Isaiah Martinez (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Isaiah Martinez may have to build a bigger trophy case.
Martinez, who is concluding his career at the University of Illinois, is one of two student-athletes from the school to receive the 2018 Medal of Honor from the Big Ten.
Martinez was presented with the award, along with track & field and cross-country star Nicole Choquette, at the annual Fighting Illini Oskee Awards ceremony held at State Farm Center in Champaign Monday night.
One of the most prestigious conference awards in college athletics, the Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had "attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work."
Isaiah Martinez is arguably the most accomplished wrestler in more than a century of the sport at University of Illinois. The California native racked up the honors -- two-time NCAA champion, four-time NCAA finalist, four-time Big Ten Champion, four-time All-American – along with an impressive career record of 116-3. The wrestler affectionately known as "Imar" has also made a positive impression in freestyle wrestling, having placed fifth at the 2017 U23 World Championship, and is a member of the 2018 USA Freestyle World Cup Team.
If that weren't enough, Martinez has demonstrated leadership in other ways. He is a three-time team captain, a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is involved with many youth wrestling groups. He's on track to earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Illinois and plans to continue his wrestling career while training in Champaign-Urbana.
"Isaiah is an incredible representative of our program and University," said Illinois head wrestling coach Jim Heffernan. "He has fantastic work habits, great character, is unbelievably loyal and his will to win is like nothing I have ever been around. He is the most self-critical athlete I have coached, evaluating every second of every match to find something to improve on. He'll even talk to the coaches about ways his teammates can improve. Isaiah is incredibly visible in the wrestling world and is unbelievably accommodating toward people that want some of his time. He is the most impressive kid I have ever coached."
Martinez weighed in on what the 2018 Big Ten award meant to him on Twitter:
"Winning this Medal of Honor was 5x harder for me than winning any tournament. Trying to get good grades and pay attention in class for 4+ years is like torture for an ADHD kid like me."
Martinez is not the only Big Ten mat champ to have received a 2018 Big Ten Medal of Honor this week. Ohio State heavyweight Kyle Snyder was named his school's male recipient of the conference award.
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