Isaac Shively plans to dual sport track and wrestling for Heidelberg University

JONESVILLE — The recruiting process for a potential collegiate athlete can be a difficult but fulfilling journey for students looking to join one team.

However, some student athletes want to continue two different sports at their college of choice. The challenge of committing to dual sports at the collegiate level is one few student athletes make. But, there is one 2024 Jonesville graduate who has committed to the challenge this summer.

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Jonesville graduate Isaac Shively signed and committed to the Heidelberg University track and wrestling teams to continue his athletic and academic career at the next level. The decision to continue collegiate sports was one his family was familiar with, as his mom played collegiate softball. His sister is a dental hygienist, which will also be a study path for himself at Heidelberg.

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Part of his decision to commit to Heidelberg University was the campus size and the connections between the different athletic programs.

“They’re a smaller campus, and I know a few kids who go there from other local schools," Shively said. "The whole vibe the school gives off is like a smaller family, and every sport goes to the other sports to cheer them on. It felt just like home.”

As a member of the National Honor Society and student council president, Shively was a three-time academic all-conference honoree and a team academic all-state honoree his sophomore year. In addition, Shively was a four-year high honor roll student at Jonesville and had perfect attendance twice. As a member of the 4H, FFA and Quiz Bowl (team captain) clubs, Shively made an impact for Jonesville schools in multiple programs. He sees his athletic pursuits as directly tied to his academic success, which is one of the reasons he wants to dual sport at the next level.

“Athletics in general make me want to go to school. They make me want to keep my grades up and help the team earn all-academic (awards). Last year, Heidelberg was number to across like all D3 division schools for academics. Sports, in general, helped me with my academics.”

An NCAA Division III, OAC conference affiliate, Heidelberg recruited Shively separately between their track and wrestling programs. Men's wrestling coach Tony Patrizi was Shively's main recruiting contact and coach Bill Cooper was his men's track recruiter.

Despite two different recruiting journeys, both coaches approved of Shively's desire to continue both sports while attending Heidelberg.

“Both coaches messaged me on different days,” Shively said. “Both showed interest, and then I talked to them both, and they were fine with allowing me to dual sport. Both were very happy to allow me to dual sport. They have similar lifting and training processes."

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Wrestling and throwing for Comet athletics

While at Jonesville, Shively played four years of football, wrestling and track. One of his favorite memories as a Comet student-athlete was this season's Marshall Invitational. The team needed to win their last four matches of the tournament in order to walk away as champions, and Shively got a pinfall to start a pinfall streak for the Comet wrestlers.

“It was just an awesome feeling to be able to come together as a team and win.”

Shively crossed the 100-career win mark his senior year. He was a three-time academic and three-time all-conference honoree, two-time all-district and regional qualifier and academic all-state his sophomore season. He took fourth in the 190-pound weight class at districts during his junior and senior year . During his senior wrestling season, Shively made appearances on the weekly top performers lists and earned third overall in his weight class during the team's first Cascades conference finals tournament . At the White Pigeon team tournament, Shively went 5-0 along with three other teammates.

For Jonesville boys track and field, Isaac was a discus and shot-put thrower. He will throw for Heidelberg.

Shively was a top five discus thrower at the Hillsdale County area best meet two years in a row. His highest finish was third his sophomore season. His junior year, Shively had two discus wins and a total of nine top five finishes. He had three top five finishes in shot-put.

During his senior season, Shively had seven top five finishes in discus. He finished sixth overall in the area best meet. He had a top 10 finish in both shot-put and discus during the Cascades conference championship. He finished in the top five in shot-put during six meets. He finished his career with a 126-feet, 4 inches PR in discus. In shot-put, he had a PR of 43-feet, 8 inches. He competed at the regional finals twice in discus and once in shot-put. He helped the boys track team earn runner-up as a team at regionals his senior season.

Shively had many people to thank for his success during his career, including his mom, his teammates, wrestling coaches and track coaches.

"I would like to thank (my mom) for everything you've done for me and (for pushing) me to be the person I am today and push me past my limits some days and make me train hard and work hard in school."

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This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Isaac Shively plans to dual sport track and wrestling for Heidelberg University