Stepping onto the mat with Nolan Hertel means entering a world where every takedown, every point, and every match tells a story of dedication, perseverance, and heart. As the UWL wrestling champion shares his narrative, the twists and turns of an athlete's life come alive – from the gut-wrenching decisions about returning for one more season to the tactical maneuvers that clinch victories against the toughest opponents. Nolan's candid discussion peels back the curtain on the inner workings of a champion's mind, revealing the pulse-pounding moments and the deeply personal triumphs that define the wrestling experience.
Join us as we capture the essence of competition through Nolan's eyes, recounting the adrenaline-fueled final season that solidified his legacy. The hometown advantage, the roar of a local crowd, the energy of family and friends in the stands – all these elements blend into an intoxicating mix of pride and performance. The conversation goes beyond the mat as Nolan reflects on the emotional landscape of wrestling, the pressures and lessons learned, and the bittersweet transition from collegiate wrestler to a professional with dreams beyond the sport.
Wrapping up with heartfelt reflections, the episode isn't just about the glories of championship wins; it's a narrative of life's wrestles and how they shape us. Nolan leaves us with sage advice for up-and-coming athletes, a testament to the profound impact of sports on character building and future aspirations. As we draw the episode to a close, we're not just saying goodbye to Nolan's journey – we're carrying forward the inspirations and insights he's imparted, ready to tackle our next challenge with the same fervor and passion.
Stepping onto the mat with Nolan Hertel means entering a world where every takedown, every point, and every match tells a story of dedication, perseverance, and heart. As the UWL wrestling champion shares his narrative, the twists and turns of an athlete's life come alive – from the gut-wrenching decisions about returning for one more season to the tactical maneuvers that clinch victories against the toughest opponents. Nolan's candid discussion peels back the curtain on the inner workings of a champion's mind, revealing the pulse-pounding moments and the deeply personal triumphs that define the wrestling experience.
Join us as we capture the essence of competition through Nolan's eyes, recounting the adrenaline-fueled final season that solidified his legacy. The hometown advantage, the roar of a local crowd, the energy of family and friends in the stands – all these elements blend into an intoxicating mix of pride and performance. The conversation goes beyond the mat as Nolan reflects on the emotional landscape of wrestling, the pressures and lessons learned, and the bittersweet transition from collegiate wrestler to a professional with dreams beyond the sport.
Wrapping up with heartfelt reflections, the episode isn't just about the glories of championship wins; it's a narrative of life's wrestles and how they shape us. Nolan leaves us with sage advice for up-and-coming athletes, a testament to the profound impact of sports on character building and future aspirations. As we draw the episode to a close, we're not just saying goodbye to Nolan's journey – we're carrying forward the inspirations and insights he's imparted, ready to tackle our next challenge with the same fervor and passion.
Thank you. How we doing, everybody, and welcome to wisconsin sports on the go with trage. I'm your host, trage. It is wednesday, a fantastic wednesday here in the great state of wisconsin. A little bit of snow going on yesterday, but hey, hey, it's Wisconsin. Wait five minutes, the weather will change here Today. I have Austin with me and also we got a special guest joining us today. We have Nolan Hurdle, the back-to-back champion down there at UWL. Nolan, how we doing. It's a little snowy, a little snowy up here in San. I don't know what's going on lacrosse right now. I know it's snowy up here, but I mean back-to-back champ. How's it going today?
Speaker 2:I'm doing great, yeah, yeah, like you said, it's it's pretty snowy out here, but yeah, overall I'm doing very well, good to hear, Good to hear.
Speaker 1:Right there. He's riding high right now. He doesn't care about the snow, he's back-to-back champ. So I mean, just jump into it right here. Back-to-back championships, I mean a lot of people strive for that, but it's somewhat impossible, right, it's hard, it's hard to get to that level and you've done it now. I mean, tell me a little bit about that journey from last season. I wouldn't say it came out of nowhere, but you surprised a couple people along the way right Now. This year you were the defending champ. You had the target on your back going into this one and I mean just excellence across the board, an undefeated season, right. So tell me a little bit about the journey that you had in back-to-back years here.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I guess I'll start kind of back to last year. You know I was having a pretty good year. I think I was. I had two losses maybe going into into the regional tournament in February and then, you know, ended up getting the two seed at nationals last year. Uh, so again, like right there, um, you know, not being there before uh in that position was a little tough because, you know, in the back of my mind I'm just thinking, okay, it's possible to do it, um. But you know, in the back of my mind I'm just thinking, okay, it's possible to do it, um, but you know, obviously it's going to be really tough, uh. And then, anyways, yeah, uh had a really great tournament, um felt really good and ended up winning that first title, uh.
