ROCK SPRINGS — To say the Western Wyoming Community College Mustangs wrestling team is dominating their competition would be an understatement.
In Mustangs Head Coach Art Castillo’s own words, he hasn’t “seen a team this dominate in [his] 12 years” over the program.
Throughout their first four duals of the regular season, the Mustangs have outscored their opponents 218-3, only losing one match. Every one of the Mustangs wins have been bonus point wins. All four duals have been against Western’s region, giving them a good idea of what’s to come in the regional tournament in April.
“At the college level, that’s pretty rare,” Castillo said.
All-American sophomore Anthony Herrera said this year’s red-hot start to the season has been evidence of the team’s hard work and mentality change. With the season being delayed due to COVID-19, that has motivated the team to make the most of every opportunity they get to compete.
“It’s an attitude change really,” Herrera said. “We’re not afraid to turn it into a dog fight. The freshmen coming in like it too and they aren’t afraid to compete at a higher level. I think that’s going to be the big separator this year compared to previous years.”
Castillo has emphasized how deep the roster is this year, with talent all around the room. Practices have been productive, and each wrestler in the room has been committed to getting better and making their respective partners better.
Freshmen Tyce Raddon, Caleb Nathan and Garrett Ricks added that the team first mentality has been a driving factor behind their success.
Everyone pushes each other, but when it comes to competition we’re all supportive of each other and just feeding off each other’s energy.
~ Freshmen Wrestler Caleb Nathan
The NJCAA released the latest rankings this week, with not much changing at the top. The Mustangs were ranked No. 2 in the nation, right behind No.1 Clackamas Community College. But make no mistake about it, the Mustangs firmly believe they are the team to beat in all of NJCAA wrestling.
“The mindset we have is that we are No. 1 right now,” freshmen Mason Christiansen said. “We’re the team to beat. We’ve been practicing like it, we’ve been training like it, we’ve been competing like it. So we’re just trying to keep it going.”
The Mustangs will get that chance on March 13, when they travel to the campus of North Idaho College to challenge No. 1 Clackamas. The dual will feature some of the top wrestlers in the NJCAA in each weight division.
“There’s nothing like a wrestling dual. It’s the best thing in sport if you ask me,” Castillo said.
As challenging and rewarding the season has been so far for Western, the team eyes the big prize at the national tournament in April and believes the best is yet to come.
