[Sly Fox]

Castro ready to see results of hard work
Sunday, July 30, 2006

By Bill Evans
billevans@sjnewsco.com

Jesse Castro took a leap of faith last year.

Comfortable after eight successful seasons as the coach of the Kingsway Regional High School wrestling team, which he helped maintain as a state power, Castro left New Jersey and returned to his college alma mater, Liberty University.

It wasn't an easy decision, especially considering staying or leaving were both good options.

A former college coach at Division III Norwich (Vt.), Castro decided to undertake restarting the program at Liberty. He left last summer for the task of restarting a Division I college program from scratch -- including raising his entire budget for the first year through fundraising efforts.

The Flames will take to the mats again this winter after Castro spent the last year recruiting 29 athletes, including Glassboro resident and St. Augustine graduate Jonathan Campbell.

"We're in our embryonic stage," said Castro. "We're waiting for birth. It's an ongoing process, but I expect us to be competitive right away and two to three years down the road hope to have the program where I envision it."

For his first year in Virginia, Castro was a coach without a team -- though he did oversee a club which included some of the 14-16 walk-ons he's expected for the winter. The majority of his time was spent on the road recruiting or raising money.

"I did feel like a suit, like an administrator," said Castro. "I drove 8,000 miles recruiting. I had to raise my own salary last year, which was part of our agreement. I just recently received my first check from the school, which was kind of nice.

"I've been building bridges with the administration, reconnecting with alumni. A lot of the professors were here when I was a student or were people I went to school with. We're in the process of building a new practice facility and I was putting that together. We've made a lot of progress in the last year."

One of the alumni was an easy sell. Castro's best friend, Delsea athletic director Steve Iles, was a teammate of Castro's at Liberty.

"He doesn't offer advice, but he wants updates all the time," said Castro.

Castro's first recruiting class was ranked 23rd in the country. He has scholarship money to offer for the first time as a coach since Norwich was a Division III school.

"Coaching at Norwich prepared me for this," said Castro. "Norwich was a tough place to recruit. We had no money to offer, the weather was terrible in winter, it was a military school and the boy-to-girl ratio was 93-to-7.

"When I l was an assistant at Liberty and left for Norwich, I started the program there. And while they had a strong program at Kingsway, they were still in the building process. So I'm starting over all over again, and I feel like the Lord's prepared me for it."

Even with his new venture, Castro hasn't put New Jersey completely behind him. He made several trips to the area and saw Kingsway wrestle a handful of times.

In talking about the difficult loss to Central in the South Jersey Group III final last year -- which he attended -- Castro referred to the Dragons as "we."

"I was with them every step of the way," said Castro. "I suppose there will always be that attachment."

While leaving New Jersey wasn't an easy decision, Castro now knows it was the right one.

"The first four to five months were rough, we weren't moving along until the administration really stepped up and backed the program," admitted Castro. "But it was the right choice. This is home. I feel a real connection with the people and the administration here.

"I think I'll miss the ambiance of high school wrestling. It's exciting when you get a Delsea-Kingsway or Paulsboro-Kingsway match. You can't beat the crowd, and the environment. You don't get that in college, although when Steve and I wrestled there we used to get 2,000-3,000 people. I guess it's up to us here now to promote the program and get back to that."

http://www.nj.com/sports/gloucester/ind ... xml&coll=8

[Sly Fox]

From the Cherry Hill fishwrap:

Ex-Kingsway coach develops new Liberty program
College Wrestling Notebook

Saturday, February 3, 2007

By JOHN VOGEDING
For the Courier-Post

When Jesse Castro arrived on the scene as the new head coach at Kingsway in 1997, few knew what to expect from a teacher and coach who was coming to South Jersey after coaching on the college level at Norwich University in Vermont.

Over his eight years as coach of the Dragons, people quickly learned just how good he was. His teams compiled a 130-29-1 record. Kingsway won five Tri-County Conference Royal Division and five South Jersey sectional titles, a state Group 2 title and three District 21 championships.

He moved back to the college ranks two years ago when he returned to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., where Castro and close friend Steve Iles (current athletics director at Delsea) earned undergraduate degrees.

Castro, originally from Santa Clara, Calif., was the first four-time national champion of the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association and won 101 matches before graduating in 1981.

Liberty University dropped its collegiate wrestling program over a decade ago. But in August of 2005 Liberty took a giant step toward re-establishing the program by hiring Castro.

"A year ago I was sitting in chapel without a team, with little administrative support, no salary and away from my family (wife Elizabeth, daughters Sarah, Rachel and Hannah) in New Jersey," Castro said. "Now, sitting among 10,000 students knowing that there are 29 wrestlers out there in the crowd and having the announcer make reference to the latest win by the Liberty grapplers is huge."

Castro said some people might ask, "Why attend Liberty?"

"This school, this program has in large part made me what I am today," he said.

Castro said Liberty is a Division I program for those who want to excel to the highest level of collegiate wrestling. The schedule is one which competes against the best in the country.

"Our mission statement is on our Web page (www.libertyflames.com) and this will either turn kids off or inspire them them to look into us further," Castro said.

"If a student is looking for a party school, this is not the place they want to come to. Some look at this as cumbersome, others as refreshing."

Castro, who is assisted by former Clearview High School and George Mason University wrestler Robert Becker, has one South Jersey product on a team that has compiled an 12-6 record to date. Glassboro native and St. Augustine Prep graduate Jonathan Campbell has compiled an 8-15 record competing at 184 and 174 this season.

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/p ... 002/SPORTS