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NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

March 18, 2016

Isaiah Martinez

New York, New York

Q. If you might make a brief statement about your tight match tonight.
ISAIAH MARTINEZ: That was fun. I love those kind of matches. I don't want to go to overtime. I wanted to control the match, but Ian is a special athlete, and he's a tough, tough guy. Good match.

Q. Obviously people are going to want to know about tomorrow night, you and Nolf have split this year, so you might talk about that rematch tomorrow.
ISAIAH MARTINEZ: I had a feeling it was going to come down to me and him. I just don't think anyone knows the right way to wrestle him, and I've kind of figured it out. If it's the way I want it to be tomorrow, it'll be entertaining and it'll be a brawl.

Q. You said you've figured it out. What is the right way to wrestle him?
ISAIAH MARTINEZ: Take him to the bitter end. That's it. Don't -- just stay smart. I was like him a lot last year, the way he wrestles and the way he puts up points. I know what that kind of momentum in a match is based on, and I'm pretty good at stopping it now. In our last match -- all I've got to do is fight him. I'm more mature, and I've been here before, so I believe in my composure and I believe in my heart and will. And I don't want it to go to the bitter end, but if we do, I know in my heart of hearts that I think I'm going to come out victorious.

Q. You said you were like Jason last year. Why are you not this year? What has happened that things changed? Seems like you're almost rushing or living on the edge now.
ISAIAH MARTINEZ: Same thing with him. Like I said to a few other people, just such momentum, momentum going in throughout the season. He had a lot of momentum going throughout his season, and I felt the same way. And so I guess when guys don't believe they can win -- I guess people don't think they can beat him, so they're kind of shying away and not fighting him as hard as you should.

I mean, if you look at the style -- if you look at the match-up like how David Taylor -- David Taylor put up so many points. Why? Because he kept the match going. Guys didn't think they could win and they fall over. But what happens when you run into someone like Dake who -- when you get to his ankle he's not going to fall over. So it's like that. I was like that last year. I expected guys to fall over for me, and now guys aren't trying to fall over for me.

So I think it'll change a little bit for him, too, when guys don't fall over for him. And so that's just kind of a little insight on why it looked so easy last year, I think, is guys were just -- the first takedown, first two takedowns will be hard. After that they start falling over for you, and it's not the same anymore.

Q. You're in the finals again. Was it more difficult as a freshman to make the finals even though you had a heck of a year? Or was it more difficult when people knew you were the champ and it was time for him to prove he could do it again?
ISAIAH MARTINEZ: That's a great question. I think mentally it was way more taxing last year. I had the freshman jitters coming into the first round. Even though I got a tech fall in that match, I felt different. I feel more confident now in my abilities because I knew what I was afraid of last year and the kind of wrestler that I didn't want to wrestle, and those are kind of secrets that every athlete has. You know your weaknesses, and this year they really -- I've kind of sealed up those weaknesses, and my confidence is at an all-time high, even though I'm not racking up the same amount of points, I feel more confident going up against the best of the best.

Q. Who do you consider to be at the helm of your support in the wrestling room? Is it a coach or is it perhaps a wrestler? Is Mark Perry a good influence for you, or is it Heffernan?
ISAIAH MARTINEZ: Wow, I've had so many great role models influence me, starting with my dad. He kind of guided me through the sport. I've just had such close relationships with all the coaches. I don't know why I bring that out in some of my coaches. I think it's because I'm very honest and up front with the way I feel, and I'm not afraid to speak my mind sometimes, but my high school coach, he was amazing to me. He's like family. He's here with my mom. Mark, Jeremy and Heff, I have a very special and unique relationship with each one of them. They kind of manage and they're in my ear about different things. Mark is more maybe the guy telling me when it's three seconds to go and he's pointing at his chest, he's saying, no one has a bigger heart than you. So mentally he's there for me a lot. Heff just kind of looks out for me as more like a parent figure. And you know, Hunter is more in between, where he works a lot of technique with me, and he's got a good balance between both of them.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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