Delgado Wrestles In His First NCAAs

OREM, Utah - UVU redshirt junior Isaiah Delgado enters his first NCAA Championships this week after a career that has been filled with ups and downs. He has a chance now to show the highs of his career at the NCAA Championships.

"I expect to win it all because I believe in myself. Realistically, I don't care about winning or losing, I only care about keeping guys off my legs and scoring points. Whatever happens, happens, and as long as I do the things I'm trained to do, I'll be happy regardless of the outcome," said UVU wrestler Isaiah Delgado.

He enters this week's NCAA Tournament at 15-14 and has been the UVU starter all year at 149. After starting the season 4-2 at the Michigan State Open before opening Big 12 duals with a victory over Chaz Hallmark. He defeated him a second time at the Roadrunner Open while finishing 4-1 and earning his second third-place finish.

"Isaiah had a great run at the Big 12 Championships last week. He wrestled from behind in three matches in a row against higher-ranked foes, beating two of them and forcing OT with the third. He is performing at a very high level currently and has peaked at the right time to be wrestling his best," said UVU head coach Greg Williams.

At the end of the Big 12 season, Delgado finished 2-6 in dual action, but he did not let the record hurt his performance at the Big 12 Championships. After losing to UNC's Chris Sandoval, he bounced back to pick up two victories by one point over Alek Martin (South Dakota State) and Sam Hillegas of West Virginia. The run ended with a loss to Kellyn March (NDSU) to put him in the seventh-place match. He clinched the seventh-place spot, and the NCAA qualifying spot after Wyoming's Chase Zollman was disqualified from the tournament.

Delgado will open the NCAA Tournament on Mar. 16 with a pigtail match against No. 32 seed Anthony White of Rutgers. White defeated Delgado at the Roadrunner Open in November.