Speaker 2:And then, yeah, just put a lot, of, a lot of training in an off season, um, I don't think a lot of people might not know this, but I wasn't planning on coming back, uh this year. So when I had finished last year, um, I decided, you know that was going to be, that was going to be it for me. Uh, my four years were done and I was going to be finishing up my bachelor's degree in the summer. So I said, well, I'm not going to come back. Um, that was a little short lived, uh, as I found my found my way back to the wrestling room a couple of weeks after nationals last year, um, but it wasn't, it wasn't all about, you know, the wrestling. Um, you know, furthering my education, uh, being in a master's program, uh, and then just hanging around the guys and a whole nother year was a big thing for me.
Speaker 2:And then, yeah, like you said, this year started off great and, um, I think it had a lot to do with me, just, you know, being out there to wrestle and and kind of have more fun. I noticed I noticed this year a lot more that I was, I was really enjoying each moment better. Um, I wasn't looking ahead past matches, uh, just having fun with my teammates smiling a lot more, and that also kind of just helped, you know, calm me down a lot for my matches, which was one thing I think I struggled with a little bit the previous year. But, yeah, I had a lot of fun matches this year and was wrestling well at the right time, like our coaches kind of prepare us for, and had a really great tournament individually and as a team. I was really impressed with our team.
Speaker 1:Okay, and you mentioned there that you were talking about not coming back. I mean that's kind of crazy. Then you're like I'm going to walk out on top right, I don't want to come back and ruin that record. But you came back and you talked about teammates and everything like that. But can you expand on that a little bit? I mean the reasoning for not, you know, wanting to hang it up, and then a little bit more about the reasoning of hey, I'm going to come back and I'm going to give her one more go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think the biggest thing, uh, when I made my decision I think it made it, um, about the end of January, uh of my of the previous season, so a little over a year ago, january, uh of my of the previous season, so a little over a year ago um, you know, practices just started to get long and my body was feeling beat up and I think a big thing for me was a lot of the mental side of it. So, you know, I was always worrying about my weight, uh, worrying about, you know, am I, am I doing enough to to be on the top of that podium? Um, it might seem like little things, but it really does get to you. Uh, just being an athlete, um, and you know, I I think I also just had to make a decision.
Speaker 2:I was on the fence for such a long time, um, and I think that that kind of not knowing was another thing that you know was kind of hold me back and I feel like I wasn't, you know, performing the way that I could. So, yeah, I just had to make a decision. I was going to stick with it at least until the end of the year, and then I actually for our banquet. It was a couple weeks after the season last year and I ended up giving a senior speech, which was a little weird because then I decided to come back like a week later. But yeah, I think just making a decision was the biggest thing for me. That helped me kind of, you know, get that weight off my shoulders.
Speaker 1:And going along with that. Was there anybody who, like, influenced that decision for you? Anybody you talked to that was kind of in your corner there saying, hey, don't be done, give it your extra year there.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, definitely. I had tons of phone calls, spent a lot of hours on the phone and over email with my past teammates. I had a few past teammates that had the eligibility for that fifth year that ended up not taking it. So I think they were a big help to me. I reached out and said, hey, how did you feel after you didn't take that fifth year? And I'll be honest, most of them were kind of wishing that they had, and that kind of stuck out with me a lot because I knew that if I took this fifth year I wasn't going to regret it. But if I didn't take it I was going to regret it probably for the rest of my life. I, if I didn't take it, I was gonna regret it probably for the rest of my life.
Speaker 2:Um, and then you know, just with my parents, uh, they, it wasn't so much even about the wrestling. I mean, obviously they wanted to see me wrestle another year and kind of go after my goals again. But, um, just the education part of it too, um, getting that master's that's going to help me on later in life. And then you know, no surprise, my coaches were a big one always in my ear, but them too. It wasn't about you know just the wrestling side of things. It's also about you know just being a better man too All the things that you learn in wrestling. You know discipline, integrity, you know even gratitude just being thankful for that opportunity because not a lot of people have that opportunity to take that extra year and I think that that was one thing that stuck with me was just being able to have that opportunity. I just couldn't pass it up.
