Azure Makes Mark With Coaching Career

The outstanding wrestling accomplishments achieved by Roosevelt County native Dustyn Azure started innocently enough in a Poplar classroom.

Azure, now the head wrestling coach of Eastern Oregon University, remembers a signup sheet for AAU wrestling being available when he was in kindergarten.

“I was hooked from there,” Azure said. “It was something to keep me focused.”

Azure, an Assiniboine and Sioux Nations citizen, earned one state AAU championship but hasn’t always enjoyed an easy path on the mats. He placed sixth at state as a sophomore and fourth as a junior at Wolf Point High School. Things came together physically and mentally when he was a senior as he won the state title at 152 pounds.

“A lot of it was believing in myself,” Azure said of his success as a senior. “It also was keeping the same mental attitude from practice to the matches.”

One life change for Azure occurred when he attended a wrestling camp at Montana State University-Northern in Havre after his junior year of high school. The Lights’ coach was so impressed with Azure’s talent that he asked the wrestler if he would be a “walk-on” for that next year.

“He thought I was a senior already,” Azure remembered. “We started making contact quite a bit after that.”

Once he arrived at Northern, he was designated as a redshirt freshman. Then as a competing freshman, Azure stood out and earned NAIA All-American honors by placing fourth at the national meet.

He then needed to overcome obstacles again. For the next two years, he struggled with staying healthy. “I was kind of plagued by injuries,” he noted.

Azure responded in his senior year by earning All-American recognition again by placing sixth at the national competition. During his time in Havre, the Lights captured four national titles.

“It was definitely great to be part of such a group,” Azure said. “No one had anything less in their minds than winning a national championship. That includes our coach. He instilled that in us.”

Finished with earning honors on the mat as a competitor, Azure didn’t want to be done with the sport. His first job was as a teacher and coach in Ronan.

During his time in Ronan, Azure coached five state champions and led the Chiefs to multiple top five finishes as a team. Four of his wrestlers ended up being collegiate All-Americans.

After accomplishing success, Azure’s next step was returning to his alma mater with the goal of putting the Lights back on the national stage.

“We wanted Northern back in the spotlight,” Azure said.

He served as the head assistant coach and recruiter for the Lights. During his four years there, Northern had 14 All-Americans and placed high as a team at the national level.

Since taking the head coaching position at Eastern Oregon University, the Mountaineers’ success has included four NAIA All-Americans and two top 20 team finishes at the national meet.

One of Eastern Oregon’s main rivals are the Northern Lights.

“It’s a good friendly rivalry, they are in our conference,” Azure noted. “Of course, we want to beat them, but we want to beat everybody. A few understand that I came from there, so they seem to wrestle a little harder.” Last year, Northern edged Eastern Oregon by one point in a dual, but Eastern placed higher at the conference tournament.

What this season for NAIA wrestling will bring is certainly a mystery. “We have our fingers crossed,” Azure said about the upcoming season with COVID concerns. “We try to stay optimistic.”

Wrestlers needing to be mentally tough isn’t anything new.

“A big part of wrestling is keeping our mental health,” Azure said. Earning national titles is the goal for the Mountaineers. “Everybody has the mindset that they have a mission to accomplish.”

Azure’s coaching tips aren’t limited to only his Eastern Oregon athletes. His younger brother Hunter holds a record of 9-1 on the big stage of Mixed Martial Arts.

“He’s my little brother, I’ve always been coaching him,” Dustyn Azure said. “I’m always there to support him.”

He recently spent time at a training center in Las Vegas with Hunter.

“We’re always talking on the phone, talking about different Remembering where he comes from, Dustyn returns to the Fort Peck area every summer. He’s held some wrestling camps in Poplar and Rocky Boy. “I try to give back to the Native Culture and Reservation,” Azure said.

He tries to sit down with the younger wrestlers for goal setting. Azure aims to teach the wrestlers the lessons that he learned on his path to success.

“They understand they need to set their goals high,” Azure said. “Keep shooting for the stars. A big thing is a belief of yourself. As long as you put in hard work, anything is possible.”