Freshman wrestler Shamil Islamov recently finished fourth in a national tournament featuring the nation’s 100 top freshmen.

At the NHSCA Freshman National tournament in Virginia Beach, one of Shamil’s personal highlights was facing a three-time state champion from Montana and defeating him 9-1.  

Eventually, Islamov lost to Ariah Mills of Georgia, who went on to win the tournament. Mills is ranked No. 5 in American high schools.

Head Coach Gehrig Hutchinson was proud of Islamov and his performance in the tournament.

“He totally outperformed where the tournament expected him to place, and in that (freshman) bracket he placed fourth. That’s a huge accomplishment,” Hutchinson said. 

Islamov said his biggest advantage was his mentality throughout the tournament.

“I was not in my head at all during the tournament and did not look at anyone – just went out there and wrestled,” Islamov said. 

Hutchinson said Islamov’s confidence played a big role in his success.

“His skills have always been as good as anybody. It’s about having the confidence and trust in those skills that’s leading to results like this,” Hutchinson said.

Islamov said the tournament results should lead to more success for him in the future.

“It opens a lot of doors for me because now I know I can compete nationally,” Islamov said 

Islamov said he needs to improve on getting stronger and faster to compete with the guys ranked above him.

“I just have to keep getting stronger to keep up with the guy I lost against,” Islamov

Hutchinson said the Baldwin wrestling team as a whole have been practicing in the off season to set themselves up for success in the future.