Sports Spotlight: Ty & Dave Wolding – wrestling, football and ranching

NEW SALEM, N.D. (KFYR) - For the Wolding family, working hard is built into your daily life. Whether it’s on the football field, the wrestling mat, or their family’s ranch... giving up, cutting corners, or not lending a helping hand is never really an option.

“Things can get really hard in a hurry. You can’t just shut the barn lights off and tell the cows to just hang tight until Thursday when the weather gets nice. I try to pass that on into the wrestling room... that things are going to get hard and frustrating,” said Dave Wolding.

The grit, hard work, and determination that is a part of Dave and Ty’s character is reflected in their accomplishments with New Salem-Almont’s athletic programs. In ten years as the head wrestling coach, Wolding has had 21 state champions and 65 placers. He’s been named Region Coach of the Year seven times and State Coach of the Year four times consecutively.

“To the wrestling room or the football field, it takes everybody to put a team together. I think our football program has done a good job of that along with our wrestling program. It’s not different at home here. Everybody contributes,” said Dave.

Ty was a state runner-up as a wrestler in 2021 and he’s placed fifth twice. He says a lot of this success comes from support provided by the Holsteins fan base.

“The community is amazing. They always give us the max support they can, even if the weather’s bad, you’ve still got people showing up to cheer you on. It’s basically just one big family once you get into a sport,” said Ty Wolding.

Committing yourself to being a successful coach and athlete while maintaining a ranch with nearly a thousand cattle at the same time can be extremely tough work. But Ty and Dave say it’s also important to still have fun.

“It doesn’t always have to be a grind. We do enjoy ourselves. We can be working down in the shop and all of a sudden, a wrestling match has started in the shop,” said Dave.

“It’s an enjoyable life out here. It’s not just working and it’s not just fun. It’s a good mix,” said Ty.

Ty quarterbacked the Holsteins in the state championship 12 days ago. He is also a first-team All-State linebacker.

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