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American freestyle wrestler (born 1996) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Myles Najee Martin (born May 20, 1996) is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 86 kilograms. In freestyle, he placed second at the '19 US National Championships and is a two-time US U23 National Champion. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was an NCAA Division I National champion (two-time finalist), a four-time All-American and a Big Ten Conference champion (three-time finalist) out of the Ohio State University.[1]
Martin in 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Myles Najee Martin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 20, 1996 Penns Grove, New Jersey, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 86 kg (190 lb) 184 lb (83 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Freestyle and folkstyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Ohio State | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Titan Mercury Wrestling Club Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club Ohio Regional Training Center (formerly) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Scott Goodale Tom Ryan (formerly) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Born in Penns Grove, New Jersey, Martin went on to attend McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland. During his time as a high schooler, he became a three-time US Prep National champion,[2] two-time Beast of the East champion,[3] two-time FloNationals finalist,[4][5] one-time Walsh Jesuit Ironman finalist[6] and was also named the Baltimore Sun All-Metro Wrestler of the Year as a senior in 2015.[7] Inside the state of Maryland, he was a three-time Maryland Independent Schools champion and finished his career with an 171–15 record, thirteen of those losses coming in his first two seasons.[8]
Before entering his senior year, Martin competed at Who's Number One on October 18, 2014, where he was defeated by eventual two-time NCAA champion Zahid Valencia in over-time.[9]
On September 30, 2014, it was announced that a junior Martin had committed to wrestle at the Ohio State University as the third-ranked recruit in the country.[10]
Martin had one of the best true freshman seasons in the history of the program.[1] During regular season, he was originally a redshirt athlete, compiling titles from the Eastern Michigan Open and the Findlay Open and was runner-up at the Nittany Lion Open.[11] His redshirt was pulled to start the 2016 year and he made his dual debut on January 23, against Isaac Reinemann from Illinois, whom he drove to a technical fall after scoring 23 points to 7.[12] He closed regular season with a 6–3 mark on dual meets and a 24–5 record overall.[13] Entering the Big Ten Conference Championships as the fourth-seed, Martin was able to place third, with a notable victory over Nate Jackson from Indiana before being pinned by the top-seed Bo Nickal from Penn State.[14] At the NCAA championships, Martin was the eleventh seed, however, he was able to create a massive upset and make it to the finals, where he won the NCAA title by defeating the phenom Bo Nickal with a score of 11–9.[15] This made Martin the fifteenth true freshman in history and the first Buckeye ever to become an NCAA champion and the first eleventh seed to do so since 1979.[16]
Martin then moved up a weight class, from 174 to 184 pounds.[17] During his regular sophomore season, he won a title from the Journeyman Collegiate Classic[18] and placed third at the CKVL Invitational[19] and eight at the Midland Championships.[20] In duals, he went 11–3, adding bonus points in 9 of those wins.[21]
At the Big Ten Championships, he was able to reach the finals, where he lost to Iowa's Sammy Brooks to place second and help the Buckeyes win the Team Title.[22] At the NCAA's, Martin, the sixth seed, was upset in the second round by the eleventh seed, after a major decision over Nick Wanzek.[23] In the consolation brackets, he bounced back with four straight wins before his defeat to Sammy Brooks, being thrown to the fifth place match. Martin was able to claim the fifth place with a win over fourth-seed Nolan Boyd, becoming a two-time All-American.[24]
Throughout his junior season, Martin compiled 31 wins (25 of them involved bonus points) and 3 losses (all of them to his rival, Bo Nickal), leading the Buckeyes in total wins, technical falls (12), majors (7) and dual point-difference (+60). He firstly rocked 22 consecutive victories before his first loss to Bo Nickal in a dual against Penn State, and won the Cliff Keen and Princeton Open titles.[1]
At the Big Ten Championships, he reached the finals for his second-straight year, where he caught his second season-loss to Nickal to end up as the runner-up.[25] At the NCAA's, he comfortably compiled four victories to reach his second finale, where he was defeated for the sixth time by Bo Nickal, now by fall to end the heated rivalry 6–2 in favor of Nickal.[26]
