Making the jump from high school sports to college is a big one. Everybody takes different routes, some harder than others. No matter someone’s journey, dedication, and hard work are needed in order to succeed. One person who has put in copious amounts of this work is Eli Martin, who just signed with Manchester University for both football and wrestling. Eli’s dedication to his craft let him make the big jump from IHSAA to the NCAA.

     Starting out, Eli was just a kid who moved to Galveston from Buffalo, New York, who was not very active in sports. As Eli transitioned to high school, however, he did not let everything overwhelm him. Football Coach, Clayton Mannering, pointed out, “I remember the day Eli came out to the football field for the first time as a freshman. He was an undersized kid who was very optimistic but was a long way from playing on Friday nights. The coolest thing has been to watch him transform his body and mindset as he became one of the toughest players on the field each week during his senior year.” Eli did not keep that undersized look for long, as he would heavily bulk the summer before his sophomore year, which helped him get varsity looks and created an anchor on both sides of the ball. His athletic build allowed him to be thrown in any position on the field, going from running back to tackle and finishing as a tight end. Wherever Mannering needed him, he was there. Eli’s greatest impact was on defense, however. Staying at middle linebacker all three varsity years, he would combine for 158 career tackles, three sacks, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries. All of this success on the gridiron led to many accolades, including All-Loganland, All-Hoosier Conference, All-Three Rivers Conference, and many more. 

     Eli’s talents were not only used on the field, as he was a stud on the mat as well. Eli’s grit helped him dominate in wrestling, as Head Wrestling Coach, Nate Burrous, says, “Eli doesn’t mind hard work. This has to be a quality of any successful wrestler. It’s not a sport where you can hang out and take it easy.” All of this hard work and urge to get better let Eli develop into an unstoppable force that led to a 25-13 record his senior year which included taking home a weight class win at the Neil Mouse Memorial Invite and qualifying for regionals. His senior year was full of many memories, as coach Burrous commented, ”My favorite memory of coaching Eli was when he pinned the Peru wrestler who had qualified for semi-state previously. That went a long way towards helping us win the dual meet and really built Eli’s confidence in his ability to win big matches.” Again adding to his confidence, Eli’s ability to lead was shown vividly throughout his senior year, which will only help the wrestling program down the line. Eli’s impact on the mat will continue into Manchester University and should help him climb the rankings into stardom.

     As stated before, the jump from high school to college is a humongous leap, but Eli’s qualities will favor this transition. His ability to learn and mature as a person will not only help in sports but in life as well. The rest of the Lewis Cass community agrees with this, as Coach Mannering stated, “In addition to his physical strength, Eli’s positive attitude will make him successful at Manchester. Playing at the next level is difficult, as you have to transition from senior to freshman and start over in several ways. Eli is the kind of kid that will be able to keep things in perspective, and will find his way onto the field quickly like he was able to do in high school.” Coach Burrous sides with Mannering as well, saying, “Eli embraces the work and was a great leader for our team this season. He built up people who needed it and pushed others who needed that. His leadership will be missed.” Eli’s ability to lead comes easy to him which only adds to his confidence. The only opinion that matters in life is your own, and Eli has that belief in himself. Combining his physical and mental strength creates an overall perfect athlete for college and beyond. Our community of Lewis Cass Kings might be small, but our impact reaches far beyond our size. Eli will do great things at Manchester University and will continue to make Lewis Cass proud. Go. Fight. Win.