The lights were at their brightest, the competition was fierce, and the stakes were as high as ever. For Pride wrestler Esuar Ordonez, stepping onto the mat at the NCAA Division III National Championships as a sophomore was a result of his years of dedication and hard work.
But just one year earlier, Ordonez was at his lowest.
He finished his freshman season with a 9-13 record. He knew that if he was going to reach his goals, changes would need to be made.
“I came into freshman year thinking I was gonna be great, thinking I was gonna start and go to nationals and All-American, and I ended up not even starting by the end of the year,” Ordonez said.
Ordonez’s journey to becoming one of Springfield College’s top wrestlers started long before he stepped onto the mat for the Pride. Growing up in Putnam Valley, N.Y., Ordonez had multiple siblings, but one of them in particular influenced his life forever: his older brother.
“My older brother was a big reason why I got into wrestling,” Ordonez said. I always looked up to him, and seeing him compete made me want to do it too.”
The admiration Ordonez carries for his older brother is a clear indication of how he cherishes that relationship. By eighth grade, Ordonez made a jump to his school’s varsity wrestling team, where he was able to be on the same team as his older brother.
As he continued on his journey through high school, the idea of wrestling at a collegiate level started to grow on Ordonez. This endeavor was not something that he accomplished on his own.“The motivators are the people behind me: my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister, my girlfriend; they support me through everything,” Ordonez said.
His girlfriend played a major role in Ordonez’s decision to wrestle at a collegiate level. When Ordonez expressed his uncertainty of moving forward with the sport in his career, his girlfriend took initiative in helping him explore that opportunity.
“My girlfriend literally sent emails out for me to colleges to talk about wrestling,” Ordonez said. “She was the one who pushed me to wrestle in college. I didn’t know if I wanted to before her.”
After all of the searching and processes that Ordonez went through, he finally landed on where his home would be for the next four years.
“I wanted to stay close to New York, my home. The campus, the people, the program. Everything about Springfield pulled me in, and I loved it ever since,” Ordonez said.
Going into his freshman year, Ordonez was ready to make his mark on the mat. Conversely, things did not go the way he intended.
“I attempted to go down to 125 pounds, so I would cut about 20 pounds a week,” Ordonez said. “That just wasn’t smart for my body, it wasn’t allowing me to wrestle how I actually could.”
Ordonez knew that playing the sport at a collegiate level was going to take time for him to adjust and get better, and with a little bit of guidance from leaders around him, he knew he was going to.
“I had some good leaders in Jacob Deguire, Myles Leonard, and Ben Katz,” Ordonez said. “I could look up to them and use them as an example of how I should be, and over time, I developed into those roles.”
At the end of his freshman season, Ordonez went back to the drawing board with the things he had learned. Using the experience and knowledge gained from just one season on Alden Street, Ordonez’s sophomore season allowed for him to have a different mindset. He adjusted and was ready to prove what he could accomplish on the mat.
“The relationship between your weight, food and working out is a constant battle of knowing where you are and where you need to be,” Ordonez said. “When I went to 133 pounds, I was just way more comfortable. The weight cut was a lot easier and way more manageable.”
Ordonez’s adjustment from 125 to 133 pounds allowed him to focus on taking the next step in his season. Without having to worry as much about making weight, he could dedicate more of his time and energy toward improving his skills and adjusting to the competition at his new weight class.
From there, Ordonez never looked back. Finishing the season with a 28-11 record, he earned his spot at the regional championships, backed by the impactful guidance from coach Jason Holder.
“He can adjust to how you wrestle, and help you craft your own style and make sure it works,” Ordonez said. “He has built a hard-nosed philosophy that you have to work hard, which I really do admire.”
Ordonez wrestled to his best abilities at regionals, and all of the hard work he put in paid off. He placed third in his weight class, qualifying for the NCAA Division III Championships.
Ordonez had a strong showing at the national championships, winning two matches during the competition. However, he ultimately fell short of his goal of being a national champion.
“It meant everything last year,’ Ordonez said. “I ended up working hard, figuring out systems that I talked about and I found my confidence. But there’s still more to do.”
His ambitions extend beyond the sport of wrestling. In the classroom, Ordonez is in the Criminal Justice program, hoping to work in law enforcement after school. The balance between sports and school is important for him.
“I want to become a state trooper after college in New York,” Ordonez said. “I’ve always done pretty good with keeping my academics in line, but it always does come first. You have to make sure that’s ready before you’re good for sports.”
Ordonez ended his season not achieving his goal on the mat, but found another accomplishment to be proud of.
“I got Academic All-American last year. I’ve done well with the GPA, but you need to place in the region or have above a two-thirds win ratio,” Ordonez said. “I wasn’t able to do that my freshman year, but doing it last year meant a lot.”
Now having the experience of making the national championships in the sport he loves, there is no doubt in Ordonez’s mind that he can compete against the best wrestlers in Division III. The junior’s leaps since freshman year have given him confidence heading into another season, knowing what it takes to reach that next level.
“If you step on that mat, you want to be a national champion and you want to be an All-American. There’s a lot of things I have to do to get there, but that is my goal,” Ordonez said.
With another season underway, Ordonez is ready for any challenges that come his way and to make his name known on the national stage.