Izzak Olejnik Will Outwork You
/Here we begin what I hope will end up being a couple of interviews with athletes or coaches throughout the season. I’m trying something new, and that something is a feature on someone in wrestling that will come out in this form, a written transcription of the interview with the subject, along with some interjections from me along the way. In this first one, we focus on Izzak Olejnik, the 165 pound wrestler from Northern Illinois. Let’s begin;
I first became aware of you as an athlete watching the CMU v Northern Illinois dual from 2019. Central had just lost 20-16 to Virginia Tech, who was the 5th ranked team at the time. Alright, we almost beat the fifth ranked team in the country, we are pretty good and we are going to come in here and smoke Northern Illinois. We win the first match, drop a couple matches, Parks gets us back into it, and I’m like ‘okay Tracy Hubbard is going to be sweet’. Then you went out there and beat him 8-3. I remember hearing the announcers say ‘Olejnik comes in as a tough and talented team and he’ll be ready to go’, and they were right. That was my first introduction to you as a wrestler, so I did some research and saw you came in from Bakersfield California, had taken 4th in the State as a Senior, and I just kept thinking ‘Who is this kid?’ So let's start this off with a general question. Who is Izzak Olejnik?
My Dad was a California State Champion when he was in High School, so he got me into wrestling when I was really young. He put me on the stage at the State tournament when I was literally in diapers. He put me on the finals mat to get that into my system early on. Started wrestling seriously when I was six or seven, going to national tournaments and just stuck with it. Then throughout High School, I didn’t have the best High School resume. I had placed fifth as a Sophomore, and like you said, forth as a Senior. Then coming out of High School, not really getting a whole ton of looks, then wrestled at the Senior Nationals Tournament. That’s where I got in contact with Coach Ludwig and NIU. My whole family have been big Chicago fans. So I was either going to go to Cal State Bakersfield or NIU. My Dad and all of my Uncles all went to Bakersfield, and it seemed like an obvious answer, but I kind of wanted to make my own way and do my own thing. So I came out to NIU and have been putting my head down and going to work. Believing that High School is done with, and College is a whole new level of wrestling, and it doesn’t really matter what you did then at this point. My whole life has been believing that hard work will show others what you're made of. That’s what I’ve been living on and that’s how I go about my day. Trying to be the hardest worker in the room.
The mentality is what I love. It resonates with me. ‘I know what’s inside of me, and I know what I’m capable of. It’s going to be more than most people have.’ I had received some intel (shoutout Amanda Mitchell) that you’re a Bears and a Cubs fan. Was that before you came out this way, or is it just since you got out here you figured these were your teams?
No, so my Grandpa was born and raised in Gary Indiana, and he grew up a Bears, Blackhawks, Cubs, Bulls, he was an all Chicago fan. He raised my Dad and Uncles to be all big time Chicago fans. That was actually one of the reasons they were happy to see me come out here to have an excuse to see some Bears and Cubs games. So we’ve been fans for a while.
Do you think any of that Blue Collar Mentality, Midwest work hard Chicago mindset made it your way since you moved there, or is that how you’ve always been.
I think it was just how I was raised. My Grandpa probably raised my Dad and Uncles this way, being from the Midwest. All my Uncles, I know that’s how they were raised and how they raise their kids. Hard work is what gets you where you want to go, nothing is given, you’ve got to go out and take it. I take a lot of pride in being the hardest worker possible.
My intel (shoutout to Amanda Mitchel for the intel and these pictures) tells me that you still have your California blood in you, so you’re still going shirtless running stairs in 30 degree weather, and rocking sweatshirts at the beach.
Yeah, if you’ve never been on a beach the wind from the ocean breeze hits different sometimes. We went out there and wrestled Cal Poly in 2020 and it was probably around 50 degrees, but that Ocean Breeze makes it feel like it’s 20. Everyone always says ‘you had more clothes on at the beach than running stairs’.
Who are the people who have had the biggest impact on your career so far?
