he purchases, cleans, and resells bulk seed for cover crops. After graduating high school, he plans to continue expanding his business while attending UW-Platteville for agribusiness with an emphasis on commodity and price analysis to prepare for a career in grain production or agricultural sales.
Students are nominated by coaches, teachers, family, and peers and are selected based on their commitment to their team, school, and community.
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