Senior, captain of Wesley Chapel’s varisty wrestling team, Nick Iserino has committed to Coker University to further his wrestling career. Coker University is a private non-profit university located in Hartsville, South Carolina. The Coker Cobras compete in NCAA Division II. Iserino was invited this year to tour Coker’s campus. After spending time with the team and coach, and touring Coker’s beautiful campus, Iserino knew Coker was a perfect match for him. Iserino spent the night with Coker’s wrestling team and spoke with their coach then verbally committed to Coker. Iserino states, “The reason I really chose them was because they’re a really small school and I don’t really like big schools… They’re really good academically and that’s really big and important to me.” For Iserino, when it came to committing to a

school, it was important that his friends and family supported and approved of the school he was going to attend. Iserino gives insight, stating, “My dad really liked them (Coker University) and so that was a big thing for me that he was supportive of the college I was going to.” Iserino was extremely grateful and fortunate to have committed and feels confident in his decision, he says “I felt pretty excited because then it was just a done deal, and I could focus on the school year after I knew I was ready to go to college.”

Iserino has been wrestling since seventh grade and played competitively in middle school, he’s been wrestling at WCHS since his sophomore year in 2020. The 5’8” 160 lbs captain qualified for states his sophomore year. Iserino came close to winning the Blood Round at states, an extremely impressive accomplishment for a sophomore. Last year, Iserino made it to states as well. The individualism in wrestling is what makes Iserino love it so much. Iserino feels, “wrestling is the only sport that I needed to win in individually, that I couldn’t blame anybody else for my loss. The feeling of winning is a lot better when doing it by yourself.” In wrestling, each wrestler is by themselves, their performance on the mat depends on their skill

and effort; this puts a lot of responsibility on the athlete. For Iserino, his responsible nature has carried on beyond the wrestling mat. Mrs. Geiger, Iserino’s past teacher states, “Nick is one a kind, he is dedicated, he’s a hard worker, he’s got a work ethic that I don’t see amongst most high school students.”  Mrs. Miller, another of Iserino’s past teacher, has also seen Iserino’s character on display, stating, “He picked up a lot of leadership qualities, I think he picked up a humbleness about himself, he knows how good he is and he doesn’t need to say how good he is, he lets his actions speak for themselves.” From the moment Miller and Geiger met Iserino they were certain he would go far with wrestling and get committed. Ms. Jess, the athletic trainer at WCHS has known Nick since he started wrestling at WCHS. Jess had no doubt Iserino would get committed. Jess shares, “I saw him going pretty far pretty quickly and I’m surprised he didn’t get more offers. He’s a good kid, I think for him people were going to come to him regardless.”

Iserino and his coach, Mr. Fleshood have created a tight bond over the past two years. Iserino considers Fleshood the best coach he’s ever had, Iserino states, “when I moved down here from New York, I didn’t really know if I really wanted to do wrestling cause I wrestled in New York, which is where I started, and he’s just such a great coach and he put the thrive back in wrestling for me and he just helped me out

through my sophomore year until now and he’s been like a second dad for me.” Fleshood and Iserino’s bond grew Iserino’s sophomore year when he qualified for states. Fleshood states, “he’s the first wrestler to take me to the state tournament and so it was a big moment for the both of us, being able to go to that final level of high school athletics.” In addition to Fleshood, Iserino’s friends and family were ecstatic for Iserino’s commitment. Iserino says, “My dad was really proud of me, my family was really proud of me. They all supported me, my friends supported me cause they know how much work I put in to even get looked at for college.” Iserino also shares that his dad has been the most influential person in his life. Iserino states, “He just had a lot of hardships with us and everything with our lives and he showed that you need to push through it and you can become successful like he is right now.” Iserino’s mother, Jennifer Iserino, says wrestling has taught Nick humbleness, Mrs. Iserino states, “loosing isn’t a bad thing all the time, sometimes being humble is better.”

WCHS is grateful and glad to have been able to experience such a talented individual play for WCHS. WCHS cannot wait to see Iserino break more records and create a greater career for himself while growing into a better person and player while expanding his talents at a higher level.