“I’m definitely going to stay involved with the sport. It’s helped make me who I am today. Going forward, I want to be able to coach and give back to all the kids and try to help them in the same ways that wrestling has helped me.” – Noah Leisgang
By Tori Wittenbrock
Associate Sports Editor
GREEN BAY – Noah Leisgang, 21, has recently completed his career as a collegiate athlete in wrestling at the top of the podium at the NCAA DIII Wrestling Tournament at UW-La Crosse.
After being a trailblazer in his family as the first to try out the sport at just five years old, Leisgang placed second in the tournament — a good way to round out his senior year of wrestling.
The first to do it
“I got started in wrestling when I was in kindergarten. One of my friends wanted to get into wrestling and I thought that it would be a cool thing to try out as well,” said Leisgang. “I brought the flier home and my dad just kind of thought that I would forget about it, but I kept bugging him and eventually we went. I just loved it pretty much ever since then.”
Though he was the first in his family to begin wrestling, Leisgang has sparked a trend within his family, influencing his younger brother to join as well.
“Neither of my parents ever wrestled. My dad had some cousins that wrestled, so he was a little bit familiar with it, but I was the first one in my family to really start wrestling. I have a younger brother, Jonah, who wrestles now.”
Leisgang said that although Jonah’s focus is more on football as a junior at Ashwaubenon High School, he is proud to see him follow in his path.
Finding his path
Leisgang said that although he played a lot of different sports in his athletic career, he has always been the most infatuated with wrestling.
“I was in quite a few different sports growing up. I played football all the way through high school and baseball through middle school. I tried out a bunch of other sports, too. I played rugby for a little bit, soccer and even golf,” said Leisgang.
“I always knew I wanted to be a college athlete, I just wasn’t sure if I wanted to wrestle or play football. When I got to middle school is when I would say wrestling really took over as my priority.”
The former Ashwaubenon Jaguar said that his experience wrestling in high school in the Green Bay area shaped much of who he is today.
Leisgang said that his favorite memory at Ashwaubenon was paramount in his decision to pursue it at the collegiate level.
“The first time I qualified for State my sophomore year was my favorite high school memory. Winning that and then coming off the mat and getting to hug my family was super cool. That was kind of the first moment that I realized that I could be really good at this,” said Leisgang.
Leisgang also said that the support system around him was a big part of him being able to grow as both an athlete and as a person.
“I was lucky in high school that I had other teammates that were also very successful in the sport and were able to help push me and we could really push each other. There was a small group of us that really wanted to keep getting better,” said Leisgang.
“I think that helped me once I got to college because I already knew how to be on a team with other really good athletes. We could just keep building off each other’s strengths and help each other get better.”
Support system
Without his support system now, however, Leisgang said he never would have gotten to where he is today.
“My roommates have done a great job supporting me. They understand that I have this goal that I want to achieve and there are some things that I have to do to reach that. They know that I have to stick to a schedule and they understand that,” said Leisgang.
“Obviously, my family has been there supporting me since I was little and have been there the whole time, all the way through college. They would travel pretty far to be able to see me wrestle and it really made a difference when I was able to see them all up in the stands.”
Because the NCAA DIII Tournament was held in La Crosse, Leisgang said that there were a ton of people that were able to attend to watch and support him.
“Obviously my teammates at La Crosse were able to be there, and my family was able to come out, along with a bunch of other friends and family friends and parents of friends that were able to make the trip out since it was in Wisconsin. It was super cool that there were so many people there for me,” said Leisgang.
Leisgang said he was proud of his accomplishment, taking second place at the tournament to round out his wrestling career.
“I was happy with it. Last year, I placed third at the National Tournament. Coming back, I wanted to improve from there. I got to avenge a loss in the semifinals against an opponent who beat me last year at the national tournament. I got to wrestle up on the big stage under the lights for the finals. That was just an awesome experience that I’ve just always kind of dreamed of since I was a little kid watching wrestlers on TV get to run out of the tunnel,” said Leisgang.
Overcoming adversity
Like most athletes, Leisgang did not get to where he is today without surmounting a few obstacles.
“It was smooth sailing for the most part until this season. I had two injuries. The first injury was right away at the beginning of the season. I actually fell while on a hike and hurt my shoulder and missed about a month of my season. I rushed back pretty quick from that and took a couple of losses in matches that I definitely thought I could win. That kind of played into a mental block of it,” said Leisgang.
“Right when I was starting to feel good again, I pulled my hamstring. I missed another month. I missed a lot of my senior season, so it was tough to stay focused and keep the faith in what I was doing, but I was able to keep my mind in a positive area that allowed me to come back and turn into the wrestler I was before the injuries.”
Leaving a legacy
Because wrestling has been such a significant part of his life, Leisgang said that he intends to stay involved with the sport, but his role might look a little different now.
“I’m definitely going to stay involved with the sport. It’s helped make me who I am today. Going forward, I want to be able to coach and give back to all the kids and try to help them in the same ways that wrestling has helped me. I’ll be back helping coach at Ashwaubenon for my brother’s last wrestling season. I’m really looking forward to that,” said Leisgang.
Leisgang said that coaches have made a big influence on his life, and he hopes that he can do the same for others.
“There have been a bunch of them all throughout, starting with my youth coaches, and then I got to high school and had great coaches there that helped mentor me both on and off the mat,” said Leisgang.
“Coach Malacheck, our head coach [at UW-La Crosse] — he’s been great, but all the coaches here are just trying to help us succeed. That really helped me throughout the process, knowing that I could ask all of these people for help and they would drop whatever they have and do everything in their power to help me.”
Going forward
After graduating this year with his degree in early and middle education with a math minor — which entails a kindergarten through middle school teaching certification, Leisgang said he is excited to jump into the real world and start his career.
“After graduation I plan on teaching or continuing to landscape at Andy Kay’s Quality Landscaping for a little while,” said Leisgang.
Although his journey with wrestling has been through a lot of ups and downs and his college career has come to a close, Leisgang said he has no doubt that wherever life takes him, somehow he will manage to remain involved in the sport that has guided him his whole life.