Jesse Castro - Head Coach - Women's Wrestling Coaches

Jesse Castro

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
jcastro@liberty.edu

Setting precedents has been a hallmark of Jesse Castro’s career. Although only a high school league and regional champ, his wrestling career blossomed as a college wrestler. He became the first Liberty University wrestler to earn over 100 wins, first wrestler in the history of the NCWA (National Collegiate Wrestling Association) to win four national championships, and the first Liberty wrestler to win NAIA All American status placing 4th in the National tournament. He went on to compete for Athletes in Action full-time representing the US overseas winning the international Caracus Cup in Venezuela. He has been coaching full-time for 38 years, coaching in the NCAA Division II level as an assistant at Liberty helping produce 16 NCAA All Americans with a 5th place nationally (1983-88). He went on to take the head coaching position of a fledging program at NCAA III Norwich University (103-47) to an 11th place nationally and 9 All Americans, one national champ, two finalists during his tenure, and was a two-time New England coach of the year (1988 – 1997). Coach Castro moved into the high school ranks in the state of New Jersey building a program to (124-29) a state power; 4-time district, 5-time conference champions and a state dual champion. Ranked in the top 10 of the state 4 times during his tenure, he produced 9 state placers including state champ Brandon Becker (2-time NCAA I All American for Indiana University). He was a conference and district coach of the year 3 times (1997-2005). In 2005 he moved back to his alma mater, Liberty University to start from scratch the newly reinstated NCAA Division I team. He quickly built a team that was 65-45 in Division I competition, 5-time East Regional Champions, producing 24 national qualifiers taking 2 of them to the round of 16. He was a 4-time East Region Coach of the Year, producing 8 Academic All Americans with his team earning 3rd in the country with the Academic Team Award in 2008.

Due to Title IX issues, for the past nine years the team has been reclassified into the NCWA division where they currently have a record of 101-27, nine-time conference champions, 5X National Dual Meet champions, Grand National Champions (4X) with over 80 teams entered in the tournament. Voted Coach of the Year 14 times in the NCWA and NCAA conference (2005 – 2021), Coach Castro is a Hall of Fame inductee at both Liberty University and Norwich University and is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He has his B.S., M.Ed., and Ed.S. He has been married to Elizabeth and has 3 daughters and a son (Jesse, 12). He is also a proud grandfather of 10 grandchildren!