A stellar career for former Tiger wrestler ends in bid for third NCAA final in Cleveland, Ohio

It was the second straight finals’ loss to the Penn State wrestler, who also defeated Martinez in the 2017 NCCA finals.

According to the University of Illinois wrestling website, Martinez appeared in four straight NCAA finals.  Along the way, he also won two national titles, four Big Ten titles, four All-America honors and finished with the highest win percentage (.975) in school history.

Not bad for the young man from the Central Valley community of Lemoore.

"Having Isaiah's career end this way really leaves a sour taste in my mouth," said Illinois Head Coach Jim Heffernan in remarks to The Fighting Illini website.  “He's meant so much to this program and has been a tremendous representative of our university. He's brought a lot of firsts to the program – four-time Big 10 champ, four-time all American, four-time NCAA finalist and, most importantly, genuinely a very good person."

Martinez is one of just 16 NCAA wrestlers to reach four NCAA finals, Against the talented Joseph, Martinez fell behind 4-0 in the first period behind a takedown and two-point near fall. Joseph received a penalty point and an escape point, while Martinez's lone score came on an escape to start period two.

Martinez concludes his career as only the fourth Illini win two NCAA titles, joining Joe Sapora (1929, 1930), Bob Norman (1957, 1958) and Jesse Delgado (2012, 2013).

Martinez concludes his career with 116 wins, tied for ninth with former Illini Brian Glynn (2002-05).

Martinez won a title in each of his first two seasons at Illinois while wrestling at 157 pounds, but in 201y jumped his weight to 165 pounds.

In 2015, Martinez wrestled to a 35-0 record to win his first NCAA title. Following the season, Martinez was named the 2015 Big Ten, InterMat, and Amateur Wrestling News Freshman of the Year.

After Jason Nolf snapped his 54-match winning streak on January 23, 2016, Martinez bounced back to beat Nolf twice more, once at Big Ten Championships and again in the NCAA final at Madison Square Garden, to become the fourth Illini to win two NCAA titles.

In the 2016-17 season, Martinez again went undefeated (31-0) through the NCAA semifinal, winning his third Big Ten title. At NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Martinez earned his third All-America but dropped the title bout to Penn State's Joseph.

Illini NCAA Career Highlights

• Two-time NCAA Champion
• Four-time All-American
• Four-time Big Ten Champion (16th to win four B1G titles)
• University Nationals 74kg Champion & World Championships Qualifier
• 2016-17 Dike Eddleman Male Athlete of the Year 
• Holds the Illinois career win percentage record (.975)
• 2015 Big Ten, InterMat, and Amateur Wrestling News Freshman of the Year
• Won 54 consecutive matches from 11/9/14 to 1/23/16
• Two-time Midlands champion (2014 & 2016)
• Tied for 9th on Illinois' All-Time Wins List (116)
• Two-time Big Ten Wrestler of the Championships (2016, 2018)
• USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week (3/7/18)
• Recorded first undefeated freshman season in NCAA history since Cael Sanderson (1999)