By Donald. J. Brower
For most competing this weekend in the Girls State Championships at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, it is the culmination of a life-long dream. A goal that most have had since they were a little girl. They have put countless hours, on and off the mat into trying to be the best. Missing family time to get in the extra practice or taping up an injury just to be able to compete. That is not the case when it comes to Manchester Regional’s Tracy Najarro.
The junior is a choice student who applied to Manchester from Paterson Kennedy her freshman year. She comes from a working-class Peruvian family with parents who don’t speak English and was tasked with caring for her younger sister. Tracy was not allowed to spend a lot of time outside the house during the week so this left her little time for any extracurricular activities at school. She wasn’t interested in sports. In fact, the only wrestling she knew about was totally different from what she does now.
“The only wrestling I knew growing up watching WWE,” Najarro said. “I only went out to the store on weekends and wasn’t interested in sports.”
It wasn’t until a random freshman history class that fate intervened. That class happened to be taught by one of the wrestling coaches, Joseph Ickles. He was looking to recruit wrestlers for his team, both boys and girls. Najarro was intrigued and took a chance. She joined the squad. Despite her signing up, it wasn’t an easy start according to Ickles.
“I didn’t think she was going to make it,” Ickles said. “She almost didn’t go out for her first match but I put my foot down and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Najarro went out that day, despite tears in her eyes and a bundle of nerves, finished 2-2. Most importantly, it instilled confidence in her and introduced her into a world she had never been a part of. Since that first weekend of wrestling, Ickles has seen her grow on the mat and in the classroom.
“She really took to wrestling like a fish to water,” Ickles said. “She is coachable. We show her a move in practice and next match she is using that move successfully. Tracy has confidence.”
While that first day of action helped her realize she could wrestle, there was still a problem. Who would watch her sister Luciana when she had to practice or wrestle since her parents had to work?
The coaching staff came up with a solution. Tracy was allowed to bring her sister to practices and matches to help get her onto the wrestling mat. The staff would also drive her home or help her attend events because they saw her overall potential. Those little concessions have lifted some of the adult responsibilities that Najarro had taken on in her young life and she has thrived.
“My parents trust me even more now that I am in a sport,” Najarro said. “My dad lets me do way more now because of wrestling.”
As a result, she has made remarkable improvement with each subsequent match, which culminated in a tough but eye-opening 3-1 last-second loss to Depaul’s Caroline Biegel in the North 1 Regional Finals at Vernon on Sunday, becoming the first Manchester Regional wrestler to qualify for the state tournament in 20 years. Biegel, who finished second in the state last year, was so impressed with her that she offered to help Najarro train in the off-season which the Manchester junior happily accepted.
“I felt really happy,” Najarro said. “Even though I lost the match, when she came over to me, I was really happy. I knew she was good but to have her offer to help me is great.”
While Najarro has a tough task this weekend in a loaded 235 bracket, the fact that she is even competing is a win for her and the school. She has a good shot to be on the podium this season and the sky is the limit for her next year. To think, with the success she has had, the only thing she thought she was going to learn on that day twenty-four months ago was about the Renaissance.
