Watsonville native Eli Alvarado just celebrated his 14th birthday in February.
But the list of his most recent wrestling accomplishments might indicate it could easily be someone with a lot more experience under their belt.
Or in this case, under their headgear.
It began on Feb. 21 with a first place trophy in the 136-pound division at the Rumble in Reno Tournament, which featured hundreds of athletes from across the nation. Alvarado was also runner-up in the 140-pound division.
The youngster went on to win the 140-pound 14-U division at the California USA Wrestling Folkstyle Tournament in Fresno on March 14. There he faced a group of challenging wrestlers from all over the state, which made the victory much sweeter.
“It was better than Rumble in Reno,” Alvarado said. “It wasn’t as hard as the 140 [pound division] in Rumble in Reno, but because they’re only from California it was still pretty challenging.”
Alvarado finished with a 6-1 record in the 140-pound division at the CA USA Wrestling Greco Tournament in Fresno on April 17-19. The one defeat bumped him down to No. 3 in his weight class, and is no longer in the running for the triple crown.
But, a loss on the mat won’t deter him from training even harder for next month’s CA USA Wrestling Freestyle Tournament in Fresno on May 29-31.
Alvarado began his undeveloped wrestling career for the Watsonville Rivercatz, which is now known as Okie’s Kids Wrestling Club.
Over the past few years, he’s been making the trip four days a week, sometimes twice a day, to Gilroy to train at the Daniel Cormier Wrestling Academy with Daniel Cormier—a former professional wrestler and mixed martial artist.
“[Cormier’s] not always there, but when he is there it’s cool,” Alvarado said. “I like the other coaches that are there, and it’s a pretty big club.”
Cormier has quite the wrestling resume himself, including a gold medal in the 96-kilogram division at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo and 2002 Pan American Championships in Maracaibo.
Alvarado hasn’t had the chance to wrestle Cormier but best believe the student is soaking in everything the coach has to say, exactly like a sponge.
Alvarado said the biggest takeaway from attending the academy is learning how to be accountable for his own actions, and the results that come from it.
“Wrestling is on me, and I can’t rely on anyone else to help me win,” Alvarado said. “There’s not a team in wrestling.”
However, the youngster isn’t completely alone. His mother, Monique Montes-Alvarado, has been riding alongside his son’s journey the entire time. So far, the family has traveled as far as Ohio and South Dakota.
“It’s definitely exciting, and I think it’s a lot of fun, too,” Montes-Alvarez said. “That is our family vacation.”
Alvarado had a strong run both athletically and academically during the month of February. He maintained a 3.5 grade point average, while putting in extra work to finish his Folkstyle season on a high note.
Alvarado, who is currently homeschooled, mentioned that having good grades is a big must if he wants to continue wrestling in high school.
“If you can’t do sports, then you probably can’t get into a good college,” he said. “I”m trying to get a scholarship to get into college, and I can’t do that without a high GPA.”
Alvarado has a couple of dream schools in mind, including Stanford because it’s one of the best colleges academically and it’s close to home.
His other choice is across the country at Penn State University, which is currently one of the top colleges for wrestling having won five consecutive NCAA Division I team titles.
Alvarado’s path to a collegiate career became a lot more sturdier after he received some exciting news Tuesday afternoon. He was invited to represent the state of California in the 140-pound weight class as a member of the US national team.
“It’s been interesting to see the more we travel to see the competition and kind of gauge where he’s at, which is pretty cool,” Montes-Alvarado said. “He stands pretty tall amongst the crowd. He’s got a really good work ethic.”
Alvarado will travel to Florida alongside a team made up of top wrestlers from across California to compete against other elite state teams in a week-long dual tournament in June.
On top of that, he was selected to represent his region in a California dual team tournament that will take place in Fresno, also in June.
“[Eli] is extremely excited for these opportunities, and as parents, we couldn’t be more proud of his hard work, dedication and accomplishments,” Montes-Alvarado said.
Correction: A previous version of this story said Eli Alvarado makes a trip to Gilroy twice a week, which is incorrect. Alvarado goes to Gilroy four days a week.
What a great champion and my role model!!