Nick Streubel, great player, better man. (Photo courtesy Nanette Streubel)
He exits as a champion.
Actually, make that a three-time champion.
Barring a surprise invite to the NCAA D-II football playoffs, Coupeville grad Nick Streubel likely played his final college game Saturday night.
Appropriately, “The Big Hurt” and crew went out with a bang, as Central Washington University throttled host Simon Fraser 51-14 in Burnaby.
The win, the sixth-straight for the Wildcats, lifts them to 5-1 in league play, earning them a third-straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference title.
Central, having bounced back from a 1-4 start, sits at 7-4, keeping alive a slim chance it will hear its name called Sunday when the 28-team playoff bracket is announced.
Whether that happens or not, Streubel stands as one of the most successful former Wolves to ever compete at the collegiate level.
A team captain, the face of CWU football, an All-League and All-Region pick, the offensive lineman was a rock for the Wildcats every step of the way during his six-year adventure.
Streubel had two red-shirt seasons, the second due to a nasty hand injury, and graduated before this season.
With a new head coach, there was some question as to whether he would return to play a fourth, and final, season on the gridiron, but he remains one of the ultimate team players.
Anchoring the ‘Cats at center, he was hailed by his coaches for his dedication, and by ESPN announcers as a man worthy of a shot at the NFL.
He remains one of the best Wolf athletes I covered, not just for for his talent, but for his heart, his class, and the way he conducted himself on and off the field.
Talk to any current CHS or CMS athlete, and there are two names they all know. Two players they all want to be.
Nick Streubel and Makana Stone.
Transcendent athletes, and transcendent people.
The former walked off the gridiron Saturday night, while the latter just kicked off her senior season of basketball at Whitman.
Whether his playing days are done, or whether there is another game, another season still lurking around a corner, Nick Streubel long ago clinched his spot on my Wolf version of Mt. Rushmore.
And, at this point, he’s likely shaking his head, murmuring “simmer down, David.”
Too late.
Thank you, Nick.
For inspiring countless other young athletes.
I don’t know that you realize the impact you had, and continue to have.
But it is real, and it is tangible, shining through in so many conversations I have with those Wolves who are following in your footsteps.
Thank you for playing as a leader, always. For staying true to your friends and teammates, your family and yourself.
And thank you for just being a really good dude.
Most of all, thank you for letting me write about you. Even when I got all gushy.
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