My Dad was one of the biggest ones. He’s been in my corner and by my side all the way up until High School, then he took a step back. There are so many people though who have helped me along the way. I don’t know if you know Darryl Pope, he was a wrestler at Cal State Bakersfield, and I started lifting with him my Junior year of High School, and he was big on lifting. I started lifting with him and he really taught me that you don’t leave the weight room until you’re crying, sweating, bleeding, he really taught me how to work hard in the weight room. I’ve never really been the strongest guy in the weight, but working hard in the weightroom is a credit to him. Then both my High School coaches, Andy Varner and Frank Lomas, were there through Junior High, Middle School, and all through High School. Even up to now Coach Moyer here has been big on getting extra workouts with me and pinpointing what’s right, and living right on and off the mat. He’s big on that. There’s so many so it’s hard to pinpoint one. Even my Uncles all wrestled and I always enjoy and run with their input.
I wanted to talk about your style. A lot of guys have two or three attacks, and some are limited with attacks to one side of the body. With you I see you have a pick, you have a slide by, a single, double, you have a very diverse group of attacks, and fast ones. Is this something you developed intentionally, or did it sort of fall into place as you developed your style?
In High School I was small, I wrestled 106 Freshman and Sophomore year, and 126 my Junior and 145 my senior year. Wrestling those little guys you have to be fast. That’s the name of the game down there, and I think bringing that with me. When I was younger I only had a single leg and wasn’t really versatile in my attacks, but just kind of moving on and getting bigger, but keeping that small guy mentality of being quick. At the heavier weights a lot of those guys have been there for a while, and they have that slow track you down kind of style. I think being a little guy, coming up, and keeping that quickness has been helpful in developing my style. It’s being quick and trying to burn them, while not avoiding the fight.
I saw a lot of that in your semi finals match against Ferrante (MSU Open Semi Final Match) from Northwestern. He was really driving in, bang the head, he was working for his attacks but even as he was chasing near the end of the match, you’re still hitting slide by’s, getting to legs, trying to get to your attacks, and as a fan of wrestling you love to see that. Are you at all cognizant or thinking of how fun it is to watch you wrestle when you’re training and getting ready to go, or is that something that’s fallen into place also?
Nah, to me I’m going out there and I’m wrestling, but like you said, in that Semis match when I’m in those close matches, 3-2, I don’t really think that I’m being flashy or trying to be. I want to go out and score points and put on a show, but I’m not really thinking about that. I’m just out there wrestling. As the matches get longer and guys get more tired I really trust in my training and that’s when you pick up those good looking takedowns. Keep em moving and keep my hands on them and things fall into place.
Even a 3-2 match like that is as much fun of a 3-2 match as you can watch. As far as your strengths as a competitor, what are some of the things that you attribute to your progression throughout your career so far?
It’s that hard work mentality. You see a lot of guys at the college level coming from High School where they were great, but they reach college and you see some of those guys fade away. It’s a different level up here man. It’s hard work day in and day out, it’s literally a grind, and that’s what I love about it. You’re going in and trying to work as hard as you can, and then you win matches that mean something, that’s the pay off. Keeping that mentality of being the hardest worker in the room at all times and keeping that chip on your shoulder. Being able to prove yourself on the biggest stage is still something I’m striving to do. I haven’t reached my goal yet, but the plan is coming together. Keep working hard and let the pieces fall where they fall. Never being disappointed in the work that I come in and the results that come out of it.
You can see that all coming out on the mat, most recently taking second at the MSU Open to a tough opponent in Evan Wick. What is something that you take away from that match?
From that match, he’s a backpack on top. That man has the length and me personally I’m not a huge fan of wrestling lanky guys like myself. Those guys, if I had to pinpoint a wrestler that I struggle most with, it's with lengthy guys. I’ve got to get out from the bottom on guys like that. It’s a mentality down there. I usually tripod up, and I know that he is a leg guy, and can get a cradle from just about any position. So I was a little timid of tripoding up. I have worked on bottom and feel like I’ve progressed in that position. Wrestling a top guy like that helps you see where you’re at really, and it gives me more motivation to work on bottom. Having a match like that is crucial and necessary. You go back and make changes and then we see him again January 30th or something. Then I can test where I’m at from there.
Always better to have those matches in November than in March. You had mentioned, so let’s get back to it. What are your main goals for the season and moving forward?
