Andy MasonThe Herald-Mail
On March 19, one day after his younger brother won his third straight NCAA wrestling title for Penn State, Isaiah Brooks, 24, of Hagerstown, hit the mats for his first competition in six years.
The two Brooks brothers, Aaron and Isaiah, have taken much different paths since they were a dominant force in the middle of the North Hagerstown wrestling team’s lineup in 2016, when Isaiah won his first Maryland 4A-3A state title as a senior and Aaron captured his second of four state titles as a sophom*ore.
But during that one weekend last month, both of the brothers, again, were doing what they’re known for doing best —wrestling — Aaron at the Division I national championships in Tulsa, Okla., and Isaiah at a Middle Atlantic Wrestling Association (MAWA) district tournament in Pasadena, Md.
Just like the old days, both left as champions.
“We were both talking about it. I’d been training for a little bit, and Aaron’s been helping me via phone,” Isaiah said. “We had a conversation. He was like, ‘It’s kind of funny, Bro, you’re going to be competing at the same time I’m competing.’
“I stayed up, I watched him wrestle on TV and the next day I went out and did my thing. It was cool watching him win an NCAA title. My platform isn’t as big, but I was like, ‘Hey, the Brooks brothers are back.’ It was cool.”
Scratching the itch to compete
Competing in the open division in the 158-pound weight class, Isaiah showed no signs of rust at the MAWA district tourney.
In his first bout, he built an 11-1 lead on Montgomery College’s Somnoma Zida before pinning him in the third period.
Three victories later, he was the district champion, qualifying for the MAWA South Region Championships on April 16 at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury, Md.
“It was different, but it was cool to be back on the mat, really cool,” Isaiah said. “I definitely missed wrestling. … Sometimes you get that itch to start competing again, and that itch was crawling hard under my skin.”
At the region championships, he continued to roll, going 3-0 to win another title and earn a return trip to the Wicomico Civic Center for the MAWA Eastern National Championships May 6-7.
In the region final against A.J. Parent, of Gloucester City, N.J., he led 7-1 before scoring a pin in the second period.
Isaiah —representing the Hagerstown Area Police Athletic League (PAL) wrestling club, which his father, John Brooks, directs —is aiming to stay undefeated in his comeback.
“I’m not co*cky, but I’m confident. I’m very confident in my training,” he said. “I don’t really care who I’m competing against. I just want to wrestle, something I’ve been feeling that I’ve needed to do for a while.”
It’s all part of a bigger picture.
“One of the reasons I am wrestling again is that I want to fight MMA,” Isaiah said. “I want to fight in the UFC one day. I’m just getting back in shape and getting back to that feeling of competing again. What better way than to start wrestling again? It’s the best background for MMA anyway.”
College didn’t work out
After graduating from North Hagerstown in 2016, Isaiah went to Iowa Central Community College to continue his wrestling career at the junior college national powerhouse.
But it didn’t go as planned.
“I didn’t have the grades for it,” Isaiah said. “My plan was to go to Iowa Central for two years, wrestle JUCO, place at nationals, hopefully win two national titles and then fix my grades and get offers from Division I schools. But that’s not how it happened. I made the varsity lineup, but I became ineligible.
“I ended up leaving Iowa Central after the first year and just never went back to wrestling after that, until now.”
Off and running
Isaiah’s road back to wrestling began about two years ago — on the roads.
“I wasn’t living the best way. I wasn’t living the healthiest. I was doing some things I shouldn’t have been doing,” he said. “One day, I just wanted to make a change for myself, and I just started running. I remember one morning, I was like, ‘I’m done. I need to get back in shape just for me, not to compete, just for me.’ So I just started running around my neighborhood.
“First run was like two miles, and I threw up. I was like, ‘Man, that was hard.’ But as the weeks go by, the runs are getting easier, and I’m actually falling in love with the runs because it’s helping to clear my head. So I’m just running and running every day. I started running up to five miles.”
Isaiah, who works for Negley’s Water, took on an additional job last November, serving as an assistant wrestling coach at South Hagerstown High School under first-year head coach Tim Heidtke, his longtime friend.
“I got back into the wrestling room when I started coaching at South,” Isaiah said. “I would wrestle around with the kids, but I was still running. I’d run before I went to practice, then run at practice and then wrestle around with the kids. I also was lifting weights.
“And then my dad said, ‘Hey, we need help over at PAL,’ so I started going to PAL and wrestling around there. And then I was like, ‘You know what? I want to start competing again.’
“MAWA came up and I was like, ‘I’m doing this.’ And that’s how we got here.”
Isaiah gives much of the credit for his comeback to Heidtke, a 2016 South Hagerstown graduate who was a standout wrestler for the Rebels.
“He’s like my strength and conditioning coach,” he said of Heidtke. “He was in the Marines, so he knows some pretty insane workouts. He might not do the cardio parts with me, but the lifting, he’s definitely gotten me a lot stronger. I’ve put on 25 pounds.
“When I tell you that I was living unhealthily, I was probably walking around at 143-145 pounds. Now I’m up to 168, walking-around weight —healthy, feeling strong, not fat at all. I feel great. And I owe a lot to him, because he’s the one that got me into the weight room and helped get me back on that path. And I owe a lot to my father and my brother too, my whole family. They’re all here to support me.”
Superstar brother
Isaiah grew up in Hagerstown as a star wrestler. His brother Aaron was a superstar.
Isaiah said he’s never minded being in the shadow of his younger sibling.
“Growing up, we always knew Aaron was going to be one of the best in the world,” Isaiah said. “He was the greatest practice partner I ever had, which is probably why I got as good as I am now.
“His success is my success. We share as a family,” he said. “Honestly, I want my brother to be better than me. I want him to continue to be better than me in life so I don’t have to worry about him. That’s stress off my back, him being great. Nothing makes me happier than people I love doing well for themselves.”
Aaron’s success even put a spotlight on Isaiah at the recent MAWA tournaments.
“I had people crowding my mat,” Isaiah said. “A lot of people were like, ‘That’s Aaron Brooks’ brother, that’s Aaron Brooks’ brother.’ I’m like, ‘This isn’t my doing.’ It’s cool, though. I like it. It’s just a reminder of what an inspiration he is in the sport.”
Three-peat! Aaron Brooks’ reign continues at NCAA wrestling championships
Aaron watched Isaiah in action via a livestream.
“He called me and said, ‘You look good,’” Isaiah said. “Hearing you look good from a guy like Aaron — I know he’s my brother — but it’s like, ‘OK, I must be doing something right.’”
Hagerstown vs. Hagerstown?
Coincidentally enough, the wrestler to beat in Isaiah’s bracket at the MAWA Eastern National Championships is Brendon Colbert, a 2014 North Hagerstown graduate and the defending champion at 158 pounds.
“It’s kind of cool that two Hagerstown people will be in the same bracket,” Isaiah said. “Hopefully we’re on opposite sides of the bracket because I know he can make it to the finals, and I know I can make it to the finals. I look forward to it.
“The thing that makes this match interesting to me is that we wrestled together at North High,” he added. “When I was a sophom*ore, he was a senior. Of course, I’m always going to try to wrestle the best guys in the room, but Brendon, I never really had a shot against him. He was three weight classes heavier than me and a few years older than me. He had a little bit of grown-man strength, and I was still a little boy in a way, 126 pounds. It’s going to be interesting to see how the match turns out this time around.”
