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Lemoore's Isaiah Martinez returns to his hometown to help shape a new generation of local wrestlers
The local coach, Marcio Botelho, who led Lemoore High School wrestling for years, has also been the Golden Eagles head coach since 2017. On Saturday, the annual Golden Eagle Wrestling Camp was hosted at the school’s massive arena, and Botelho surprised the camp with an appearance by one of his prized disciples.
Botelho is a former California state champion in wrestling who attended Fresno State and continued his success there before returning to Lemoore to coach the school’s varsity program.
However, one of his disciples, Isaiah Martinez, managed to outshine his former coach. The talented former Tiger, Martinez, did a little bit better, winning three California wrestling championships before going on to the University of Illinois, where he managed to win a pair of NCAA championships in 2015 and 2016 and was a finalist in his last two years of eligibility.
And on Saturday, Martinez returned to Lemoore to give his former coach a hand. He recently decided to return to his Illinois Alma Mater as an assistant coach.
As a college wrestler, Martinez won 116 times and lost just three times.
So, how could these kids go wrong with a pair of champions in the Golden Eagle Arena?
“Coach Marcio wanted to set up the new West Hills brand of camps, and he asked me if I’d be a clinician, and I said absolutely, so we got that squared away,” said Martinez during a lunch break.
Martinez says he likes the teaching aspect of wrestling. “I think it’s really rewarding, you know. You get to work with kids and help them improve, and I think the most rewarding aspect of teaching is when you can see a kid suddenly grasp the concepts and movements – things like that – and better themselves in a sport.”
Most recently, Martinez served as an assistant coach at Oregon State for two years before deciding to return to his alma mater in Illinois.
The young champion and coach led the 50 or 60 young athletes through a series of exercises that they hope will prepare them for the same kind of success enjoyed by Martinez and Botelho.
