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It was an amazing – and improbable – 36 hours for Amador Valley wrestler Eliana Caro.
Caro, a senior in her fourth year of wrestling, won the North Coast Section 100-pound girls’ title on Saturday, Feb. 21. It wasn’t an upset, as Caro was among the elite in the section all season.
She had advanced to the CIF meet as a sophomore, so the talent was obvious.
But given on Thursday, Feb. 19 winning a section title was the last thing on Caro and her coaching staff’s minds …
Five days earlier in the NCS Divisional tournament – a new level of postseason put into play this season – Caro was in the third-place match when she hurt her knee.
“I thought there was no way I could wrestle,” Caro said of NCS. “I told the coaches there was no way.”
Caro had gone through a week of no practice, but with intense therapy. It just didn’t appear to be a possibility.
Amador coach Travis Chubb spoke to the emotions from that Thursday.
“Everyone was trying to cheer her up when she told us that night that she wasn’t going to wrestle,” Chubb said. “When we left that night, everyone was in tears, thinking her season was over.”
Later that night Caro made a decision after thinking about the end of her high school career.
“I texted my coach and said, it was my last year,” Caro said. “I wanted it so bad.”
And she was back in NCS.
“I had no expectations,” Caro said. “I hadn’t practiced all week.”
Chubb and his staff had a basic plan. “Let’s see how it goes match by match,” he said.
Despite having to change her style, Caro got through the first match in short order when she pinned Janessa Rawat of Foothill in just one minute, 29 seconds.
In the second round, she fell behind Rebekah Gutierrez of College Park early but was able to pin her as well at the 3:48 mark.
That brought the semifinals and a familiar opponent in Cali Courteau of California. The two wrestled five times over the course of the season, and they were always wild matches.
“They were usually like 12-10, 10-7 – those kinds of matches,” Chubb said.
The injury forced a new strategy.
“I couldn’t really shoot,” Caro said. “That was such a big part of my style.”
Caro still had one major thing in her arsenal – her defense.
“She is so good with her defense,” Chubb said. “She just didn’t give up any points.”
Instead of a high-scoring semifinal, Caro came through with a hard-fought 1-0 strategic win that sent her to the finals. There was no stopping at this point.
“Once I started the final, I was in a zone,” Caro said.
Caro got her NCS title with a 5-3 win over Alyse Domingo of Washington. When the buzzer sounded, the emotions were unleashed.
“I was so full of emotions,” Caro said. “I was crying on the mat.”
“She had a goal,” Chubb added. “She has beaten (Domingo) before, but she was not near 100% and everyone in the tournament knew she was hurt. Just getting out to the tournament showed her tenacity. The moment itself (the final buzzer) was so emotional. I was looking at the coaches, and we were counting it down at the end. It was a crazy 36 hours.”
Caro competed the next week at the CIF meet, but the injury – coupled with another week of no practice – made for a monumental task.
She did win her first match but then dropped the next two to end her high school career.
“‘What if?’ did go through my mind,” Caro said about thinking how it would have gone if she was 100%. “But just getting there meant a lot.”
It was an amazing show of resiliency, heart and courage to win the NCS title and it may be the capping of her wrestling career.
“I do love the sport,” Caro said when asked about her college plans. “But there are other things I want to do.”
Amador boys’ basketball
The Dons’ run to a state title fell two games short when they fell 74-71 to Oakland Tech.
Cade Krueger had 25 points, and Jaylen Smith had 23 points. Biruk Menna had 10 points and 12 rebounds for Amador.
In the first round the Dons beat Serra 62-58, getting 26 points from Jaylen Smith. Elijah Stanley had 12 points and Cade Krueger added 11.
In the second game, the Dons went on the road to beat Sacramento 69-64. Smith had 22 points, Krueger 13, and Stanley and Dante Ventura finished with 10 each.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
