Kiski Area senior Reid looks forward to career at Lock Haven

By: Alec Italiano
Monday, November 13, 2017 | 7:30 PM

The letters from Lock Haven came frequently early in Isaac Reid's wrestling recruitment, before he could officially talk to schools. And once that quiet period ended, the Bald Eagles reiterated their interest via the spoken word.

That level of commitment caused Reid to commit right back, as the Kiski Area senior heavyweight inked a national letter of intent to wrestle for the Bald Eagles after the NCAA early signing period opened last week.

“They really put a lot of time into me and getting my confidence up before a big competition, even when I wasn't committed to their program,” Reid said. “That just said a lot about their character, who they were as a team.

“They know I'm hungry and really craving for great success, and hopefully planning myself out for a bright future.”

Reid chose Lock Haven over scholarship offers from Campbell and Pitt. He also received heavy interest from a handful of other Division I programs. Lock Haven visited Reid at one of his football games this fall and also made some home visits, and he was struck by the team's family atmosphere on his own visit to campus.

The Bald Eagles feature one of the top-ranked heavyweights in the country in redshirt junior Thomas Haines, and former NCAA All-American heavyweight Ryan Wolfe recently joined the program as a volunteer assistant.

“It's been a goal of mine my whole life to get to the Division I level, and I'm set up great for my future with this,” Reid said. “Great partners, great coaches, great financially for me. I'm very excited for the opportunity.”

Reid, currently ranked fifth nationally by FloWrestling in the 285-pound weight class, holds a record of 106-24 in his three seasons at Kiski Area. He went 43-6 as a junior, finishing as WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA runner-up to Canon-McMillan's Brendan Furman. He also helped Kiski Area win the WPIAL Class AAA team title and finish third in the state.

Reid also finished second in the WPIAL and sixth in the state individually as a sophomore.

In the offseason, Reid won the 285-pound weight class at the Phil Portuese Northeast Regional and helped Young Guns Wrestling win the AAU national team title in Orlando, Fla.

Already hard at work for the upcoming season, Reid has goals of becoming a state champion at Kiski Area and a national champion at Lock Haven.

“Right now, I'm more motivated than I've ever been,” said Reid, who joins fellow senior Noah Levett (Bucknell) as Division I commits on Kiski Area's wrestling team. “It's pretty much become an obsession. I'll be in school, and I'll be thinking about training, even though I have two workouts that night. … I've been training my butt off, and I know it will pay off. That's what life's about: it's about doing the right things and working hard. It's going to pay off regardless.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer.

Tags: Kiski School