The top of the list is National Champ. That’s the main goal and that’s my why, why I wake up every morning, why I workout, why I’m lifting. That’s the main goal. Then the mini goals are to improve myself and my performance a little bit every day. Keeping a measuring stick and bringing guys along with us. Here at NIU we have an experienced but young team. This year we have 6-7 seniors, but I think our class and the class below us are really hitting stride and we have big plans for our team this year in the MAC and National level. Keeping that big goal on the horizon and just working from there. I’m planning on taking all of my years here of wrestling and from here out being a three time All American and couple time National Champion. That would be the goals ahead. That only comes from the work that I put in.
Speaking of, I meant to write this down as a question, who is the next Izzak Olejnik (Oh-Len-Ick)? Who is the next NIU guy who is going to come out and beat my guy and make me realize I need to watch them? Who else is on your team who is going to open people’s eyes this year?
We have a couple guys. We have this transfer from Harper College, he’s wrestling unattached right now, but he’s going to start wrestling for us soon. His name is Tulga Zuunbayan, he actually just took second at the MSU Open.
Yeah, he’s the guy who beat Lovett (Johnny Lovett, CMU 157).
Yeah. He’s a guy who has that international style of wrestling, so he’s really relaxed, and kind of lulls you to sleep, and then he’s got some great attacks off of that. Even going younger than that, we have a Freshman who just won the MSU Open, Blake West. He is a guy who had some success in High School, and it’s starting to transport to the College Level. He’s been a hammer so far and guys like that will continue to push the team.
I’m just now noticing that Blake (West) is not related to Bryce or Drew (Bryce and Drew West are twins that currently wrestle for NIU).
Yeah, he’s not the triplet.
I always like people that have a sense of humor, and your Tweet about “Standing outside my parents room trying to tell them I threw up” cracked me up. Are you generally a pretty funny dude, or is this a random joke that took off?
I mean, I like to think I’m pretty funny, but I can’t take full credit for that. We have a group chat for our wrestling team, and we all got our pictures back. I was one of the first ones to take the picture because I had class and had to get out of there, so I didn’t really get any of the poses down, so they just had me stand straight. It was really awkward, and so I sent it to the group chat and asked ‘is anyone else’s pictures this bad’, and someone came back and said ‘that’s one of those pictures where you’re standing outside your parents room.’ I can’t pinpoint who said that, but it was funny enough. I didn’t think anyone would get it, my Sister she messaged me and said ‘you should have said this’, like it’s not very funny, so I got to send it to her and say, ‘I guess it was funny to some people’.
Yeah, the people with kids got it immediately! Do you have any other hobbies or anything else you do when you aren’t training to be a National Champion?
Golfing. I love golfing. When we have a family reunion every other year or every couple years, all the guys go golf for a couple days. We started having a memorial for my Grandpa ever since he passed, we had this tournament or Golf outing where a lot of my Uncles and a lot of my Dad’s friends and family friends they come down and have a three day golf outing. I’m glad I took it up too because that’s a sport you can play until you can’t walk anymore.
Speaking of family, I heard that your Father is starting a Jerky Company.
Yeah, shoutout to Mr. O’s Jerky, he just actually sent me a whole bunch of bags with Teriyaki, and he has Sweet Habanaki, and Spicy Habanaki, which is Habanero’s and Teriyaki combined, and I think he’s just waiting to get USDA approved, or they are on the verge of that. Then he’s going to start producing some. It’s tough because he’s still teaching, and he’s only got a couple more years before he retires, but he’s just kind of starting up a business. A lot of guys on the team I give them samples or the coaches and try to spread it out in Dekalb. It’s decently well known in Dekalb here, we’re getting the apparel and merch out and guys are asking ‘when can I get a hat, when can I do this’, so once he gets it started it’ll take off pretty quick.
We’ll make sure to promote him as well!
This was the end of my questions, but the beginning of cheering loudly for Izzak Olejnik throughout the rest of his career. Since this interview, Izzak has competed once more against Rider. It was a master class on slide by’s, as well as Izzak’s ability to take what’s given to him and make it fun to watch.
