- Slug: Sports–Country Representation, 2,000 words.
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By Dylan Ackermann
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Grand Canyon women’s basketball player Trinity San Antonio still dreams about indulging in the viral chocolate chip muffins from the Olympic Village.
A must-have on her plate or in her hands at every meal, the Puerto Rican guard cherished enjoying what many could only experience through social media.
While the flavor of the American-inspired pastry somehow earned gold in a country famous for its pastries, there was a deeper meaning – beyond taste – that made it her favorite part of the Paris Olympics last summer.
“It goes back to when my dad was little and he would go to the island and he just got to experience what it meant to be Puerto Rican. Being able to forge my own path and figure out for myself what it means to feel, identify and become Puerto Rican,” San Antonio said. “That was the biggest thing for me.”
San Antonio isn’t the only Valley-based athlete who recently proudly wore a jersey from her grandmother’s native country on one of sport’s highest stages.
Caprice Chiuchiolo, a Gilbert Christian high school girl’s soccer player, recently donned an Ecuador jersey in three group stage games of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Wearing the colors, flag and crest at the highest stage for the first time as the lone player who didn’t originally hail from Ecuador, Chiuchiolo found comfort in knowing that the country would be supporting her.
This sense of support – in the midst of dealing with nerves – not only eased her transition but also deepened her love for wearing the jersey and representing her nation.
It all culminated with a decisive 4-0 win on Tuesday, where Chiuchiolo scored two goals and earned Player of the Match honors, securing a quarterfinal matchup with reigning champions Spain on Sunday. This followed a 2-0 victory over the Dominican Republic in the opening game and a 4-0 loss to Nigeria in the second.
“We know we have lots of people cheering us on in Ecuador,” Chiuchiolo, a Grand Canyon-commit, said prior to the World Cup. “They love soccer and they all rally around us and the team. More importantly, we know that they’ll be waiting for us when we come back home because we know that no matter what, the people of Ecuador will always support each other.”
As they share the experience of representing their fathers’ heritage, GCU and competing on one of the biggest stages, they feel more connected to their lineage than ever, despite living hundreds of miles from the country they represent.
That, in itself, speaks to what it truly means to put on their nation’s colors.
“It means everything,” San Antonio said. “Everything about who I am, about what I fight for, about my lineage, about my history. It’s part of me.”
Born and raised in California, San Antonio recalls waking up as early as 5 a.m. to watch the 2012 London Olympics.
For her, receiving the knock – her coach knocking on the door at 9 p.m. in a hotel room in Spain for the Olympic Qualifiers – instantly led her to assume she was getting cut.
Once she was told she had made the team, everything came full circle.
“No one works harder than T.T.,” GCU women’s basketball teammate Laura Erikstrup said. “I wouldn’t say that about anyone other than T.T. That girl is in the gym 24/7, whether it’s seven in the morning or seven at night. She lives in the gym and works harder than anyone I know.”
When San Antonio was 18, she received an invitation to the national team camp in Puerto Rico ahead of the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Australia.
Expecting the same outcome to eventually come her way as it did the night she heard the knock, she approached practice with the mindset of making her teammates better.
Even when she made the cut, her approach benefited her both on and off the court.
“I was coming out of my freshman year of college at California Baptist,” San Antonio said. “I barely knew anything about what it means to play for a team like this or what it means to represent your country. So that was a really great experience.”
And it couldn’t have happened without her grandmother, who, when San Antonio arrived for the national team camp in Puerto Rico, gave her a true understanding of what the culture is all about.
From taking her around San Juan and introducing her to her large family, to Zumba lessons in the morning and “hanging out with all the abuelitas 24/7,” these experiences left a lasting impact.
Seeing her grandmother’s version of life and how much it meant to her left San Antonio eager to forge her own path, motivating her more than ever. San Antonio averaged 7.5 points per game for a Puerto Rico squad that finished eighth in the final standings. Puerto Rico faced the former back-to-back WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces, at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina, last May in preparation for the 2024 Olympics.
With nothing guaranteed and the stakes even higher, San Antonio didn’t play the entire first quarter. Subbing in to start the second, she made an immediate impact, sinking a bank shot to open the quarter and finished with a team-high 10 points.
“Funny fact, I didn’t even shoot a ball before we even started playing and during the entire warmup because they had a chapel,” San Antonio said. “I just remember the most significant thing for me was I walked in that room, Syd Colson, Alysha Clark, like people that you’ve seen through a phone or on TV. I think that was a confidence booster for me that it doesn’t matter what level you get to, your foundation still should stay the same.
“I think that not shooting a ball did me some justice, not going to lie.”
In addition to guarding USA national team members Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young, San Antonio knocked 6-foot-3 center Megan Gustafson off balance to hit a fadeaway jumper, prompting her teammates to cheer, “Trin, you’re out here hooping.”
