Special moment for South Fremont wrestler

In January there was a high school wrestling match at South Fremont High School that some did not know would ever happen.

When it did, it lifted an entire community.

Lee Larsen has Down syndrome, but that doesn’t define who he is.

Lee is a wrestler.

South Fremont’s wrestling coach, Jed Clark, says it came about thanks to a suggestion.

“There’s another teacher here at South Fremont that has coached before and he said, ‘You know, you out to have Lee wrestle,'” says Clark. “I hadn’t thought much about it. And I talked to his little brother who is on our junior high team and said talk to your parents and see if they’d want Lee to wrestle.”

Lee has been practicing with the Cougars all season, but Coach Clark wanted to get him a match.

“I talked with the West J coaches as we go through our lineups, I told them about Lee,” says Clark. “Talk with their coaches they said we have a kid that will wrestle him.”

That kid was Keegan Hansen.

Coach Clark didn’t know what to expect at first.

“He’s a pretty good wrestler and as I watched the match, for me it was good to see him, the pacing was perfect for Lee,” says Clark.

When Lee won the match, it was a special moment for everyone.

“I was excited to see his reaction at the end because regardless of whether he won or lost, the crowd was excited,” says Clark. ” They were loud. To have his hand raised up and to know it was for him.”

All of it made possible by West Jefferson’s Keegan Hansen.

“During that time probably doesn’t know, probably doesn’t realize what he was doing for him and for our school,” adds Clark. “That kid to me shows what kind of community they have up there. A lot of respect for him.”