ROCK SPRINGS — After capturing its ninth straight Region 9/Plains District championship, Western Wyoming Community College will send 10 wrestlers to the 2026 NJCAA National Championship on March 6-7 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The Mustangs qualified their entire lineup for the national tournament following their district title performance at the 2026 NJCAA Plains District Championships. Western finished with 126.5 team points while crowning six individual champions and earning the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler award with Banks Love. The coaching staff was also named Coaches of the Year.
Western’s six district champions were Stockton Allen at 125 pounds, Zach Marrero at 133, Dmitri Alarcon at 141, Tommy Dalton at 149, Banks Norby at 165 and Love at 184.
Allen advanced through the 125-pound bracket with two falls, pinning Dylan Sorensen of Northwest College in 45 seconds in the semifinals before defeating Brandon Baustert of Southeast Community College by fall in 1 minute, 48 seconds in the championship match.
At 133 pounds, Marrero improved his season record to 30-4. He earned an 18-1 technical fall over Teagan Jacobs of Northeastern Junior College in the semifinals and then defeated Miles Anderson of Southeast Community College 12-9 in sudden victory to win the title.
Alarcon claimed the 141-pound championship after opening with a pin over Juan Villarreal of Northeastern Junior College in 1:07 and finishing with a 1-0 decision over Zachary Covolo of Northwest College in the finals.
Dalton won the 149-pound title after pinning Devin Grossman of Northwest College in 52 seconds in the semifinals and defeating Ayson Rice of Southeast Community College by a 10-1 major decision in the championship match.
Norby secured the title at 165 pounds with 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 final.
At 184 pounds, Love was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler after earning an 18-0 technical fall over Jack Doughty of Southeast Community College in the semifinals and defeating Asadbek Fayzullaev of Northwest College 5-2 in sudden victory in the championship match.
Western also qualified four additional wrestlers with top finishes.
Hixon Canto placed second at 157 pounds after defeating Ethan Sinclair of Northeastern Junior College 7-1 in the semifinals before falling 7-2 to Keith Smith of Southeast Community College in the finals. Canto later secured his national berth with a 3-1 decision over Colby Ducatt of Northwest College in a true second-place match.
Trevyn Gates finished second at 197 pounds, 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 championship match.
Francisco Ayala qualified at 174 pounds after finishing second through the true second process. He opened with a pin over Chris Galicia of Otero Junior College and later defeated Dustin Rhodes of Northwest College 7-3 in the true second match.
At heavyweight, Kort Wilkinson placed third. He advanced through the consolation bracket and pinned Ryan Escamilla of Northeastern Junior College in 3:42 in the third-place match.
Western enters the national tournament after finishing third at the 2025 NJCAA Wrestling Championships with 137.5 points. The Mustangs had four wrestlers reach championship finals last year and were led by heavyweight Dmarian Lopez, who won the national title with a 5-2 sudden victory decision over Jeisser Sampson-Sanchez of Fort Hays Tech.
The 2026 NJCAA National Championship begins March 6 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
