Undefeated High School Wrestler Allows Opponent with Down Syndrome to Beat Him

Senior wrestler Deven Schuko stepped out onto the mat against Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School’s Andy Howland with a 27-0 record, and even though he walked away with the first loss of his career, there was no sense of defeat.

The Norton High School team captain was not only the number one ranked Division 3 wrestler in his weight class, but was also undefeated in his wrestling career when he offered a match to Howland, who has down syndrome. Schuko then proceeded to allow Howland to take him down.

“We shook hands and we locked up and he was a tough kid and he bulldogged me over to my back. I couldn’t stop the power,” Schuko told CBS Boston. “I’ve been in sports all my life and wrestling I believe is most demanding and for someone like Andy to wrestle and stick with it, I wanted to make his day.”

Read More: Model With Down Syndrome Treads the Catwalk in New York

Footage of the match was posted on Facebook by Anthony Pucino on Jan. 24 and has since been viewed over 73,000 times and shared nearly 1,000 times.

Watch the full video above.