On March 31st 2026, alongside his family, coaches, and friends, senior wrestler Fabian Martinez signed his letter of intent with Fort Hay Tech Northwest (FHTN) which is located in Kansas. “Being around my family felt great because I’m the first one to go to college in my family,” Martinez said. 

He has had an amazing high school career being a 3x CCS Masters Placer, 1x CCS Masters Champion, 2x CA State Qualifier (2024-2025/2025-2026), 3x League Placer, and a 2x League Champ. “It has been so exciting to see him accomplish such great things in this sport,” Coach Tori Cabrera said. “He has been working towards these goals for a long time, I am so happy he reaped the benefits of his labor.”

His journey didn’t start on the mat though, it started on the football field. He played football with the Alisal Eagles and eventually asked his dad to sign him up for wrestling. “He actually approached me when he was eight years old, and I signed him up for wrestling and he never really looked back,” Fabian’s dad, Thomas Martinez said. “He’s always been a big boy since he was little and just seeing his heart and dedication, win, lose, draw, I knew that he had the passion.”

Martinez always knew he wanted to go to FHTN and never considered any other school. “I knew where I wanted to go and always had my mind set,” Martinez said. “But the main reason was the scholarship they offered for me to wrestle.” 

Having coaches connected also influenced Martinez’s choice. “When I visited the campus last year in September, I saw they were a family bonding team and it really brought my attention,” Martinez said. 

Fort Hays Tech | Northwest is a public technical college in the small town of Goodland, Kansas that has a 100% acceptance rate and a 83% graduation rate. 

He plans on majoring in Business Accounting. “I would like to have my own business, a diesel mechanic shop for semis and tractors,” he said.

Signing to a school far away is a huge decision and change, luckily Martinez is confident he will fit right in. “It will be a big change, but I think I can handle it pretty well,” he said. “I make friends pretty fast, you know, I’m a social butterfly, I guess you can say. So, yeah, I think it will be easy to transition.” 

Martinez has made a huge impact on the wrestling team and he will be missed. “I will miss having someone I could rely on to help me lead the team,” Cabrera said. “I knew whatever responsibility Fabian was given, he would carry out and bring his team along to help him. I will miss how respectful he is, how he made me feel more confident just by witnessing his confidence. I will also miss his humor, he is SO funny and never fails to make me laugh. He is witty, sarcastic, and quick with his humor. The room will be dimmer without his light!”