John Nesvig was a standout athlete in football and track. He was a six-year varsity player in football and performed on two NDSD undefeated football teams in 1957 and 1959. He was an AAAD All-American in 1959. He became the first two-event state champion in track since 1922, winning both hurdle events in the Class B State Track Meet in 1960 and repeating as low hurdles champion in 1961. Also in 1961, he became the first NDSD athlete to participate in the World Games for the Deaf (now Deaflympics) at Helsinki, Finland, where he took third in the 110-meter high hurdles and fifth in the 400-meter low hurdles.