ROCK SPRINGS — Western Wyoming Community College continued its dominance of the region Saturday, capturing its ninth straight Region 9/Plains District championship at the 2026 NJCAA Plains District Championships.
The Mustangs crowned six individual champions, qualified all 10 wrestlers for the national tournament and finished with 126.5 team points to secure the team title. Western also had the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler in Banks Love, and their coaching staff was named Coaches of the Year.
Green River’s Tommy Dalton captured the 149-pound crown. Dalton, 22-5, pinned Devin Grossman of Northwest College in 52 seconds in the semifinals and followed with a 10-1 major decision over Ayson Rice of Southeast Community College in the championship match.
Stockton Allen set the tone at 125 pounds, receiving a first-round bye before pinning Dylan Sorensen of Northwest College in 45 seconds in the semifinals. Allen added another fall in the finals, putting Brandon Baustert of Southeast Community College on his back in 1 minute, 48 seconds to claim the title and score 16 team points.
At 133, Zach Marrero improved to 30-4 on the season. After a bye, he earned an 18-1 technical fall over Teagan Jacobs of Northeastern Junior College in 2:50 in the semifinals. Marrero then edged Miles Anderson of Southeast Community College 12-9 in sudden victory in the championship match.
Dimitri Alarcon won the 141-pound title. The 26-9 wrestler opened with a pin in 1:07 over Juan Villarreal of Northeastern Junior College, advanced with a forfeit in the semifinals and then held off Zachary Covolo of Northwest College 1-0 in the finals.
Banks Norby delivered another title at 165. The 26-5 Norby scored a 19-4 technical fall over Porter Olson of Northwest College in the semifinals before pinning Silas Foster of Southeast Community College in 2:51 in the finals.
At 184, Love was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler. He rolled to an 18-0 technical fall over Jack Doughty of Southeast Community College in the semifinals and defeated Asadbek Fayzullaev of Northwest College 5-2 in sudden victory in the championship match.
Western added three runners-up. Hixon Canto (20-8) placed second at 157 pounds, earning a 7-1 semifinal decision over Ethan Sinclair of Northeastern Junior College before falling 7-2 to Keith Smith of Southeast Community College in the finals. Canto later won a true second-place match, 3-1, over Colby Ducatt of Northwest College to secure his national berth.
Trevyn Gates (30-5) finished second at 197, pinning Race Moxley of Northwest College in 4:08 in the semifinals before dropping a 15-9 decision to Samuel Montoya of Southeast Community College in the finals.
At heavyweight, Kort Wilkinson (18-9) placed third. After a semifinal loss, Wilkinson advanced by medical forfeit in the consolation semifinals and then pinned Ryan Escamilla of Northeastern Junior College in 3:42 in the third-place match.
Francisco Ayala (21-8) added a second-place finish at 174 pounds. He opened with a pin over Chris Galicia of Otero Junior College, rebounded from a semifinal loss with a 15-2 major decision over Billy Brenton of Northeastern Junior College in the third-place match and later won a true second-place bout, 7-3, over Dustin Rhodes of Northwest College.
Western will compete at the NJCAA National Championship, which begins March 6 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Check out more photos of the Mustangs at the 2026 NJCAA Plains District Championships below.