Speaker 1:I like that. I mean going off of that to say you know what are some of the things you learned about yourself. I mean going into you weren't sure about it heading into the year. You know your weight, everything like that, if you were physically ready. So tell me a little bit about the things you learned about yourself heading into this last season there with UWL.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think the biggest thing was, you know, I found out that I was, I'm very mentally strong, you know, having to go through when I thought I was going to be done, because I knew all those, all those reasons that I, that I explained that were, you know, on my mind if, if I was cutting weight right, if I was worrying about other guys, I knew that that was probably going to come back this year and they did. But you know, I, I think that just having that opportunity was it meant a little more, knowing that. You know, okay, this is my last year for sure, but I think, yeah, that just that weighing on my mind really really got to me. And you know, obviously I, I made the right decision and I'm super happy that I came back for the wrestling, for the, for the school, for the. You know, being around the guys was just another big thing. Yeah, I'm just really grateful for it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so you said we were, we said that you went 29 and all and and you kind of talked about last season. But tell us a little about that journey throughout this season, your final season, and some of the bigger matches that some people might not know, that you partaked in and some of the matches that stood out to you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll tell you one thing, this year went by super fast, I thought. I think it's that first part of the season drags on a little bit until you get to about, you know, thanksgiving time, and then you got another little push until past Christmas and then after that you're already in January and February looking for postseason matches. But yeah, you know, we headed out east to New York early in November, got some good matches there that you know those East Coast guys we don't see a ton. So it was great for you know, myself and a lot of my teammates to get matches against some of those guys. And then after that I was really fortunate and grateful to wrestle out at Penn State, at State College. I wrestled in the NWCA All-Star Classic against the Division II champ from last year from St Cloud State. That was just an awesome experience to be in, you know, with all those D1 guys, those high-level guys, penn State guys, hodge winners. That was just a really cool experience, sharing it with Coach Malachek, and I thought I wrestled really well and ended up getting the win out there three to one, I think. So then after that, you know, I thought I was on a really big high but, you know, came back and kind of got my feet set back on the ground and had a good push through Christmas time.
Speaker 2:And then one tournament that's always a blast for us is the National Duel Tournament. This year it was in Cedar Falls, iowa, in the Unidome Saw a lot of great teams there Whitewater, wartburg, north Central some great teams. I think that's where I really started gaining confidence because I found myself trying to open up matches more and, you know, score a little more points and kind of just started to have a lot more fun there. And then, you know, after that, you know we had a couple duels. In the Augsburg duel I ended up injuring my ankle a little bit there. So I actually sat out for, I think, three or four weeks um, just kind of training the body in different ways and training the mind Uh, that's all part of it and just kind of staying focused on the task at hand. You know it's not about um, about getting these early matches, it's not about the pointer open or that type of stuff, it's about, you know, being on top of the podium down in nationals. So recovery went well.
Speaker 2:And you know, we headed into, you know, the postseason with conference, regionals and nationals and conference. We had a really good tournament as a team. And then you know, we had into regionals, with really good tournament as a team, um. And then you know we had into regionals with, uh, one of the toughest regionals in the country, with Augsburg and us and Eau Claire, um, but yeah, I thought I wrestled really well there and you know, kind of just going out there and wrestling just to wrestle nuts, not putting so much uh, so much focus and like so much pressure on matches, uh was one thing that I focused on. You know, going into the postseason, because as you get into February, um, you've already been wrestling for five months in the room and you know it gets. It gets really long and I think there's guys that you know just want to be done. So I think you know, in the postseason, a lot it's definitely about you know who's tougher and who wants a little more.
Speaker 2:And then nationals was awesome. Just being home in lacrosse was, I think, a really big advantage for us, you know, not traveling, we're in the lacrosse center which we've all wrestled in before, so kind of home field advantage there. Yeah, just a really great tournament that we felt comfortable in. And you know, I thought our team wrestled really well and you know, for myself, I I was really happy with my performance. Um, I know like my finals match was a lot closer than I wanted it to be, but uh, you know, things like that happen and I'm glad that. I'm glad that I was able to open it up a little more in those early matches to kind of help score some points for my team. So, yeah, that's kind of the wrap on the season.
