Nash Hutmacher

The Polar Bear Becomes a Cornhusker

by Katy Beem

Blonde and burly at 6-foot-5 and 305 pounds, Chamberlain High School senior Nash Hutmacher has made a name for himself and then some. Dubbed “The Polar Bear” by wrestling parents as a sizeable freshman grappler, Hutmacher has embraced the term of endearment, hashtagging #ThePolarBear on his social media pages, including Tweets that officially announced he’s signed to play defensive tackle with the University of Nebraska this fall.

In the meantime, Hutmacher will finish out an impressive high school career wrestling for the Chamberlain Cubs. The Polar Bear hasn’t lost a match since eighth grade and has won four state heavyweight championships. This year he goes for his fifth individual state wrestling title.

The son of powerlifter Joe Hutmacher, Nash first hit the mat as a first grader. “I love competition, that’s kind of what drives me, honestly,” says Hutmacher. “Competition creates greatness. If you’re beating everybody by 50 points each time you played football or something, you wouldn’t get any better. Tight matches against good kids makes you better. I want to leave no doubt that I’m the best whether it’s wrestling, football, or any other place.”

To ensure he’s always testing his limits, Hutmacher literally goes looking to get beat, driving an hour to Winner or Mitchell to wrestle against different athletes and mix up his regular training. But he’s quick to credit the friends he’s met and the fun he’s had along the way. “Anyone on my team or anyone else, I’m no better than they are,” says Hutmacher. “I may be able to beat them in a wrestling match, but to me being a good athlete is also about being a good person. I don’t need to go out and brag or show off too much – you can let your talking be done on the mat or in the football game.”

When he’s not on the mat or gridiron, Hutmacher is also a shotputter who likes to hunt and fish the Missouri. In fact, Nebraska coaches

Scott Frost, Ryan Held and Tony Tuioti took Hutmacher and his family fishing 20 minutes south of Lincoln during his spring official visit. Wooing aside, Hutmacher weighed his choices, which included Wisconsin and Oregon, carefully. “It was honestly a really, really tough decision,” says Hutmacher. “I’m really going to miss wrestling. With football, you’re on the field with your helmet and shoulder pads, you don’t really get to talk with the guys. At wrestling tournaments, you meet a lot of great people. I’m going to miss the camaraderie. But football is where I feel I have the most potential to succeed.”

SDPB livestreams and broadcasts all matches at the South Dakota State Wrestling Championships, February 27-29. See p. 24 for more information.