Surprising sophomore Martelli shines

By Jon Schwartz

Daily Sports Writer

WEST LAFAYETTE - Charles Martelli wants to fulfill his season-long mission - living up to the words of one of his favorite songs.

Michigan wrestlers are welcomed to the mat at each home meet as a song of their choosing plays in the background over the Cliff Keen Arena speaker system. Martelli uses a popular Metallica tune.

And like the song states, he'd love to be the "Hero of the Day."

In West Lafayette this past weekend, Martelli had a chance to play hero for two days. Unseeded and unexpected to make noise in this past weekend's Big Ten Championships, the sophomore from Naperville, Ill., turned some heads -including that of his coach, Joe McFarland.

"I'm real happy for him," McFarland said. " Chuck beat some guys that beat him during the regular season."

For Martelli, the regular season was anything but regular.

Listed at 157 pounds, Martelli was expected to redshirt entering the season.

But when a team captain and national champion contender like 174-pound Otto Olson goes down with a season- ending injury, everybody has to make adjustments.

Martelli did just that, struggling through the final ten meets of the season while sporting a 2-8 record in a weight class that was, at the beginning of the season, considered a guaranteed win for the Wolverines.

But after placing sixth at Big Tens, Martelli is in a position that he admittedly never imagined. In two weeks, he will be with the team in St. Louis, representing Michigan in the NCAA Championships.

The first glimpse of opportunity came on Saturday, when Martelli lost in the preliminary round to No. 7 Joel Walker of Ohio State - a match that he was very upset about.

But despite some feelings of failure, Martelli used the loss as a springboard, realizing that he wrestled well enough in the recent past, and that it was time for something to go his way.

"Something had to click," Martelli said. "Is it the end of your season or not? What do you want to do?"

Something clicked.

Martelli followed his loss with two wins to end the first day of the event. Suddenly, an unseeded wrestler was in the semifinals, hunting for a third-place finish.

That wrestler, as excited as ever, embraced his teary-eyed parents and displayed a new sense of confidence not often seen in similar situations.

Olson and his knee were no longer so clearly tattooed on the foreheads of each member of the team.

"This is awesome," Martelli screamed. "It feels great!"

Unfortunately, memories of the Michigan captain could not stay away for long. En route to losing to No. 2 Ben King of Illinois, Martelli's previously injured hamstring was pulled again. In his later preparation for the fifth-place match, Martelli realized that he could not possibly go on and he had to forfeit to Minnesota's Delaney Berger.

And though the tournament didn't end as well as it started, Martelli is still alive and off to St. Louis, with another chance to become the hero of the day ahead of him.

Joe Warren and the Michigan wrestling team struggled in the Big Ten Championships this weekend. The Wolverines finished fifth overall.

Courtesy Cliff Keen Athletics