How lone wrestler at his Central New York school went from disliking the sport to state champion

Sackets Harbor senior Kayleb Martin has had a gradual appreciation for wrestling over the years.

Believe it or not, Martin disliked wrestling when he started competing in seventh grade.

“I always hated the hard practices, basically hated all of it,” Martin said. “It’s never an easy sport.”

When Martin was younger, his favorite sport was soccer, and he wanted to compete in the sport as long as possible.

Then his brother Kyler, a sophomore at Sackets Harbor when Kayleb was in middle school, got into wrestling.

Since Sackets Harbor had a small school, they have never had a wrestling program. So, Kyler competed for a merged Indian River/South Jefferson squad.

Kayleb wanted to compete in a sport during the winter season. Sackets Harbor was a basketball-heavy school, but Kayleb didn’t have an interest in hoops.

So, he reluctantly joined his brother on the wrestling mats.

Fast forward to the 2024-25 sports year, Martin is the Patriots' only wrestler.

The senior’s campaign ended as the Division II 170-pound champion at the New York state tournament in Albany.

Being Sackets Harbors' lone grappler didn’t draw much attention to him throughout the season. It helped Martin focus on the task at hand.

“I focused on strategy as much as I could,” Martin said.

Martin practiced with South Jefferson’s squad during the regular season. He engaged in additional training with Kenny Courts, a coach at the Grain House Wrestling Club in Watertown.

When Martin began training with Courts, he was neutral about wrestling. A few years later, his perspective of the sport changed.

“(Courts) is not exactly the reason I love wrestling, but when I won, he’d be happy for me,” Martin said. “He drove me to win more, so it was a fun thing to chase.”

Martin anticipated a big year in his final season of high school wrestling, which made him nervous. Once he entered the regular season, he and Courts knew deep down that he would dominate.

“During practice, we’d go over all these different techniques and little details that stuck with me,” Martin said. “I knew I was going to win.”

Martin collected a Section III Class D 170-pound title, the third sectional trophy of his career, and the top bid from the state qualifier on his journey to the NYS tournament.

Going into the state bracket as the second seed, Martin was determined to have a nearly flawless performance on the mat.

Martin remembered when he competed at 125 pounds at the start of his wrestling career. He took a shot at 145 and 152 pounds in ninth grade, then attempted at 160.

In the end, 170 was the perfect weight class for the senior.

“It helped build my strength, but I also felt faster and more technical than the bigger guys because they usually move a little bit slower,” Martin said.

Martin’s defining moment at 170 came in the state semifinal match. It turns out that the match was the one that made him the most nervous during a full weekend of competition.

Facing fellow Section III wrestler Tristan Jarvie of General Brown, Martin came away with a 5-2 win.

“I knew I was supposed to win that match because of the seedings,” Martin said. “It was a close win, but as soon as that match was over, my coach and I talked and realized there’s no pressure on me. I’m second seed and no one is expecting me to win.”

When Martin took on Bolivar-Richburg’s Tavyn MacDonell in the title bout, he quickly noticed that MacDonell was nervous. That’s when Martin went to work.

The result was a 13-2 major decision in favor of Martin.

“I took it to him, put my moves together and just felt like I was on top of the world once I scored that first takedown,” Martin said. “I felt like everything was coming together.”

Despite not being the largest or strongest 170-pound wrestler, Martin said his biggest advantages were his fakes and techniques that included constant movement.

“I’m definitely not weak. I’m always looking to score, and score from any position,” Martin said.

Martin credits Coach Courts and his father, Ricky, for believing in him when no one did when he was a seventh grader trying to understand the sport of wrestling.

“I don’t know what I’d do without my dad. He’s always been one of my biggest supporters,” Martin said.

When it comes to Courts, Martin has lived by a saying from his coach that turned out to be a key motivator in his state title run.

“(Courts) always says, ‘You can’t chew bubble gum and walk at the same time.’ He’d tease me a bit, but it was all out of love,” Martin said. “Coach has always been there for me.”

On the Monday after the state tournament, his school had a small parade. And while wrestling wasn’t the biggest sport at Sackets Harbor, his peers understood how much of an impact he had on the school district when the first-place state medal was around his neck.

“It felt a lot different at school. A lot of kids came up to me and congratulated and said hi to me. It’s surreal,” Martin said. “Nobody knew how much work I was putting in, but it definitely showed by the end of the season.”

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