skip navigation

Isaac Nienhaus (Hancock Owls)

By Craig Olson, 12/04/20, 9:45PM CST

Share

Ike Nienhaus is another 3-sport athlete at Hancock High School, participating in football, basketball and track and field.

“Ike is another one of the players you love to coach,” commented Hancock Head Football Coach Chad Christianson.  “He always has the biggest smile on his face no matter what is going on.  One thing with Ike is that he lives and breathers sports.  Not only does he love playing whatever is in season, he lives for stats, equipment, even sporting apparel.  Anytime we are looking at getting something new Ike is the go-to guy to organize it, get sizes for everyone, and pick out the ‘best’ style.  Ike is also the player that is willing to do anything to be on the field.  This year in football we moved him around quite a bit on both sides of the ball from tailback to fullback to wide receiver on offense, and safety, cornerback, linebacker and occasionally defensive tackle.  He has been somewhat of a Swiss army knife for us.  In coaching, it’s not always putting a player in their best position, but putting them in the position where they can best help the team and Ike was always willing to take on that role and do it to the best of his ability.”

Nienhaus acknowledges his love for sports, “some of my hobbies include equipment managing for our school, plus I also enjoy doing sports stats and entering them into Max Prep and MN Football Hub.  I spend a lot of time playing video games, spending time with family, playing sports and in the summer, spending time at the lake.  I also played AAU basketball for the West Central Wildcats.”

Basketball Coach Cory Bedel says this about Nienhaus, “The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Isaac is the smile he always has on his face when you see him.  He is a returning letter winner for us from last season and he always brings great energy to our team, especially on defense with his hustle and rebounding.  We will be counting on him to play a lot this year, probably in the post to bank with the big guys, but he can also play the guard position if need as he is so versatile.  Isaac gives 100% on the floor every game and you will see that for sure when you watch our team play.  He’s always in there for loose balls or diving on the floor for a loose ball and this hard to teach to a player, it is all just heart and hustle.”

Nienhaus will be attending Concordia College in Moorhead where he will major in business management, while playing football and competing in track and field for the Cobbers.

“Being in sports has given me a lot of friends and I have learned a lot more about sports in the process,” said Nienhaus.  “It isn’t all about how athletic you are, you can also win with smart play calls and reads.”

History and Government are two of his favorite High School subjects.

When asked to share his top sports memory, Nienhaus said, “Playing the state football championship game and when we beat Morris in basketball for the first time in a long time!”