With his experience at state, Isaac wants more in the future

For only being a sophomore, Collin Isaac definitely set the standard high, as the Red Devil wrestler made his first trip to the state finals at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. Isaac had a very good postseason to advance to the state before he was eliminated on the second day in the consolation round.

“It was something new to me and I have never been there, so it was like being in an NFL stadium being down there on the floor and everyone was sitting there watching you. They were right there on top of you,” Isaac said last week when he sat down with the Gazette. “I enjoyed it and am ready to go back.”

“It wasn’t as weird as I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be a little more nerve wracking with all the people, but I zoned it out.”

Isaac opened the tournament with a loss in his first match of the championship bracket.

“He scored two points in the last couple of seconds of the first period, and I chose bottom and got out to make it 2-1,” he said. “I kept shooting and he got two again off of a bad shot, then in the third period, he got another takedown and rode me out the rest of the time.”

Isaac then came back in the consolation round and picked up a big win to stay alive as he tried to fight his way back through the bracket.

“I felt good about it, but I wasn’t able to get any of my shots, but on top I was able to hold him down the whole second period and third period,” Isaac said. The Tipp sophomore then fell short in his third match and was eliminated from the state meet, but he will take plenty away from that as he heads into next season.

“It gives me a lot of energy for next year and it gets me excited and something to grind for,” he said. “I have the urge to get back in the room. I need better setups on my shots and better techniques on my feet. On top, I need more turns.”

For Isaac, representing Tippecanoe at the state level is something he will never forget, but he is far from done.

“It’s pretty cool because not a lot of wrestlers come out of Tipp, and we are not known for wrestling, but each year it is gaining more popularity because of what we are doing in the room every day.”

The Red Devils will return everybody on the roster except for Emma Hanrahan, who graduates in June after her state title. That means another really good run could be in the works for the Red Devils.

“We need to get everyone back in the room once or twice a week just to keep grinding their technique and get it down and master it,” he said.