Isaiah Sellers is just halfway through his senior year of high school and a few months shy of his 18th birthday, but the Kendrick High School wrestler has a plan that takes him quite a ways down the road.
“I am going back to state and (will) be a state champ this time,” Sellers said. “I want to wrestle at nationals. I am working toward an athletic scholarship. I am taking a look at some good schools. Eventually, I want to get into sports medicine or become an athletic trainer and have a good job. I’m focused on moving forward.”
Sellers’ confidence as he ticks off the items on his “To Do” list for the foreseeable future gives the impression the student athlete isn’t just wishing on a star. All Sellers has done just prior to his first year in high school up until now has been about achieving “more.”
While still in middle school, Sellers made a decision not to attend any of the high schools most of his friends would be heading for their freshman year. He said he wanted more from his high school experience than just hanging out with friends and being with the same group of people with whom he already had history.
After he made the decision to attend Kendrick, Sellers took a look at the sports programs at the school. He chose to give wrestling a try because he wanted more from athletics than the traditional sports popularity among his peers.
“In the ninth grade, I went to a wrestling tournament,” Sellers said. “I loved the intensity. It is an individual sport and a team sport. I had never played a sport like that before. With football and baseball, you are dependent on others. Wrestling is different. On the mat, it’s you, your opponent, and the referee.”
His first year on the Cherokees wrestling team was a learning experience. The next year as a sophomore, he wrestled in the 285-pound weight class. He didn’t place in the city championship tournament but came in second in the area tournament and eigth in the sectionals. Not satisfied, Sellers wanted more.
The 5’8” wrestler dropped his weight enough to qualify to compete in the 195-pound weight class as a junior. He trained hard and worked on technique. Fueled by a desire to be the best, the already competitive athlete became an intimidating opponent on the mat. His aggressive, full contact style paid off.
Last season Sellers had a 3-2 record. He placed fourth in the Hardaway Invitational, second in the city championship, and improved to be first in the Area tournament, first in sectionals, and sixth in the state tournament.
Although Sellers started off the 2016 school year as a two-sport athlete, he gave up football before the end of the season when he said he suffered a concussion and a back injury. Fearful such injuries would hamper his efforts to be in top form for wrestling, Sellers decided to step away from other sports and make wrestling his top athletic priority.
Going into his senior season, Sellers is once again wrestling in the 195-pound weight class and has accepted a leadership role on his team. As captain he tries to help a young and inexperienced group of wrestlers see what is possible when they work toward a goal of being the very best in a sport that doesn’t get a lot of glory.
“There are reasons some guys don’t think about wrestling, so it doesn’t receive much attention,” Sellers said. “They see the tight singlet uniform or being grabbed by another man, but what they don’t see is the mental aspect and the intelligence required to be effective. Wrestling is close combat. It is learning to defend yourself. It is not as easy as it looks.”
This past summer Sellers was inspired by the U.S. Olympic athletes who competed for the American wrestling team. He said he watched the events with fascination and also with a learning eye. Grateful the sport of wrestling was re-instated to be a part of the 2020 Olympics, Sellers believes the international spotlight brings much-deserved attention.
Sellers hopes to bring a bit of attention to his alma mater if all goes as planned over the next few months. A list of four or five colleges with good wrestling programs swirls around in his head every so often. One of those schools or perhaps even one not yet considered is Sellers’ ticket to getting “more.”
“I am focusing on a wrestling scholarship so I can be the first athlete from Kendrick, or at least the first one in a very long time, to go to college as a wrestler and bring some recognition to the sport for our school,” Sellers said.
Isaiah Sellers has some interesting and varied hobbies. When not training and working out for wrestling, he enjoys photography, saltwater and fresh water fishing, and reading. Sellers said he wants to be a person who looks for more and doesn’t settle for less.
Columbus Valley/January 2017
Isaiah Sellers
Kendrick High School
Columbus, Georgia
Written by: Beth Welch
Photos by: George McDuffie
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