As a senior, he went undefeated during regular season, claiming the Cliff Keen Invitational title (named the Outstanding Wrestler) and going 12–0 in dual meets.[27] At the Big Ten Conference Championships, Martin was able to make his third straight final and claim his first title from the tournament.[28] Going into his final NCAA tournament, Martin, the top-seed, said;
“If I don’t win it won’t be the end of the world, I’ll keep it in perspective. It’s weird that’s it’s the end, but I know I’ll still be competing. I want to win it. Everybody wrestles to win, and I’m excited.”[29]
At the tournament, he made the semifinals with two major decisions and a pin. Going into his fourth match, Martin was a big favorite to win over Max Dean, as he had dominantly defeated him twice earlier in the season, but he suffered his only loss of the season when Dean was able to edge him by a point, creating a huge upset.[30] Martin came back to take third-place in his final collegiate match.[31]
As a collegiate wrestler, Martin became an NCAA champion, a Big Ten Conference champion and a four-time NCAA Division I All-American with a record of 121-19 for the Ohio State Buckeyes.[1]
In the age-group, Martin was a four-time UWW US National All-American, and a runner-up at the junior level tournament in 2015 and 2016.[32][33][34][35]
Martin made his senior freestyle debut in June 2017, when he claimed the US University National title.[36] On October, he became the runner-up of the U23 World Team Trials to Sammy Brooks.[37] In June 2018, Martin became the US U23 National Champion and World Team Member, after defeating seven opponents at the tournament.[37] On November, he represented the United States internationally for the first time, at the U23 World Championships, and went 1–1 to place eleventh.[38]
After graduating from college in March, Martin competed a month later at the US Open Nationals.[39] After reaching the semifinals with four straight victories,[40] he was derailed by the eventual champion and '12 Junior World Championship runner-up Pat Downey, in a high-paced 16-point match.[41] On May, Martin competed at the US World Team Trials, where after defeating two-time NCAA Division I All-American Nate Jackson,[42] he was downed by the veteran and three-time All-American Nick Heflin to deny Martin the possibility of making the US World Team and send him to the consolation brackets,[43] where he defeated '19 NCAA champion Drew Foster and Jackson once again.[44]
On November, Martin competed at the Bill Farrell Memorial International, where after making the finals with four wins, he was defeated by the internationally experienced and three-time NCAA Division I National champion Alex Dieringer to claim the silver medal.[45] At the US Nationals of December, Martin avenged his losses to Nick Heflin[46] and to Dieringer, with a last-second takedown for the latter.[47] In the finals, he was closely defeated in an exciting match by two-time NCAA DI champion Zahid Valencia, claiming runner-up honors.[48]
To start off the year, Martin competed overseas, at the Grand Prix of France of January. After downing '19 (returning) World Championship medalist Stefan Reichmuth in the first round, Martin compiled three wins over foreigner opponents to claim his first Gold medal from an international tournament.[49]
Martin was scheduled to compete at the '20 US Olympic Team Trials on April 4, at State College, Pennsylvania.[50] However, the event was postponed for 2021 along with the Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving all the qualifiers unable to compete.[51]
After being unable to compete due to the pandemic, Martin made his next appearance in July, on short notice (replacing Pat Downey), against '18 World Champion David Taylor, at the FloWrestling: Dake vs. Chamizo card.[52] He was dominantly defeated by the American great.[53] On October, Martin made his return to the top of the podium while defeating three opponents at the Flo 8-Man Challenge of October, while also claiming $20,000.[54]
To start off the year, Martin avenged his loss from the '19 NCAA championships by defeating Max Dean at the PRTC Summit I, on January 29.[55] Martin then wrestled at the prestigious Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series on March 7.[56] After a decision over '18 Pan American runner-up Ethan Ramos, Martin was defeated by three-time age-group World Champion Mark Hall to get thrown to repechage, where he claimed two more victories and claimed the bronze.[57] On March 22, it was announced that Martin had moved back to his native New Jersey to become a resident–athlete at the Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club.[58]
Martin competed at the rescheduled US Olympic Team on April 2, in an attempt of representing the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[59] He went 1–2, defeating reigning NCAA champion Carter Starocci in the consolation bracket.[60]
Martin had registered to compete at the prestigious Poland Open on June 8, moving up to 92 kilograms, but eventually pulled out.[61] However, he remained with the intent of moving up a weight class and will now compete at the 2021 US World Team Trials on September 11–12 as the fifth-seed, intending to represent the country at the World Championships.[62]
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