Photo: Carter Schultz
His name is Shane Onufer, and if you do not know him yet, you should. He has led the UW Cowboy wrestling to an impressive sixth in the nation team ranking and continues to work towards leading his team to a potential national championship.
The story of his success starts out in the wet confines of Lakewood Washington. There his dad, who was a Division II All-American wrestler at South Dakota State, got him started in wrestling at the age of four.
“(My dad) got me into wrestling,” Onufer said, “but really both my parents supported me through grade school, middle school, high school, and all the way through college.”
Shane flourished in his days at Auburn High School. His achievements include winning the prestigious Tri-State Wrestling Tournament in Coeur d’Alene, ID twice; a tournament that features the best wrestlers in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. He is also a two-time Washington State champion. His high school success immediately caught the eye of the UW Wrestling team.
“He’s been a big part of our success in rebuilding this program,” Head Coach Mark Branch said. “He’s learned to be a leader and an all-around great student athlete.”
Onufer’s career at UW has been stellar. It includes three NCAA tournament appearances and a 141-25 record as of Jan. 25. Last year he finished fifth at the NCAA tournament going 5-2, and had a 2-2 finish at the tournament his freshman year.
Yet, what catches the eye of most spectators is how he dominates his opponents with a nonchalant exterior. Shane rarely celebrates after a win and does not draw attention to himself during warm ups.
“Unless (the win) comes from someone who is higher than me, or I win a big tournament or something like that, I am kind of emotionless.” Onufer said. “It feels good to win. Obviously, if I lost, I would be extremely (upset). When I win, I feel like it is just another win. I’m not big for celebrating… but if it means something I will definitely celebrate.”
Though he may not be full of emotion, Shane is not without motivation. He has led the Pokes for three years and his biggest motivation is to finish those leadership responsibilities.
“Right now a lot of it is just to keep my standing and ranking wrestling for my team.” Shane said, “In a lot of these duel meets we are trying to beat these big teams and a lot of my motivation is to wrestle well and score bonus points and help my team out as much as possible.”
“He’s serious about wrestling. He never takes a day off,” Branch said.
He is not your typical college wrestler. He does not stay in Laramie during the summer to work out or wrestle, like a large portion of the team. Instead, Shane works on commercial fishing boats in Alaska. Branch said a large break during the summer is good for the third ranked wrestler in the nation.
“He really keeps things in perspective. He never overthinks wrestling. It is a huge part of his life but, at the same time, he kind of lives for the moment,” Branch said. “He’s one of the type of guys that in June, he’s not thinking about the national championships, which is good for him to take that break.”
This will be Shane’s last year wearing the brown and gold, however, he still plans to be a part of UW for a while. Onufer claims that he is somewhat looking forward to the time after wrestling, but the sport will always be a part of him.
“I am going to live life like a college student who is not in athletics and enjoy it,” Onufer said. “I am probably going to do a lot of snowboarding. I will still be (at the University of Wyoming) quite a bit working out and being on the mat. I can’t just turn away from (wrestling) yet… I am just going to try to enjoy life.”
The backbone of the UW wrestling team may not fit the stereotype for a Division-I wrestler, but it is hard to argue with his success. A quiet and reserved athlete, Shane Onufer may be a wrestler that everyone around the nation knows by the end of this year.