Speaker 1:A fantastic season all the way around, that's for sure. Thanks. I mean you can't shake your head at much. I mean it's hard to go undefeated, that's for darn sure. Especially you look at some of your bigger matches there. You mentioned that one against a d2 champ from the season before. I mean that was impressive in its own right, was that? I mean, you talked about it kind of there, but was that the moment where you were like, yeah, I can do this, I can go back and get myself back on that podium there? I mean, was there that moment this year where you had in your mind that you're like I can do this? I, you know you had that indecisive look at the start of the year, but now it's like, yeah, I'm here, I can do it again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I definitely think that match was almost like a turning point for me. You know, by far it wasn't like my best match or like the best match I've ever wrestled, but you know that's okay and you know hearing myself say that it's like, well, if that's not my best match, that's all right because I think I'll be all right. But yeah, I think almost that stretch there right before Christmas I was just feeling really good, especially coming off that win. And yeah, I think you know realizing that, all right, I'm up there with, you know, the best guys in guys in the country from all divisions, I think I think that kind of made it sink in a little more.
Speaker 3:And I had a question so what kind of how'd you get into that position wrestling against the division two champ Like cause? I heard something like the division one guy got hurt or something, or he dropped out. I don't't exactly know. Do you explain how you got into that position exactly?
Speaker 2:yeah, it was actually it was. I think it's a pretty funny story. So I mentioned earlier that we were. We were out in new york, uh, in november for for that tournament.
Speaker 2:Um, I remember we were sitting in, I think we were, in baltimore um, at the airport, waiting for our flight out to new york for the tournament, and Coach Malachek I see him sitting over on the phone and he hangs up the phone and we're just about to board to go to Albany and he comes over and he pulls me aside and he goes hey, I just got off the phone with Flow Wrestling and they want to know if you can wrestle at the All-Star Classic. And at first I thought he was pulling my leg and I, I I didn't know if we were talking about the same thing because, you know, just thinking about the all-star classic, you think about like those penn state guys and iowa and all those, all those great guys, um, but you know, then we're like he, he just he mentioned that you know, some of the d1 guys that they were going to have there ended up getting hurt. I don't know exactly what happened to them, but for whatever reason they weren't able to wrestle. So then obviously I said yes right away. It would have been a super awesome opportunity.
Speaker 2:First thing was to focus on this tournament, because I think if I would have just started focusing on that right away, I don't think this dual tournament in Albany would have went as well as it did. But yes, we finished that up and we were right back to booking flights. So we flew back from Albany from the tournament on Sunday, I believe Albany from the tournament on Sunday, I believe we flew into Minneapolis, drove back to La Crosse Sunday night and then 6 am Monday morning I got up again and we flew out of La Crosse Airport back to State College at Penn State. But yeah, it was just a really awesome opportunity and our university was super helpful with setting up flights and getting cars for us. So you don't have to appreciate them and I just appreciate the opportunity and coach Malchek being there with me.
Speaker 1:I got a question for you about Albany. So I've heard there's absolutely nothing to do in Albany, like it's just the most boring place you could ever go to. You were there. I mean I'm guessing you got out a little bit, you weren't just boom, boom, boom business the whole way. Right, you had dinner and everything like that. Tell me a little bit about Albany. Is it as boring as what it sounds like?
Speaker 2:So we actually didn't do like anything. I don't even know which part of like town we were in. We mostly got there like a Thursday night maybe, and then we went right to working out and then after that it was already time for bed, so we got back to our hotel. Friday was pretty much a workout day, and I think it's tough. I would have liked to go out and do stuff, but it's tough when there's 10 or 12 guys all cutting weight and in a city that you're unfamiliar with, it just doesn't work out like that. You, you wish it did, but, um, yeah, I mean nothing to nothing to brag about, uh, from what I saw, but we, we, we really didn't get out as much as we would like to. Uh, they were having the day before our tournament. They had some division one teams out there wrestling, so we got to watch, um, like Buffalo and, I think, clarion and NC State, so a little something to do, more wrestling related. But yeah, it was a good time though.
Speaker 1:Got to see Sam Mitchell out there. How'd he do? How'd he do out there at Albany? Was it good, was it a great?
Speaker 2:experience there. Yeah, yeah, I think he went 2-0. I think he had two matches, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, great, yeah, yeah, he went. I think he went two and oh, I think he had two matches. Yeah, yeah, okay. Okay, were you, I mean you had? Was he your teammate back in high school there? Did you get to work with him a little bit along the way?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, me and sam graduated in the same class, so yeah, we're pretty tight.
