ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—Devin Martin is only 18 years old, but he is already a hometown hero.
Martin is just 4-foot 8-inches and 132 pounds, but his house is filled with his wrestling trophies, and a large poster of one of his championship matches hangs in the main lobby of the Dwight Morrow High School.
Competing for Dwight Morrow High School’s Maroon Raiders, he is the Wrestling District 7 Champion, with 64 career wins and 31 pins.
This winter alone, Martin won almost all of his 30-plus matches, and he won the Garfield Tournament’s 132-pound title and took home the Most Outstanding Wrestler award. He also received the Bergen County Coaches Association All County Wrestling’s Honorable Mention.
Martin’s athletic wins are even more remarkable because he was born with skeletal dysplasia, a disorder that affects a person’s bone and cartilage growth.
Although a standout in wrestling, Devin has played other sports as well. He is one of the best skaters at the Mackay Park Ice Arena in Englewood, and in middle school, he was the nose guard for the Junior Raiders football team, where he earned the nickname “Truck,” because of the force with which he plowed into opponents on the field.
When he entered Dwight Morrow High School, Martin gave up football and took up wrestling, a sport that seemed ideal for his proportions.
Wrestling Coach Charles Taylor and Rich Suchanski, the DHMS Athletic Director, recognized Martin’s exceptional talent early on.
“By the end of [his] junior year, we saw that he had the ‘it factor,’” Suchanski said. “We knew that he only had to put the work in to be successful and blow away half the competitors in the state.”
Martin did put in the work. He got stronger and gained several pounds to qualify for the weight category he is now in. He also trains at the gym and does running, making him the best in one of the most difficult regions in New Jersey, encompassing four counties.
DMHS Principal Billy Bowie, a former football and basketball player, said, “I see him being a world class professional wrestler someday.”
“I hear chatter all the time around the school and everywhere I go. Everyone, even in the grocery store, says, ‘What about that amazing kid who’s in your school?’ Devin is not just a great athlete, he’s also a great person, and that makes all of us proud,” Bowie said.
When interviewing Martin, it was immediately apparent that he is a very modest, polite and soft spoken young man, remarkably different from his athletic persona as a fierce competitor and his standing as a local superstar.
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Hillary Viders: As Dr. Bowie noted, you have become very famous. Does this make your siblings jealous?
Devin Martin: Not at all. My three brothers and sisters are all very supportive of me.
HV: Do your friends and family have a nickname for you?
DM: They call me “Drizzydev,” probably because I’m a devil on the wrestling mat.
HV: What are your favorite academic subjects in school?
DM: I like computer science and technology and I may one day have a career in it.
HV: At what age did you realize that you had a gift for wrestling?
DM: I didn’t really start until about age 15 which is unusual. Many wrestlers begin as young as 3 or 4. When I started my freshman year at Dwight Morrow, I thought, ‘Why not? I’ll try wrestling.’ But I didn’t like it. In my sophomore year, I still didn’t like it. Then, when I was a junior, whenever I passedCcoach [Charles] Taylor he’d say, ‘You’re coming to practice, right?’ so I thought, ‘Well, I guess I have to go!’ I was still iffy, but when I went to the district competition, I beat the number-two guy and then I realized that I had ability.
HV: Is your size a disadvantage in wrestling?
DM: Actually, it’s an advantage. A lot of kids in my weight class are pretty tall, so I’m already close to their legs. With my strength, I’m able to get in on them with easy shots. I have a lower center of gravity so it’s hard for them to do anything on me.
HV: From your reputation as a ferocious competitor, you probably psych out some opponents before the match even begins.
DM: I don’t know what they are thinking, but I try to just stay focused.
HV: What goes through your head when you step on to the mat?
DM: As soon as I hear the ref’s whistle blow, it’s like “Boom!” I become a totally different person.
HV: Wrestling is a pretty violent sport. Have you ever been injured?
DM: The most common injury in wrestling is cauliflower ear [an injury sustained from a blow to the head]. I have had a concussion and shoulder pains, but no long term injuries.
HV: You said that you are interested in computer technology. Does the skill set necessary in computer science have any connection to the way you approach wrestling?
DM: It’s more the other way around, i.e., wrestling requires speed, stamina, strength and technique, assets that help you in just about any pursuit, academic or otherwise. Also, a wrestling match is only six minutes, so you learn to give it your all from the very beginning. Every second counts!
HV: What was your most exciting win ever?
DM: The Bergen County district win this past February. My opponent and I were kind of tied up for a while and then I made a really big slam and won in the next round.
HV: Dr. Bowie and DMHS Athletic Director Suchanski think that you have what it takes to get a college scholarship for wrestling. What colleges have you applied to?
DM: So far, I’ve applied to Princeton, Rutgers and Ohio State. I’m from Ohio, so Ohio State is my dream college.
HV: What are your goals for the future?
DM: I want to go to college and I want to compete in the Olympics and keep going all the way.
HV: Isn’t competing in the Olympics an incredibly difficult benchmark for someone as young as yourself?
DM: Not really. If you can wrestle, you can do just about anything!
