BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — An Auburn High School girls wrestler recently represented the Lady Tigers on the national stage.
Rising senior Caroline Cerro was chosen to represent the state of Alabama at the 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals, which was held in Fargo, North Dakota, on July 10-18.
While competing in the 207-pound weight class, Cerro reached the round of 32 consolation bracket. There, she lost to Team Illinois’ Aarianna Bloyd via a 10-0 technical fall after two minutes and 19 seconds.
That loss came after she defeated Team Nebraska’s Shaylee Calloway via fall after two minutes and 17 seconds in the round of 64 championship bracket and then fell to Team Illinois’ Phoenix Molina via fall after one minute and 34 seconds in the round of 32 championship bracket.
Despite the losses, Cerro said the opportunity to face some of the nation’s top girls high school wrestlers was a dream she could have never even conceived of.
“If you had told me two years ago that I would be [competing] at national tournaments and winning matches in national tournaments, I would have laughed at you,” Cerro said. “I’ve lost 66 pounds since I started wrestling. It’s done a lot for me and helped build my confidence. Like I feel capable; I tell myself that I can do it and that [I’m] strong.”
Earlier this summer, Cerro also competed in the 2026 Women’s National Duals tournament held in Westfield, Indiana, on June 17-20.
There, Cerro finished with a 1-4 record in the Junior Freestyle division’s 207-pound weight class, winning the lone victory via fall and losing two matches via fall, one via technical fall and one via decision.
“I’m very proud to represent Auburn and show them what Alabama girls can do, because a lot of people discount Alabama because we’re Alabama,” Cerro said.
Locally, Cerro participated in the Deep South Nationals meet held in Birmingham from July 31 to Aug. 2, where she was named a folk style All-American and recorded second-place finishes in both the 195-pound weight class folk style and freestyle events.
Her participation in the events capped off a junior season that saw her finish with a 29-7 overall record and place second in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Class 6A/7A 235-pound weight class.
Cerro lost the first-place match in the state tournament to Gulf Shores High School’s Khloe Henshaw, who finished the season 32-0, via fall after three minutes and 20 seconds.
Her runner-up finish helped spearhead a top-three overall finish for the Lady Tigers, who had just four wrestlers qualify for the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s first-ever sanctioned girls championship meet.
It’s a meteoric rise that has seen Cerro become one of the top female wrestlers in the state after she didn’t even know girls could wrestle competitively until her sophomore year, when a girl in her weightlifting class told her she should join the team.
Auburn head wrestling coach Taylor Registor said her work ethic was evident when she approached him about wrestling for his program less than three years ago.
That work ethic manifested itself as her voluntarily showing up for workouts at 6 a.m. after her dual-enrollment precalculus class prevented her from taking Auburn’s new wrestling class.
He added that her goal-setting and ability to think about and plan for the future were unusual in a person her age.
“The hard work and the dedication that it takes to be a good person in life is why she is successful in a sport like wrestling,” Registor said. “She doesn’t take shortcuts, look for the easy route or run from people. A lot of times she’s having to wrestle with guys in the weight room because she [competes in] the upper weight classes, and she’s not skipping a beat. She looks for trouble to make her successful, and I’m just really proud of her for how hard she works.”
Ahead of the upcoming season, Cerro said her goals include cutting additional weight to compete in the 185-pound weight class and continuing to improve her wrestling skills.
Since colleges including Brown University, Lincoln Memorial University, Huntington College and Wesleyan College have recruited her, Cerro said she will also seek to improve her 4.15 GPA and 29 ACT.
On the mat, she said she hopes to be a leader for younger female wrestlers to look up to as she’ll be one of the only seniors on the team, and improve her freestyle wrestling.
Cerro said she also hopes Auburn will advertise girls wrestling more and promote the sport as it does with football and basketball.
Until then, Cerro said she is going to enjoy preparing for her final season in a Lady Tigers uniform and make the most of the experience.
“Whatever happens, I just want to lead the team the best way I can, be polite and encourage people,” Cerro said. “I have supportive teammates who I feel like I can lean on whenever I need help, and I just want to cheer each other on and try the best I can to help them.”
