Ally Martinez turned down offers to play college golf to focus on wrestling.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain

A week after winning back-to-back district golf championships, Socorro’s Ally Martinez signed her national letter of intent on May 10 to wrestle for Trinidad Junior College in Colorado.

Wrestling?

“It’s something new and fresh for me, and I’m just getting into it. I feel like I can get a lot more out of wrestling. I like how the sport pushes me and how competitive it is,” Martinez said.

Martinez’s rise in the wrestling world is almost unheard of, considering this high school season was the first time she had ever stepped on the mat, and it was through coach Joel Partridge that she got her start and her introduction to college wrestling.

“Ally is a hard worker, willing to learn anything, and she’s a sponge,” Partridge said. “She battled through some injuries this year, a banged-up knee early on and some ribs. She just kept showing up, and kept showing up all the way to the state tournament in her first-year wrestling. She performed well at state and didn’t get the jitters. She has a pretty unbelievable history, and she’s unshakable.”

While Partridge made the introduction to Trinidad State’s wrestling coach John Lewis, he admits he was surprised Martinez opted to wrestle in college.

“I was surprised. I knew Ally was sought after by multiple colleges for golf. I tossed the idea (of wrestling) to her because I talked to her coach or who will be her coach. And I told him—look at her. She’s hard-working. Ally’s green, a really good candidate because she doesn’t have bad habits. She’s moldable,” Partridge said.

As the go-between, Partridge already knew Trinidad would offer Martinez a spot on its wrestling squad before she decided to commit.

“I left her alone. I didn’t influence Ally’s thoughts because I respect her golf program a lot. I didn’t want to influence her thoughts. So, I didn’t interact with her about it,” Partridge said. “Here’s your opportunity. You make the most of it. You figure out what you want to do with this opportunity … It was strictly between her and the recruiting coach. Afterward, I was tickled. I was happy. I was excited for her.”

Being introduced to golf at a young age, winning back-to-back district individual titles, and helping the Lady Warriors to a third-straight team championship doesn’t leave Martinez with much to accomplish at her current level. Still, who knows? She may not be done on the links.

Martinez is now prepared to see where her wrestling career may take her.

“We’ll see what happens. I chose a junior college, so it wouldn’t be as big a commitment as going to a four-year school, but we’ll see what happens.”

Russell Huffman | Assistant Editor