Hastings, Hayden WY: Ready for Battle
By Bill X. Barron
“The work you put in is the result you get out. If you put the time in, it will pay off,” espouses Wyoming’s Hayden Hastings, a 3-time high school state champion (4-time finalist), now the 174-pounds starter for University of Wyoming. “In college, it’s all a learning game. You have to be good every single day.”
For a kid from rural Sheridan, WY, Hayden’s first RMN event was literally “an eye-opener, wrestling kids I had never heard of, every one of them good. I saw then how big the sport could be. I watched the high profile finals with the lights and the raised stage. I knew then I wanted to be part of that.”
A 2X Virginia Beach and Reno TOC All-American, Hayden kept returning to prove himself in the championships closest to home, the RMN Nationals in Denver, where he earned titles as the best in class at 12U, 15U, and 18U. “You can’t get down on yourself. Take your losses, look at your mistakes, then correct them,” says Hayden.
States Hayden’s dad and early years coach Phil: “What Ed Gutierrez has done is great for the whole Rocky Mountain region. RMN created a highly competitive atmosphere which required a high level of technique even at an early age.”
Follows Tyson Shatto, Hayden’s Sheridan High coach: “RMN allowed Hayden to search out competition in his own backyard. The exposure to quality wrestlers and the credentials he earned out of season helped him get his name out to college coaches.”
After qualifying for the NCAA Championships his freshman year, Hayden had his sights set on placing in the virus-canceled 2020 NCAA’s. His UW college coach Mark Branch, 4-time NCAA finalist and 2X champion at OSU, relates: “Hayden is very important to our team cohesion. A Wyoming-raised kid, he has bought into our program, experienced success, and boosted our energy and culture.”
Unusual for a junior high wrestler, Hayden knew early on that he wanted to be a college athlete. Coach Shatto tells: “In 7th and 8th grade, Hayden worked out with the high school team. He simply loved the work, loved the process of getting better. Always asking for extra work, you’d see Hayden there mornings as well as after practice. A student of the sport, he fell in love with it.”
“Hayden was never scared to wrestle anyone,” Tyson continues. “Win or lose, he was never nervous, just ready to battle. In 14 years of coaching, I have never seen anyone as confident in his ability to compete. He always had a dream, but there was a learning curve, especially as he grew (126 lbs. in 9th grade to 174 lbs. in college). Hayden stood out from others with his total dedication and unyielding determination to be the best.”
In college, Hayden learned “you have to be so crisp, so clean with everything you do. The mental aspect can be your biggest asset or opponent. My joy comes in overcoming doubt, my own and others. You get back up, then get in some guy’s face. When you step on the mat, especially in college, you flip a switch – you can be friends after the match.”
For Hayden, “The University of Wyoming is an amazing place to train, in a 44-million dollar Regional Training Center with a full-service nutrition center and amazing weight room at the highest altitude in Division I. RTC Coach Teyon Ware (4-time All-American and 2X NCAA Champion at Oklahoma) is so good at teaching technique.”
Dad and coach Phil asserts: “Mat time is key. The more we traveled, Hayden picked up different styles and techniques. He was always learning. His inner drive and extreme competitiveness kept him battling. Just as importantly, had the humility which allowed him to be coachable.”
Sheridan area dad, club coach, and RMN referee Kenny Osborne talks about the family and team culture that developed Hayden into a stud: “It all begins with the mom Shalisha; she endured all the adversity. In raising a wrestler, not enough is said about the mother’s role. Shalisha was the anchor that supported everything, so then Hayden and Phil could put in the work to see it through.”
“Between the parents and coaches,’ Kenny continues, the time was spent to work longer, harder, and smarter to provide Hayden with a solid foundation. That base will be there not only on the mat, but also in whatever endeavors he decides to embrace throughout his life.”
Hayden has been everything Coach Branch sought for the top-tier Division I program he has built: “Hayden has a very high ceiling. As he continues to improve and mature, I expect he will continue to climb into the nation’s elite. Here at UW, we need buy-in and loyalty. Hayden brings that and more.”