Speaker 1:Um, yeah, still keeping contact with him, so, yeah, it's been good now tell me, I've had sam on here, I have you on here. Now you can be blatantly honest. Who wins outright? I mean, we're gonna. We're taking it's a one-on-one match here. Who's winning? All right?
Speaker 2:well, I'm gonna say me obviously um, but you know, I I think, in all honesty, I think it would be really tough to to beat sam, just because of you know the weight difference and the you know the experience. But yeah, we had some good battles in high school, so I'd take it too.
Speaker 1:Don't tell him, I said that, don't tell him.
Speaker 1:I said that but I I would take you too in that match there. So good stuff there. Um, I guess I just wanted to know. You know we talked to. I had Steven Buchanan on here earlier, early on in the season and he told me heading into his later seasons, that you had to change yourself along the way your philosophy towards wrestling. You lose speed, you got to gain a little bit elsewhere, stuff like that. Did you notice anything like that along your journey that you had to up your game in certain and other categories because you were aging a little bit?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think, uh, even not so much like throughout the season, but like over my career, so, like you know, those first couple years you come in and you're you're a freshman and you're full of piss and vinegar and you're ready to go and you feel like you're, you're never going to get hurt and um, I think that you know just just being smart about uh, your training, uh, as you like, go through your career, um, you know there's going to be days when you train really hard and you should have. That. That's really great for you. Um, then there's also days where you know you got to know when to to cut it back and to taper off a little bit. Um, cause, as much as it is for your, for your body physically, um, it's also for your mind and you know I just go back to how stressful it is and you know things that get on your mind a lot during the season.
Speaker 2:And having those days where you can just come in and you know wrestle, um, we have. We have a lot of those no-think practices Coach Malachek calls it where we just come in, we warm up and we shake hands and we just start drilling and then we start going live and things like that. But yeah, I think that you know I've kind of tried to wrestle more smart, I would say, for lack of a better word but just you know, kind of knowing the rules and being stingy in positions and not really not really budging, yeah, staying in really good position, and but yeah, I think you know, I think every at some point everyone kind of figures it out and you know has to make little changes. I think little changes are good. You start stacking up a bunch of little changes. They turn into, you know, really big changes for the better.
Speaker 1:And I got to ask here, I got to ask once tell me about that match with Peter Kane. All right, you have. You know it's the championship match, it's going for the back-to-back title. The pressure, I mean, did you feel the pressure of that? Was the pressure on you or were you like ah, it doesn't really get to me. How was the lead-up to that match?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it felt like the same as last year's final match for me, in that I was pretty calm overall, um. So we had, you know, before the final start, uh, we get there and we warm up in it, but at that point it's like three hours before I'm wrestling, um. So I think, just having like time to kind of decompress and, you know, go out, go out in the or the lacrosse center and, you know, see the stage and see the lights, um you know, and then coming back and kind of relaxing and you know, just realizing that it is just another match, and you know, wrestling is is just a sport, and I think that, you know, not not putting so much pressure on it, uh, can just really help a lot of athletes. But yeah, specifically in that match, I it went by like super fast to me. I think there was a moment or two where I just like was in like the Zen mode and I was kind of like blacked out almost. But yeah, it was a little, it was a little boring, honestly, for the first, you know two periods and then I finally decided to open it up and finally decided to score some points. But yeah, I got that takedown and then, once I knew I got that takedown I think there was like 45 seconds left or a minute and I knew I could, you know, ride them for the time that I needed to and then, you know, kind of hang on. But yeah, overall I was really happy with, you know, that match and my whole tournament. But yeah, I won't say that I was like super nervous.
Speaker 2:One thing that helped me was, you know, before you run out there back in the corner, all my coaches are back there and had some teammates back there. So I mean, and one thing that does help too, is that they don't change their routine. You know, like, for me specifically, I always have, you know, coach Malachek stretch my arms out and maybe give me a slap on the head before I go out there. But I think keeping everything the same is a big key for me. And then, another thing that you know I looked forward to in this tournament was having my, my family mat side. So we got four tickets for, you know, the mat side seats for my family members. So my all, my siblings and my girlfriend were were down there with me and you know, seeing their, seeing their faces and seeing their smile on the way out. You know, just also helped me calm down and I think, uh, these past couple years I've I've been more of a of a smiler when I go out there instead of.
