Mission accomplished for Casa Grande wrestler Justin Naugle

Mission accomplished. Casa Grande High School’s Justin Naugle reached for the moon and landed squarely on target.

A four-year wrestler at Casa Grande High School, Naugle’s goal was the California Interscholastic Federation state tournament, an achievement he accomplished when he finished second in the North Coast Section Tournament.

His goal reached, Naugle said he had no expectations going into the state tournament.

“I wanted to go to state more than anything,” he explained. “I was just thinking about getting there. I wasn’t thinking about anything else.”

Once at the tournament, he was told that it had been a long time since a local wrestler had gone 2 and 2, and that became another goal.

It was another goal reached.

After losing his first match to Andrew Rasmussen of Faith Baptist, Naugle came back strong to defeat Alex Vaca of Madera and Noah Oliver of Oakland Tech in overtime before being eliminated by Laith Gilmore of Poway of San Diego.

His success was an impressive bonus. The reward for six years of hard work and sacrifice was reaching the state-meet experience.

“It was surreal,” he said. “The arena (Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield) is huge, and it was filled. There was so much excitement. It kind of threw me off at first. I kept thinking, ‘This is state. This is real.’?”

It was his father, Jim Naugle, who inspired Justin to try the sport by telling him and his three brothers how much fun he had as a young wrestler.

The second of the four brothers, Justin tried it on the club level and was sold.

“I loved it,” he said. There followed school competition, first at Kenilworth Junior High School as an eighth-grader and then at Casa Grande.

He also played football for three years, but he missed this season because of an injury. He said that might have been a blessing disguised as a hurt.

“It allowed me more time to really go for it in wrestling,” Naugle explained.

Many high school coaches of other sports will acknowledge that wrestling is the most difficult of all sports to prepare for, both physically and mentally.

It is plain hard work.

Naugle loves it. “I like working hard,” he said.

He also loves the competition. “When you step on the mat, your whole goal is to win. It is a different mind set. When I step out there, it is all about winning.”

Once on the mat, it is wrestler against wrestler, but off the mat it is a different story - wrestling becomes a team sport.

“I like the family aspect of it (wrestling). It is the best part of it,” Naugle explained. “Some of my closest friends have come through wrestling.”

For a solidly built and superbly conditioned athlete who likes to throw people down and pin their shoulders to the mat, Naugle has what some would consider a somewhat unusual interest.

He likes art and enjoys drawing, working with pencil and charcoal. All of his work is in black and white for the practical reason that he is color blind, a not-so-big problem on the mat when he has no trouble recognizing his opponent.

On his way to state, Naugle placed in several prestigious tournaments. He was third in San Marin’s Green & Gold Tournament, second in the Healdsburg Tournament, third in the NorCal Beast Tournament in Anderson, second in the Deets Winslow Memorial Tournament in Sonoma, first in the Lou Encalada Tournament in Fairfield and second in the Vine Valley Athletic League championship Tournament.

One of the most enjoyable events of the season for him was the VVAL dual meet showdown at Petaluma High that decided the league championship.

Naugle did his part with a first-round pin, but Casa Grande lost the match.

Still, it was a great experience as the rivals wrestled in the Petaluma gym before a packed house of families, students and alumni.

“That was so much fun,” the Casa wrestler said. “We all know one another and it was a great competing against Petaluma.”

Now it is over. Naugle next fall will join his older brother, Trevor, at the University of Nevada, Reno where he will major in business.

Reno does not have a wrestling team. To continue in the sport he loves, he will have to compete on a club level, and he isn’t sure that he wants to continue on that level as he begins his college education.

Justin is the son of Jim and Kim Naugle. He credits them with being his biggest supporters. His father has coached not only Justin, but all his brothers as they played everything from football to baseball to lacrosse.

Justin is the only one of the four not to play lacrosse, but wrestling has always been No. 1.

Why?

“It’s a lot of fun,” he explained simply.