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Edwardsville, Illinois might as well be known as a Hawkeye factory. In 2017 two Iowa stars and future professional athletes were classmates: Kate Martin and AJ Epenesa.
They were not just classmates; they were close friends and a part of a tight knit community. Martin’s father Matthew coached AJ and his younger brothers Eric and Iose in shotput and discus. Both Martin and Epenesa’s older siblings played volleyball together too.
“They’re just a great family,” Martin said. “What Eppy and Stephanie have done to bring together our community of Edwardsville is super cool. After Friday night wins they would have the whole town over to eat food and pray together and hang out. They’re a super close family and I love them very much.”
Epenesa graduated from high school in 2017 and Martin the following year. From there Epenesa charted an all-american career on Phil Parker’s defense. Martin was a critical piece of a back-back national runner up. Through it all the two have stayed close as they’ve probed along.
“I’m always rooting for him since he was in middle school,” Martin said. “I’m always rooting for people from Edwardsville and he’s always going to root for me. We’ve been friends for a really long time and I don’t see that ever changing.”
Epenesa’s become a full-time starter on the Buffalo Bills defense and has been for a couple of years. But it’s Martin’s success story that has captured the hearts of basketball fans. From role player, to draftee, to contributor on the WNBA’s defending champion Las Vegas Aces.
At Iowa’s Legacy Youth football camp this past Saturday I caught with AJ Epenesa who brought this story full circle.
“We’ve always watched Kate and been like ‘wow, she’s a great athlete,” Epenesa said. “She’s got the mentals, she’s got the attitude for it. She can be great and then watching her have the success — I mean it’s no surprise that it went the way it did.
“I figured she was going to get drafted, and everyone was saying that she was surprised and everything like that. And honestly, to me, it’s no surprise to see her do such good things and to have so much success because she’s such a hard worker. “
“She’s such a good person and people love her. She just has the energy that makes people drawn to her. From what I’ve seen on social media and all that it looks like her team in Vegas has really brought her in and really loved on her and I honestly didn’t expect anything less because she’s just that kind of person.”