Speaker 3:you know, a straight face mean mugging, but yeah I, uh, I worked the yeah, I worked the championship and I was one taking families down to the court side and your parent or whoever you chose, I was fortunate enough to take them to the court side. I'm like I got three out of the four lacrosse families that were wrestling in the championships but you got a great family and I was standing there, I'd walk down and everyone would be in the red corner or whatever getting hype. I'm like I can kind of feel the tension sitting over here. I'm like geez, I wonder how these wrestlers feel. But it's good that you didn't really feel the pressure. I think I was just wondering how it felt just wrestling in front of your home city, not only just like, obviously, state, but your home city, it being in La Crosse. I know La Crosse is hosted, I think a couple of times, a few times, but for you to be here for one and actually win it, how did that kind of feel for you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, having it in lacrosse was just awesome, I think like the whole town of Marshfield was here, I swear I looked up there and I saw like 50 Marshfield people, which is super awesome and I can't thank them enough for, you know, supporting me, which is super awesome and I I can't thank them enough for, you know, supporting me.
Speaker 2:And then even just like the amount of alumni and, you know, friends of the wrestling program that were there, we had like a good two or three sections filled up and our, our, my teammates up in the stands were were loud when they had to be. So it was kind of cool hearing them, you know, chant some stuff during our matches, which was it was really great. Um. But yeah, I think, kind of going back to that nerve thing, uh, with my family, I think I think my dad told me that's the most nervous he's ever been, um, and I think he I mean I know that he he knew that I could do it um, I just think he and my family get you know they want to see me have, have success um, even though that's what it's not all about um, I think it's it's a great added bonus to it okay and I didn't.
Speaker 3:I didn't realize how much emotion goes into like wrestling, like all together, because it's like obviously there's the team aspect but then there's also the individual aspect and one side you see one wrestler, one individual win, but then I saw a lot of the other side where the one wrestler didn't win. I'm like that's gotta be tough for the family and luckily obviously you were fortunate, um, to win your match and you were on the good side. But we were told like because we were taking the families up and down, we're like this is, this is emotional for them, so kind of be careful how you talk to them and everything afterwards. But it was interesting to see.
Speaker 3:I haven't really watched wrestling in that aspect before. You know, sometimes I turn it on if it's the only thing on or I've been to a few duels, but kind of to be there for the whole tournament and to see how everything goes and all the emotion that goes into it was definitely something I can respect for um watching wrestling. Then I think the amount of times I've seen some guy pop his shoulder out of his socket is actually insane. Dislocations, trade, let me you. Not a fun thing to watch, but I saw a lot of dislocations, and the crazy thing is they'll almost dislocate, but they'll pop it right back in and keep wrestling, so wrestling. I have tremendous respect for it, that's for darn sure yeah, I think it's.
Speaker 2:You know there's a huge roller coaster of emotions, like, like you mentioned, I mean one second you could be up, you know, by three points or two points, and then three seconds later you get taken down and the match is over. It's just like everything could be so high and mighty and then all of a sudden you come crashing down. But, um, yeah, I think you know, trying not to let your emotions get involved as a wrestler is really great, just kind of keeping a calm head when you win. I think it's time to let the emotion out. I'm not a super huge emotional guy. I don't need to, you know, celebrate and stuff like that, but I think it also comes from like just kind of knowing that that you should be there and almost like it's, it's not a surprise. So, you know, don't treat it as such. But yeah, definitely, once you, once you see it firsthand and you're right down there in the action, it can get pretty intense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean getting towards the end here. I just want to know, looking back at your career, you know, at UWL, even back to your high school days, I mean looking back at it now did you, along that way, achieve those goals that you set for yourself? Because everybody sets those goals right Throughout your career. Whatever sports you're playing, you have those goals. Did you achieve those goals along the way there and I mean looking back at it was, is there anything you would have changed about your journey, or did everything kind of go the way that you wanted it to? I mean, just tell me a little bit about looking back on it now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I think my, you know my overall goal, um, ever since I like started wrestling was a kid was just to be on top. You know like, just once, I just wanted to do it once and like when I was, when I was a youth wrestler, that might have been youth state. And then when I got to high school, you know, I wanted to win a high school state and you know like, obviously I wasn't close to doing any of those and it was tough coming into college because I state, and you know like, obviously I wasn't close to doing any of those and it was tough coming into college because I really didn't know like, all right, I have, I have four chances to finally achieve my goal of, you know, being the best that I can and being the best in the country. Um, it was a little hard to, you know, try and figure it out right away. But, uh, I think that college wrestling changed my um, changed my mindset and it just changed me as a person. So much.
