ASU Town Hall event brings wrestling community together

Sun Devil Wrestling hit the road for their first ever Town Hall event, and Yuma was one of the stops

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - People live and breathe wrestling in Yuma, and Arizona State Wrestling is kicking off their town hall series for the first time as a program.

The idea is for ASU Wrestling Head Coach Zeke Jones and Senior Director of Southwest Wrestling Dave Kiley to talk about Sun Devil wrestling in different parts of the state, and Yuma's Pint House is one of four stops.

"You got to come to Yuma when you're talking about wrestling, right? I mean, the history and tradition of the sport here is unmatched," Jones said.

Gila Ridge Head Coach Abel Villamoreno thinks events like these go beyond Yuma too.

"I think it's more than just, you know, the Yuma community. I think Arizona wrestling itself is on a rise and I think the coaches are seeing that," Villamoreno said. "I think, you know, Yuma being a part of a stop is not only gonna help our program, but it's gonna help their program as well."

For Kiley, his goal is similar. Southwest Wrestling Club wants to connect the entire wrestling community and grow it across the state.

"Recently, we just launched Southwest Wrestling Club, and the main initiative that we want to do, is we want to connect with the community and we want to help out wrestling across the entire state and eventually across the region," Kiley said.

He acknowledges how the college landscape is evolving as well, and that is part of the reason why Southwest Wrestling started.

The organization plans to increase resources for Arizona State Wrestling by helping with operational costs and NIL. He also added they're going to build a regional training center to bring world-class athletes to Tempe.

As long as Sun Devil Wrestling and the Southwest Wrestling Club continue to promote the sport, the possibilities for growth are endless.