ROCK SPRINGS — The fourth Annual Western Wyoming Wrestling All Star/ Alumni Dual, sponsored by Davidson Family Dental and Sweetwater NOW, will take place on October 25 at 6 p.m. in Rushmore Gymnasium.
The event is a fundraiser for the wrestling program and entry is FREE, although a donation is recommended.
The Alumni Team
The Alumni team will feature former Western greats and a handful of MMA fighters.
Ronald Wardleigh – Plain City, UT. 3x UT State Runner-Up. UT record for most pins in a season. Western Wyoming National Qualifier. NCAA All American for Western State University. Majored in Business Administration and Spanish. National leader in pins for the season with 18 in 2016. 60+ career pins. He and his wife Mackenzie (former WWCC Soccer player) have one son, JW. He works as a Project Manager. Wrestled for Coach Castillo.
Andrew Astle – Layton, UT. 2x UT State Champion. 4x UT State Placer. 2x NJCAA Academic All American while attending Western. He and his wife Marisa live in Utah. He attends Weber State University and will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish this fall. Wrestled for Coach Castillo.
Nick Mamalis – Green River, WY. 3x WY State Champion. 4x Finalist. 2008 NJCAA National Runner-Up for Western. Former Western Wyoming Community College Assistant Coach. MMA fighter, Bellator MMA Veteran. Former Green River Grappler. He and his wife Natalie have 5 kids. Nick works at TATA Chemicals. Wrestled for Coach Hodges and Coach Castillo.
Richard Serna – Holbrook, AZ. 3x AZ State Placer. 2x NJCAA National Qualifier for the Mustangs. He and his wife, Amber have one daughter named Blakely. He works as a miner at Solvay. Wrestled for Coach Castillo.
Michael “Magic Mike” Hamel – Phoenix, AZ. 4x AZ State Placer and 2x State Champion. University of Wyoming Starter. Transferred to Grand Canyon University where he was a Team Captain and earned All American honors. He is a professional MMA fighter training out of the MMA Lab. He and his wife Emily have two dogs. Former Green River Grappler. Was roommates with Coach Andy McCulley at UW.
Jake “The Snake” Thompson – Afton, WY. 4x WY State Placer and 2015 State Champion. 2x National Qualifier for the Mustangs and 2018 NJCAA All American. Was a Superior Scholar while attending Western, is currently enrolled at UW, and plans to attend Medical School. Wrestled for Coach Castillo.
Justin Schumacher – Green River, WY. 4x WY State Placer. NJCAA Academic All American and NJCAA All American while competing for the Mustangs. Wrestled for Colorado mesa University and majored in Criminal Justice. Former Green River Grappler. He works for Genesis Alkali. He and his fiancé Alex, reside in Green River. Wrestle for Coach Castillo and Coach Hodges.
Travis Peak – Douglas, WY. 2x WY State Placer. Former Western Wyoming Spartan under Coach Steve Christensen. All American at Chadron State and will enter their Hall of Fame next month. Former MMA fighter. He and his wife, Sarah have three kids Rowyn, Remi, and Ryder. Head Coach and teacher at Kelly Walsh HS where they won the school’s first State Championship in wrestling in 2019.
Ross Taylor – Newcastle, UT. UT State Champion. NJCAA All American while attending Western. 2 Year starter at Utah Valley University. 5 th at the BIG 12 Championships. Majored in Exercise Science and has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. Currently the head wrestling coach and Financial Literacy teacher at Mountain View HS in Orem, UT. His wife’s name is Angela. Wrestled for Coach Castillo.
Colt Reece – Cokeville, WY. 2x WY State Placer. Colt was both a Spartan and a Mustang as he was here when Western changed mascots in 2007. NJCAA National Qualifier. Wrestled at UW. He and his wife Ashley have two kids Madi, and Josie. He works as a PE Teacher in Green River. Wrestled for Coach Hodges and Coach Castillo.
The 2019-20 Mustangs
The Mustangs are coming off back to back Region XI/ Rocky Mountain District Championships and an eighth place finish at the NJCAA Wreslting National Championships where they qualified a school record and nation-tying best 10 wrestlers. The Mustangs also brought home 3 All-Americans.
This season, Western will return two All-Americans, Kyle Evans who placed fifth, and also took fourth at the U.S. Open in April in Greco at 63 kg. The Mustangs will also welcome back Landon Brown who placed third at heavyweight. The team will also return four Regional Champions and four National Qualifiers. The Mustangs also finished with the second highest GPA in the nation last season.
You can also check out our recent podcast with coach Castillo and the wrestling team here.
