SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) -- A Springfield Central graduate and wrestler from our community is making history at the collegiate level, after fighting his way to the podium at the NCAA National Tournament.

With a 0-4 record entering the NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Tournament, Cesar Alvan’s journey back to the top was anything but straightforward. Western Mass News got to speak with the Ludlow native, who tells us, “You know, it’s something that you work so hard for. And just to see everything come to fruition and happen, it’s beautiful... And it’s like, I knew I was better than that. I really did. I knew I had more to give, and falling short of an outcome I really wanted and worked so hard for, you know, being on that podium last year, which I certainly knew I was capable of, it was hard.”

Alvan entered a 12-seed and finished third, a feat not only making him the highest finisher in Columbia University history, but also, the first ever Brazilian to finish at the podium in tournament history. “To be able to represent Brazil like that and do this for them is amazing. And it’s a huge honor. There’s no greater pride in that,” Cesar explains.

With a career that saw him learning takedowns by the time he learned to walk, his former coach and principal here in Springfield tell us this accomplishment is exciting but not shocking.

Springfield Central High School Principal Tad Tokarz, saying, “Just knowing Caesar, knowing his family, and knowing how hard he works, again, both academically and athletically, I was not surprised whatsoever.”

His former Coach Mike Rafferty agrees, adding, “Cesar not only excelled on the wrestling mat, but he excelled in the classroom. You know, straight-A student that inevitably led for him to have opportunities.”

It’s a mentality Cesar credits his parents for, “I learned to walk on the mats. And without that foundation, my father and his gym provided me and, you know, my parents... It provided everything for me.”

He hopes that the adversity from a season ending injury during his senior year at Central, to a winless record entering his senior year of college, can inspire the next generation of wrestlers here in western Mass. to one day grapple with greatness.

“There’s no one else that you can count on more than yourself. And when you truly love something and you truly know that you’re putting in the work for it...Anything’s possible.”

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