Senior Duwayne Villalpando, one of the top wrestlers at Maize and ranked number one in the state in the 170 weight class, officially announced his commitment to University of Missouri.

“Mizzou just felt like the right fit,” Villalpando said. 

Villalpando recently decommitted from the University of Nebraska. 

“I feel like I made my decision too early and didn’t give any other schools a chance,” he said. 

After decommitting from Nebraska, Villalpando’s favorite coach, Kendrick, moved to Missouri to continue his coaching career, he said this also swayed him to choose Missouri over Nebraska. 

“He is an NCAA champ from OU and I look up to him in a way,” Villalpando said.

He believes that the coaches including, Kendrick, can push him to his full potential in many aspects. 

“I feel like the coaches there could push me to do my best,” Villalpando said. “Not only on the mat but academically as well.”

Villalpando said nobody really impacted him to make this decision.

“I thought long and hard and decided myself,” Villapando said.

With this decision being made, Villalpando is excited about many things.

“I am mostly looking forward to meeting new people and getting better,” he said.

With Villalpando committing to University of Missouri he feels as though his senior season will have to be different.

“I feel like this means I will have to push even harder in the wrestling room every day,” Villalpando said.

Even though he has to push harder on the mat, he said he is just excited to see what his future will be like at University of Missouri.

“I have been wrestling non-stop ever since I can remember,” he said. “And my hard work is finally paying off.”