Isaiah Martinez defeated Cornell's Brian Realbuto of Cornell in the NCAA finals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Isaiah Martinez has launched his wrestling career at the University of Illinois is off to a perfect start, with a unbeaten record, the 157-pound title at the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, and now, being named 2015 InterMat Freshman of the Year.
2015 InterMat Freshman of the Year
1st-5th-Place Votes: 9-7-5-3-1
Total Votes/(First-Place Votes)
1. Isaiah Martinez, Illinois 90 (10)
2. Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State 64
3. Kyle Snyder, Ohio State 37
4. Bo Jordan, Ohio State 34
5. Zeke Moisey, West Virginia 14
6. Brandon Sorensen, Iowa 7
7. Kevin Jack, North Carolina State 4
The amateur wrestling website announced the award, presented each year since 2006 to the best college freshman wrestler in all divisions, on Thursday morning. As with other InterMat college wrestling honors, the Freshman of the Year award is based exclusively on the balloting of writers and executives at InterMat. Each staff member is asked to select five freshman wrestlers and rank them from first to fifth. Point values are assigned to each placement, ranging from one point for a wrestler listed fifth on a voter's ballot, up to nine points for a first-place choice.
1st-5th-Place Votes: 9-7-5-3-1
Total Votes/(First-Place Votes)
1. Isaiah Martinez, Illinois 90 (10)
2. Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State 64
3. Kyle Snyder, Ohio State 37
4. Bo Jordan, Ohio State 34
5. Zeke Moisey, West Virginia 14
6. Brandon Sorensen, Iowa 7
7. Kevin Jack, North Carolina State 4
Martinez, a three-time California state champ at the powerhouse Lemoore High School with 205-7 high school record, left the Central Valley to east-central Illinois to wrestle for the Fighting Illini. This past season, Martinez compiled a perfect 35-0 record, with 24 of those wins generating bonus points, on his way to winning the 157-pound title at the 2015 NCAAs. With that flawless freshman season, Martinez becomes only the third Illinois wrestler to have an undefeated year, joining Matt Lackey and Eric Siebert who did it in 2003 and 1998, respectively ... and the first undefeated freshman to win a national championship since Iowa State's Cael Sanderson in 1999.
Freshman of the Year Winners
2015: Isaiah Martinez, Illinois
2014: Jason Tsirtsis, Northwestern
2013: Alex Dieringer, Oklahoma State
2012: Logan Stieber, Ohio State
2011: David Taylor, Penn State
2010: Kyle Dake, Cornell
2009: Andrew Howe, Wisconsin
2008: Mike Grey, Cornell
2007: Jake Varner, Iowa State
2006: Dustin Schlatter, Minnesota
"He's got a lot of natural ability and toughness," Illinois head coach Jim Heffernan said of Martinez in late January. "It's the way he practices, too. He works hard in the weight room, does extra workouts on his own. He gets more excited every chance he gets to wrestle someone. Motivation is not an issue with him."
2015: Isaiah Martinez, Illinois
2014: Jason Tsirtsis, Northwestern
2013: Alex Dieringer, Oklahoma State
2012: Logan Stieber, Ohio State
2011: David Taylor, Penn State
2010: Kyle Dake, Cornell
2009: Andrew Howe, Wisconsin
2008: Mike Grey, Cornell
2007: Jake Varner, Iowa State
2006: Dustin Schlatter, Minnesota
"Isaiah Martinez had the single greatest freshman wrestling year in the history of NCAA wrestling," said InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley. "We're all witnesses."
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