ROCK SPRINGS – Former Green River High School wrestler and current wrestling head coach of Western Wyoming Community College, Art Castillo has been one of the most successful individuals in the NJCAA in his 15 years with the team. Fresh off of a National Championship last season, his team is ranked number one in the country so far in the early stages of this season.

In an exclusive conversation with SweetwaterNOW, Castillo shared what a day in the life of one of his student-athletes looks like.

“They get here in August and we do pre-season training which is sprints and buddy carries and just preparing our bodies for the tough season ahead,” Castillo said. “Lifting, hills, pushups, just all the ugly stuff if you will. There are some wrestling-related skills that we do but it’s just mostly getting oriented, getting in good shape, and getting a good base. Furthermore, it’s understanding how to find your resources and be successful student-athlete-wise and getting to know your teammates. It’s a lot of building bonds with your teammates, your classmates, the campus community, and the community as a whole.”

Castillo then shared what it’s like once the season gets started.

“In October we shift to more wrestling-specific training and start getting ready for the season. We start implementing technical wrestling but we will still lift and do those other things it just kinda shifts,” Castillo said. “We kind of do it in cycles so we talk about breaking things down like a month here, six weeks here, four weeks here. We just break it up into cycles throughout the year so it’s not so daunting. Then we have Thanksgiving and Christmas break so when they come back we go hard again to get back into the swing of things.”

In the interview, Art also talked about how they prepare for the postseason.

“As we close to February and the postseason we start what we call, ‘polishing the sword’ and start really working on technical details and staying healthy. March is the national tournament and hopefully, we are feeling our best by March.”

The season doesn’t end here for the Mustangs. Coach Castillo then spoke about what they do after nationals and spring break.

“We get ready for international wrestling. Freestyle and Greco. We also have a club team called Mustang Wrestling Club which is affiliated with USA Wrestling so we have guys that go the US Open and look to make World Teams with their respective age groups,” Castillo said as he explained wrestling is almost year-round for his team.

Coach Castillo then spoke upon his coaching philosophies in not only wrestling but also in guiding his students.

“I’m most passionate about developing young me and that’s what I spend most of my time doing,” Castillo said. “We use wrestling as that vehicle to help them develop. I kind of view coaching as a servant-type deal. I really try to make their world the best place I can while still challenging them, holding them accountable, and really being in their corner. Really get to know them on a personal level so I know what makes them tick. I want to know far more about them than just wrestling. I want to know what their favorite football team is and things like that so we can have a conversation far beyond wrestling because wrestling is hard and we try to make it as simple as possible for them and to make it an enjoyable experience for them. I think that is where we can see the most growth when they are having fun.”

Castillo then continued on how he felt about his team internally.

“I know there are some buzzwords out there like ‘family’ and ‘brotherhood’ but I truly believe that we embody those things. We truly are a family. The main things are always the main things and they are to be a great dude, be a great student, work your butt off, and give me your heart. It’s hard in application. It’s simple in process but if it was easy everyone would do it.”

We then talked about what was Castillo’s definition of success.

“My definition of success is what these young men do after they leave here. If they are prepared for this world and if they make this world a better place is truly how I view success.”

Castillo then spoke about what his goals were for this year.

“The goal is to keep getting better. it took us a lifetime to get here and we are going to continue the things that got us here. Get better every day, have a plan every day, and hold yourself accountable to that plan,” Castillo said. “Be the best version of yourself every day.”

When asked if the team had felt any pressure to repeat the national championship, Castillo had this to say.

“No, not at all. We didn’t sit around and say ‘Hey, how are we gonna do this again’. We know what it is gonna take and so we are focused on the process. We are ranked number one in the country and 9 of the 10 wrestlers are ranked as well. All of these guys are used to any pressure they have all wrestled in big-time matches their whole life.”

We then started to talk about having such a talented team in practice and whether you should focus on fundamentals or more advanced techniques.

“Both. You have to be constantly motivated and evolve. You have to or you’ll be left behind,” Castillo said. “But it always comes back to the fundamentals and details.”

Casillo then spoke about how it is to build a team each year at a two-year school that sends a lot of players to higher education.

“That’s our process. Our process is to develop them and get them to the best place for them whether that is a major university or the workforce. We tailor that to their goals,” Castillo said. “We are always looking for the same young men. Young men that are great people first and hardworking young men that want to be about of something that is bigger than them.”

We then got into some of the specifics of the team and the coaching staff including Castillo’s former high school coach, Bill Hodges.

“Hodges is a legend and he is a great man, a great person. He has done a lot for me and people all over Sweetwater County. Coach Yoak is the same way, a great human. He has been with us for a long time,” Castillo said. “We have another Green River guy in Jake Flores who is kind of our weight guru and helps us with recovery and was a dang good high school wrestler. This year we got Joey Revelli and he wrestled for me in 2020. He was a guy that when we talk about the type of young man we want to come out of our program, Revelli embodies that and he understands both sides of the game. He was an academic All-American as well as one of the toughest kids that ever walked through these doors. He can get along with anybody and he has been a huge bright spot for us this season and he is gonna do great things as a coach.

We ended the interview by asking Castillo who has been with the team for 15 years where he sees himself 15 years from now.

“Good Lord I don’t know,” Castillo laughed. “I can’t look that far ahead, I just hope to be happy and healthy. I hope that when we look back at what we did here we made people proud.”

Coach Castillo and the rest of the staff at Western Wyoming Community College have established a great core for the wrestling program that will bring the fans excitement and success for years to come.