Chuck Kirman / Star staff Hanging with Camarillo's Jonathan Urango proved difficult for the competition.

Truly great athletes are never satisfied. They spend their offseason working to improve any flaw — real or imagined.

Although he's just a high school junior, Camarillo High wrestler Jonathan Urango has already shown unquenched desire to get better.

Camarillo coach Ron Wilson got a chance to see just how hard Urango works day in and day out.

Urango transferred to Camarillo this year after spending his first two years at Hueneme High.

While Wilson always knew what a talented wrestler Urango was, he was floored by his work ethic.

"Jonathan is a like sponge soaking up whatever our coaches are willing to teach him," Wilson said. "He is always willing and yearning to know new techniques.

"He competes each offseason in about 70 or 80 freestyle matches, which is equal to about four years of wrestling for the average wrestler. Out of all the wrestlers I have coached in my career, Jonathan is in the top 5 percent as far as ability, attitude, integrity."

Urango's skill and determination led him to new heights this season. He finished fourth at the state tournament, the best showing by an area wrestler.

"Overall, I'm happy with how the season turned out," said Urango, The Star's Wrestler of the Year. "It was a huge disappointment to finish second at the CIF meet and at Masters.

"But my goal at the start of the year was to place at state and I did that. I was not happy with the way I lost my last match there, but overall it was a good year."

The frustration Urango refers to came in his 7-5 loss to Travis Rasmussen, Bakersfield's top-ranked 145-pounder.

Two near-takedowns for Urango weren't allowed in the closing seconds, including one with 30 seconds left in which Urango took down Rasmussen, but was ruled out of bounds.

After the match, Urango waited on the mat — a requirement of wrestlers who are protesting matches — for at least 15 minutes while his coaches argued with referees.

"I had so many coaches come up to me and say that I had won the match,' Urango said. "It makes you feel a little better, but he bottom line is I still lost."

The loss is already driving him to work harder for next season. Urango admits to being a "gym rat," a guy who has no problem putting in a lot of extra time to ensure he is fully prepared when steps on the mat.

Last offseason, Urango increased his amount of running, most days running 3-4 miles after practice to make sure his stamina was unmatched.

He learned about the importance of conditioning from uncles Gabe and Bobby Roman, who both wrestled for Oxnard High in the early 1990s.

Urango's uncles got him into wrestling when he was 5. After taking a break, Urango hit the mat again in sixth grade and has been completely immersed in the sport ever since.

Each summer he travels the country and participates in freestyle wrestling competitions, including the nationals in Fargo, N.D., last summer.

Urango says the extra wrestling has allowed his skills to mature.

"One of my strengths is that I have wrestled a lot," Urango said. "I love traveling to tournaments, getting to see new places and wrestling guys from other states. I wasn't that great when I started, but once I started doing freestyle tournaments, I improved a lot."

Having to adjust to a new team and a new coach made Urango's season even more impressive.

He said his learned a lot from his new teammates and coaches.

Wilson said the same was true for Urango's teammates.

"He was a quiet leader on the team, leading by example," Wilson said. "He raised the level of competition in our practices."

Urango is already looking forward to next year.

"I want to win the state," Urango said of his senior season. "It's not going to be easy, but I think it's a realistic goal."