Yuba City teen selected to represent California in Patriot Games
A 15-year-old Yuba City High School athlete will represent California in the Patriot Games, a national competition celebrating America’s 250th birthday.
YUBA CITY, Calif. —
Cailin Wollman, a 15-year-old student at Yuba City High School, has been selected to represent California in the 2026 Patriot Games, a national competition celebrating young athletes as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration.
“I’m very grateful and very honored to be the one person, one female chosen to represent California,” Wollman said. “And I’m very excited to show everyone what I’m capable of and what I’m able to do as a person.”
Wollman, an incoming junior, is a three-sport athlete who plays flag football, wrestles, and dives.
“I do flag football. This is my second year playing it,” Wollman said. “I also do wrestling. This will be my second year wrestling as well, and I also do diving and this will be my third year diving as well.”
She said she was caught by surprise when she received the news of her selection.
“I’m in my PJs, and I click on this email like, ‘Congratulations, you’ve been accepted to the Patriot Games,’” Wollman said.
Her parents, who also serve as her coaches, were the first people she thought to call.
“It was a really exciting experience. We immediately called my dad,” Wollman said. “Me and Mom were, like, freaking out. We were almost crying, and we were like, ‘Oh, I got accepted.’”
Her father, Matthew Wollman, described the moment he received the call.
“Picture a normal day at work, and your cell phone goes off, and they FaceTime me, and my family doesn’t FaceTime me at work,” he said. “I can’t really tell what’s going on. I think my daughter’s crying. My wife looks a little off. I was happy to report that it wasn’t something bad and then once the excitement set in, it was still kind of a shock.”
Matthew Wollman praised his daughter’s determination and athleticism.
“I would never count Cailin out, never in my life,” he said.
Cailin said she is looking forward to the competition.
“I don’t really have anything to lose,” she said. “I’m going there to have fun. I’m going there to be my best. So I’m not necessarily nervous. I think I’m more excited for it.”
Although Wollman lives in Natomas, she attends Yuba City High School, where she maintains a 4.54 GPA, plays three varsity sports, and serves as an officer in her NJROTC program.
She currently practices flag football in the evenings from after her parents and she introduced it to the school and they volunteered to coach while Cailin and other girls compete.
“Cailin also caught the first Yuba City touchdown on her 15th birthday, which was also our first (flag football) game,” Matthew Wollman said.
The Patriot Games will award a $250,000 scholarship prize pool to one male and one female champion. If Wollman wins, she said she would likely put the money toward college, as she has a goal to attend West Point, the United States Military Academy.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel.