National wrestling champ Isaiah Martinez returns to valley for NCAA matchup with Bulldogs

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 Wednesday, November 15, 2017 - 10:51am By Ed Martin, Editor
Isaiah at last spring's NCAA tournament.
Isaiah at last spring's NCAA tournament.

An NCAA national champion is coming to Fresno State this weekend, and this winner has a solid Lemoore connection. Two-time national wrestling champion Isaiah Martinez, and his Illinois teammates arrive in Fresno on Friday to take on a competent Bulldog team stacked with three former Tigers.

Friday night’s match is a Lemoore reunion of sorts as purple and gold are mixed in with Fresno State red and blue.

Former Tigers – now Bulldogs – include 2017 Lemoore champ Gary Joint, a freshman at 133 pounds, 174-pound Angel Solis, also a freshman, and senior Sean Williams, a state finalist while wrestling for Lemoore High School.

Friday’s 7 p.m. home opener in the Save Mart Center comes against one of the top major college wrestling programs in the country. The Big Ten squad is coming off a top-15 showing at the 2017 NCAA Championships, where Martinez lost his first college match in the finals.

Martinez, a three-time California State Champion, is also a three-time All American and two-time national champion at 165 pounds.

Fans can purchase tickets by visiting the Bulldog website.

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