Castro looking for another state title
FAYETTEVILLE — Alissa Castro doesn’t back away from a challenge.
The Fayetteville High School senior claimed a Class 6A state wrestling title a year ago in the 190-pound weight class while at Springdale Har-Ber. But she decided to go down a weight class this season to better prepare for college.
This year, Castro moved back to Fayetteville where she got her start in wrestling.
Fayetteville wrestling Coach Casper Petty said he told her remaining at 190 would likely be an easier path to a second state title.
“I told her, 190 might be the easier,” Petty said. “You’d probably be a shoo-in state champion. But she doesn’t run from competition. She wants that competition.”
Petty acknowledged Castro, who has committed to wrestle at York University in Nebraska, had a perfect response.
“She said, ‘But Coach, I’m wrestling in college. Am I going to be ready for that?’ ” Petty said. “I said, ‘Sis, that’s the best answer you could have given me. One hundred percent, you get down to 170 and you go chase those demons,’ and that’s what she’s doing right now. It’s not going to be an easy course, but that’s why we wrestle. I think with a little bit of mat time we’ll be ready.”
A difference this year for Castro is she’s now in a leadership role, Petty said.
“She’s the one who’s kind of a Mama Bear to all of them, takes care of them, makes sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to,” Petty said. “When we get to these matches, she can kind of calm these girls down and get their mind right and focused.”
Castro said she has drawn more attention this season after winning a state title and with that comes more expectations.
“I know there’s a target on my back,” Castro said.
But her mother said people will be watching throughout life.
“‘Even in jobs , everybody is watching, she said,” Castro said. “She talked to me about college coaches and whatever I post [on social media], ‘People are watching.’ I just try to stay focused.”
Castro’s first sport was basketball, but standing a shade under five feet, she figured out that wrestling might suit her better.
“Wrestling, it’s a big life-changer for me,” Castro said. “As a little girl I always wanted to be a basketball player, but I knew I couldn’t get that far because of how tall I am. In wrestling, it doesn’t matter.”
She’s worked to improve technically as a wrestler and be quicker on her feet, but Castro said the mindset is key.
“You have to go out on the mat knowing you’re going to win,” Castro said. “What catches people in a chokehold is your mentality. I’m working on it even now.”
Castro is off to a solid start with a 10-2 record with losses to former Har-Ber teammate Archer Jones and Alexa Wolf of Rogers, the 6A state runner-up at 170 pounds last season.
She earned three wins in pool play Friday, all by first-period pins, at Fayetteville’s Battle for the Bling. Bracket play will continue today beginning at 9 a.m. The tournament includes 17 teams from five states.
Searcy, the defending Class 5A state team champion, leads the team race with 140 points going into today’s matches, followed by Broken Arrow, Okla., with 123, Flower Mound, Texas, at 116 and Fayetteville at 104.