Speaker 2:Um, high school, you know I was fortunate enough to be, you know, a pretty good wrestler. Um, you know, I worked hard and I I put in my time, but nothing like um, you know, I I figured out how to do in college, uh, and I put in my time, but nothing like I figured out how to do in college. I think it was just more of the on-your-own aspect. Really, you're the only one that's going to determine how good you're going to be. Obviously, I have to give a ton of credit to my coaches and my teammates and my family credit to my, to my coaches and my teammates, um, and my family. But you know, on the wrestling side, your teammates, uh, I've some of my, some of my hardest matches were for in the room between you know, uh, coach babado and mason kaufman, uh, from stratford, um, and then you know our 49 pounder, tyler gable, and you know, the guy right above me, our 65 pounder, uh, noah Lice Gang.
Speaker 2:So I think it's awesome when you see, like, multiple weights in a row have success because you know, you know you were a part of that like, even though uh, tyler and Noah weren't, you know, able to get a championship, um, I was super proud of them and it it kind of means a little more to me because they you know I was a part of that and I it it kind of means a little more to me because they, you know, I was a part of that and I trained with those guys for three years. But yeah, uh, kind of getting off topic here, but uh, you know, uh, I definitely would say I kind of exceeded my goals, um, and I I really, you know, coming in to college and even in high school, I I never thought I was going to do it. I believe that you know I, uh, I could do it, but you know, you just, you just don't know it's going to happen until you know, you see the work you put in and you know you see the results paying off.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, austin, anything you want to add in on the end there?
Speaker 3:I was just something a little bit. You were talking about your teammates there and you said that you were proud of them for how you guys placed in the national championship. You know everyone always talks about Warburg and Augsburg, obviously. But what did you guys think? Coming into there thinking how you guys could compete as a team, so not just individually, but as everyone, because you guys had seven qualifiers there, which is quite a bit compared to some other teams that were there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know Augsburg's in our regional and you know it's always tough seeing, you know, seeing 10 guys go through for them, especially. You know that it was them. You know, if it was, if it was another team, I wouldn't have cared as much. But yeah, you know, we had, we had, uh tough seven guys make it through for us and, you know, maybe we weren't we weren't all, you know the top of the podium, uh, material, obviously, but um, you know, we just had seven guys that were, you know, willing to go to battle and I knew that all seven of us were going to work really hard in the weeks leading up to nationals. And, you know, even when we were there, some of the guys didn't have a ton of success there, but you know it wasn't because of lack of effort. I think they wrestled. You know how they were trained to the tournament we were. I think we were ranked like third.
Speaker 2:But you know, a team trophy was definitely on our radar. It's something we wanted for a long time. And, you know, I think one thing that Coach Malachek was preaching to us was just, you know, don't worry about the team score. You got to take care of yourself and you know that team score will also take care of itself. Then and I think you know, at one point we were in first place and we were right there. We had, I'm glad that we had the opportunity to, you know, be in that first place position and we had a chance to, you know, take home a national title. But you but sometimes it doesn't always work out, but again it wasn't because of lack of effort or guys giving up, we just got beat. But yeah, I was super proud of our team.
Speaker 1:And now being through the gauntlet right, you went through high school wrestling. You've been through college wrestling. Now, looking back on it, is there any advice? There's going to be people out there listening to this who are aspiring to be an athlete in college, right, whether it's football wrestling, anywhere in between any advice you'd give to them to say, hey, you can do it right. This guy just went back to back at the nationals there. I mean, anything's possible if you put your mind to it, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think a big thing that you know our coaches here at Lacrosse preach was just buy-in. So, like I mean, your coaches do really know what they're talking about, even though you know we might not think that. But yeah, just you know buy-in to what they have to say. So that's, you know, believing in your training, uh, pretty much just doing everything, right, um, you know it takes, it takes a strong person to try and really change their, their lifestyle and their habits to to try and match their goals, um, and then I think, just you know, just believing in yourself, uh, that's also another thing.
Speaker 2:I think a lot of athletes my myself included, in my in my earlier years, uh, I just didn't have, you know, the belief that I needed Um. And then you know you start, you start winning some matches or you start winning some games and you realize that okay, I'm getting better, I'm getting better Um. And then, yeah, I think just just kind of work hard and uh, yeah, I mean it's, it's going to be, it's going to be really hard, but um, like these these past five years in college for me like flew by Um. I know like the schooling part can drag on and the seasons drag on, but overall it just goes by super fast. So I think, try to just believe and buy in.
