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FHSU's Isenberg emerges as top wrestler
12/5/2010
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
Fort Hays State University wrestling coach Chas Thompson talked with Aldon Isenberg at a postseason meeting last year. Thompson had some arguments ready for Isenberg, who needed to improve his work ethic and had trouble losing weight. However, Thompson faced little opposition from Isenberg, who knew what he did wrong, didn't argue with his coach and understood he had to make changes.
"As a coach, you sit there and you hope and he leaves you for a summer and he comes back and he is a changed kid," Thompson said.
Isenberg rededicated himself to wrestling and has emerged as the Tigers' top wrestler in the season's first six weeks. A 133-pound sophomore, Isenberg entered Saturday's Bob Smith Open undefeated at 7-0.
"It's got to be within," Thompson said. "He has made some changes. Sometimes it is all talk and this time it wasn't talk. He told me that he would start dieting better and training smarter and so far, you can see in the results."
Isenberg has won titles at the Dan Harris Open on Nov. 7 and in the Elite Division at the University of Wyoming Cowboy Open on Nov. 13.
"I have just now gotten my weight under control," Isenberg said. "The summer, I just went back home, I didn't really do much. I just took online courses. I was just watching my weight, watching what I was eating, going to work out here and there, just wasn't just sitting there playing video games the whole time."
At NCAA Divison I Wyoming, Isenberg, helped by two five-point moves from his feet, defeated Wyoming's Michael Martinez, 12-6, in the first round. Martinez is a two-time national qualifier and was ranked No. 10 in the country by Intermat.
"I kind of knew what he was going to do and wasn't going to do and he really didn't have much offense," Isenberg said. "All he tried to do was just push me out of bounds, which sets up perfectly because when he is pushing me, it sets up my headlock awesome and he fell for it twice."
Then, Isenberg won his weight class when he scored consecutive falls against opponents from the United States Air Force Academy. The title earned him RMAC Wrestler of the Week honors.
"It was kind of funny because the deeper it got in the match, the bigger the crowd got," Thompson said of the Martinez win. "At the end of the match, there was a heck of a lot of people standing around and it was one of their best kids beat by a Division II wrestler. Good feeling inside for me."
Isenberg began his collegiate career at Newberry (S.C.) College where he redshirted for a year. He enjoyed his teammates, but wanted to be closer to home. He transferred to Fort Hays before the 2009-10 season. Last winter, Isenberg entered the fall at 173 pounds, a weight that Thompson called "ridiculous." Isenberg finished 8-5 in 2009-10 at 141 pounds, but had consistent trouble with his weight.
This year, he came in at about 155 pounds and an improved work ethic. In addition to practice, Isenberg has worked out twice a day and started swimming. Isenberg moved into the starting lineup with two wins against Tiger 133-pound junior Travis Kuhn, who finished 22-13 last season. That included a 3-2 victory in the Dan Harris final.
"I was always struggling last year because I was just doing it poorly and this year, I have just been getting those extra workouts in and eating right," Isenberg said. "It all comes to just not being lazy. Last year, I just always tried to take the easy way out and I would always try to do the least amount of work as possible, like getting what I needed done, but now I am not cutting corners."
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |