A few days ago I attended a wrestling match between Pitt, Penn State and Slippery Rock University club teams at Morrow Field House.

Sitting about six rows back from the floor, from behind I noticed a young man in a wheelchair.

After watching a few matches, I noticed the young man in the wheelchair by the Penn State team getting assistance putting on wrestling attire.

Soon, an exhibition match was announced between the wheelchair wrestler and a Pitt wrestler. The young man in the wheelchair was helped out of the chair and he used his hands and knees to crawl to the center spot. The two wrestlers competed for the full three periods with the referees keeping score.

There were tears in my eyes the entire time. Not tears of sadness. Tears of joy. How wonderful that the young man in the wheelchair could compete in a sport he enjoys.

Kudos to that young man. Kudos to the Pitt wrestler.

As the event was winding down, a coach/adviser from SRU walked over, assisted by canes in both hands, and shook hands with the wheelchair bound wrestler. What a class act!

Applause to Pitt, Penn State and SRU for sportsmanship at its finest.

Doug Cook,

Slippery Rock