Speaker 2:And then I think most importantly I've been saying these past couple of years is just have fun, because in the end it's another game that we get to play for a little bit longer. And you know I talk about my fifth year having that opportunity. Just be super grateful to have these opportunities, because I know there's a ton of guys that you know would love to be in my position. You know there's 34 other guys just in our room alone. You know there's 34 other guys just in our room alone. And then you multiply that by however many hundred schools in the country that you know want to be where I am or want to be where our team are. So yeah, just buying in and believing and having fun, I think are the biggest things that I would like to. You know, kind of preach to those guys.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean that's great advice. That is great advice to live by right there and wrapping it up here. One last thing for you your career now. I mean I don't want to make you cry here on the show.
Speaker 3:I don't want to make you sad but it's over at UWL, right?
Speaker 1:Tell me what's next for Nolan Hurdle. Is any wrestling involved? I mean, what's going to happen next in your life? If you know, if you don't know, I mean I get it.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I mean I get it. I know I'm just still in shock that it's kind of over. But I flipped that switch really quick because three days after Nationals I had a job interview and I ended up getting a job. So I work in Sparta at the Parks and Rec Department. So I started yesterday, so today was my second day, but was it was kind of a quick turnaround and you know, you go from one weekend you're in college and you're a college athlete and then two weeks later I was, you know, in the real world.
Speaker 2:But yeah, so right now I'm finishing up my master's degree and working full time and then, you know, once I, once I finish up my program, I want to, you know, stick around and try and help out with wrestling as much as I can, hopefully with, you know, the UWL guys. Just, I've grown really close to the program and to the coaches and you know, obviously my teammates really close to the program and to the coaches and you know obviously my teammates, um, but as far as you know, competing, uh, I don't think I'll be competing anymore, um, but yeah, it's, it's been good and uh, kind of a almost a blessing to be done, but you know I'll miss it a lot, uh, but you know it's. I've just been super grateful to have the experiences that I've had and, you know, all these opportunities. It's just been awesome at UWL.
Speaker 1:One weekend he's a national champ. The next week he's working for the parking rack. I mean this is all business all the time right here. So with that, anything you got left Austin, Anything you got on your end.
Speaker 3:Nothing. I mean I'm just glad we can call you an Eagle man, not nothing else. You know, being from lacrosse also, I mean it's exciting and you probably don't know, but there's a lot of I'm on the football team and there's a lot of other athletes not obviously just on the wrestling, but that also had cheer for you and also all the other guys in the Aggies. So Russell had cheered for you and also all the other guys in the addies. So we're proud to call you a national champ at UW-La Crosse. So it's exciting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I appreciate it. Yeah, thanks.
Speaker 1:Do you get a ring? Do you get a ring for winning the title in wrestling like you do in sports?
Speaker 2:I hope so I didn't last year. I think maybe, like it's something to do with the university, Like maybe I could like buy one, but yeah, I didn't get that. But we're going to start a.
Speaker 1:GoFundMe for this guy.
Speaker 2:I mean buying his own national championship ring.
Speaker 1:I'm starting it right now.
Speaker 2:Right right.
Speaker 1:Lincoln buy a pocket.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but yeah, I'll take the. You know the memories and you know the experiences over anything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%. I the you know the memories and the. You know the experiences over over anything. Yeah, 100%, I mean you can't beat your career in college. You can't beat it. There's not many that will. It was fantastic all the way around. So I mean anything else you got for us to wrap it up here no, I don't think so.
Speaker 2:No, not that I can think of. I think it was. I think I summed it up pretty well.
Speaker 1:It was fantastic, fantastic stuff there. We learned a lot. Austin taught me a lot about wrestling, you taught me a lot about wrestling. Now we know. Now we know so great stuff there. We wanted to thank you again for coming on with us and congratulations once again, back-to-back champs there at the D3 level.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you guys. Thanks a bunch. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Anytime you want to come back. You want to talk wrestling? We might get it, I don't know, but I mean baseball. You like baseball? We could talk about that all day long. I mean, we got you there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we could work something out.
Speaker 1:There we go, there we go. We're going to have him back at some point. Point here. But with that this has been Wisconsin Sports on the go with Trage. Thank you guys for listening. We'll catch you guys back here tomorrow, but until then, deuces, thank you everyone for tuning in to this special interview that we had with Nolan Hurdle tonight.
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