Isaiah Martinez and Fighting Illini to wrestle Big Ten style in Lemoore

The match is the brainchild of Illinois Coach Jim Heffernan, who recruited Martinez and several others from California. This is his idea of showing off his California recruits.

“We decided to do this for several reasons,” said Heffernan, whose Illinois team should be a team to be reckoned with this year in the Big Ten. “Central California has been very good to our program for many years.  We have had three Tirapelle brothers: Adam, Alex and Troy, as well as Gabe Flores and Ryan Escobar.”
But he admitted his team is special with the likes of Central Valley wrestlers like Martinez, Nikko Reyes and Jesse Delgado. “When we recruited the current group we talked about Illinois coming to the area to compete to allow these guys the opportunity to wrestle close to home. The Central Valley has very strong wrestling, and more importantly, appreciates the sport.”

Heffernan said this group is special. “This entire group made a real sacrifice to come to Illinois,” he said. “And we are doing our part to show our appreciation for their sacrifice. We are excited to come to the west coast in November, especially knowing there is real interest in the sport in Central California.”

Heffernan said his team will also wrestle at Gilroy High School - Delgado’s home town.  The talented senior wrestler is a two-time NCAA champion and three-time all-American.  “I feel like bringing Jesse (and our team) is a great way to pay tribute to Jesse's accomplishments and what he has done at the University of Illinois.”

As far as Martinez is concerned, Heffernan couldn’t be more pleased. “Isaiah is doing great and we have very high expectations for him during his career,” said Heffernan.  “He had a very productive red-shirt season and continues to improve all the time.  He is a pretty mature kid in his approach and he trains very hard.  He is really strong mentally and exceptionally confident in his abilities.  He will be a mainstay in our line-up and as he progresses through his career, he will hopefully develop into a leadership role within our team.”

It was a little less than two years ago that Martinez won his third straight CIF State Wrestling Championship, beating the no. 2 guy at the time, Nicholas Fiegener, pinning him to secure his place in the annuls of California wrestling history, becoming one of only 17 wrestlers to win three state titles.

In an interview shortly after Martinez won his title, Heffernan told The Leader he fully expects Martinez to win a national title. The only other Tiger to win a NCAA championship was Chris Pendleton, who wrestled for Oklahoma State.

Tiger Coach Marcio Botelho is looking forward to the event and has been communicating with the Illinois coaching staff. “When Isaiah first signed they kind of promised him they would go back to his high school and compete,” said Botelho. “I think that was a promise he (Heffernan) made to Isaiah and I think he’s coming through. That just shows a lot about the coach.”

Botelho views the Illinois match as a recruiting tool for Illinois. He said that many valley wrestlers see guys like Heffernan coming to the Valley and visiting small towns like Lemoore, and that impresses them.

According to the Tiger coach, Isaiah is excited about returning to his home town and wrestling in front of friends and family. “He’s really stoked about it. He told me he couldn’t wait to come here and perform and to show how much better he is at the next level.”