FREEPORT — Matt Wolfe fought a challenging battle to reach graduation Friday night.

The Freeport 18-year-old learned to deal with cancer for the last six years.

“It's been hard,” Wolfe said just before the Freeport High School ceremony at Laube Hall. “I played sports all my life.”

He first noticed there was a problem in 2010.

“My face was swollen,” Wolfe said. “Any time I ran, I coughed.”

Wolfe stopped playing baseball and basketball, but he did not allow the disease to take away his perseverance. He deals with a few issues, but has staved off more debilitating impacts.

“Overall, I feel pretty good,” Wolfe said.

He takes chemotherapy orally each day and cannot exert himself too much. But the son of Scott and Sherri Wolfe graduated high school with his 135 classmates and plans to attend the New Kensington branch of Penn State University in 2017.

Wolfe thanked his peers and school staff for supporting his fight against cancer. However, his fellow 2016 graduates and teachers say he is the one who should be thanked.

“Matt has been an inspiration to this entire community,” said biology teacher Will Mikolay.

English teacher Garrie Davies agreed.

“He's so gracious,” Davies said. “He elevates everyone all around him.”

Government teacher Mark Wyant concurred.

“We are better people because we had Matt Wolfe in class,” Wyant said.

Class President Jesse Tomkiewicz is one of Wolfe's many fans.

“I get emotional every time I'm talking about him,” Tomkiewicz said.

Tomkiewicz spoke about Wolfe during his speech.

“Matt, we should be thanking you for your courage and inspiration,” Tomkiewicz said, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd.

He also spoke about appreciating the past.

“We made mistakes and learned from them,” he said.

Graduate Anna Wilson spoke about the future in her speech.

“Now, it's our turn to make an impact on another level,” she said.

Wilson, 18, of Buffalo Township will be attending the University of Mount Union in Ohio this fall. The daughter of Rob and Denise Wilson said before the graduation that education is the likely field she would pursue.

“I love kids,” she said.

Wilson has worked with children in various venues, including church.

“They get me excited,” she said.

Tomkiewicz, 18, of South Buffalo Township will be attending Allegheny College in Meadville before going to law school.

The son of Charles Tomkiewicz and Rebecca O'Neil will miss the trappings of high school, especially hanging out with friends. Tomkiewicz won't miss one aspect, though.

“The fact that Freeport High School does not have air conditioning,” he said.

Landon Hacker, 18, of Buffalo Township is attending Messiah University in Cumberland County with the intention of becoming an environmental engineer. The son of Brian and Heidi Hacker wants to focus on keeping waterways clean.

Hacker also will miss his friends in high school.

“You kind of develop a relationship with everybody over 13 years,” he said.

Hayden Bergad, 17, of South Buffalo Township will attend Washington & Jefferson College in Washington County to major in chemistry before going to medical school.

The son of Paul and Jennifer Bergad wants to focus on pediatric cardiology.

“When I was young, I had open-heart surgery,” Bergad said.

Hayley Nixon, 18, of Buffalo Township will initially attend Butler County Community College. The daughter of Robert and Cynthia Nixon is interested in the fine arts.

The Texas native didn't know what she would find relocating to Freeport School District for her sophomore year, but she need not have worried.

“I was appreciative everyone was so accepting,” Hayley said.

Mikolay said the class of 2016 stood out.

“They're one of the finest groups of kids we've seen,” he said.