CLEARFIELD – Going back through the all-time greats in the history of Clearfield County athletics and District 9, it would be pretty difficult to find many more well-rounded athletes than former Curwensville Golden Tide standout Nick Sipes.
Whether it was cracking helmets on the gridiron or grappling his way to three PIAA state wrestling medals, Sipes’ physicality and athleticism were unique for someone his size. He may be only 5’10”, but what he lacked in height he made up for in heart and instincts. At his peak, he weighed around 230 pounds but still ran a 4.6 second 40-yard dash. He played safety at Clarion University and while his height says secondary, his sturdiness said run-stopper. He led the Golden Eagles in tackles each of his last two seasons while playing safety; something that’s fairly uncommon out of a player at the third-level of the defense. But Sipes was certainly an uncommon athlete.
Going back before he became an All-American and Academic All-American for the Clarion Golden Eagles football program, Sipes ran his way to nearly 6,000 career rushing yards and 83 touchdowns for the well-oiled machine that was the Curwensville Golden Tide. Everyone in the joint could know who was getting the ball, the snap count, and the gap the runner was going to explode through. But could very many individuals or teams stop it? Not even close. The late Andy Evanko Curwensville offense would not win a beauty contest. It wasn’t all about getting athletes in space or chucking the pigskin all over the yard. It was about mean, tough, and gritty football. It was man-on-man blocking schemes, and the ball was coming straight downhill.
Sipes was a primary ball carrier for much of his four-year varsity career, but he also started on the defensive side and did the kicking for Curwensville, too. He helped the Golden Tide to the 2004 District 9 title and was a leader for this team that advanced all the way to the state semifinals. In his senior season, Sipes helped lead the Tide back to the D9 title for the second time in three seasons. But to him, that 2004 team was something special. “I was fortunate to have a great offensive line and great coaches my entire career, but that 2004 group was special. We didn’t have a great year the season before, so that next summer we had around 30 kids at every workout each day in the summer. My brother Nate and our group of friends all decided we were capable of more and we were going to step it up going into that season. I’ll never forget that run and the feeling of everyone in town being at the game. The town would truly shut down to follow us.”
Though football was his genuine passion, wrestling was also something he wasn’t too shabby at. In his four-year career, Sipes was a four-time District 9 champion, a four-time regional qualifier, a three-time state qualifier, a three-time state qualifier, a three-time state medalist, collected 122 career wins, and had four straight seasons of 30 victories or more. Sipes was also a member of Team Pennsylvania as a Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestler in middle school. He represented Pennsylvania twice in Fargo, North Dakota in the Boys Cadent National Championships and was on teams that brought home two national titles for Pennsylvania. Individually, Sipes was also a co-state champion on his way to qualifying to be a part of Team Pennsylvania. The only reason he was not the overall champion was because his brother Nate and he zipped through the bracket only to meet each other in the title match. The family agreed to crown them co-state champions. These memories from wrestling on the highest stage as a middle schooler are still some of his fondest athletic memories to this day and he can remember many of his teammates and opponents’ names from those tournaments in Fargo to this day.
When coming out of high school and being one of the state’s most sought after athletic recruits, Sipes had a choice to make. What sport would he play or would he do both was the decision he was unsure about. But for him, it was not super difficult. He stayed close to home and originally committed to be a dual-sport athlete for Clarion University as a Division I wrestler and Division II football player. Not long into school beginning and him realizing that being a biology/pre-medicine student, college football player, and college wrestler would be probably just a bit too much for four years. Instead, he stuck to his gut and played college football, which had been his favorite of the two sports from the jump.
The results speak for themselves. Sipes was recruited to play strong safety, but he played much more in his four years. In his freshman season, he became the starting kicker part-way through the season after an injury moved him from backup to starter. Sipes also was a key player on defense in his first season, but year two brought some challenges again to him. He was tasked with switching over to offense to play running-back. He was not the feature back, but did his job as a rotational running back. The Curwensville product rushed for 297 yards on 45 carries and found the end zone three times.
Heading into junior year, he was pumped to become the starting strong safety after moving back over to defense. This is where Sipes took a true leap in his college football career. In his junior season, Sipes was named First Team Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)-West, First Team FG & Daktronics All-Region, and Honorable-Mention Football Gazette All-American. He finished his junior campaign with 112 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, six sacks, and a forced fumble. It was a season that would be hard to top, but he certainly put the cherry on top to an outstanding college football career.
His senior year saw him record 107 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery, sack and interception each. He was once again named All-PSAC, was honored as a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 2 First Team selection, and was named a First-Team ESPN Academic All-American (College Division). He became only the second football player and the fourth Clarion University athlete in school history to be named First-Team Academic All-American, a process that began in the year 1971.“Out of all my accomplishments in athletics, this remains probably my top one,” said Sipes. “My late (maternal) grandfather would consistently say to me to remember I am a student-athlete and student comes first. Achieving that will always be very special.”
After graduation, Sipes was hopeful about pursuing professional football. It was a long road ahead and the landscape of professional football in the early 2010s differed from the professional football landscape today. Not long into some combines and training, he closed this chapter of his life and got ready to go to medical school. He took a gap year and returned home to his native Clearfield County. A pivot was instead made to go to physician assistant school, an opportunity he could do at nearby Lock Haven University-Clearfield. Once he received the opportunity to take an open seat, he jumped on it and has not looked back. For nearly a decade, Sipes has been a successful physician assistant working in orthopedics initially in State College, but now at Penn Highlands DuBois as a radiology physician assistant.
Interestingly, he got a taste of football after completing his college career. He played for a local eight-man football team out of DuBois, the DuBois Mountain Lions, and helped the team to two league championships in his six seasons. But after getting married and beginning the next chapter of his life when he became a father to young boys, he hung up his pads for good. In the future, he hopes that football may creep back into his life in a larger way if his sons become interested in playing one day. For now, he will settle with rooting on his wife (Adrianne’s) alma mater, the Clemson Tigers, on Saturdays in the fall.
Wrestling is the sport that takes up more of his life today. He’s a nearly 20-year veteran of officiating high school wrestling and doesn’t plan to stop soon. It’s his way of giving back to local athletes like many did for him growing up. One man in particular who was a true role model to him was the late Andy Evanko. Sipes was fortunate to grow up next door to the Evanko family and recalls so many times in the Evanko den watching football and breaking down film with the legendary coach. These moments with one of his heroes will always be special to him.
“I can still hear his post game speeches in my head. Him and his wife Tina are two of the most amazing people I know. The Evankos are like a second family to me. When he went into the Hall of Fame (PFSCA Hall of Fame), his brother John, his best friend Mickey, and myself were there to accept induction in his honor. For John to ask me to be there was one of the biggest honors of my life.”
In a district that has featured some incredible athletes, Nick Sipes is certainly one of the top ones we have seen. From being the former District 9 all-time rushing leader, to three state wrestling medals, to being an All-American at the nearby university, he’s achieved highly in his competitive days. Today, he’s happy to be someone giving back through wrestling and to be someone community members can rely on to help receive the best care possible.