As the youngest member vying for a spot, making a lasting impression that night was not just about securing a place on the team; it represented another opportunity to forge deeper connections to her lineage and carve her own path through something she loves.
There was no better way to achieve this than on the biggest stage in all of sports.
“We have an Olympian here at GCU,” GCU women’s coach Molly Miller said. “It’s amazing. I think she grew a lot. She was playing against the best in the world. So for her to not only play against that competition, but even from a mental standpoint. In game opportunities, off the court opportunities, preparation opportunities, she’s really grown a lot.
“For her to bring that back to her teammates, it’s special.”
Whether it was 2 a.m. or 11 a.m., Miller, Erikstrup and their families were watching San Antonio and cheering her on, even pausing the TV for Miller’s kids to take pictures with her in the background.
While she anticipated support from family, friends and the community, the outpouring from Puerto Rico far surpassed anything she had ever envisioned or anticipated.
“Before we left, there was a walk where we walked through the city of San Juan where we went to the governor’s office,” San Antonio said. “We hand them the flag of Puerto Rico and all my teammates signed it. Anyways, the amount of support in a moment we needed kept us going. Then to see it in Paris, you don’t want to stop fighting. You don’t stop running. You don’t stop playing hard. You can be dead tired, but you still are going to keep going.
“You want to do it for them just as much as you want to do it for yourself.”
Before Puerto Rico’s opening game on July 28 against Serbia, coach Gerardo Batista gathered the team, and in that moment, the magnitude hit the squad’s youngest player.
“I remember coach was trying to encourage us and just remind us why we are here,” San Antonio said. “Then, he said we’re here for that little island that we play for in our hearts. I literally broke down. I was crying. Everybody was like ‘the poor baby.’ I was like, ‘you guys don’t understand.’ This means so much more to me than I think people realize.”
Despite losing all three group games to Spain, China and Serbia, and finishing third on the team in points, rebounds, and assists per game, representing her country had a far greater impact on her off the court.
“Feeling a bit removed from my Puerto Rican lineage, this paved my way back to it,” San Antonio said. “I may not really have a Puerto Rican presence around me with my family being so far away, but through this experience I was able to find an outlet to get me back to myself and my culture. That’s how powerful representing your country can be.
“Hopefully I get more opportunities to play the Aces on a different team, but most importantly, doing so with my name connected to Puerto Rico.”
Chiuchiolo, who has been representing Ecuador since she was 14, received what she now views as a life-changing call from an unknown number that her father had to translate.
As it was an invitation to represent the country her father’s mother hails from, she immediately recognized the significance of the honor, which has undoubtedly deepened for her over the years.
“It’s a great honor to be able to represent my family in that way,” Chiuchiolo said. “Being able to play in a different culture, speaking a different language and learning more about myself. It was crazy to think about at such a young age and I had an idea of what it meant but never truly knew what it would do for me.”
Similar to San Antonio’s pre-Olympics preparation, attending camps in Ecuador’s capital of Quito allowed Chiuchiolor to improve her Spanish, experience the breathtaking scenery and savor the local cuisine.
However, the moment she truly understood what it meant to represent Ecuador came on March 21.
After beating Bolivia, losing to Chile and tying with Paraguay in Group A of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qualifiers, Ecuador faced Uruguay in a match that would determine who advanced to the World Cup.
History was made that night, one Chiuchiolo describes as unforgettable.
Beyond scoring her first national team goal by faking out the goalkeeper after receiving a through ball to put Ecuador up 1-0, Chiuchiolo followed it with an almost impossible shot, curling the ball into the side netting from outside the right corner of the penalty box – closer to the endline than the corner itself.
Not only did the two goals put Ecuador up 2-0 en route to a 4-2 victory, but they also helped the U-17 Ecuadorian team qualify for the World Cup for the first time.
“It was just a very emotional moment for me because I had been gone for so long,” Chiuchiolo said. “Being able to work my way up, because that was the first game I started, and contribute right away in that game, it meant so much to me. I knew my family and everyone was supporting me back home and we’re all watching. But what really made it emotional was seeing how much it meant to Ecuador.”
With her father’s family, including uncles, aunts, cousins and her mother’s entire side of the family in Ecuador, it wasn’t just a meaningful moment for him – it meant even more to them.
“They were like us but even more proud,” her father, Tony Chiuchiolo, said. “It’s a dream come true for all of us. We were all just in awe and it’s so surreal that she’s representing Ecuador. I never expected it. We took it one step at a time. We’re so proud that she has this opportunity and she’s worked so hard to get it.
“I know not only are we going to be rooting for her at the World Cup, but all the Ecuadorians are as well. They have a great fan base and it just shows what being Ecuadorian and representing your country is all about.”
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