Jackson County Central senior Nolan Ambrose has been named the Minnesota winner of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award.
The DSHSEA recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior male wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service.
The award was established in 1996 to honor Olympic and World champion Dave Schultz, whose career was cut short when he was murdered in January 1996. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1997 and as a member of the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016.
“The winners of our Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award are an amazing group of young men who have set the highest standards for personal achievement, excelling in the classroom and on the wrestling mat while also providing leadership and service,” said NWHOF Executive Director Lee Roy Smith. “I want to thank our committees for their diligence and hard work to select such outstanding representatives of our sport.
Ambrose was a four-time individual state champion for the Huskies, the first wrestler in Jackson County history to accomplish that feat. He was also a member of two state championship teams.
Ambrose compiled a career record of 212-26, an .891 percentage. He will attend Augustana University and wrestle for the Vikings.
DSHSEA winners are evaluated and selected based on three criteria: success and standout performances and sportsmanship in wrestling; review of GPA and class rank, academic honors and distinctions; and participation in activities that demonstrate commitment to character and community.
Ambrose earned academic all-state honors in both his junior and senior seasons.
The Midwest Region will be announced on May 2 and the national winner will be announced on May 9.