.jpg)
HARTINGTON — For the past month or so, Brady Hochstein has been able to stop and smell the roses as he has seen the fruits of his labor over his young lifetime as accolades and awards keep coming in.
In the middle of February, he was polishing off a stellar wrestling career at Cedar Catholic with his first individual state title winning the 165-pound weight class down in Omaha.
It was his final achievement in a sport he excelled in since his elementary days, and he left the Trojan program with nearly every record on the board including career wins.
Then he was rewarded for all his hard work on the gridiron with an invitation to play in the Shrine Bowl down in Kearney in June and the 2026 Northeast Nebraska Football Classic in Norfolk also in June.
Last week, he signed to play football at Wayne State College for the next four or five years and this all happened in 30 days, but it really happened in bits and pieces his entire life.
“I’ve really worked hard in the weight room which gets me ready for any sport I compete in,” said Hochstein. “Especially the last three or four years, I’ve really concentrated on getting leaner and faster, it kind of put me up on a new level.”
When he talks weights and weight lifting, he sounds like a seasoned sports nutritionist, not a high school senior.
“I came into this football season lighter than I was last year, but I was leaner, I concentrated on building muscle and eliminating fat,” he said. “That really helped coming into wrestling. I only had to cut about 10 pounds to get to 165 so that was easy. I can cut five pounds in a day if I have to.
“But in football, it really helped because I was quicker and faster.”
And make no mistake, he is a football first kind of guy.
“I like wrestling, but I kind of did everything I set out to do when I won a state title,” Hochstein said. “When Coach Masters (Wayne State head football coach Logan Masters) called, I knew I was going to Wayne and I knew I was going to play football.”
And there is another thing about young Mr. Hochstein. He loves to compete.
“He’s the ultimate competitor,” said Masters. “He finds a way to win in everything he does.”
“On the football field he is flying around making plays on both sides of the ball. We’re really excited he chose to be a Wildcat.”
His selection to the Shrine Bowl and the NEN All-Star Classic came as a bit of a surprise to him, but he’s probably the only one that was surprised, especially if you saw him play.
“I didn’t know I would get selected, it was a surprise for sure,” he said of his nod for the Shrine game. “It will be a great experience for me and it builds my confidence that the committee would select me.
“I had a cousin who played in the game, so that’s kind of cool and I’ve heard it’s a great experience with meeting the kids and everything. I can’t wait to get down there.”
Hochstein’s cousin, Jacob Keiser was also selected to play in the Shrine Bowl and ironically, also went on to Wayne State.
His high school coach knows he belongs in both games.
“Brady will be a great representative for Cedar Catholic in both the Shrine Bowl and the NEN game,” said Cedar Catholic head coach Chad Cattau. “He is very deserving of being selected to both of these teams. He has the ability to play either offense or defense or both, and I know that can go a long way in terms of the selection process and how many reps kids get.”
“Getting selected will really help my confidence when I go to Wayne next fall,” said Hochstein. “We originally talked about playing running back there, but the coach said their running back room is pretty full of guys who have been there a while. They are thinking maybe a defensive back.
“Defensive back would be great, I’ve played linebacker all along so it would be completely new to me. I’ll get down there and get to work.”
And as for his wrestling itch, he has a plan for that as well.
“I still have my brothers wrestling here at Cedar, so I can keep coaching them up,” Hochstein said. “Seeing them win will give me the same rush, sometimes it’s even more of a rush than when I win myself.”
