Ileen Castrejon set a new standard for Zion-Benton wrestling in her senior season. But she would say she didn’t do it alone.
Moments after winning the first state title in program history on Feb. 24, Castrejon wanted to celebrate with coach Hal Lunsford and his staff.
“It felt good knowing everyone was happy for me,” she said. “I stuck with wrestling. I was just doing it for fun when I started. My coaches pushed me. I even wanted to quit after my junior year, but my coaches encouraged me. I wouldn’t have made it to state or won if not for them, especially coach Hal.
“My coaches helped me with everything, not just with wrestling, but with life and school. They were always there for me for everything. My coaches are really like family to me.”
Castrejon (25-1), the 2023-24 News-Sun Girls Wrestler of the Year, became a three-time state medalist when she defeated Lakes junior Josephine Larson by a 2-1 decision in the 190-pound championship match at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.
Lunsford said Castrejon, who placed third at 170 last season and second at 170 in the Illinois High School Association’s first state meet for girls two years ago, worked tirelessly to become a champion and that the entire program helped her do it.
“I have wonderful assistant coaches,” Lunsford said. “We really tried to create a family environment in our practice room. Ileen got great support from her teammates and coaches. Everybody was pulling for her to win state. She had such a strong desire to be a state champion.
“Ever since we started the girls program, she’s been our go-to girl.”
Zion-Benton assistant Daniel Alaniz said he has known Castrejon “probably her whole life” and watched her develop mental and physical toughness over the years.
“She’s been through so many hardships in her life,” Alaniz said. “So many things tried to push her down and knock her out, but she kept moving. She’s shown tremendous resiliency in her life and in wrestling.”
That includes this season. Castrejon had a lingering knee injury that cost her a significant part of the first two months, and she worried that her chance to win a state title was starting to fade. Moving up from 170 to 190 was one of the repercussions of the injury. But Lunsford said Castrejon benefited from the unexpected time off.
“She was out for five weeks, but I think her injury changed her mindset,” Lunsford said. “She got to look at things differently. The grind from hard practices and making sure of making weight weighed on her. It was mentally challenging. So her injury put everything on pause and allowed her to regroup. Her attitude also changed in the practice room.”
Castrejon said wrestling at 190 helped her refocus.
“My confidence came from wrestling up,” she said. “It took the pressure off of me.”
But she faced a learning process in the heavier weight class.
“I had to adjust to their style of wrestling,” she said. “I was trying to do all these shots on these bigger girls, and it wouldn’t work. They were also a lot stronger than at 170 too. I just trusted my coaches and training. My confidence improved a lot.”
Castrejon won tournament titles at Palatine’s Berman Holiday Classic, the Dundee-Crown Invitational and the Lake County Invitational. Lunsford said she was a different wrestler in the second half of the season and also started looking ahead.
“We’ve had so many conversations, a lot of them not about the sport of wrestling, but about life, mental toughness and colleges and her ups and downs,” Lunsford said. “She’s worried about college and becoming the first one to go to college in her family. It was a little scary for her. She was excited but nervous.
“I’m truly blessed to be her coach. It’s been a wonderful ride. She feels at peace now with everything.”
Indeed, Castrejon said the state title has opened new doors for her. She intends to wrestle for Team Illinois in March and compete at national meets in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Fargo, North Dakota.
“The title has impacted me in how I also think about wrestling,” she said. “It motivates me to do more.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
