It’s a sunny spring day in Las Vegas, and some of the most elite senior-level wrestlers in the United States have gathered for the U.S. Open Championships. The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas is packed wall-to-wall with wrestling mats, bleachers, and a stage set for one of the USA Wrestling world’s premier events. The man behind it all is none other than Colorado’s own Pete Isais. Isais is a deserving recipient of the 2026 Lifetime to Service award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame - Colorado Chapter in large part due to his contributions as the Director of National Events for USA Wrestling.

Since 2001, Isais has helped with the logistics, organization, and smooth operation of USA wrestling events from the youth level all the way up to the senior level team trials such as Final X and the Olympic qualifiers. Starting with a blank shell, Isais works through tournament setup as well as soliciting vendor bids, coordination of contracts, ticket sales, marketing weigh-ins, officials, and a whole lot more. “I always look forward to those (events) because of the level of competition, and the chance to see long-lost friends,” Isais said. “But it is a very taxing week. We have early mornings with weigh-ins, often getting here at 6 a.m. and not leaving until 10 p.m.” Originally from Fowler, Isais had a very successful Colorado prep career with three state finals appearances and two championships.

From there, Isais went on to compete at the University of Northern Colorado before starting his coaching career at North Dakota State University. There, he helped shepherd the Bison to three Division II National Championships — in 1998, 2000, and 2001. As an NDSU assistant, Isais oversaw 37 All-Americans and 12 individual national champions to go with the three team trophies. Looking back on his life in wrestling, Isais reflects on that era as one of his most special. “Some of my core memories are giving back to the sport. I learned a lot and grew a lot in those seven years (at NDSU), and also had some great mentors,” Isais said. “We developed something special up there, and to have my fingerprints on that was also very special.” Even though Isais spends most of his year directing national events, he always finds the time to give back to Colorado’s premier wrestling event each year — the Colorado High School State Championships at Ball Arena. While overseeing the state tournament software, he’s helped the tournament thrive and grow through evolving technology, challenges, and the addition of two girls classifications. Isais was also present at Ball Arena when his son, Peter, captured back-to-back Class 4A titles in 2016 and 2017. “In Colorado it’s been amazing that we’ve been able to take some great athletes out of high schools to go on to some significant careers from Division III to Division I,” Isais said. “With the advent of computerizing the bracket software, it’s taken (the state tournament) to a new level. It’s one of the biggest and best in the U.S.” “Being able to see my son win his state championships…those things are very dear to me.”

(Presenter-Brian Velarde)