Shane Nitschke using farm strength to have success on the mat

Jan. 17—WISHEK, N.D. — The latest in a long line of successful wrestlers from South Border is junior Shane Nitschke.

Nitschke said he has been wrestling since he was 4 years old and was first introduced to the sport by his father. When he thinks about what he likes about the sport, Nitschke said he enjoys the fact that it is not an easy sport to be good at.

"I enjoy the mental toughness it takes to do and the challenge that it is just to be in it to go to it every day for four months of the year and then to wrestle in the offseason," Nitschke said. "I think it's physically challenging and mentally challenging and that it's good for a person to do."

The 215-pounder won the 2023 North Dakota High School Activities Association State Title in the 220-pound weight class. Nitschke said he was proud and happy and thankful when he won the state title. However, he said he was not satisfied with the win and wants to get back-to-back state titles this year.

"Shane's a very very physical kid," Mustangs head coach Josh Hoffman said. "He's got a lot of leverage and he's got a lot of guts. So, all that combination, he works hard at home. He's a farm kid, his dad, he's a custom fencer, so he puts those guys on the fence line and they gotta pound posts and a lot of that kind of stuff. He also shears sheep and if you've ever sheered a sheep, it about kills you, and he'll do 40, 50 of those a day when he gets going starting in January. He does that through April. He's got a tremendous work ethic, he doesn't sit at home and play PlayStation, let's put it that way."

It is the Mustangs' second consecutive title in the weight class in the 220-pound weight class after Ashton Peterson, and the 16th title for South Border since it became a co-op including Wishek-Ashley in 2007. Nitschke said some of the wrestlers who he looked up to growing up were Nathan Schauer and Blake Bosch.

"I've learned a lot," Nitschke said. "Mostly, everything I know comes from wrestlers in the program that they have shown me or taught me or coached me on throughout my wrestling career."

Nitschke said his mindset heading to the state tournament last year was pretty simple.

"My mindset was that I'm not gonna be happy unless I walk out of there with anything but a state title," Nitschke said. " I knew that I could do it."

As of Jan. 13, Nitschke is 21-1 this season with 18 wins via the fall.

Nitschke's only loss came to Chance Carda, a wrestler from Pierre T.F. Riggs (S.D.), and it frustrates Hoffman to not get a chance to get revenge this season. Hoffman said one of Nitschke's biggest competition in the state is Bishop Ryan's Cade Okeson.

Nitschke, his former teammate, Peterson, and current teammate, Marshall Lindgren, a 2023 state title winner, are all close friends. Nitschke said Peterson comes into practice sometimes and the trio work together to improve. Hoffman said the three drive each other to be better and they don't take it easy on each other when they battle in practice.

"When you're learning from two wrestlers who have had the same goals as you and have accomplished them," Nitschke said. "They pick up on some of the little things I do and it can be so helpful just along the lines of, 'What am I doing wrong here,' and they can tell you."

During his freshman year in the 2021-22 season, Nitschke wrestled at the 285-pound weight class, which he said was to avoid running into Peterson in the state tournament. That year, Nitschke finished seventh in the state tournament. Nitschke said the fact that he had to gain 65 pounds was difficult. He said during the process he was working on combining exercising to gain muscle and eating between 6,000 and 7,000 calories a day to gain fat.

"That was hard," Nitschke said. "I think that I'd rather cut weight than try to drink a gallon of water before the weigh-ins because that just exhausts you and then you don't feel good. It's mentally challenging and you just gotta get through it."

The fact that he fell short of the podium during his freshman season drove Nitschke to win it all last season.

"I'd say that was my biggest motivation, just knowing that my goal had been, I didn't reach it," Nitschke said. "That kind of made me mad in kind of a way and motivated me to get up and work in the offseason and do everything that I've done to get to where I am."

Nitschke said his best skill as a grappler is his mental and physical strength, which he credits to the time that he spends on his family's farm. He said that attitude helps him fight through the end of tight matches. Nitschke said his most underrated skill is his ability to wrestle on his feet.

"I think it does just knowing that everything I do in life is challenging and everything builds up to that and it helps me just know that there's 30 seconds left in a match and I need to get another takedown or whatever I need," Nitschke said. "It helps me push harder knowing that after that it'll be the same thing, the next week I'm working just as hard."

Nitschke is not the only member of his family that is part of the program as his older brother, Jace, and younger brother, Cole, are both on the squad. Nitschke said he and his brothers are very competitive with each other but they understand they are being hard on each other to help their siblings improve. The Mustangs girls team has Shane's younger sister, Alyssa, on the team. Hoffman said the three siblings are determined to match their brother's accomplishments.

"I think there's a lot of competition in that house," Hoffman said. "The parents are competitive and that spread into their children. When one does something well, the other ones definitely try their best to match it."

Nitschke said the advice he would give to younger wrestlers in the program who want to win a state title is to continue to work as hard as they possibly can.

"I would tell them that it's gonna be hard and that it's gonna be mentally and physically draining," Nitschke said. "But, they gotta stick with and they gotta push themselves as hard as they can and they'll get to where they want to be one day. They have to believe in themselves and have confidence in themselves and just know that they can do it."

Nitschke said the fact that he is a junior and gets two more chances at another state title gives him a lot of confidence. Hoffman said Nitschke has the potential to win his second consecutive state title this year.

While he looks to the future, Nitschke said he has spoken to the wrestling coaches at Bismarck State College but he is not sure if he wants to wrestle in college. However, he said he would if the scholarship offer fit his needs.